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offgrid View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Topic: Replacement axle?
    Posted: 09 May 2019 at 12:30pm
Ok, got it. Just to confirm, your 172 frame tubing is 2 x 4 x .01 inches, right? 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 May 2019 at 11:47am
The tubing you see here goes all the way to the front.


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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 May 2019 at 11:42am
Originally posted by marwayne

I reinforced my  frame about 7 years ago. I took out all the screws out of the outer rails and inserted a 1 1/2" by 2 1/2" tubing and bolted them together.

Do you have a photo of what you did marwayne? 


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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 May 2019 at 10:32am
I reinforced my  frame about 7 years ago. I took out all the screws out of the outer rails and inserted a 1 1/2" by 2 1/2" tubing and bolted them together.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 May 2019 at 9:47am
I agree. I wouldn't suggest or consider a heavier axle in order to add load beyond the 3500 lb spec. I'd consider it f I have an axle failure at my current weight (just under 3500) even though I reinforced my axle. 

One of these days I'll take a look at the frame load again and see how much safety factor there is in that. But regardless of where the frame comes out you'd still be picking up liability if something bad happened and you were knowingly overweight on your trailer.  
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 May 2019 at 9:20am
I've been following the axle issues with interest.  It appears that strengthening the axle outboard of the frame rails is pretty good idea if you are carrying weight approaching the capacity of the axle or are traveling on roads that could stress that weakness to the point of failure.  The three designs by offgrid, Toyanvil, and marwayne all offer creative and viable solutions to reducing the risk of bending the axle while loaded under normal conditions.

On the other hand, I have my doubts about the value of going to a larger capacity axle.  Not that it wouldn't be stronger, but rather that that if you loaded the trailer consistent with the capacity of the axle you'd be overloading the basic frame and would just be moving the risk of failure to another weak point.  The frame and the axle, I suppose though I'm far from an engineer, function as a single unit and like a weak link in a chain all you are really doing by going to a heavier axle is moving the weak link to a different location.  

The Pod is a lightweight trailer that has its limitations and appeals to a specific market nitch.  It shouldn't be overloaded beyond its design capacity.  Attempting to increase its design capacity, in my opinion, is asking for problems.  If you are unsatisfied with the GVW of the Pod, a better solution would to be invest in a travel trailer that will handle the loads you wish to carry.  
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 May 2019 at 5:20pm
Originally posted by condensed

After explaining to the rep at Lippert that I had a bent axle he said that if I upgraded to a heavier duty axle it would affect the ride of the trailer body negatively with a rougher ride.

Whether or not you should get a heavier axle will depend on ow much weight you're carrying on it. if its not near its 3500 lb limit then it probably bent from hitting a pothole really hard or something like that, and a heavier axle wouldn't be either needed or desirable.  But if its at or near its load limit then a heavier axle would probably be an appropriate choice because replacing it with the same axle will likely just result in another bent axle, and because you'd be in the appropriate weight range for the next size up, so the ride wouldn't be a significant issue. 

Can you weigh your axle as you load your trailer currently? Try a public scale or your local wast transfer station.  If you use a weight distribution hitch,  leave that tensioned, it adds weight to the rear axle. 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 May 2019 at 3:07pm
After explaining to the rep at Lippert that I had a bent axle he said that if I upgraded to a heavier duty axle it would affect the ride of the trailer body negatively with a rougher ride.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Oct 2018 at 11:03am
I'm waiting to hear from the dealer's service department. Hopefully, that will be soon.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Oct 2018 at 7:52am
StephenH, just as an update, I gave up for now on my axle upgrade research. I was working on it primarily because I had already made the decision to upgrade to 15 inch wheels and tires and wanted to be confident that I wouldn't need to then get a 5200+ lb axle and turn right around and buy yet another set of 6 lug wheels. 

But it just became too frustrating to get a straight answer from anyone and I also got sticker shock on the cost of a new axle plus new brakes and hubs, about $900.  And after all I don't have an axle problem now and I drive very slowly when I get on rough roads. 

So, I went ahead and ordered  15 inch 5 x 4.5 wheels and 225/75R15 LRD tires to fit the oem axle. The tires and wheels are rated at 2520 lbs so at least this will reduce the likelihood of a catastrophic failure on the road. Axle problems seem like they take time to develop and give  plenty of warning via tire wear, while overloaded tires can suffer blowouts. Time will tell if I made the right decision or not I guess.

I know you have your trailer in the shop now so I'm very curious to hear what they find when they inspect your axle and what solution you go with, so do please keep us posted.

Thanks!



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