6000 lb axle

[davincent]

The brakes were rusted and frozen on the curb side of my 2019 22fb Sport, so I decided to replace both complete brake assemblies for both wheels and ordered them from etrailer.com.as the brake assemblies were original to the trailer. After removing the tires and brake drums, I was surprised to see I had 12” brakes and drums, not the 10” brakes and drums which are specified in the parts manual.After a little investigation, my trailer axle is a 6000lb capacity, not the 4500lb capacity as specified in the parts manual.I purchased the trailer brand new in April 2019 from an Airstream dealer in Burlington Vt. and have been the sole owner of the unit. Is this unusual, has anyone else had this issue with their trailer?

[Boxite]

My ‘08 22FB has a 5200 lb Dexter axle with 12” brakes and six-bolt hubs/drums.

The most obvious method to determine which size brakes you have (other than direct inspection) is to observe the wheel bolt pattern…. Six lugbolts…. 12” brakes.

[davincent]

Thanks for the quick reply Boxite, and I do have the 6 lug bolt pattern. Any idea why we have the heavier capacity axles?

[richard5933]

Airstream specs out the heavier-capacity axle tubess specifically to get the 12" brakes. They also spec out a downgrade in the axle capacity.

In other words, you might have 6,000-lb axle tubes and 12" brakes but not a 6,000-lb capacity. The only way to know precisely what you have is to contact the Dexter customer service team with the numbers on your axle stickers. They can tell you every detail about your specific axles from the numbers, including the part numbers for seals, bearings, etc. Well worth the call.

[Action]

Originally Posted by davincent

Thanks for the quick reply Boxite, and I do have the 6 lug bolt pattern. Any idea why we have the heavier capacity axles?

That is very common to Airstream. Airstream orders a heavier duty torsion axle to get the 12"brakes. They also specify lower load capacity rubber torsion springs. Derated axle if you will. It gives a lot greater stopping capacity with a softer ride because of the derated spring capacity.

Very common to Airstream.

Many owners when replacing torsion spring axles on their Airstream will increase the load capacity of the rubber torsion springs by a few hundred pounds or more depending on trailer. A soft ride is a good thing. However, the originals are typically on the low end of handling the total load.

Action

[foobar]

Originally Posted by Action

That is very common to Airstream. Airstream orders a heavier duty torsion axle to get the 12"brakes. They also specify lower load capacity rubber torsion springs. Derated axle if you will. It gives a lot greater stopping capacity with a softer ride because of the derated spring capacity.



Very common to Airstream.



Many owners when replacing torsion spring axles on their Airstream will increase the load capacity of the rubber torsion springs by a few hundred pounds or more depending on trailer. A soft ride is a good thing. However, the originals are typically on the low end of handling the total load.



Action

Guilty as charged, lol.

My 2022 Globetrotter 27FB Twin came with the axle tubes and brakes from the 6000+lb Dexter family of products with 12" drum brakes.

However, as confirmed by Airstream tech support and Dexter, my rubber torsion elements were derated as requested by Airstream. Airstream specified 3800 lb axle load rated torsion elements.

This was specified for exactly the reason Action specified. Airstream wanted the 12" brake assembly, but 6000lb rated axles would ride too rough and beat the trailer up so 3800 lb rubber was used instead.

I replaced my axle tubes with 4200lb rated axles, again for the reason Action mentioned.

My trailer came from the factory with 987lb payload sticker limit instead of the 1300+lb rating shown in the trailer literature. Given that a full water tank weighs 330lbs, I will be payload challenged when boondocking with my trailer. So I upgraded my trailer axle rating to 4200lb each in order to provide adequate margin and a better ride quality given that I would be pushing the limits of the trailer GVWR rating.