Lost the camber on a trailer axle.......What does that mean?

[Diamondpilot]

Yes, the center is higher then the sides. That's how all my trailers are. Car hauler, cargo trailer, sea doo trailer and my hybrid camper trailer. I think that's the correct way.

Yes, that is the proper way.

Chris

 

[kevin37b]

They are torsion axles. So today the dealer came up with the idea to upgrade from 5200# axles to 6000# axles all by himself.

Looks like they may run this through warranty. The trailer is 2 years old now so the warranty is expired. The may cover two of the four tires.

That would be the problem . Torsion axles were a great idea but not durable . The spindles are mounted on a swingarm which creates a big lever effect .These swingarms are mounted in rubber which fails . The crown in that axle makes no difference .

 

[yelbike]

That would be the problem . Torsion axles were a great idea but not durable . The spindles are mounted on a swingarm which creates a big lever effect .These swingarms are mounted in rubber which fails . The crown in that axle makes no difference .

Sorry. Big mistake. NOT torsion. Regular leaf springs and axles. I don't know what i was thinking when i wrote that.

 

[CliffordK]

Sorry. Big mistake. NOT torsion. Regular leaf springs and axles. I don't know what i was thinking when i wrote that.

Mom had torsion axles on her old bumper-pull horse trailer. I never heard of her having any problems with them.

Anyway, in this case, if the springs are good, the axles are bad.
Then get the heaviest axles they will give you.

I mentioned about upgrading from 5200# axles to 7000# but the guy looked at me like I was from mars. He said it would be way to stiff, it would bounce the trailer apart.

Assuming you're just upgrading the axles (wheels?), and not the springs, then the heavier axles would do nothing to your ride, except perhaps help assure you get to your destination safer.

If the axle itself isn't being bent, then where is the "camber" being lost? Are the hubs being bent?

Anyway, you certainly need an upgrade.

Or, perhaps you should just jack it up, put it on blocks, and park it in the barn as a "mother-in-law apartment"

 

[joshuabardwell]

I'm curious about the advice to upgrade the axles. My impression is that trailers are designed with adequate capacity to handle their GVWR. Upgrading one component, such as the axles, doesn't change the weight rating; it just means that some other part will fail instead of the axle, when the upgraded axle passes the excessive stress on. So what's really going on here? Was the trailer designed with inadequate axles to really support its rated capacity, in which case who can trust that the axles are the only thing that's under-specced? I certainly wouldn't point any fingers, not knowing many facts about the situation, but a common scenario would be that the trailer had been run over its GVWR.

 

[CliffordK]

Presumably the weight of the trailer is more or less fixed (unless it is a "toy hauler").

If you had a 2000 lb GVWR flatbed, and upgraded to a 7000 lb axle, it should still be quite capable of carrying 2000 lbs, but not necessarily 7000 lbs without a cascade of upgrades.

It is my belief that a "new" trailer should not bend 3 axles (or hubs) in 2 years. Upgrading the axles alone should have no effect on the rest of the trailer. Without knowing the exact axle weight of the trailer, it would seem that that component is either weakly built, or undersized.

If there was an impact that would otherwise have broken an axle, there may be a slight protection to additional parts of the trailer by actually breaking the axle, but I wouldn't count on it.

I agree that if the axles or hubs are prematurely failing, it does cast doubt on additional components in the trailer.

 

[joshuabardwell]

Presumably the weight of the trailer is more or less fixed (unless it is a "toy hauler").

I don't know a lot about travel trailers--is that so? It always seemed to me like it would be easy to cram a lot of junk in them and exceed the GVWR if you weren't paying attention. But maybe clothes and dishes and such doesn't really weigh as much as all that. How much cargo capacity do they typically have?

 

[Ken]

I don't know a lot about travel trailers--is that so? It always seemed to me like it would be easy to cram a lot of junk in them and exceed the GVWR if you weren't paying attention. But maybe clothes and dishes and such doesn't really weigh as much as all that. How much cargo capacity do they typically have?

With everything unloaded . Water black water tank galley tank water heater. Propane tanks empty no clothes or food in refrig . a r.v. is close to max. in capacity. Then load everything people think is necessary to go for a week end camping over weight before moving.
My 29' 5th whl. traier allows 200 lbs so we travel with empty tanks for drinking water. all other tanks drained.
Wifes clothes would put it over weight. by themselves.
That is why a load E is needed for tires. Watch a r.v. traveling down the highway. Looks like a old
mid 60''s Buick with out shocks. Tail bouncing 4' over every road change.
The design goes in to the outward appearance and paper covered plywood inside.
ken

 

[yelbike]

They put it on a scale at the dealership. It was fine for weight, we even factored in the 2000ui Honda generator, dewalt combo kit and three bags of clothes that was removed. The potable water tank had about 50%, grey and galley tanks were next empty, the black indicated 2/3 by the digital monitor but appeared empty. They figured there was crap (haha) on the sensor giving a false reading(I was having trouble with it on the trip). Btw it wasn't loaded for a weekend trip, but rather a winter times load. I went to recover it from my folks winter get away as my fathers health didn't allow him to travel back to get it himself.

 

[Ken]

They put it on a scale at the dealership. It was fine for weight, we even factored in the 2000ui Honda generator, dewalt combo kit and three bags of clothes that was removed. The potable water tank had about 50%, grey and galley tanks were next empty, the black indicated 2/3 by the digital monitor but appeared empty. They figured there was crap (haha) on the sensor giving a false reading(I was having trouble with it on the trip). Btw it wasn't loaded for a weekend trip, but rather a winter times load. I went to recover it from my folks winter get away as my fathers health didn't allow him to travel back to get it himself.

We used to travel in group to build churches then camp together on parking lot. So would look at others trailer in evenings. Some can travel with out problems on bald tires and others load everything except kitchen sink from home. Then I can buy new and tires blow out same day.
On trip to Alaska met a couple that had made the trip over 50 times. Of his many brands of campers had broken springs axles and uncounted tires blown. Just part of travel. The basic travel frame was it made by Liepert sp.? warrents there own frame seperate from the camper manufacture. if this is your type contact them.
Also there is Good Sams and other travel groups that willing to help if you think there is a defect or unsafe condition in axles or frame.
ken