Below is a link to the NHTSA federal government agency where a safety complaint can be filed for your suspension issues. Anyone that has bent or broken a spring need to file a formal complaint this may result in a manditory safety recall where the company will have to cover the cost of upgrades to your Redwood. The more people that follow through with this the better the chance of corrective action can happen. The form is very easy to fill out you will need your VIN number and type up the history of your issue. This form is for safety related only and highly recommend that everyone fill this out even if you have upgraded your suspension feeling you needed to for the safety of yourself and the general public around you. (MAY help offset the cost you have incurred for your upgrades.)

Don't get me wrong I love my Redwood and plan on living in it to see this great country in the very near future. My deal is Thor the parent company is only concerned about the profit and not the safety of our community. The fact the they have voluntarily raised the standard suspension to 8000 pound axles in 2017 show where they have decided to do the right thing.

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchSafetyIssues

Upper Right corner of the page is the link "Report a problem" to get to the form

Update: Springs are on back order. Today ordered 8k axles cost ??? need to get back on the road when cousin is in better shape. This cuts down on my investment money but as stated safety is safer for us and the other's on the open road.

My 2017 Redwood 39MB also has 7K suspension so this also includes 2017 models. I do not think they made the 8K change until the 2018 model year build.
Thank you for doing this!

When attending the 2016 Rally we were advised of the impending change. All builds from Sept 2016 should have had the 8K suspension, 17.5" tires and centre-point suspension.

I believe they changed to 2017 model year prior to the rally, so early 2017's will still have had 7K suspension and "G" rated tires.

Below is a link to the NHTSA federal government agency where a safety complaint can be filed for your suspension issues. Anyone that has bent or broken a spring need to file a formal complaint this may result in a manditory safety recall where the company will have to cover the cost of upgrades to your Redwood. The more people that follow through with this the better the chance of corrective action can happen. The form is very easy to fill out you will need your VIN number and type up the history of your issue. This form is for safety related only and highly recommend that everyone fill this out even if you have upgraded your suspension feeling you needed to for the safety of yourself and the general public around you. (MAY help offset the cost you have incurred for your upgrades.)

Don't get me wrong I love my Redwood and plan on living in it to see this great country in the very near future. My deal is Thor the parent company is only concerned about the profit and not the safety of our community. The fact the they have voluntarily raised the standard suspension to 8000 pound axles in 2016 show where they have decided to do the right thing.

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchSafetyIssues

Upper Right corner of the page is the link "Report a problem" to get to the form

Just be careful what you ask for! I had issues with Tredit tire and wheel on wheels they built for a Montana 5th wheel we had (others may remember the same issue). In resolve, they were sending me new wheels, however I also submitted the issue to NHTSA for what I thought was due diligence. Once NHTSA called Tredit tire and wheel to get their side of the story, all resolve with them ended. They no longer took my calls or a friend of mine's calls for the same issue.

I walked away with the good Samaritan feeling I contacted NHTSA (which never went anywhere), and I lost out on 5 new replacement wheels at no cost. I selfishly wish I would have just left it alone and let Tredit take care of me to shut me up 🙂

Just be careful what you ask for! I had issues with Tredit tire and wheel on wheels they built for a Montana 5th wheel we had (others may remember the same issue). In resolve, they were sending me new wheels, however I also submitted the issue to NHTSA for what I thought was due diligence. Once NHTSA called Tredit tire and wheel to get their side of the story, all resolve with them ended. They no longer took my calls or a friend of mine's calls for the same issue.

I walked away with the good Samaritan feeling I contacted NHTSA (which never went anywhere), and I lost out on 5 new replacement wheels at no cost. I selfishly wish I would have just left it alone and let Tredit take care of me to shut me up 🙂

Adam,

I guess I am out of warranty and have to pay for it anyway. The amount of people having problems with the under engineered suspension is alarming. I have not over loaded my 38GK and after weighing it was still within specs. The part that is of concern to me is they sign off on the weight before any options are put in. So if they say the pin weight is 3500 it is probably 4000 pounds after you load your clothes, some bath accessories, a barbi, and some chairs? I moved my hitch pin up 2 feet to put more on the front now that I have a heavy duty truck. I put a washer dryer combo unit in and some water in the tank my hitch pin weight came in at 4800 pounds and my axles on the RW came in at 12700. The extra weight I shifted to the pin has helped with the stress on the axles. I do have the double bedroom slide (option) but had I not moved the hitch pin forward where would I be with the axles. Easily pushing the limit for sure. So in essence these full time rigs were designed to sit in a campground not cross the country multiple times. I still feel that this is a safety issue not only for me but for many running down the road today. It is only a matter of time before some gets hurt bad.

