24' V-nose, coming soon, to a thread near you.

[vreihen]

I will never again own Ez-Lube axle spindles. A guy I know almost lost his life when one broke off at high speed. They have a hollow tube down the middle that reduces their strength. Forget the convenience.

I remember reading someone's thoughts on them a few weeks ago, and he said that forcing grease into one type/brand (that I don't recall) causes the rear seal to blow out, greasing your brake drums.....

[vtx1029]

Prem I do agree that ez lube does not replace a annual inspection of the bearings. But allows you to keep them well greased when in use. We had a bearing go out a couple years and we were stuck for a week trying to figure out a solution a 1000 miles from home being torsion axles are not a normally stocked item and it would have been a 3 week wait for a new axle.

[Prem]

I remember reading someone's thoughts on them a few weeks ago, and he said that forcing grease into one type/brand (that I don't recall) causes the rear seal to blow out, greasing your brake drums.....

That was me. I did that once on Ez-Lube hubs. Lots of leverage on my grease gun.

[pete42]

Working 41 years in maintenance taught me not to over lube bearings.

most people will pump the greas gun way to many times, grease does not have to run out to be lubed.

I loved my E-Z Lube axels do a proper cleaning/check in the spring a squirt or two before and during a trip and you won't have any problems.

that's my story and I'm sticking too it.

[Prem]

Pete,

That works.

P.S. Wished I could have seen through the hub body to watch how far back the grease was going.

[vreihen]

We had a bearing go out a couple years and we were stuck for a week trying to figure out a solution a 1000 miles from home being torsion axles are not a normally stocked item and it would have been a 3 week wait for a new axle.

This is something that I had not even considered since I bought my Featherlite! Every other trailer that I've ever towed has had wheels/bearings that are on the shelf at every Tractor Supply and Wal-Mart. I never carried a spare bearing, figuring that they were readily available. Even had an opportunity to test my theory once towing across the southern tier of NY. The used trailer that I had just purchased and was towing home threw a dust cap, and Tractor Supply had me on the road with grease and a new cap in 15 minutes.

Since I don't even know who made the 4,800 pound torsion axles on my Featherlite, me thinks that I should invest in a spare bearing and hub for insurance purposes.....

[Trackstriper]

Since I don't even know who made the 4,800 pound torsion axles on my Featherlite, me thinks that I should invest in a spare bearing and hub for insurance purposes.....

Most likely Dexter, look for a white label on the axle tube. Here's a pic that I took under a 4926 several weeks ago. Sorry, the label reads upside down as it's mounted on the trailer, but you can see the Dexter logo......a little camera movement on this shot. As I remember this was a 20 footer with the 3500# axles.

[vreihen]

Most likely Dexter, look for a white label on the axle tube. Here's a pic that I took under a 4926 several weeks ago. Sorry, the label reads upside down as it's mounted on the trailer, but you can see the Dexter logo......a little camera movement on this shot. As I remember this was a 20 footer with the 3500# axles.

According to the owner's manual and web site, Featherlite uses 4800# axles on their 22' and 24' 4926's. Dexter's size step seems to be 3500# or 5200#, and I don't see any 4800# axles listed on quick search of Al-ko's web site. Since the trailer is buried over it's wheels in a snowdrift right now, getting to the bottom of this axle mystery will have to wait until the spring thaw when I can crawl underneath it again. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Featherlite used 5200# Dexter axles and under-rated wheels/tires, and not some weird axle that only they sell parts for.....

[vtx1029]

Our spindle was ruined in the process. Replacement bearings were actually easy to find. It did also ruin the hub/brake drum combo and that was nowher to be found.

