Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I have a question for torsion owners. I don't have much experience with torsion axles and I'm trying to figure how much space I need in the fender well. They don't move up and down like leaf springs, so how much room is needed from the top of the tire inside the fender well?

Thanks
Rick

Rickxr2 wrote:I have a question for torsion owners. I don't have much experience with torsion axles and I'm trying to figure how much space I need in the fender well. They don't move up and down like leaf springs, so how much room is needed from the top of the tire inside the fender well?

Thanks
Rick

Rick,

Load weight could be a factor. I put a 4 X 4 block (3.5") on top of my tire and placed the fender on it. The height gave a good esthetically pleasing look, which to me was the most important issue after clearance. Tires get a little taller at speed and in deflecting the torsion axle by jumping up and down on the trailer bumper, I still have quite a bit of safety margin. Opinions may vary.

Fender on the 4 X 4 block during the build.

I will be using Steve's method - whatever visually is appealling is probably where the fender will go. I believe Dexter says the full shock load deflects the #9 axle around 3".

...yep, Dexter rates full "bump" load deflection in the three inch range...I placed my steel fenders so they were evenly spaced all the way around which works out to around 3"s...keep in mind, that bump rating is for an axle, loaded at max, running at hiway speeds hitting a BIG BUMP...coming back from Palo Duro, I did bust a tire on the car, hitting some unmarked stretches of unpaved road at 70mph but the trailer tires did not hit the fenders.........
madjack