Help selecting axle

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Help selecting axle

Postby Aaron Coffee » Sun Jul 14, 2019 2:08 pm

Not a teardrop, but an old (1969) popup, that I stripped out to make a utility trailer to haul soap box derby car(s). The current axle is super stiff. I'm talking bouncing wheels off of ground over bumps. It is currently what I assume is the original torsion axle. The trailer with some of my stuff weighs 1160, I set it up to haul 3 cars, but usually haul only one,. The cars vary from. 70 lbs to 150 lbs each, plus about 100lbs of tools, which brings total up to 1710(if my math is right). Will a 2,000 lb axle be too stiff? I am looking at torsion axles.
Also currently it uses18.5x8.5x8 tires, I would like to go to 12 wheels and tires, by moving the axle back a few inches I think a 12 will fit in the wheel wells. Should the 2," move change my trailer balance. Is my thinking right that the 12 with a larger diameter will have fewer revolutions per mile.
Thanks
Aaron
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Re: Help selecting axle

Postby gudmund » Mon Jul 15, 2019 11:30 pm

there is a "good" read explaining leaf springs here on 'this' page of the Forum - in the upper section of this page, open up the section "Rebuilding an axle/springs for better ride"
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Re: Help selecting axle

Postby Wevo » Thu Aug 22, 2019 1:42 pm

Axle won't change the ride. He's correct with the leaf spring upgrade. I changed the springs on my HF trailer for a softer ride. Huge difference with way less bounce.ImageImage


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Re: Help selecting axle

Postby les45 » Thu Aug 22, 2019 2:04 pm

I bought a new Dexter #9 (2,000 lb) Torflex axle to replace the existing worn out Dexter axle on my 89 Jayco popup. I originally converted the popup to a hard wall popup but am now converting it again to a retro style standy. My hard wall project weighed about 1,500 lbs and the Dexter axle rode very smoothly even with the 5.3X12 trailer tires. The axle cost about $330 including freight and the folks at Dexter were super nice to deal with and shipped very quickly. They have a good web site with all the info you need to size and detail the type of axle you need.
My first teardrop was built on a NT 5X8 trailer with leaf springs and the 5.3X12 trailer tires. It was very bouncy also until I upgraded to 13" passenger car tires. That made a world of difference in the ride.
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