Any thoughts appreciated

[kylemcc67]

K so I am having a restored 71 over lander inspected out west as I live in ct. The airstream dealer service man said the bearings brakes tires all look good but when I asked about axles he kind of said that it wasn't a concern. So I guess my question is should it be a concern on a 71 and how do u inspect an axle? Thx in advance

[mimiandrews]

Inland RV has a good article on axle condition on their website. Go to the link for Axles and click the link within that page. inlandrv.com

[MarkR]

well it's definitely a "concern". if you're just trying to get it home, then it'd likely be fine. then when you have it in your possession you can determine if it needs to be replaced by reading the criteria discussed on these forums or elsewhere. i'd ask your "inspector" to take some photos of the axle, and/or their opinion as to it's age - there might be a mfr sticker(?), it think mine has one. and regardless, if it's original from '71, then it needs replacing (which doesn't mean it can't roll down the road, it means that prolonged use will harm the trailer) . . . good luck.

[Belegedhel]

Well, if it is a "restored" trailer, then the axle will likely have been replaced. Hopefully you have gotten/can get a list of all the things the restorer repaired/replaced, and you will see whether the axle was attended to or not. Conventional wisdom is that the rubber rods in your torsion axle have a life of around 25 yrs, but results vary, hence the exhaustive lists of criteria for what is good or bad.

good luck

[HowieE]

if the axles are torsion type the condition may warrant consideration when you get it home but should not be a consideration to bring it home.

The condition of that type axle is determined but inspection the angle the trailing arm, from the axle tube to the spindle, has. new axles will have a downward angle from the axle tube to the spindle. As the axle ages that angle can become an upward angle, replacement time.

I would be far more interested in the date code and manufacture of the tires. Tread condition may give you a false indication if the tires are in fact OLD.

[kylemcc67]

Ok so if the torsion arms are in a positive angle the axle should be ok to trailer back to CT from AZ. But it sounds like if it is an original axle that it would need to be replaced soon even if the torsion arms are in a positive angle. Is this right? I also gathered that I should look for an badge or number of some sort that might indicate if they have been replaced at some point. Thanks for all ur help.

[Foiled Again]

"FROZEN" is the word you want to pay attention to. If you jack the trailer up and the tires stay UP in the wheel wells, you've got an axle problem. With a 71 it's likely just lost all of it's bounce, but on a newer trailer - get under there (after securing everything with jack stands) - and look for a broken axle!