Current Situation With Axle Business

[dherder]

DriftingDrew,
I have had the exact same experience. I have now been waiting over 8 weeks for my axles from InlandRV. The worst part is that it is about to snow and my trailer is up on lift jacks awaiting axles so I can move it to cover.

I have tried to get confirmation from Michele at inland and the phone rings for quite some time and immediately disconnects.

I can appreciate the personal issue with a death in the family, but this is really a business matter and I’ve been charged over $2000 on a credit card and I’m still without any indication that my order will arrive at all.

[DriftingDrew]

Originally Posted by dherder

DriftingDrew,
I have had the exact same experience. I have now been waiting over 8 weeks for my axles from InlandRV. The worst part is that it is about to snow and my trailer is up on lift jacks awaiting axles so I can move it to cover.

I have tried to get confirmation from Michele at inland and the phone rings for quite some time and immediately disconnects.

I can appreciate the personal issue with a death in the family, but this is really a business matter and I’ve been charged over $2000 on a credit card and I’m still without any indication that my order will arrive at all.

Oh, wow! Glad I posted. 8 weeks?? And yes, winter makes this all the more problematic. I've just contacted Redneck Trailer (to whom the axles are supposed to be shipped) and they said they tried contacting InlandRV with no response, so I might cancel my original order/stop payment and deal directly with Redneck. Perhaps you can do likewise?

On a side note, I see you're in Kelowna - I spent a week in Vernon one winter a few years back and loved it up there!

[dherder]

Thanks for the reply, drew. I will be contacting my credit card company and will immediately start the fraud investigation process against inland.

Thanks for the follow up and I will contact Redneck direct as well.

Dave

[Al and Missy]

Everyone,
Try to find a local parts house that does business with Redneck. My local place ordered the axles, had them delivered (Redneck truck, no charge) and I could have picked them up if I wanted but they had a guy that installed them for a price that I would not do the work for. All that for way less than than Drifting Drew reported above.

It’s not rocket science. Get the Dexter order form, study it to see what you need to get from your axles. Crawl under your trailer and get the needed configuration items (how the mounting brackets face, etc.) and dimensions. Take note of the mounting hole dimensions; my original Henschen axles mounting holes were spaced slightly fifferently from the new Dexters. All that was required in my case was to enlarge one hole slightly each end of the axle.


Dexter has a brochure on their website that gives dimensional data for all their axles.

https://www.dexteraxle.com/docs/defa...).pdf?sfvrsn=2


Airstream provided me with a table describing axles for a lot of trailers but I don’t think it went back to 1973.

I can provide the order form.
Found it:
Order form for Classic 30 SLideout Axles Beam Only.pdf

Al

[DriftingDrew]

Thanks Al!
Oddly, I had originally gone to Redneck Trailers in person and placed an order directly through Redneck Trailers for 2 Lippert Axles (they told me Lippert was usually cheaper than Dexter and specialized in the RV scene). I have the order form they printed right in front of me, but 3 days after placing the order, I called for a confirmation number and they said they hadn't placed it because the quoted price of $771 per axle was wrong and it would now cost $841 per axle (not sure why they didn't call me to tell me this). I had a quoted price from InlandRV for $795 per axle (even though they order through Redneck as well), so I went with InlandRV...and, as you can surmise, now regret it.

[dbj216]

Getting axle replacements is becoming a real pain. I regret the bad review from Inland RV. They used to be quite good, and I hope it is just a couple of isolated incidents. Inland RV has a great advertisement in Airstream Life.

I hear Colin Hyde's axle business is improving. He has been the axle guru from the east for years. I purchased axles from him in 2013 and had a satisfactory experience.

I purchased my Overlander axles from Luke Bernander in Fort Collins, CO. Like the others, he is very knowledgeable about vintage Airstream axles and can get the Dexter order form correct in accordance to your desires and your trailer. My new axles and shocks await installation.

I did try a local Dexter axle dealer here in the Denver area. Nice folks, knew nothing about Airstream axles even though I had the old ones in the truck. They gave me the Dexter order form and said they would place the order when I completed it. They also said don't mess up as there are no refunds on special order axles. I had no confidence in my ability to measure "hub face to hub face" on my axles as required on the order form. See photo. And where did you say you wanted the shock mounts welded?

