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Topic ClosedReplacement axle?
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Replacement axle?
    Posted: 19 Sep 2018 at 12:23pm
Yep, that's what I figured furpod, you have to have some sidewall flex if you want to keep your trailer from shaking to pieces.

BTW, based on the weight and balance of the trailer as currently rigged ready to camp, I expect to be at about 3920 lbs trailer GVW fully loaded after I complete my power system and A/C mods, and at about 3550 trailer GAW including the wdh loading. So, I would have slightly exceeded the axle rating, not counting the presumed weight imbalance between the driver and passenger sides. The 4200 lb axle will restore some reserve axle load hopefully without pushing up the GVW much. 
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Posts: 473 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Sep 2018 at 3:35pm
Concerning bent axles -  

Originally posted by Keith-N-Dar

Fact is that roads are getting in worse shape every year.  People using their Pods will eventually have this trouble.

As Spock would say, "Fascinating!"

If the GAWR of the 3500# axle is 3000#, and a 176 UVW is 2839 #, AND the roads are getting worse, shouldn't travel trailer manufacturers state something like, 

       "We expect you to have to replace your axle unpredictably. Have a nice day. Smile"
"There comes a time in the affairs of a man when he must take the bull by the tail and face the situation" - W.C. Fields
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Sep 2018 at 3:55pm
Not if they want to keep selling trailers...99% of buyers don’t delve into it to this level. Do you know what they call a salesperson whose lips are moving? I’ll let you guess the rest, any present company in sales excepted of course.

GAWR is 3000 on a 3500 lb axle?
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Posts: 473 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Sep 2018 at 6:00pm
I don't want to highjack this thread.

I got the 'GAWR' term off a forum comment from 2016. I hope the terminology is correct. My axle just says "Capacity 3000 pounds" on a plate.

However, this is really just meant as an introduction to my next thread-relevant question - 

                    ??What is the rated capacity of the 4200# Dexter axle??

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Posts: 473 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Sep 2018 at 12:55pm
Amazing! No comments re 'rated capacity'!

So, I called Dexter at 864-263-3170 and talked to 'Justin', who seemed to know what he was talking about.

If I understood him right, 3000# capacity axles like ours have 3500# components but the rubber of the torqflex axle is tweaked to 3000# to better fit the requirements of the r-pod trailer's weight.

The next step up, the 4200# torqflex, requires 15" tires but is built more stoutly than the 3500# model. Presumably, the rubber would also need to be downgraded to 3000# capacity as with the 3500# one, but we didn't talk about that.

From my own poking around, for'ultralight trailers', I believe 3500# axles have been 'industry standard'. If indeed Vibes are now being upgraded to 4200# axles, that would be very good news if it became standard for r-pods. Having a bent axle of my own, in my opinion, 3500# axles are just too light.
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Posts: 1214 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Sep 2018 at 1:21pm
     It all comes down to cargo capacity! The Vibes are heavier than the r-pods and they were built in the beginning with 3,500 lb axles, the engineers were not thinking. After axles started bending they realized their mistake and the last two years the Vibes were built with a 4,400 lb. axle and 15" wheels. Some of the models if you filled the water tank to capacity you were left with about 100 lbs available for personal cargo. The Vibes were built for four years 2015 being the last year. I think maybe the Vistas or the Ascends in the beginning were built with the same problem very little cargo capacity.
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Posts: 6288 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Sep 2018 at 4:52pm
Here is a picture of the wear on the tire. On the inboard side of the tire, there is a pronounced step. When the trailer isn't up on the jacks, it looks like there is more bulge on the inboard side of the tire (driver's side) than on the outboard side and it did look like the tire was tilted inward at the top. I did not have any way to measure to see how much, but the wear is what is concerning me.
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Posts: 3419 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Sep 2018 at 5:05pm
SH,

I think I sent this link to you before, maybe wrong, very informative and simple.

https://www.centrevilletrailer.com/how-tos/trailer-axle-alignment-trailer-tire-wear/
Mike Carter
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Posts: 6288 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Sep 2018 at 10:28pm
Thanks. I'll check it tomorrow.
StephenH
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Sep 2018 at 10:42am
Well...here is an interesting update.

I pulled the part number on the 3500lb Lippert axle on my 2015 179, and called Lippert to find out if they made a bolt up higher capacity axle. The sales engineer said they should be able to configure a 4400 lb axle for me that would still use my existing wheels, but he wanted to confirm the exact  configuration with his engineering staff.

He checked with his guys (more than one apparently, to be sure they had it right) and called me back a few minutes later. He said that when they configured the 4400 lb axle all the parts were identical to what I already have, except that the label would state 4400 lb and not 3500...

So, it looks to me like Forest River ordered an axle that could have been rated at 4400 lbs and rated it at 3500 instead.  Pure speculation but can think of a couple reasons why they might do that. One is that the trailer frame is really the limiting factor in the design but they didn't want to call attention to that, so they derated the axle instead. Another is that they didn't want to advertise a trailer GVWR that high in order to keep the rPods slotted into the "liteweight" position in their product lineup. 

Hmmm...Any comments? 
1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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