ordered new axles but.....

[wayne.yl]

I think I may have made a mistake ordering new axles for our 34ft excella.
The three 3500 lb axles just came in today from Dexter axle. I ordered them with electric brakes but while my old drums come with 12x2 in brake pads, these are 10x 2-1/4in.
Do I need to send them back or will these brake drums give me enough braking for the excella?

[Action]

How about bolt pattern for the wheels?

And can the axles be sent back?
I thought once you placed the order you are an owner.

Action

[wayne.yl]

The bolt pattern is good. 6 lugs at 5.5 diameter
You are probably right about not being able to send them back.
So perhaps can I reuse my old drum and brakes? Or will the spindle and bearings be wrong size for the old drums?

[wayne.yl]

Originally Posted by wayne.yl

The bolt pattern is good. 6 lugs at 5.5 diameter

You are probably right about not being able to send them back.

So perhaps can I reuse my old drum and brakes? Or will the spindle and bearings be wrong size for the old drums?

I guess another question is, will I have enough brake to stop the 34 ft trailer?
Dexter says the 3500 lb axles comes standard with this brake setup 10 in x 2-1/4 in
Thoughts?

[n2916s]

Well, you will lose some swept area for the brake surfaces but, on the other hand you have 6 sets of brakes so I think you’ll be okay. Isn’t the Gross weight of a 90’s era 34’ about #10K?

I don’t know about the compatibility of the spindles. You might want to call E-Trailer — they sell a lot of Dexter and may be able to tell you.

[mikextr]

Yes. You will stop just fine. The Dexter engineers have determined that 10x2.25 brakes will give you plenty of stopping power on the 3500# axle. When I bought my axles, the only way to get 12 inch brakes was to go up to the next axle size which I think was 5000#.

[Shacksman]

Look at it this way 12 x 2 x 6 =144" of surface. 10 x 2.25 x 6 = 135" of surface. you will be fine considering that the brakes are also new, probably even work better.

[brokeboater]

#10's do come with 10" brakes and #11s come with 12s. I almost learned that mistake the hard way. If it were me I'd go with what you have and be fine with it. Dexter didn't design an axle capable of carrying a certain amount of weight but not be able to stop it. And all of those that came off the line new had the same brakes and there's no history of braking problems. I think if you've got to make a major mistake you picked a good one that really makes no difference.

[Al and Missy]

Originally Posted by Shacksman

Look at it this way 12 x 2 x 6 =144" of surface. 10 x 2.25 x 6 = 135" of surface. you will be fine considering that the brakes are also new, probably even work better.

I wouldn't bet my trailer on this but I think 12x2 is a shoe, of which there are 12. 9/135 or 18/270, either way braking power is down just over 6% new - new. New 135 probably better than old 144.

[wayne.yl]

Thanks all for the feedback! This does give me peace of mind about what I am putting back on the trailer. I guess the ultimate test is going to be when I am back out on the road (hopefully Labor Day weekend, if all goes well with the install), and I need to stop the rig and trailer!
As far as the weight of the my 92 excel, the plate on it says GVWR 8900#
GAWR 2800# each axle
I am hoping the 3500# axles are stout enough and will hold up for awhile.
Again, thanks for all the information! Hugely helpful.

[CBWELL]

Those are the same axles that I replaced on my '94, 34 ft rig. They stop the trailer very well!! You will have no problems with them. This is from actual experience!!

[joe_in_SAT]

If you ordered #10 3500's I'd be concerned about the bracket fit. According to the Dexter parts guide, the #10 bolt holes are only 8" apart and the overall bracket is 10".


On my '90 29' Excella with 2 x 3200# Henschen axles, the hole spacing is about 9 3/8" and the bracket is 11" even though the square axle tube is closer in size to a #10. My plan is to order a de-rated #11 @ 3500# so the bracket fits better. I understood that to be a common approach.


The 2800# Henschen axles may use a different bracket.

[wayne.yl]

Joe, you are right about the rear bracket bolt hole not lining up with the frame bolt hole. I’ll need to drill a new one to line up.
Now it’s just getting the holes to line up!!!

[ROBERT CROSS]

Our 3500 drums were the same size as the new 4000.
Both were standard, none of the 'NEVER' options.

Bob
🇺🇸

[brokeboater]

Originally Posted by wayne.yl

Joe, you are right about the rear bracket bolt hole not lining up with the frame bolt hole.

The frame bolt holes set the axle alignment. When switching from Henchen to Dexter you need to pick one set of holes, front or rear, and let them set the axle alignment. Then drill out the other hole for the match. You will no doubt end up with a considerably wallowed out hole but with washers on either side it really doesn't matter. If you use the rear holes for alignment that will make the shock travel a little bit less and if using 32 down axles the little bit makes all the difference. Also I found it expedient to bolt up the alignment holes with the axle brackets and torque it down to keep the axles from moving when drilling out the other set of holes. If the axle is able to shift a bit when drilling out the bracket holes it throws off your alignment.

[Ultraclassic]

Originally Posted by wayne.yl

I think I may have made a mistake ordering new axles for our 34ft excella.
The three 3500 lb axles just came in today from Dexter axle. I ordered them with electric brakes but while my old drums come with 12x2 in brake pads, these are 10x 2-1/4in.
Do I need to send them back or will these brake drums give me enough braking for the excella?

I think the square Inch of brake surface is the close,
12x2 =24"
10x 2.25 = 22.5" of braking area

I am no expert but if the single axles are for 3500 lbs then they are able to brake 3500lbs and 3 axles at 3500 x 3 =10,500lbs plenty capacity for a 33ft at 8600-9000lbs?.

Also new shoes, springs, drums, magnets should work better than the older ones...

[wayne.yl]

Finally Installed the new dexter axles and see that dexter routed brake wiring To one side of the Axle.
Question:
Does it make any difference to connect both brakes per axle to one side of the trailer wiring or wire each brake independently?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions...