up-date or leave original on '72?

[PizzaChop]

If you haven't replaced the shock absorbers yet, I recommend doing it during the axle change, as it will never be any easier. Give Inland a call and you'll have them before the axles arrive.

The change out is not too difficult, with the new holes probably being the biggest issue. (If you ordered them with the shockmount option, you're home free. Otherwise, you've got some cutting and welding to do.)

You'll be happy with your new axles and so will your Overlander.

[tphan]

Hi Ron- your fotos of the change-out were very helpful, now I know what sort of hole mis-alignment to expect. Will try to ream that out with a "burr", I guess. That what you did? I do have new shocks, and did get shock mounts on the new axles, so should have a cushy ride when all done. Thanks again for the helpful fotos- your installation looks sweet! -tim

[RichHog]

Hey Tim you mentioned Pogosa Springs on an earlier thread. Any particular campgrounds or spots you recommend? Am looking at a trip to south Colorado and thought of Durango. Haven't yet brought my 72 Tradewind up through the mountains yet so want to step into it easy.

Richard

[tphan]

hi Richard- just now saw your post, short answer is Williams Reservoir, north of Pagosa about 25 miles. I'll PM you with more info.-tim

[adonh]

If you make it over to Durango, about 60 miles from Pagosa Springs the Alpen Rose (yes that is the correct spelling) is a very nice RV park just north of Durango. We just got back from a 2 week stay there. The drive up through Pagosa Springs from hwy 40 is beautiful but you will have some long climbs up the mountain. I came down that way which was not bad. I went up to Durango through Albuquerque. Not a bad pull on Hwy 550.

Don

[tphan]

Well I got one new axle in today, it fit perfectly but I had to drill all new holes for the bolts. Aerowood loaned me a rad bit, like a super-sharp and rugged hole-saw for steel, so drilling them was no problem. The hardest part, for me anyways, was trying to jack the thing up level, since the torsion arm and drum wants to spin the whole thing out of whack. 1 friend and 4 different jacks later, I'm ready for the other one. I had Dexter weld on shock mounts, which didn't seem to cost much extra. Now- what to do with the old axles?? Re-cycle? Craigslist? Any other ideas?

[Aerowood]

I'm glad the Blair cutter is working out for you. They really do work good don't they? Alas I'm still up in British Columbia. On another note I ran into a guy that I worked with in Churchill Manitoba 10 years ago. Small world in the avaition community, we threw a few back at Hot Tommy's in Abbottsford tonight.

Kip

[Jim & Susan]

One forum member told me that he took his to the local metal recyling center. I've wondered about the same thing.

Jim

[airbassador]

Originally Posted by tphan

. Now- what to do with the old axles?? Re-cycle? Craigslist? Any other ideas?

Folks will buy those axles for building small trailers to haul lawn mowers, etc.

[tphan]

OK, done except for wiring the brakes. What I learned: 1) since the axles are quite tippy, it works well to jack them up into place with the jack under the mounting bracket, a little behind the axle tube, to account for the weight of the torsion arm and drum. 2) the #10 Dexters have the same tube dimensions as the old Henschens, so they fit up into the fish-plate cut-out perfectly. I'm told the #11 Dexters are bigger, and will not fit without some torch-cutting. 3) I had to re-drill all the mounting holes, no huge deal but apparently not as easy as Henschens. 4) The configuration and spacing of the torsion arm, with shock mount bracket, is a little further away from the frame than originally, so the shock absorber is not as parallel to the frame as before. It's cocked slightly, should still work just fine and not cause any problems that I can see. 5) These EZ-lube hubs alone make it worth putting in new axles- no more disassembly and knuckle-busting to re-pack the bearings! 6) Thanks to Luke's Maintenance, in Fort Collins, for advice and ordering help, and Redneck Trailer in Dacono, Colorado, the Dexter dealer I got them from.
I am SO sick of crawling around under my trailer, would rather camp in it. No pictures, you've all seen axle pics before. If anyone wants details, measurements, etc., I'd be glad to share. About 8 hours of fairly laborious work, now ready for another 30 years I hope. -tim
ps- thanks for tips on getting rid of old ones, will try to sell 1st on Craigslist or similar, then try the scrap-iron route.

[76sovereign]

Looks Great! Nice rig.

