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Toyanvil 
Senior Member 
Joined: 15 Feb 2019 Location: Bakersfield Online Status: Offline Posts: 157 |
 Topic: My version of axle supportPosted: 03 May 2019 at 8:23am |
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If you install a 5200lb torsion axle you will only change your problems, you will be shaking your trailer apart. I have seen trailers with over sized axles shake the AC to the pint it is bending the roof down. If I change my axle, I be installing 3500lb leaf springs with 5200lb axle.
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offgrid
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Posted: 03 May 2019 at 7:15am |
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+1.
Assume no warranty if you modify the axle in any way. Lippert's warranty specifically excludes that. OTOH, none of the reinforcement fixes we've worked on here actually modify the axle itself, and they are all easily removable. If mine fails even after reinforcement I'll upgrade to a 5200 lb one which wouldn't be covered anyway.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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riotkayak284
Senior Member
Joined: 29 Apr 2016 Location: Nashville, TN Online Status: Offline Posts: 162 |
Posted: 03 May 2019 at 5:54am |
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Guys, while I am not an engineer, I am an attorney. I would like to point out that any modification to the axle will most likely void any warranty. With that being said, I do understand the reasoning.
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podwerkz
Senior Member
Joined: 11 Mar 2019 Location: Texas Online Status: Offline Posts: 966 |
Posted: 02 May 2019 at 4:20pm |
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Now THAT'S what I call, 'axle support'!
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r･pod 171 gone but not forgotten!
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Awchief
Groupie 
Joined: 04 May 2018 Location: Biloxi, MS Online Status: Offline Posts: 83 |
Posted: 02 May 2019 at 4:05pm |
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Hopefully she will post follow up information and photos. i am guessing it might take several weeks. If I find out more I will pass it on.
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Michael
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offgrid
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Posted: 02 May 2019 at 2:24pm |
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Great to hear Lippert is taking responsibility in at least one case. Do you have any particulars on what actually failed and the conditions?
If the other trailer was an rPod then Lippert made both the axle and the trailer frame, so if the failure was a bent axle tube it would be difficult for Lippert to say they weren't accountable for effects of the inboard frame rails on their axle.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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Awchief
Groupie
Joined: 04 May 2018 Location: Biloxi, MS Online Status: Offline Posts: 83 |
Posted: 02 May 2019 at 7:37am |
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Offgrid, Interesting response. For what it is worth, after posting this link on another forum I received a PM from a member. Their 6 year axle had failed on one side. After making a couple of phone calls to Lippert and follow up call from their shop Lippert is replacing their axle to include all labor and freight charges.
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Michael
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offgrid
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290 |
Posted: 01 May 2019 at 5:09am |
In reality the axle section between the supports does nothing to help with axle bending, so supporting it in the center doesn't help. There really isn't a need for the axle tube between the supports at all, other than to reduce the risk of twisting the trailer frame. That's how these work: But even with outboard frame rails you can't get the wheel loads right under the frame members so with the Timbren axles you need a crossbar to carry the moment (torque) so you don't twist the trailer frame. You potentially have the same issue with your axle end supports but I think you're OK as is. A crossmember couldn't hurt though. The rubber in the axle tube ends won't do anything to support the steel tube, its way too flexible. The tube is very stiff, so the deflection at which it fails is pretty small, only about 0.2 inches IIRC. That's why a flat tube with no crown is a clear indicator of a failed axle. If someone really wanted to make up a welded part that would solve the axle bending problem without replacing the axle itself, I think the best approach would probably be to fabricate a tube the same length as the axle tube that attaches to the frame and axle at the existing locations and also extends outboard to provide a vertical downward support for the axle ends. It wouldn't need to be clamped to the axle tube at the ends (or the center) to work. The part would also act as a replacement for the riser kit. Call it an axle reinforcement/riser kit combo. If you made it up from the same tube section as the axle it should roughly double the load capacity of the existing tube and provide about the same additional height as the existing riser kit. |
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
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Toyanvil
Senior Member
Joined: 15 Feb 2019 Location: Bakersfield Online Status: Offline Posts: 157 |
Posted: 30 Apr 2019 at 10:48pm |
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Marwayne, I like it and may build one for my trailer. I looked at adding a crossbar to mine, but did not think about adding a support in the middle. I was just looking at supporting my lift blocks. If I were to do it again, I would weld a crossbar from one lift block to the other and make it all one piece. I think yours will work since a Torsion axle is almost solid the first 20 inches or so and hollow in the center. The problem with the axle warranty, is FR did not build the RPOD's with the right frame rail spacing. Axle companies recommend the frame rail to hub face not be over the 9 inch max, RPOD's are 15 inches. The sad thing is, it looks like FR is still doing it 10 years later.
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lostagain
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2587 |
Posted: 30 Apr 2019 at 2:34pm |
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From a legal perspective
 it seems that the bendy part of the axle is outside of the frame rails and that's what you need to ultimately reinforce with out moving the problem somewhere else. So, either offgrid's or Toyanvil approaches ought to help reduce the stress. I think Toyanvil's solution is much more appealing from a design aesthetic point of view, and like marwayne's work it was beautifully executed, but for simplicity and reducing the risk of moving stress points to uncontemplated places, the elegantly simple design of offgrid's angle iron support under the full length of the axle seems like it strengthens the bendy spot of the axle while not moving the force to create another weak spot. But, what the heck do I know, I'm a lawyer not an engineer. So I vote that marwayne and Toyanvil get together and make a kit using offgrid's design and I'll be one of the first to buy one. [note to marwayne: My dad moved from northern Minn. to avoid the kind of cold you have right now and ended up being nice and warm in Bakersfield. You could head down there for a couple months in the winter as we go to Colombia, to escape the cold.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
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My version of axle support