Video - Successful Axle Job on 1964 Safari

[JitneyBead]

This past weekend, the Beader and I swapped out the axle on the her 1964 Safari.

I studied these forums and all the articles to get a feel for the job. I needed to work quickly to prep for a long trip coming up next week and so I did the "one call" route and went with Inland RV.

Long story short is that I took pictures and shot video throughout the day and now I'm sharing it back with the forum.

A bit about the video - it's my first video using Picassa software and apparently you can't use MOV files to create it. So I reference other videos within the "Main" video. Basically you can watch the main video and go to "sub" videos to see details. Hopefully it will make sense.

YouTube - 1964 Airstream Safari Axle Swap - Main video

For all of you wonder if you should replace your axle -

I present this sub video showing a really bad axle.

Thanks to Brian (Cochese on the forums) and our welder Christopher and of course the Beader for letting me wrench on her AS.

Message me with any questions.

Jitney

[tkasten]

Great job! Very well documented. Love those Safaris.

[marzboy]

Nice!! Im getting ready to replace my axles on my 65. Where did you get your Axles? Which kind are they?

[JitneyBead]

Originally Posted by marzboy

Nice!! Im getting ready to replace my axles on my 65. Where did you get your Axles? Which kind are they?

I went with the Henschen from InLand RV. Probably paid more than I had to with other options but my time was short to get it done.

You'll have an easy time, considering you're down to a bare frame! I'd make that your next job!

Jitney

[Lance M]

Hey Jitney,
Nice videos. Good documentation of what you did to get the job complete. Glad you got the job completed and you are happy with it.

If you could clarify a few questions I'd appreciate it.
As far as I know, Henschen closed it's doors and stopped making axles in June of 2010. Did you purchase an axle that was "in stock" from Inland or was it a new build Axis?

Did you intend to get an axle with the hub face to hub face measurement different to accommodate the new wheel and tire combo?

Knowing what you know now would you have done anything differently?

Inland Andy always touts the "Exact replacement. No cutting, drilling or welding required" of the axles he sells. I see that was not the case with your axle installation.

[JitneyBead]

Ho-boy...I'm reluctant to go down this path. This subject has been beat to death and everyone is entitled to their opinion.

Here is mine:

I went with Inland primarily out of convenience. I had to make the order one week, take delivery the next week, do the install one weekend and then immediately the next weekend drive 2K roundtrip. Since they delivered everything – assembled axle, three wheels and tires, shocks, balancers - in about a week, I have to assume my axle was in stock.

Having read the forums, I did decide to ditch the 14.5 rims in favor of 15 inch rims - availability of tires made this the best decision for me.

IF I had chosen to keep the 14.5 wheels, I believe I would have had a hub face to hub face issue. To answer your question, no, I did not anticipate a different hub face to hub face dimension. As I indicate in the video, the new running gear DID fit inside the wheelwells and on the frame, which is what matters most. Again, without replacing the wheels, I would have had fit issues.

As you indicate, the job was not a bolt-up replacement, but Andy did not ever suggest it was to me. It may be a bolt up replacement for other years, but he made it clear that I would have to drill holes in the frame and through the axle mount to secure the axle to the frame. He also made it clear I would have to weld on the mounting brakes for the shocks.

What I did NOT anticipate was having to notch the axle opening to accommodate a larger axle than the stock axle. Thanks to the forums, I understood that this had happened to others and so I knew to just notch it wider to one side. It was an extra 20 minutes with a cutting wheel, which fortunately was in the shop I was using.

Welding – or for most, getting a welder – is the barrier here for some. Again, the forums and Andy made it clear that this is not that big of a deal. My welder spent more time setting up than welding.

About Andy: He was courteous, if a bit short. I’m sure he’s had to deal with know it alls and cheap-a$$ do it yourselfers who call him up asking for advice and then not taking it. That said, I did not find he was particularly helpful or service oriented. I did not receive any follow up calls or e-mails. I didn’t have any major problems so I couldn’t test his response. The best quality of InLand is that it was one call to make. In short – I paid a lot of money and got what I paid for, no more, no less. I am extremely happy with the results but would rank the forums and my own abilities above what I got from InLand.

What would I do differently? If I had the luxury of time, I certainly would have researched other options and tried to reduce my total cost. Clearly, InLand is not the only source for acceptable axles, they’re simply the easiest. Andy’s posted far more than I have and knows more than I do, but he is stubborn (his steadfast refusal to accept that 14.5 wheels were factory installed in the face of overwhelming evidence makes me consider his expertise finely salted) and is keen to protect his market. These are not finely tuned instruments – they are axles designed to do a couple of things really well.

My advice is to really get under your trailer and measure every dimension you can. Know the weight of your trailer. And then call around to the contacts on other forums.


Best of luck.
Jitney

[Robert Burns]

I have a 64 safari, same situation, with axles needing replacing for the same reasons .... those are super instructional videos ... they will be so helpful to us when we do ours ... great info, invaluable ... ps; I have that years manual you can have free as a pdf if you don't have yours .... great sharing ... best Rob
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[Robert Burns]

Hi there
I have my new axle and went to find your incredibly informative videos ... but it says they are private and need a log in now ??? ... is that something you can give me or is youtube playing up ??? .... best Robert Burns

[rogerdodger]

Originally Posted by Robert Burns

Hi there
I have my new axle and went to find your incredibly informative videos ... but it says they are private and need a log in now ??? ... is that something you can give me or is youtube playing up ??? .... best Robert Burns

That happened to me too!!

[dwightdi]

I also found your videos blocked from public viewing. I would like to see them. Is there something you can do to open them to the public again?

[JitneyBead]

Sorry all... I was fiddling with some privacy settings for some other videos and I unintentionally privatized them. I don't get on the forums much so I didnt' see these recent posts till now. Again, sorry.

I've fixed them and you should be able to view them. Enjoy!

Jitney