Downside to installing new axles ?

[Bill M.]

My trailer is an 88 with lots of miles. I do not see much up and down movement of the axles when I jack it up to change tires. How much movement should there be with a good axle? It seems to ride a little low, but not much. Things stay in place when we travel. My brakes are pretty new. I am thinking about doing an axle job complete with brakes, etc. Is there any reason to be wary of this? Do the new self adjusting brakes work well?

[Farmer Dan]

Bill,
With my sons help I put new axles under my '89 25' Excella last fall. Things didn't seem to move around in the trailer as we traveled either. The axle angle mentioned in so many other posts of owners replacing axles was my reason. My spindle bracket position was parallel with the ground. I plan to keep this trailer quite a while and have some big travel plans in the near future. Probably the biggest change noticed so far is the difference in height. It raised the trailer 3"!! I got the self adjusting brakes and Centramatics which were both suggested by Andy at Inland. The self adjust feature didn't cost much more, so seemed a no-brainer to me. Centramatics are high on many others recommendations so thought I'd try them. I can't tell you about the performance yet since we have pulled only 200 miles since installation.
Dan

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Bill M.

My trailer is an 88 with lots of miles. I do not see much up and down movement of the axles when I jack it up to change tires. How much movement should there be with a good axle? It seems to ride a little low, but not much. Things stay in place when we travel. My brakes are pretty new. I am thinking about doing an axle job complete with brakes, etc. Is there any reason to be wary of this? Do the new self adjusting brakes work well?

Replacing axles is not a big deal.

There is a new type electric brakes that are self adjusting, which keeps them at 100 percent, at least until they are worn out.

If the torsion arms don't move, or move a small amount when the weight is removed, suggests that the rubber rods have solidified. The tire should move about 3 inches, when the rubber rods are OK.

If the trailer was parked for 2 to 3 years or more, that then is the reason for the failure.

Rubber must be exercised to stay alive.

Replacing axles on a tandem trailer, does not even require a jack.

Andy

[Skatiero]

It is a good idea to replace them every 20 years regardless because rubber gets old and hard over time. I just replaced mine on our 89-29' a couple of weeks ago in my driveway at home by myself. It was throwing things around inside and a drawer front came off so its best to do it before things get damaged like ours. I'm not sure if you are doing it yourself but I put mine on jack stands, dropped both down on to moving dollies and rolled them out. Oh yeah the gas line ran through mine so I pulled that out first then dropped them. I made a special jig out of a 4x6 to hold the axle while jacking it up in the middle. The axle wants to roll because of the torsion arms hanging so I used two more jacks at each end to roll and lift it right into place. I got self adjusting brakes and I put new shocks on at the same time. No more bouncing around and it raised it 2-3 inches. I took a lot if pics if you ever want to see it.
Rob

[perryg114]

I would not expect them to drop more than 2 or 3 inches. If you rock the trailer you should see some movement of the shell relative to the rim. My 81 axels are getting tired but they seem to be doing their job still. The trailer does not seem to shake much going over bumps or rail road tracks. I sometimes watch the front of the trailer in the rear view mirror and I don't see it moving around much relative to the truck window frame. I also look out the mirrors and it looks fine there too. If the control arms are at less than zero degrees then I would definately consider replacement. When the spindle is higher than the axel beam they are pretty much shot. Movement is good for them. You can get new complete backing plates for the axels you have now. Tire balance is as important as axel condition. Running 80psi in your tires will transfer a lot of vibration the the trailer. Tires absorb the small stuff and the axels take the big slow hits like going over a rail road track or hitting a pot hole. 80psi it going to be like having a solid wheel. You will get less sway and role but the trailer will suffer.

If you have $1400 that you don't need then replace them. If you are going to replace them to get new brakes also consider disk brakes.

Perry

Originally Posted by Bill M.

My trailer is an 88 with lots of miles. I do not see much up and down movement of the axles when I jack it up to change tires. How much movement should there be with a good axle? It seems to ride a little low, but not much. Things stay in place when we travel. My brakes are pretty new. I am thinking about doing an axle job complete with brakes, etc. Is there any reason to be wary of this? Do the new self adjusting brakes work well?