Originally Posted by tphan

howdy- today I took off the polypropylene cover that was over my rig for the last 7 months or so, keeping the pine sap and bird poo off. I have to say I see no evidence of black marks, abrasion, wearing through the aluminum, etc. It just looks like the day I put the cover on, last october. These new covers are lightweight, soft, and breatheable- yet water resistant. So I'll post a couple pics of her, and one showing the under-gaucho bin doors. Still wondering what kind of stereo to install, a car stereo or a 110-v boombox/mini console thing? The mini-boombox could be used in the house, or elsewhere, when the coach is not being used. Any ideas out there? thanks- tim

[tphan]

Well, Airbassador had it right: I posted the 2 old axles on Craigslist (for $50) the morning after getting them out, and the 1st call came 4 minutes later. Within a couple hours 4 people said they wanted them. The buyer was going to make an ATV trailer with one of them, and gushed at the great deal he was getting. I was glad to get rid of them and see them being used again. Good deal for all- tim

[tphan]

still waiting to try out the new axles....zzzzzzzzzzz......But, on the other hand, the Suburban gets pretty good mileage just sitting in the driveway........... finally cleaned out the sand/dust around the window gaskets from the Spring Resto Rally in Albuquerque, and Armor-all'ed the gaskets. Let's go somewhere!

[tphan]

OK- went somewhere finally, to some favorite parts of Wyoming. Took the cat (she hated the driving part but really liked the camping/tree-climbing/wandering around the campground part), and had 2 weeks of great weather and great campsites. The venues: Vedauwoo, Saratoga, Lander (Sinks canyon), Thermop, Tensleep, Medicine Lodge, and Cody. Met some fun folks and had a great time, with no problems with the AS except for leaving home with the dump valve open and the outlet cap on tight: going up an incline, the small amount of wastewater in the black tank (I thought it was empty) backed up out of the shower drain, luckily just soaking our rug rather than getting all over the place. Lesson learned! Here's a few pics..

[tphan]

howdy- getting ready to move the rig down to Longmont, which is 3,000' lower in elevation than here in Estes. I'll have plenty of flat space for the AS, and my wife will finally have her gardens, orchard, and chickens. It will be easier to start/end AS trips living here, as we're only about 10 miles from I-25.
On another note, I had a relatively minor stroke the day before my birthday, back in November- and can not advise doing that shortly before closing on a fixer-upper house that needs tons of work. Poor planning on my part!
I hope to see some of you up in Wyoming this season- there's some great camping spots scattered around an otherwise quite desolate state. PM me for some of my favorites. -tim

[Aage]

Tim,
What an excellent thread you have built! Thanks for all the pictures (once you got your camera) and the invaluable information you shared with us.

I'm very sorry to hear of your stroke. Hopefully your doctor was able to move things around and re-plumb your inner workings as skillfully as you did to your AS, so that you will have tons more time to enjoy your job.

Two questions: did you ever put the belly pan back on, and where do you shave, the kitchen sink?

Cheers,
Aage

[tphan]

Aage- thanks for the kind words. The resto was a labor of love, and we do indeed hope to use her a lot in the future. No belly pan yet, and haven't yet seen the necessity of having one. Wife and I use the kitchen sink for the usual grooming chores, don't spend a lot of time in the bathroom so didn't see the need for a large, gadget-laden space there. But we're all different, and our restos reflect that I guess.
My stroke effects are luckily only some numbness in part of 1 hand, and part of my face. Not sure if things will ever get re-wired to the point of all that going completely away, but just glad I can still walk, talk, and live my life. Cheers back at ya- tim

[Aerowood]

Tim, I hope you will be OK. So let me get this straight, are you moving to Longmont, or just your AS is moving to Longmont?

Kip

[tphan]

hi Kip- good to see you here. I am doing "OK", just another battle scar. We are moving down to Longmont- we closed on it a few days after I got out of Swedish Hospital, and I "faked it" at closing by not saying much and signing all the papers with my other hand- didn't want to screw up our loan, which was a pain to get. It will be nice to have plenty of flat space for the AS, with no covenants against that sort of thing. How're you doing? Your rig getting trimmed out inside? -tim

[tphan]

Anyone been here? Thinking of going later this month for my wife's birthday, as we like swimming and paddling when it's hot. It is near Ft. Morgan in eastern Colorado. Any other info on good swimming holes in the area, with camping nearby, would be great! -tim