I wish Airstream Service Center in Jackson Center would take on drop shipping replacement axles for vintage trailers. They know the specs, and they order hundreds of axles every week. Yep, it would be a hassle for them to serve us, but I would think it would be a profitable business for them. And I bet they would be responsive to our inquiries.

David

[Hittenstiehl]

David that's quite similar for us.

Got the first ones thru Colin after talking to Steve at length. Andy (Inland) was quite helpful also in getting us headed in the right direction but at that time he was a little bit more expensive.

We caught Colin at a not busy time and based on our serial number he was able to order us exactly what we needed.

We now need a second set 4 Hour 61 Globetrotter and after talking with Colin he told us where to measure from. Seeing as how that conversation was a year ago we're going to be calling him again. We're going to ask him to explain to us again while hubby and I are together on speakerphone so that we can both understand quite clearly what the description is of what point we need to measure to and from exactly.

[tbashin]

I ordered my axles from Inland RV last year and it went just like they said it would. All I gave them was the VIN # and year and model. Shock mounts, and extra bearings and seals showed up a few days later and axles arrived at my work (business address with a forklift) just as described. I dealt with Lizz at Inland.

[GuitarmanFL]

Hey Guys!

I emailed Colin two weeks ago and never heard back. Twice. I called him last year (unrelated to axles) and never got a response, so he seems unreliable.

My Overlander weighs 6,300 pounds fully loaded, but with no water. Water would add ~ 400 pounds. Bringing my max weight to 6,700 pounds.

Questions #1 should I go with two 3,500 axles or 2 4,000 pound axles?

Question #2 is should I go with Dexter #10F (4,000 pounds) or #11 (also 4,000 pounds) BUT with 12" brakes and I'd need to buy all new tires too...

I do't want it to get too stiff @ an 8,000 pound capacity, and 7,000 pound would still exceed my total max weight.

Thoughts???

[TouringDan]

Colin is the man. Hang in there with him. He will order you the correct axles at a very competitive price.

I would ask Colin these same questions and go with his recommendation. We all have our opinions, but he is the expert.

Dan

[Al and Missy]

Originally Posted by GuitarmanFL

Hey Guys!

I emailed Colin two weeks ago and never heard back. Twice. I called him last year (unrelated to axles) and never got a response, so he seems unreliable.

My Overlander weighs 6,300 pounds fully loaded, but with no water. Water would add ~ 400 pounds. Bringing my max weight to 6,700 pounds.

Questions #1 should I go with two 3,500 axles or 2 4,000 pound axles?

Question #2 is should I go with Dexter #10F (4,000 pounds) or #11 (also 4,000 pounds) BUT with 12" brakes and I'd need to buy all new tires too...

I do't want it to get too stiff @ an 8,000 pound capacity, and 7,000 pound would still exceed my total max weight.

Thoughts???

Don't forget to subtract your tongue weight from GVW since it is not carried by the axles. Guessing that might be around 700#, that would put your axle load at around 6000#. I'd go for the two 3500# axles. That is 16% margin. If you go too heavy the ride will be stiff.

Al

[Cheoah]

Originally Posted by TouringDan

Colin is the man. Hang in there with him. He will order you the correct axles at a very competitive price.

I would ask Colin these same questions and go with his recommendation. We all have our opinions, but he is the expert.

Dan

So what does hang in there mean? Like months? Or a year? Lol. Numerous calls and emails? Nah. Surely he doesn’t expect people to do that??? Perhaps he didn’t even sign up for this axle deal?

He never responded to me either. I think I even have the same model. That guy has so much going on that he can’t possibly keep up with. I’m sure he’s a great guy, but I’ve read of people sending their money into a black hole, with no communication, and significant delays. Don’t know if that’s the case, but that’s the firm impression I have from very little time lurking here. I would have eagerly paid him for the right axles if that were a possibility. My need isn’t pressing, but I get the impression some people hauled shoddy running gears around waiting to play phone tag with a guy they sent a grand+ to. Nothin personal, that’s just v e r y bad business.

