16' Bambi Axle/tire/brake upgrade

[ljmiii]

Last week I dodged the snowstorms and made the trek out to Jackson Center to upgrade my 16' Bambi to the 4300lb axle, 15" wheels, 225/75R15 Load Rating D tires, and disc brakes.

I am very happy with the axle upgrade. I would be completely happy if I hadn't found out while I was there that Airstream is in the midst of switching over to sealed bearings in their new trailers. If anyone else ends up doing the upgrade, check with parts first to see if they can order the new axles.

I am extraordinarily happy with the new tires. They look and feel so much more substantial than the 215/75 R14s - and at 2540lbs vs 1870lbs they provide a mighty margin of safety at any speed.

I am mostly happy with the new brakes. The stopping power of the new brakes is nothing short of amazing - if I slam on the brakes it feels like I dropped an anchor in the road. However, there are still a few 'bugs in the system'. For details, see

http://www.airforums.com/forum...tml#post347676

enjoy,
leo

[smccollister]

Hi Leo,

Would be interesting to hear a bit more about the motivation for the upgrade. So was the safety/braking improvement the primary motivation? Does the axle allow you to haul more weight? What does Airstream charge for this upgrade - are there a lot of options to choose from?

I haven't read much on the axle/tire/brake upgrades for the Bambi, so any information would be interesting.

Thanks,

Scott

[ljmiii]

Originally Posted by smccollister

Would be interesting to hear a bit more about the motivation for the upgrade. So was the safety/braking improvement the primary motivation? Does the axle allow you to haul more weight? What does Airstream charge for this upgrade - are there a lot of options to choose from?

Airstream shipped the 16' Bambi Quiksilvers with a very low net cargo capacity (NCC) - in my case, 51lbs. Some option laden 'normal' 16' CCDs have a similar problem. The axle upgrade is from a 3500lb to 4300lb axle.

The question of whether or not to upgrade your airstream to disc brakes has been oft debated. Two things are certain - many people are very happy with the braking performance of their tow vehicle/drum braked trailer combo and upgrading to disc brakes will reduce stopping distance.

The axle replacement with wheels costs about 1750.00. The disc brake installation costs about 1710.00.

Originally Posted by smccollister

I haven't read much on the axle/tire/brake upgrades for the Bambi, so any information would be interesting.

You can find more information about the issue in

http://www.airforums.com/forum...hts-25040.html

http://www.airforums.com/forum...lks-27798.html

http://www.airforums.com/forum...vwr-28020.html

enjoy,
leo