Aluminess woes

[powderbum]

Just an update. Just got back from fishing, contacted Aluminess and they told me to ship them the swing arm and they will get it taken care of. I asked them to reinforce the welds with gussets and they said they will. Good customer service and refreshing to actually deal with a company who will stand behind their product.

My only complaint is that I now have to roll around with the spare inside the van while the swing arm is being repaired. Appreciate all the feedback guys

[larrie]

Thats good news.

[Steve_382]

How often has anyone really had to do an emergency spare tire change. We have driven 160,000 miles over the last 11 years and (knock on wood) only had a few slow leaks that we could air up and go to the tire shop for repair. Surely I will pay for this comment soon.

[larrie]

I hope you do not have to.

[carringb]

Originally Posted by Steve_382

How often has anyone really had to do an emergency spare tire change.

Yup. I got tee-boned by a red light runner. The Civic hit square on the rear wheel, bending the edge of the wheel so it wouldn't hold air anymore. I've had punctures as well, but was always able to air up until I got it patched.

[arctictraveller]

Originally Posted by Steve_382

How often has anyone really had to do an emergency spare tire change.

I've wrecked two tires while on the trail that weren't repairable. That's why I carry two spares.........

[BroncoHauler]

Originally Posted by arctictraveller

... That's why I carry two spares.........

and you probably haven't had to use one since. Murphy's Law.




Herb

[DDD]

I had the same issue. I initially had an elbow welded to support the swinger arm, but it was not ideal. Eventually had a new bumper , ladder with tire mount, and hitch/swing arm fab'd which solved all my problems. Trispeed Motorworks in Nashville.

[Sloya]

After reading the replays both +/- what caught my attention was the fact that some of you were running with sloppy mounted spare tire mounts or boxes. My guess is most of you are driving some sort of off road and you should know this is a non!

As for Aluminess, I have two boxes mounted on the rear of a 2016 Sprinter 144 4x4 since new with no problems. One box is there standard 30" the other a custom 36". I have been to the Aluminess shop a couple times and they were great to work with. Getty back to the slop in mounting the frames, there are a couple of adjustments you can make to remove the slop. This will reduce the fatigue the hardware is experiencing increasing the reliability. I travel the off beaten roads of Baja and the Deserts of the Southwest and have given Aluminess a good workout.

Now I don't know which version of hardware everyone is using and you know there have been design changes over the years to prove reliability. For some maybe it's time for a tune up or an inquiry for updates. Either way it will improve your camping experience...

Happy Trails

[DHM]

Saw they offer a half height shower in a lower cabinet with a lift up countertop and walk in door. Anyone used these before? How are they waterproofed? (Wall to pan, door to wall)