Changing axles next week...

[J. Morgan]

I wont trust my life to any hollow ramps. I prefer good heavy duty jack stands on a smooth, hard, and level surface with the tow vehicle attached for stability and immobility.

Ramps freak me out if I am working under something. I feel safer with stands, but I use four just in case where two would do.

Working under a vehicle ain't no joke.

It is fore and aft movement that causes most accidents, and ramps can collapse.

Cement blocks? You must be out of your mind, no freaking way I will trust my life to those things. (And I will FIRE on the spot ANYONE I see doing so)

There is a reason that most shops INSIST on the use of good and properly rated jack stands.

#JustSayin


Superat stultitia.

[rmkrum]

Amen, brother. Use of Concrete blocks is a death wish, IMHO.


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[Minno]

We had solid 6 inch blocks of concrete, not the hollow ones used to build basements. the trailer was up on them while we worked on her for 4 years with no movements or shifting. Just clarifying....

Kay

[rmkrum]

Very true. 'Cinder blocks' or ordinary hollow core concrete blocks used for building masonry walls are the dangerous ones.

A chunk of solid concrete would be much better, but really heavy, I bet.


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[sdavis2616]

I agree, I don't see any reason to drop all four tires. I basically followed the same procedure as you except I used a couple of 2x6's that I put under the tires on the axle I wasn't working on. Changed one axle and switched the procedure to the other axle. The trailer can only fall so far with two tires on a hard surface. Leaving two tires on an axle just takes a little longer to do the job. Survivability rate is much higher this way.

[KYAirstream]

For those who have changed their axles, did you use a torque wrench on the axle bolts?

[J. Morgan]

Originally Posted by KYAirstream

For those who have changed their axles, did you use a torque wrench on the axle bolts?

Nope, But I did use an impact wrench!


Superat stultitia.

[KYAirstream]

How'd you keep from over tightening and stretching the threads?

[J. Morgan]

The impact is most useful for taking the old bolts out, for putting the new ones in we just tightened them till they felt right and then checked them with a ratchet.


Superat stultitia.

[KYAirstream]

Dropped one axle today. Was pretty easy, with the exception of the bolts that attach behind the axle shock mounts. Not much space to get a socket in there with the water tank in place, so I dropped the tank as well. Was surprised to see there was nothing except the sheet metal wrap holding the tank up. Lots of funk in the metal pan, so it needed a good cleaning anyway. While I've got the pan dropped I'm thinking I'll go ahead a drill a few weep holes.

Also need to enlarge the notch for the axle tube by about 1/4 inch. Should not be too hard with a small cut off wheel.

[HiJoeSilver]

Suzy
Photos of the trailer with both axles swapped with the lift done. Also photos of the lift kit installed would be very helpful if you got any. Thinking of putting on lift when I swap my 23' axles. More room for boondocking.
Thanks, Joe

[JJA]

This will be completely unhelpful but I pulled the shell, belly pan, rebuilt the frame, flipped the frame over, cut the old axles and springs and hardware off with a torch, welded on new plates, mounted dexter torsion axles and welded them on.

Only time I've replaced axles on anything. Don't recommend it and hope I never have to do it again...




More detail on my project blog: http://67streamline.blogspot.com

[JJA]

Originally Posted by HiJoeSilver

Suzy
Photos of the trailer with both axles swapped with the lift done. Also photos of the lift kit installed would be very helpful if you got any. Thinking of putting on lift when I swap my 23' axles. More room for boondocking.
Thanks, Joe

I did something like that. Mine was a frame off so I was able to lower the wheel wells a couple inches (new ones were custom made by an HVAC guy), put torsion axle on at a tilt that gave me 2" and then went with larger tires to give me a total of 3". I've only had it out once but here are some pros and cons to consider:

Pros
easier to crawl under
easier for me to get at dump valves
won't drag in street/driveway dips/bumps (although it didn't before either)
3" less bending over for most things on the exterior

Cons?
Like you, I did this for boondocking but now that I've put so much time & $ into it, I'm not sure I want to drag it down gravel roads...especially after seeing a trailer where the tires spun and spitting gravel trashed the front.

Mine has a narrow & welded step into the main door. Now it really needs a second step but there isn't a good way to add one. I'll probably use one of those little steps that looks like a stool.

Would I do it again? Maybe but it's honestly not the slam dunk I thought it'd be.






More detail on my project blog: http://67streamline.blogspot.com

[KYAirstream]

I meant to ask before if 32 degree axles should be at 32 degrees prior to install? Mine are closer to 28 degrees.

[KYAirstream]

Verified the mounting bracket of one axle is good and level this morning before measuring the angle of the arm. The arm is at 26 degrees, which seems a long way off from 32. This is unweighted.

[SuzyHomemakr]

Originally Posted by HiJoeSilver

Suzy
Photos of the trailer with both axles swapped with the lift done. Also photos of the lift kit installed would be very helpful if you got any. Thinking of putting on lift when I swap my 23' axles. More room for boondocking.
Thanks, Joe

Let the people rejoice! Both axles are on, road test went great, life is good! I wound up gaining about 6", including the lift kit and the dud-to-new axles. I shall fear no supermarket driveway again!

A wise person (J.Morgan) cautioned against the hollow plastic ramps. Attached pic shows what can happen to them! Fortunately, the Dept. of Redundancy Dept. had placed extra jack stands all over the place, so no harm was done.

I am in awe of Silver Hawk, who did this job by himself in 4 hrs! It took 1-3 guys the better part of two days, not including beer runs! At two trailers a day, Silver Hawk could set himself up in a fine retirement business!

As to the lift kit, it hides behind the frame, and uses the existing holes for attaching. The axles have holes on top of the mounts (mine were bolted to the pallet with them) that attach to the lift kit. As mentioned above, you might have to adjust the holes in the kit to get them to fit the frame. Mine were 3/8" off.

Thanks again to all that contributed their wisdom!

[HiJoeSilver]

Suzy, Looks good, it's a beautiful trailer. At least in the picture, it doesn't look ridiculously high or anything from all the lift. I think I'll be following suit on my trailer.

KY, what are you measuring the angle with?

[KYAirstream]

HiJoeSilver-- I just started a new thread on this issue called "Are axle down angles correct?"

[J. Morgan]

Your trailer looks awesome, and I love the way it sits.

Great job! (All around great job, I love it)

Originally Posted by SuzyHomemakr

Let the people rejoice! Both axles are on, road test went great, life is good! I wound up gaining about 6", including the lift kit and the dud-to-new axles. I shall fear no supermarket driveway again!



A wise person (J.Morgan) cautioned against the hollow plastic ramps. Attached pic shows what can happen to them! Fortunately, the Dept. of Redundancy Dept. had placed extra jack stands all over the place, so no harm was done.



I am in awe of Silver Hawk, who did this job by himself in 4 hrs! It took 1-3 guys the better part of two days, not including beer runs! At two trailers a day, Silver Hawk could set himself up in a fine retirement business!



As to the lift kit, it hides behind the frame, and uses the existing holes for attaching. The axles have holes on top of the mounts (mine were bolted to the pallet with them) that attach to the lift kit. As mentioned above, you might have to adjust the holes in the kit to get them to fit the frame. Mine were 3/8" off.



Thanks again to all that contributed their wisdom!

Gradiens super tenui glacie.

[Action]

Picture looks great. And I would think the lift would be less noticeable on a larger trailer. And smaller trailers would not need the lift because the over hang is less.

Good job no matter how long it took.

>>>>>>>>>Action