A'van Tyre and Brake Problems

1. I first became aware of a problem in Roma, Qld.  I had what I first thought was a puncture on the right tire, but when the tire dealer took the wheel off the tire was worn through to the canvas on the inside, with steel wire ends splayed out.  Clearly this was an alignment problem, but when the alignment was checked it was found to be OK.  I put a new tire on and continued to Brisbane where I had the A'van suspension checked by both the A'van dealer there and the Alco distributor.  No fault could be found, the new tire was not worn, there were no signs of feathering on either tire.  Puzzled that a fault should have come and gone, I continued.
   
2. Next, a few hundred Km south of Katherine, NT on the Stuart Highway I had an unexpected blowout on the left tire.  I changed to the spare and carried on to Katherine where I bought  new tire.  The old tire had been badly damaged because I had not been immediately aware that I had a flat and had driven an unknown distance, possibly up to 1 Km, on the deflated tire.  Inspection of the tire by the tire dealer showed no signs of a puncture.  I was puzzled at the time, but now suspect that the reason for the occurrence could have been caused by excessive wear caused by a recurrence of the alignment problem.  Note that the problem was now on left tire.
   
3. I continued my trip, toured NT without incident, and set off to return home via the north coast of WA.  Approaching Broome, WA I felt the caravan "snatch" once or twice.  The highway was in excellent condition and free from defects, so I stopped to check my rig.  I found that the right caravan tire was again wearing on the inside.  The wear was worsening as I continued.  I stopped at Sandfire and had Mick the bush mechanic (his own words) there check the suspension.  He could find nothing wrong, turned the tire on the rim to extend what little life was left and I continued to Eighty Mile Beach where several interested, experienced people assisted me to jack up my A'van and check the wheel alignment.  We found no visible damage, all bolts were secure, no bent parts - but the right wheel was significantly "toe out".  The distance between the front of the wheels was about 1 cm greater than the distance between the rear of the wheels.
4. After 250 Km the left tire blew unexpectedly.  I stopped immediately.  The tire had worn through on the inside.  I changed to the spare and continued into Port Hedland where I bought 2 new Dunlop tires.  I put the new tires on the caravan.  The dealer gave me a second hand one which I carried along with another badly worn one.  I set off to Perth and had no further problem!  The fault had "fixed itself" again.  I arrived in Perth with no visible wear on the tires.

On Thursday I am taking the caravan to an independent mechanic who specializes in suspensions and wheel alignments for his opinion.  I expect to need to replace the axle with a new one from Alko.  In the meantime I am seeking advice and suggestions on the whole issue.
Particularly, I would be interested to know:

• What should we look for as evidence that the axle could have a manufacturing defect?
• What warranty should I expect and from who?  (A'van or Alko)  the A'van dealer in Perth says the warranty is limited to 12 months / 15,000 Km)  I bought the caravan in August 2000.
• I understand the caravan suspension to be compatible with my 2WD car ('94 Holden Commodore Wagon).  I have taken the caravan over Queensland/unsealed roads, yes, but if the car is OK (it is) shouldn't the caravan have also handled the terrain? 
  

Feedback and wide circulation of this email is invited and all help will be greatly appreciated - thanks everyone.


Peter S. Bishop