Flexiride Half-Axles

[angib]

For those who might be interested in using half-axles, I thought I would pass on the latest range that I've received from UCF. Thank you to whoever it was who pointed out they had expanded their range.

Half axles are available in the following capacities per pair: 425lb (new), 550lb, 935lb, 1400lb, 3500lb (for the bigger teardrop?). All of them are now made with an adjustable arm, so the start angle can be varied, although the 550lb and 935lb are also still available with a fixed arm (about 30-45deg down).

Pre-drilled base plates are offered for all sizes of half-axles - probably for less than you can make them for yourself. These make aligning the half-axles easy as you can use the hub to get the half-axle aligned, tack the base plate and then unbolt the half-axle to complete the welding.

Andrew

[George T.]

Great information!

Thank you for the update. These stub axles broaden the construction possibilities quite a bit!

George T.

[sdtripper2]

Andrew:

Is this the website for UCF that you are referring to for half axles

Flexiride® rubber torsion half axle

[Alphacarina]

Think I mentioned these to Andrew - They're what I'm going to use on my Grumman

I have both the spec sheet and the price list for all the half axles saved as an Adobe document on my computer . . . . I have no idea how to post those here though

BTW, it was about $50 cheaper to order the 1400 pound axles direct from UCF than to source them from EtrailerPart, though UCF doesn't usually do business direct with consumers and they don't accept credit cards

Don

[Kurt (Indiana)]

Speaking from (bad) experience, be sure you don't "underspring" the trailer. My fault for not getting an accurate weight, but I broke one of these stub axles on a major highway in a one lane construction zone. That was a long day and next day trying to get it repaired enough to limp through the week and drive the 240 miles back home.

I suppose it would have worked well if I had the right axle, but the torsion (or leaf) system seems to make more sense.

[Alphacarina]

What design weight axles were you using . . . . and how heavy did your trailer turn out to be?

I'm hoping for a 1000 to 1100 pound trailer, fully loaded and am using a pair of 1400 pound axles

Don

[Kurt (Indiana)]

What design weight axles were you using . . . . and how heavy did your trailer turn out to be?

I'm hoping for a 1000 to 1100 pound trailer, fully loaded and am using a pair of 1400 pound axles

Don

Don, mine actually weighed in at 1100 but my axles were only rated for 1000 max.
When I hit the construction zone, I guess the "one pot hole" in the road that I ran over was too much for the axle.

It was my fault for not knowing the weight. I suppose if I had 1400-1500# axles I would have been fine.

[Alphacarina]

Wow! - I'm amazed, literally

I would not think a couple of hundred pounds would matter much

When I was building a gooseneck boat trailer for a 27 foot, 8,000 pound trawler I've got, I bought three 5500 pound Dexter torsion axles with brakes for a really good price. I called Dexter and spoke to an engineer about a couple of things, mostly about whether I should go with a triple axle setup or just use two of them - I figured an extra axle had to be a good idea . . . . more of a safety factor, right?

The Dexter engineer talked me out of it and strongly suggested I use just 2 of the axles. First, he told me they don't ever recommend torsion axles be used in any triple configuration because unlike leaf spring axles, torsions do not share the load with one another like you get when spring axles are tied together with equalizers - There is no equivalent for torsion axles . . . . they operate independantly from each other

So long as I didn't eceed the 11,000 pounds the two axles were rated for, he said I should have no problems, because even when you get one wheel up on a curb or something, one single wheel on a 5500 pound axle will support the entire 11,000 pounds of the trailer and load, even getting no help from the other wheel which is up in the air at that point. The argument against triple installations was that when one wheel has all the load and the other two wheels on that side are off the ground, the one wheel cannot handle the 16,500 pounds that a triple installation might be carrying - That would cause a failure of the axle, the tire, the wheel or maybe even all 3

So, I would have thought that a 1,000 pound axle carrying 1100 pounds would be no big deal - According to Dexter, if you had a pair of those axles on a 2,000 pound trailer and were going over a curb or something with one wheel off the ground, the other wheel/axle should be able to safely handle the 2,000 pounds all by itself

Are you sure it was an 'overweight failure' or was something else happening?

Don

[angib]

Is this the website for UCF that you are referring to for half axles?

No, it's from data sheets that I got UCF to send me, after I had asked the second time.

Their web site is useless and getting anything from their sales team is hard - I think they're not really set up to deal with consumers, just the trailer industry.

Andrew

[Kurt (Indiana)]

Wow! - I'm amazed, literally

I would not think a couple of hundred pounds would matter much


Are you sure it was an 'overweight failure' or was something else happening?

Don

Don, I gave the axle a big shock when I ran over the pot hole and it must have been too much. Before that they seemed fine.

[Alphacarina]

Is this the website for UCF that you are referring to for half axles?

No, it's from data sheets that I got UCF to send me, after I had asked the second time.

Their web site is useless and getting anything from their sales team is hard - I think they're not really set up to deal with consumers, just the trailer industry

All very true, from my personal experience, Andrew

I did manage to get an e-mail exchange with one of the sales representatives going though and he happily answered all my questions. He sent me the data sheets and price list that you have and buying directly from him saved me about $50 on my pair of 1400 pound half axles over ordering them from ETrailerPart.com. You DO have to mail them a check though, as they don't handle credit cards

If anyone needs the contact info, try: [email protected] or you can call him direct at (856) 488-1800 ext 126

BTW - My 1400 pound axles were $206.91 including the larger of the 5 X 4.5 hubs, including shipping

Don

[brian_bp]

...be sure you don't "underspring" the trailer.

...mine actually weighed in at 1100 but my axles were only rated for 1000 max.
When I hit the construction zone, I guess the "one pot hole" in the road that I ran over was too much for the axle.

That sounds more like an under-spec'd axle, than springs. Overly soft springs would only contribute to this problem if they were so soft that the suspension bottomed out hard.

[brian_bp]

I agree that UCF's web site is not very useful; however, when I e-mailed a request for a distributor contact, rather than for technical information, they were quite helpful. They replied with the contact information, and asked that distributor to contact me, which they did. The local distributor was quite informative.

Alberta people note: Standen's is the local distributor, via their Edmonton office.

[Alphacarina]

I got my 1400 pound pair of axles today - Shipped driect from UCF for $206.91

These things are pretty impressive - 56 pounds for the pair, including hubs and bearings and very well built. I don't see how you could damage these in any sort of 'normal use' . . . . not even if you took them offroad

The torsion axle is actually made by Axis industries in Elkhart Indiana - Axis is a large company, and makes torsion axles all the way up to 8,000 pounds

Since I'm using FWD automotive alloy wheels, I'll have to order me a pair of 2 inch spacers, since the bore on my wheels is smaller than the hubs . . . . but then it looks like I'll really need that 2 inches anyway to keep the inner part of the tire away from the arm

Anyway, really impressive axles for $200

Don

[S.A.Mike]

Howdy Don who is UCF ?
thanks Mike