Using Half-Axles

[angib]

John just up the road from me has got his trailer frame and it has a perfect demonstration of how to mount half-axles, so I thought I would post them here.

This is the frame upside-down. A cross-member tube is added under the frame with mounting plates for the half-axles welded to each end:



Here is the frame the right way up with the half-axle bolted to the mounting plate:



The one downside of this method is that the half-axles are mounted about 2" lower than a full axle would be, so the trailer deck height would be about 2" greater.

Here is John's teardrop build gallery.

Andrew

[PaulC]

Andrew, How come I cannot see any photo's. All I get is a little emblem stating this pic is hosted by tripod- whatever that means
Cheers
Paul

[asianflava]

Tripod doesn't allow you to link directly to pics that they host. You can see them if you click the link to the gallrey.

[PaulC]

Thanks asianflava
Cheers
Paul

[Arne]

Is there a slideshow option I missed.. very tedious clicking on next and waiting for the next pic to load... also, some, like yahoo I think, allow thumbnails so you can click on what you want to see... I wanted to see the axle set up, and it took a while to get to it, and no close up.

[Steve_Cox]

Seems the benefit of stub axles is negated by installing them on a box tube that runs across the frame. Could have used a regular torsion axle and not had to drill or weld nearly as much. Also adds to the height of the trailer.

[madjack]

Seems the benefit of stub axles is negated by installing them on a box tube that runs across the frame. Could have used a regular torsion axle and not had to drill or weld nearly as much. Also adds to the height of the trailer.

....my thoughts perzactly...now and in the past......................................

[SteveH]

I don't get it....Why put the piece of tubing between the stubs and the frame? I'd have put the tubing between the rails like a standard cross piece, welded the plate to that and the outer rails, and bolted on the stubs. It would be lower, cleaner looking, and probably stronger.

[Steve_Cox]

I don't get it....Why put the piece of tubing between the stubs and the frame? I'd have put the tubing between the rails like a standard cross piece, welded the plate to that and the outer rails, and bolted on the stubs. It would be lower, cleaner looking, and probably stronger.

Obviously it suited the builder to do it that way. I'm sure if asked he has a reason. Lots of ways to skin a cat. The only reasons I would use stub axles is if I wanted to have a drop floor between them or in an otherwise conventional build they were either free or on hand.

[mikeschn]

I'm working on a torsion stub design that doesn't have a member running across the trailer (cause there's a dropped floor in the way.)

I'll paste some snapshots when it done...

Mike...

[luluyug]

i went to my local trailer shop and saw some nice stub axles that only had 4 mounting holes to bolt. the salesperson told me i didnt need a crossmember and just bolt them directly to the side tubing. they add a swing arm witch ressembles a pitman arm that you can adjust on the shaft via a spline system. they wanted 279.95can for a 2000 pds pair. is it too expensive or is the price ok are they reliable.

[NightCap]

i went to my local trailer shop and saw some nice stub axles that only had 4 mounting holes to bolt. the salesperson told me i didnt need a crossmember and just bolt them directly to the side tubing. they add a swing arm witch ressembles a pitman arm that you can adjust on the shaft via a spline system. they wanted 279.95can for a 2000 pds pair. is it too expensive or is the price ok are they reliable.

Yeah, I was going to ask how much they are.

[jyb-tr20]

Hi Folks

Hopefully I can answer a few queries as to why my frame is the way it is: -
As soon as possible I will post a pic to demonstrate how the chassis- frame is level with the tow hitch on my Land Rover. The height is 17.5" from the ground to the hitch.
The box section crossmember keeps it all in line. The idea [to me] is that the TD will travel along the road level behind the car.
I do need some extra ground clearance as the Land Rover is a 4x4- the TD will handle 'off-road' better.
Also I'm fitting an 8" 'footwell' so we can sit at a table inside and drink our tea if it's raining- it does sometimes in England

The axles are rated @ 500 kg [ 1100 lbs] pre-drilled with 6 mounting bolts. The half axle assy. is bolted to the pre-drilled plate [u buy them too ready made] that is welded to the X-member.
Without the Box section crossmember it is much more difficult to 'bolt' the half axles accurately into position. Doing it this way felt like I was working with a 'typical' axle [almost like that of a car].
Also the X-member is sized to suit the clearance of the tyre / wheel / fender alignment so that the wheels run properly outside the body of the TD.
Luckily the axle assy. is so far back it will not interfere with the footwell.

Half axles are light - cheap[er] and easily obtained & fitted- [in my opinion]. I won't be riding in the trailer so anything more complicated is unecassary. I really don't want to pull a trailer over 1100 lbs.
I hope this makes sense?

If not I'll get Andrew to translate!
Cheers
jyb

[Steve_Cox]

No translation necessary.
Thanks for the follow-up data JYB. We do like to jump on these things, don't we? So, to summarize, you needed the height the extra cross member provided, and it was easier to align the stubs. By the way, over here the cost for a pair of stub axles is about the same as a regular torsion axle assembly.

[asianflava]

We do like to jump on these things, don't we?

That's an understatement.