We've fulltimed in ours since Nov '12 with the 7k axles with approximately 60k+/- miles with the only upgrade being the MorRyde heavy shackles & wet bolts at about 5k miles & upgraded to disc brakes & Sailun H rated tires Nov '16, no suspension issues.
But ours is a '13, one of the "Tom Montague" Redwoods.

Adam,

I guess I am out of warranty and have to pay for it anyway. The amount of people having problems with the under engineered suspension is alarming. I have not over loaded my 38GK and after weighing it was still within specs. The part that is of concern to me is they sign off on the weight before any options are put in. So if they say the pin weight is 3500 it is probably 4000 pounds after you load your clothes, some bath accessories, a barbi, and some chairs? I moved my hitch pin up 2 feet to put more on the front now that I have a heavy duty truck. I put a washer dryer combo unit in and some water in the tank my hitch pin weight came in at 4800 pounds and my axles on the RW came in at 12700. The extra weight I shifted to the pin has helped with the stress on the axles. I do have the double bedroom slide (option) but had I not moved the hitch pin forward where would I be with the axles. Easily pushing the limit for sure. So in essence these full time rigs were designed to sit in a campground not cross the country multiple times. I still feel that this is a safety issue not only for me but for many running down the road today. It is only a matter of time before some gets hurt bad.

Oh I don't disagree with you - I was just saying my experience with the NHTSA bit me back. I was 4 years out of warranty, but they were still going to replace the wheels and pay the labor to change them out. At that moment I would have preferred the wheels over the righteous feeling.
🙂
Lesson learned - wait until all is settled, then file!

You might remember the issue. In 2007 Montana went to 7K axles on the larger units in preparation for re-introducing the Big Sky, and for a very short time installed G614 tires on those axles. In order for Montana to be able to install G614 tires they needed new wheels. Tredit said no problem and sent them stickers that said 3,750lbs@110psi to apply over the casting on the wheels Montana had in stock. We got one of the first new 2007 3400RL that had the stickered wheels and 7K axles. When I went to replace tires, Goodyear said no-no-no, that's not the way it works, as it's required to be tested and cast into the wheel. I contacted Tredit and said I can't get new G614 tires, they said no problem and told me to pick out new wheels and they would be on the way. When I got NHTSA involved, Tredit dropped the offer and ironically, the NHTSA called me and said actually Tredit did no wrong, and that wheels are typically rated for whatever the market tire is going to be. He told me there is no physical pressure test performed on a wheel, and that the load rating is primarily based on the composition of material spec and the size of the stud. According to him, Tredit did not have to retest the wheel, because there is no test, but they were in poor form using the sticker. No spanking for Tredit, no wheels for Bradley

Ironically, The new Redwood suspension (other than being 8K) is the same LRE system Keystone marketed on our 2007 Montana, so at least in 11 years, RVs haven't come far in the suspension world!

When I was looking into which RV to purchase last year I noticed a definite pattern of broken springs from LCI on rigs only a few years old on many of the manufacturers forums. Many posters claimed that LCI went through a long period of providing a very bad batch of springs. I would think that LCI should be supplying improved replacements for no charge for a rig that is less than a 3 or 4 years old. There is going to be an occasional break from a pot hole or other obstacle but those events should be negligible.

On our 2014, we have had 3 springs break. The have been replaced by a heavier spring pack by a spring repair shop.

I wonder how much luck one might have putting on 10,000 lb springs for added insurance? One would probably have to move the mounts, but that would sure be a lot of spring!

if they were smart they would build the rv with 3 axles that would solve all the problems.

if they were smart they would build the rv with 3 axles that would solve all the problems.

Maybe a tag axle like on a 40' motorhome? Turning on triples is murder on tires.

If you notice, even many of the larger ToyHaulers are getting away from triple axles and just using heavier tandems. Tandem axles put enough strain on the suspension in tight turns, and triple axles are even worse.

Are higher quality and improved springs (more leaves) but still rated for 8K axles available? I would think that using higher quality steel, more leaves to allow for a smoother ride, higher quality of the "eyes" where the bushings mount and the material they use in-between each leaf so they don't bind would all add up to a better system than what they use today. Is anyone familiar with leaf springs and if there are brands that offer higher quality?

Considering that the rear axles on many of our trucks are rated between 7K (SRW) to 10K (DRW) which is similar to the axles on our trailers (7K or 8K), the springs are night and day different in length, width and how they are mounted. Seems that the trailers are very much under-designed for the application!