Tag axle

[Kreimer]

I find myself needing to replace the tag axle on our 345. I found inland RV has one for $2900. This is becoming a challenge since henschen is defunct. Anybody else run into this situation? What other sources should I look for for a new tag?

[davejay]

Hey,
I thought inland had the tag for like 650.00 do you need drum to drum or just the axle, the backing plates are about 50 bucks a piece. Your hubs may work on the new axle. I'm not sure, but I think only a couple of places make the spindle assembly. You may be able to make it work with new bearings. The load of the axle is determined by the bearings and axle thickness inside the tube. Also the drum size and shoe width. I think your paying for the mounting brackets, being AS specific. And the hubs are drilled for 10 holed wheels. I don't think the hubs are any differant than the 8 holed in regards to bearing and seal size. And the mouthing brackets may also be generic in the way they mount.
AS for all of its persona, in some ways, was really cheap. The frame behind the tag, the trailor hitch. The partical board floors. Maybe a torsion axle from a trailor store may work. The tag is rated at what 2800 pounds. Just throwing stuff around 3000 is awful steep for an axle. DJ

[Isuzusweet]

Originally Posted by Kreimer

I find myself needing to replace the tag axle on our 345. I found inland RV has one for $2900. This is becoming a challenge since henschen is defunct. Anybody else run into this situation? What other sources should I look for for a new tag?

Be thankfull that Andy had an axle manufacturer specially make reproductions of your tag axle, as at one point Andy at Inland RV just had one original tag axle left. I thought they were more than $2,900.00; I'm sure at one point Andy was asking almost $5,000 for the original tag.

The only thing you can't get for the new tag are the brake drums, as there are none available; officially unobtainium.

There a lot of tags out there that are well past their prime and need replacement. There are no guarentees that the new owners of Inland RV will place a new order for reproduction tag axles, once their supply is depleted. I'd be on the phone and ordering one right quick if I were you.

Cheers
Sidekick Tony

[Kreimer]

I have found Colin Hyde can get the original style tag for muuuch cheaper with all necessary brackets and i would have to switch the hubs of course. I am curious why an air ride tag axle couldn’t be installed like the drive axle instead of a torsion axle. Surely the ride would be better.

[davejay]

Hey,
You bring up an excellent thought. A regular axle from say a loader trailor would have the beef needed for the weight . It would be so easy to make mounts for same. The scrub ratio would be basically the same as the torsion axle. You could even have a dump valve on the bags for when you get into tight places. Mounting brackets would be a breeze. You'd have to mount a pannard bar to keep it centered. I got to think about this. That would be a very trick setup.
I was thinking of putting a steerable axle on as the tag a 1989 4500 series Chevy truck has the straight drop axle,10 bolt hubs with the same disc brake set up as our AS. Steerable axles are great but they do have some inherent characteristics which may be a little troublesome on as AS. It would have to be very well made, and I think the frame would need some bolstering too.
How much would an axle cost from your other sourse. DJ

[Kreimer]

My quote from him is $650.00 plus shipping. He supplied us with the axle for our ‘65 Safari. He really knows his stuff!

[Keyair]

Putting a steerable axle on the rear is virtually a no go...
There is barely clearance for wider 225/70 tires, and so it would involve moving the inner fender in that area which... gets you into the shower tray and toilet area...
Nice thought tho!

[bobmiller1]

Who needs a shower ???and for that matter a toilet ???? LMAO

[Keyair]

Just two less items to fix, eh Bob....

[davejay]

Hey,
Key air, wow I never even thought about the actual turning of the tires. Your right, there is almost no room for even the present setup. Mt 245x75x19.5 barely fit in there. That is why I so like taking to fellow alumihalics. Thanks again. DJ

[Kreimer]

So after number crunching I decided to get the unicorn from inland. I figure the fabrication to get the air valve mounts and the shock mounts would end up costing as much in labor as just getting the bolt on unit. Since the ax.e tube cannot be welded to, the large brackets holding the upper shock mount and valve mount would need welded to the frame of the motorhome. A good alternative in the future but easier to bolt one one. The orig 10 lug hubs will have to be installed on the new axle obviously. I really hope this fixes the terrible ride this thing has. Hitting bumps jars the hell out of the coach and we have been popping rivets in the back.

[bobmiller1]

Save your original one for rebuilding,Regards, Bob

[Kreimer]

Great idea but I have nowhere to store it. If you wanna pay shipping I could have them ship it to you if you have any interest in it.

[shepherd57]

You probably have already checked. But if you are getting a bone jarring ride in the rear it sounds like you have problem with the air bag system . If there is low air or no air in the bags. It will ride a old truck because the rear springs will be hitting the chassis frame it will be
bone jarring.

When you have low air or no air it will be steel on steel
Not good and I would think over time it will pop rivits.

You should also check the rear sway bar bushings when they get worn they can fall out and that will also cause a rough ride.

I would hate to see you spend big bucks and not solve the problem

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by Kreimer

So after number crunching I decided to get the unicorn from inland. I figure the fabrication to get the air valve mounts and the shock mounts would end up costing as much in labor as just getting the bolt on unit. Since the ax.e tube cannot be welded to, the large brackets holding the upper shock mount and valve mount would need welded to the frame of the motorhome. A good alternative in the future but easier to bolt one one. The orig 10 lug hubs will have to be installed on the new axle obviously. I really hope this fixes the terrible ride this thing has. Hitting bumps jars the hell out of the coach and we have been popping rivets in the back.

I second John (Shepherd57) on this one. The tag axle under normal set-up should not contribute to the horrible ride you are describing, because it doesn't carry that much of the load. Check you airbags, dog bone bushings, install Bilstein shocks and put some centramatic wheel balancers on both rear axles.

[bkahler]

I can vouch for the ride being horrible if the air bags don't have enough air in them. One way to tell if you've having a lot of metal to metal contact is to look at where the rear leaf spring has been cut off when they installed the air ride suspension. Look at the top rear edge of the spring and then look up at the bottom of the frame. If there's been a lot of contact you'll see deformation in the frame itself where the leaf spring has been beating against the bottom of the frame.

Saw this issue on my old 310. Really makes for a crappy ride.

Brad

[shepherd57]

By the way Peter 10.000 miles since we put the balancers on and still no problems with that left side brake on the tag

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by shepherd57

By the way Peter 10.000 miles since we put the balancers on and still no problems with that left side brake on the tag

Thats just to confirm: Never listen to my paranoid comments ...

[davejay]

If you change the anti sway bar bushings, go to polyurethane. Makes it stiffer, and they never wear out. DJ

[Kreimer]

Got her back from the shop today with the new axle. Rides muuuch better! No more banging over little bumps in the road. The back end sits up about 3-4 inches higher than it did before. She was a little bit saggy assed before. I am very happy so far! this is the pic on the way home.