Inverted drop axle?

[erikgreen]

Well, I'm thrashing around trying to get my trailer driveable. I managed to get ahold of a couple of prefab axles the right size. Only, they're underslung drop axles and my springs only allow overslung (no space on top of the spring crosswise). Please don't ask how I ended up with this.. I was trying to save money and it *almost* worked :\

Anyway, I was wondering if I could just invert the drop axles... I know this will make the whole trailer about 3 inches higher than before and change the way it handles and launches, and I know the axle is prebent the wrong way, but is there another reason it won't work?

Basically this means bolting the axles' mounting pads to the springs upside down. Because of the way the pads and drops face, the spindles are then 3 inches lower than the springs.

My best guess is that the welds on the axle mounting pads are strong enough for this - if the axles were mounted on top of the springs, drops pointing up, all the weight of the trailer would be trying to tear those pads off the axle.

Mounted upside down, all the weight of the trailer will be trying to push the springs through the axle, except some forward/back force trying to twist the pads off the axle. Basically the only difference from a "regular" overslung axle mounting scheme is the drops offset the spindle location downward.

I could weld a new mounting pad on other side of the axle so I could mount 'em correctly I guess... but the reason I bought prefab axles is so I didn't have to weld the spindles, so I'm not sure how much better welding these pads will be. Argh.

Trailers are almost as much trouble as boats

Erik

 

[djvan]

Re: Inverted drop axle?

I would recommend welding another pair of spring perches (pads) on the other side of the axle and installing the axle as it was intended. Your idea may work but it seems to me that it might put undue stress on things that weren't intended for such stresses.

DougV>

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Inverted drop axle?

The incorrect camber will also cause excessive tire wear. A cambered axle tends to straighten the wheels when a load is added. By inverting the axle this ADDs to the camber and increases the camber angle, not lessens it. You really don't want to do this. Weld on the new perches and be done with it. The perches could be cut off and rewelded. Rent an electic cut-off tool to cut the welds. Or chuck a cut-off wheel in your drill.

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Inverted drop axle?

Okay, thanks for the input.

I think what I'll do is see if I can tweak the trailer a bit to make room for the axle above the springs. It may be only a matter of raising the cross bars an inch or so, in which case I could get by with shimming it up with a bolt-on pad of some sort.

Otherwise, I'll make some new pads... the cut-off tool doesn't seem controllable enough to me, and my milling machine will be much easier

Erik

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Inverted drop axle?

Quick update - I figured out I only need to raise the main carriage of the trailer 3 inches to clear the axles in the "correct" position.. so I'm welding some 6 inch pieces of the old axle tubes (square tubes with 1/4" walls) in the right spot to give me that clearance.

Then I'll mount the drop axles on top of the springs. The trailer will ride 4 inches lower, but the main section will only be 1 inch lower.

The big gain though is that I'll have new axles, brakes, bearings, seals, drums, a break-away kit, and a lot of peace of mind that my trailer won't cause another accident.

Erik