[Kyle1911]

Well, still no trailer to show for all my impatient waiting! Funny how long 5 or six weeks can take. Based on you folks' advice, and the guys at the factory, I did upgrade my order to 10k axles. It was about $600 more, but it wouldn't make sense to try to do it later..Not by a long shot!
Last week I stumbled into a truck, that seemed too good to be true. We hadn't planned to buy one yet, but this one turned out to be almost exactly what we wanted. 2002 Silverado 2500HD extended cab. It's got the Vortec 8.1, Allison 5 speed, 4.10 locker, and all the towing goodies. 2wd, which I prefer. (Opinions vary, but I owned a crew cab Dodge, with the cummins, and 6 speed. It got stuck in 4wd in places my sad little 2wd S-10 with studs on just breezed through.) Wifey The Smart One and I drug it home with us on Saturday. The kicker is, only 19,000 miles on it. Absolutely mint. It should pass everything except a gas station. I'm holding my breath, as sitting can be worse than driving on a vehicle, but time will tell. Bearing corrosion, and other scary stuff is bad, but I don't believe it is nearly the problem today, as it was in the carburetor and points era, when a lot more combustion byproducts made it into the oil. I'll be changing every fluid in it this week, and keeping an eye on it.

[brandonb]

found this while googling tanks wonder if any of these will work and you may find the size u need
http://www.plastic-mart.com/class.php?cat=12

[Prem]

Kyle,

I had a 35 ft., 20,000 pound motorhome with a big gas motor. It sat for 6 months at a time. I used a little Marvel Mystery Oil in both the gasoline tank and the oil. NEVER had a problem. It had a carburetor and points.

When I first bought it, it had sat for a couple of years. My certified mechanic buddy Les (about to retire) swears by the stuff.

Best wishes,

Prem

[Kyle1911]

Ahhh, good old Marvel. I used that stuff in my Aeronca. 400f+ cylinder head temps, I figured it would do the poor valve guides some good.
Oh, the manic squirrel is running wild while I wait for this trailer to be built. Wifey the Smart One is infatuated with the fireplaces available in some of the factory built tt's. I thought it was pretty lame, and over the top, until I saw one running one evening. It was actually kind of neat, but the electric part still seemed kind of cheesy. (Anyone remember the 70's version of the electric fireplace, with the fan, tinsel, and lightbulb?) Hmmmm, thinks I, how can I one up the manufacturers... So, I'm gonna try something new. A gel fuel fireplace of my own design, under the shelf for the TV. They produce some moisture, but very little heat. I am thinking a PC fan, and some 3 or 4" metal duct, direct vent style, should take care of that. If the heat is too much for he pc fan, I'll try the venturi tactic, with a fabricated Y fitting, so the fan is blowing out, and sucking the hot air with it. Total investment should be about $20. I've got some 20ga steel sheet laying around, and I believe it's calling to me. Here's a pre made unit, that, if I was smart, I'd just buy for $89 and modify. I've never been very smart, so I usually spend twice as much building things myself. Wifey made out our floorplan in some mysterious format I don't understand, but I am working on getting it posted on here, I promise. Here's a shot of the fireplace I plan to loosely copy. Kyle

[vreihen]

If you need some brick for your fireplace, I was giving some half0hearted thought to putting this inside my race car hauler for the shock value in the paddock:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_13964-46498-288_4294807184__?productId=1015475&Ns=p_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr|0||p_product_quantity_sold|1&pl=1&currentURL=/pl_Wall%2BPanels_4294807184__%3FNs%3Dp_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr|0||p_product_quantity_sold|1

Seems like a sheet would accent your fireplace plans as well.....

[Kyle1911]

Starting to go a little nuts here... Dealer now says it will be 3-4 more weeks before our trailer is ready. I don't know if this is out of the ordinary, but those of you that haven't bought a trailer yet might remember this when it's time to order. If you want your new trailer for summer, and if you order a bunch of custom stuff, order it early, as it might take awhile. (Our original 5 week time is looking more like 12) I made some changes after placing the order in January, which I suspect knocked me back down to the bottom of the build list. Both the guys at Olympic trailer, and Cargomate factory seem like real straight up people, it just sucks to wait!!!! Just thought I'd update this thread and let everyone know I'm still in the game, just not on the field yet! Regards, Kyle