Has anybody used half axles (Torsion)

[dh]

I was looking at these half axles,

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/ ... _200335740

How dificult is it get everything lined up without an axle tube?

I was looking at these to cut the cost of an custom sized axle

[john curtis]

Hi DH.
I looked at the half axles when I was buying mine,I had the same thought of saving money.But when I thought about it I decided it would be better for me to use the full axle because it becomes part of the frame as a cross member when it is welded in place.The cost difference in Edmonton Ab. Canada was only a $100.00. The advantage of the half axle to me would be in the weight savings if you are building light.
John

[Steve_Cox]

I've been planning to use half axles for a full drop floor in a stand up trailer. Alignment would be harder than a full axle, but maybe the mounting holes could be drilled in a drill press before welding the piece in place.

[doug hodder]

I'm thinking that Jiminsav, used them on a build. Doug

[del]

Most stub axles I have seen have mounting plates available. Tack weld a temporary cross member to them, square everything up and weld the plates in. Remove cross member and bolt stubbies on.

del

[Jst83]

I'm thinking that Jiminsav, used them on a build. Doug

How funny I just looked at his sit and book marked it, here it is

http://www.jiminsav.com/newtrailer/slides/runninggear%20002.html

[dh]

Did he just bolt those to wood???

[dh]

Most stub axles I have seen have mounting plates available. Tack weld a temporary cross member to them, square everything up and weld the plates in. Remove cross member and bolt stubbies on.

del

Excelent idea

[Jiminsav]

Did he just bolt those to wood???

yes I did..and it still is holding up well..and alignment is just a matter of drawing a straight line across the bottom of the trailer and lining the edge of the mount plate to the line and drilling out the holes..or in my case, boring out the holes...

[Prem]

SINGLE AXLE WARNING (also posted in Cargo Conversions forum)

One of our camping club members recently lost his trailer in a high speed rollover due to a torsion axle spindle failing. It was a light trailer for its size, made largely of fiberglassed foam. See photos:

http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=32474&highlight=rip

He said he got the left trailer wheel off the road momentarily (bang!) while pulling into a rest area, but doesn't/can't know much more about why the axle failed, except that it had the bored-out center for easy lub grease injection to the rear bearing. (Hollow axle)

A few points:

1. Have your trailer axle bearings and seals professionally checked and repacked every 6,000 miles.
2. 55 MPH is the speed limit towing a trailer almost everywhere.
3. The smaller your tires, the more they spin per mile and the more heat they generate taking a toll on the bearings faster.
4. If you lose a tire (flat), wheel or axle spindle on a single axle trailer at speed, you're suddenly pulling a plow that pulls hard to one side. All the more reason to maintain excellent tire pressure and tire quality and to get the bearings and seals checked and lubed at manufacturer's recommended intervals.

Because of this incident, I will only use torsion axles without the EZ lube feature (hollow axle) on future trailers. A higher weight rating is better than lighter here!

[Jiminsav]

Prem, I hate to say this, but that gentleman bought REALLY cheap axles from some outfit where he lives..I've had both northern tool axles, and dexter axles and both of them were of good quality, although the northern tool axles weren't drilled for EZ lube.

remember..you get what you pay for.

[Prem]

Jim,

Maybe.

Since almost everything is made in China these days, buying name brands doesn't necessarily mean better quality. Many U.S. labels are made in the same plant of the same materials just with different brands and logos stamped or cast into the metal.

My main point is that that EZ lube, hollow axle spindles are easier to break than solid axle spindles.

Wishing you many happy and safe miles,

Prem

[Gaston]

The trailer in question was/is mine. the axles were made and shipped from Texas. they are not branded Dexter, but I don't think there are a bunch of company making torson axles in texas. the"cheap" was because I have a commerical account and there was no shipping charges (a big chunck of the cost of axles) the left axle broke first and showed signs of prior cracking at the rear radial drilled lube hole. during the course of the accident the right axle failed at the same place . the accident happened in Nevada where the max tow speed alowed is the same as the posted speed limit, on a 10 mile streach of 2 lane straight road.
Its just plain dumb to drill a hole side ways half way thru an axle. don't use any axle with the EZlube feature unless you can magaflux it for cracks
this trailer had over 15000 miles on it and has been cross country west to east and back, north ,south and back, and spent a winter touring Mexico so the causing damage could have happened during some very rough "off road trips" in mexico .
The axle for its replacement or rebuild will come from the same source, but with out the drilled spindles

[MacGyver]

Hi DH, these are the same half axles I used on my build. Alignment was not an issue with careful measuring and after 2 yrs and 7,000 miles they are still working great. I have a couple of pics in my album showing how I mounted them. One thing that I hadn’t considered when I purchased them was that they do not have the plate on the axle to bolt electric brakes on. At the time of the build I was not even thinking of adding electric brakes. I’ve reconsidered this after descending some long grades and would have been more at ease if I had eqipped the trailer with them. There are several other good reasons to add electric brakes as well, which has been pointed out before on this forum.