Axle mounting question - HELP!

[sandfire]

I am preparing to install a new Henschen axle on my 1962 Globetrotter. Instead of cutting out the old axle from the bracket and side bolting the new bracket to the old bracket, can I cut out the old bracket from the frame, drill four holes through the bottom of the frame and bolt the new axle through the bottom of the frame? The bracket on the new axle has four holes pre-drilled in the top that I assume are for this purpose. My concern is weakening the frame rail by drilling the four holes. Has anyone done it this way?

Thanks,

Eric

[HansenClan]

Eric,
I'm no Engineer, and not the smartest tool in the oven, but.... If you think about the trailer and it's weight, it is is designed to actually sit on the axle mounting bracket. So, unless your getting airborn in your Airstream, securing it to the frame does two things; 1) keeps the geometry of the suspension in the torsion arm and/or shocks (if you have them) in line, and 2) keeps the axles attached to the trailer, also again, in line.. There are two types of strengths to consider, shear and tension. Tension pulls in a straight line, with say, the bolt, and shear pulls perpendicular to the bolt. Shear is stronger, and that is why they are mounted through the side of the frame rail. That puts the bolts in shear vs tension. Plus it makes it easier to access, if you need to replace them...
Hope that helps..
p.s. no comments from the peanut galleries, I disclosed I am NO Guiness... :-) CHEERS!

[HowieE]

Why weren't the axles supplied to mount the same as the originals?

[sandfire]

The original axle bracket is welded to the bottom of the frame rail and the axle is welded into it. I understand shear strength being stronger, so I am going to go ahead and bolt the new bracket sideways into the old bracket. I was just trying to consider something that did not require a cutting torch. Thanks for the input!

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by HowieE

Why weren't the axles supplied to mount the same as the originals?

Nobody has a bracket that fits the old, old, old, old trailers.

Andy

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by sandfire

The original axle bracket is welded to the bottom of the frame rail and the axle is welded into it. I understand shear strength being stronger, so I am going to go ahead and bolt the new bracket sideways into the old bracket. I was just trying to consider something that did not require a cutting torch. Thanks for the input!

Thats the best way to mount a new axle on an old chassis.

Andy