Hard to get excited about some bespoke axle order that takes forever and a day, endless emails, fan letters, etc. I’m gonna go to the Redneck dealer and see what they can do, but perhaps vis a vis Inland. I’ll report back here if there’s anything to say.

Cheers, and Happy Holidays to all. Here’s to axles in your stocking!

[MrSalt]

Originally Posted by Cheoah

So what does hang in there mean? Like months? Or a year? Lol. Numerous calls and emails? Nah. Surely he doesn’t expect people to do that??? Perhaps he didn’t even sign up for this axle deal?

He never responded to me either. I think I even have the same model. That guy has so much going on that he can’t possibly keep up with. I’m sure he’s a great guy, but I’ve read of people sending their money into a black hole, with no communication, and significant delays. Don’t know if that’s the case, but that’s the firm impression I have from very little time lurking here. I would have eagerly paid him for the right axles if that were a possibility. My need isn’t pressing, but I get the impression some people hauled shoddy running gears around waiting to play phone tag with a guy they sent a grand+ to. Nothin personal, that’s just v e r y bad business.

Hard to get excited about some bespoke axle order that takes forever and a day, endless emails, fan letters, etc. I’m gonna go to the Redneck dealer and see what they can do, but perhaps vis a vis Inland. I’ll report back here if there’s anything to say.

Cheers, and Happy Holidays to all. Here’s to axles in your stocking!

Just have to say, send an email, and call. I did do both, and my Argosy is sitting on it's new, custom axle from Colin. I got it exactly when they said I would, and it was customized perfectly. (bigger axle, 12" brakes, downrated to 3700 lbs...)

Ity worth contacting them again, rather than ending up with something that some random trailer dealer *thinks* will work.

[MrSalt]

Ugh. Sorry for the typos and extra apostrophe. On the phone version, and distracted.

[Cheoah]

Originally Posted by MrSalt

Just have to say, send an email, and call. I did do both, and my Argosy is sitting on it's new, custom axle from Colin. I got it exactly when they said I would, and it was customized perfectly. (bigger axle, 12" brakes, downrated to 3700 lbs...)

Ity worth contacting them again, rather than ending up with something that some random trailer dealer *thinks* will work.

Tnx Mr Salt, gớod to get some different perspectives. Too often we just get the complaints. I’ll keep that in mind, though most accounts point to a very busy man.

[OTRA15]

These "colin hyde" search results may contain some helpful info from other threads here:

https://www.google.com/search?q=coli...com&gws_rd=ssl

Good luck,

Peter

FWIW

[DriftingDrew]

Here's my update:
I finally got Lippert axles through Redneck, but it was touch and go there for a bit. The order with Redneck was placed on November 15th and they arrived in Arlington on December 13th.

The total for two 4400# torsion axles with 12" self-adjusting brakes at 45 degrees down: $1,778.31.

I also bought 8 new 5/8ths Grade 8 bracket bolts with flat washers and locking nuts: $30 at the local hardware store.

It came with new lug nuts as the new wheel/brake assemblies had lug studs (unlike the originals which had threaded sockets for lug bolts).

NOTE: These things are H E A V Y - I'm assuming they're in the 250 lb. range (when I scrapped the old 3200# Henschens, they were 207 lbs each, and these are heavier), so have a helper or two. The 45 degree down angle has lifted our Excella about 3", though the old axles were shot and the torsion arms never moved from their parallel position with the frame, so change was expected and we're happy with the result.

I will need to source (not from Inland!) the shock brackets and shocks at a later date (lots of opinions on this, but I added shocks to my Casita and it really helped the two or three tugs I would feel on my truck after going over a significant hump/bump, so I'm a fan).

I hope this helps others navigate what should be a fairly straightforward transaction.

[BigAl]

Just glanced at the last few posts on this thread. I have heard before that Colin is hard to get a hold of. I had no problems. Last winter I called their phone number and spoke with their office personel and told them what I wanted. Sent an email to confirm details. Placed order and was told it would take about 4 to 6 weeks. Arrived exactly as ordered and on time.
Al