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StephenH View Drop Down
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Posts: 6288 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Replacement axle?
    Posted: 20 May 2019 at 1:49pm
Originally posted by texman


it looks bent to me.  also, i just hauled the pod to put up for a while and no trailer brakes.  my brake controller works fine on a flatbed trailer with a bargman connecter, so i dont think it is the controller.  I just reread this whole thread and i am still not sure what Stephen H ended up doing, replace or no? Anyway i guess i am starting down this axle replacement routine.  Please give me some guidance.  I think it is a Dexter axle.

The tires on mine were wearing with significant wear on the inside shoulders of the tires. The wheels and tires were definitely splayed out. The dealer where I purchased it did the axle replacement along with brake and bearing replacement. The door side had leaked grease and although I had cleaned it up, the magnet showed signs of excessive wear also so the whole brake assemblies were replaced and a new hub was installed on the door side. The slide side hub was okay. Along with the axle repair, a leak in the slide-out was repaired. The whole job cost me about $3,000.  Given how many miles I have been in the pod, it probably worked out to about ten cents a mile.
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 May 2019 at 10:22am
Sorry to hear you're having problems. There should be a sticker on the axle which will tell you who made it and what the rating is. If its a Dexter, is the tube flat or turned as a diamond? Can you get the tube dimensions and thickness? 

The other thing to do is to see if its crowned (cambered) or not. Run a string line along the bottom and measure the gap in the center if there is one. 

Re the brakes, if both sides are out its most likely the wiring. If you've convinced yourself that its not a problem in the trailer connector itself, check the wiring to the magnets next.  The crummy insulation displacement connectors FR uses are pretty notorious for coming undone. You can also check for voltage at the brake magnet connections with your brake controller connected and energized (by taping the manual lever on or having a helper hold in on). 

good luck!
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texman View Drop Down
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Posts: 446 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 May 2019 at 10:06am

it looks bent to me.  also, i just hauled the pod to put up for a while and no trailer brakes.  my brake controller works fine on a flatbed trailer with a bargman connecter, so i dont think it is the controller.  I just reread this whole thread and i am still not sure what Stephen H ended up doing, replace or no? Anyway i guess i am starting down this axle replacement routine.  Please give me some guidance.  I think it is a Dexter axle. 
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 May 2019 at 4:30pm
Originally posted by GlueGuy

I also think you would have to put a doubler of some sort at the four points where the leaf springs attach to the frame.

+1
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Posts: 2628 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 May 2019 at 4:27pm
I also think you would have to put a doubler of some sort at the four points where the leaf springs attach to the frame.
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 May 2019 at 4:16pm
Originally posted by dcholden

I do not see any posts about using leaf springs and axle to replace the torsion axle.  Is there any reason why leaf springs and new a axle would not work to replace the torsion axle? We live full time in Baja Calif.,Mexico and most of our use is on very bad roads.

One of our members has suggested that but no one has tried it yet as far as I know. The only reason it wouldn't work that I can think of is that you might end up with a higher ride height than you would like. You would still have the same issue with a large overhang between the wheels and the trailer frame so a higher rated axle would probably be needed. 
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Posts: 2 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 May 2019 at 2:02pm
I do not see any posts about using leaf springs and axle to replace the torsion axle. Is there any reason why leaf springs and new a axle would not work to replace the torsion axle? We live full time in Baja Calif.,Mexico and most of our use is on very bad roads.
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 May 2019 at 8:23am
I finally got around to this this morning.

First, my frame tubes were 0.1 inch when I mic'd them, so marwayne, you might want to check your 1/8 inch number again. If FR/Lippert went from a 0.125 thick tube to a 0.1 thick one between 2012 and 2015, on a heavier rPod (179 vs 172) then that's truly annoying. 

I ran the load calcs on the frame. To keep things simple I  just assumed a uniform load from tongue to rear bumper. This tends to overestimate the weight on the tongue but I don't think that changes the end result too much, because the highest stress load on the frame occurs at the axle. 

Using my 0.1 inch frame thickness figure, I got a  bending stress at the axle of around 22 ksi assuming a trailer loaded to 3900 lbs. That only provides for a 1.65 bump load safety factor. Not real good. The other peak stress point is up front about 78 inches back from the tongue, but that point has an adequate safety factor of around 3. 

In reality, its not going to be that bad because the load on the frame from the axle is spread out somewhat and the trailer box will add stiffness. But either way, its a good idea to avoid putting heavy junk in the back of your trailer and an even better one to drive slow over bumps. 
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 May 2019 at 7:25am
Ok thanks marwayne, I recall my wall thickness was 0.1 inch vs your 0.125. I'll mike mine today and try to run an estimate of the load capacity of the frame. 
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marwayne View Drop Down
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Posts: 1002 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 May 2019 at 12:38pm
My tubing is 2x4 1/8 wall, the insert is 1 1/2 x 2 1/2 1/8 wall. I added shims where ever it is bolted together.
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