2011 landmark axles

h2ok9

Member
I am getting confused. (nothing new). I have been getting quotes on new rushmore and have had a few quotes offer neverlube axles 12.25 x 3.75. Are these heavier axles than standard?? I asked one dealer and was told they were no longer available, but another said could still get them. I guess my question is --are they heavier than the 7000 pound standard axles and do they have bigger/larger brakes??
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
h2ok9, I've moved your question to the Landmark "Ask the Factory" area. I'm pretty confident the axle capability ramains the same but may have larger brakes.
 
K

Kevin_Finn

Guest
The 12.25 X 3.75 never lube axle is a upgrade that has larger brakes than our standard axle. The standard axle is 7,000 lbs with easy lube axles and standard brakes. Both axles are 7,000 lbs.
 

h2ok9

Member
Kevin & Ray

Thanks for quick response regarding axles. I'll contact my dealer with this info and see if I can get them added on when I order. I love this forum.
 

h2ok9

Member
Just got quote back from dealer. Says the 12.25 x 3.75 neverlube axles are available, however he said Heartland told him they were 8,000# axles.
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
My best guess is, The axle spindles and brakes and brake drums are rated for 8000 lbs. The axle tube itself may be a 7000 lb. tube. Also the springs, unless they are upgraded as well, may only carry a 7000 lb. rating. I guess depending on your cost, the extra braking capacity alone is worth the investment. The next step up would be electric over hydraulic disc brakes. I'm not even sure if they are available as an option. I'm sure Kevin or someone will chime in and clear up the confusion and maybe even set me straight.
 

lwmcguir

Well-known member
My 8000 pound axles have 3 3/8 inch drums. Are you sure they are 3.75 inches?
 
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Retyred

Active Member
Dexter lists there brake sizes as 12 X 2, 12 1/4 X 2 1/2 and 12 1/4 X 12 3/8.
I have the oversize brakes on my 2006 Grand Canyon and find the braking very good.
I was under the impression that the over size brakes came with the 8,000 lb axles.

Retyred
 
h2ok9, Just make sure if you order them, you get them. We ordered (and paid extra) for 8,000 Neverlube axles with the larger brakes only to find when we had a squealing wheel problem and had the wheels pulled that we had axles that needed to be greased. Still waiting to hear from our original dealer on that little surprise.
 

Willym

Well-known member
Regarding Never Lubes - the 7000 lb axles on my current RV have a 8000 lb rating by Dexter if the right wheels are installed, i.e 0 to 0.19" inset wheels. If the inset is higher (up to 0.5" IIRC) then the rating is reduced to 7000 lbs. Never Lube axles have 2 bearings at each wheel that are very close together and hence are significantly affected wheel the wheel offset (and hence the bearing load point) is shifted. Quite a few owners with 6000 lb Never Lubes have had failures partly due to the incorrect wheels being installed by the manufacturer of their rigs.

Personally I'm looking forward to having axles on my new Landmark that can be serviced. One has to take the brake drums off routinely to check the brakes, so a bearing clean and lube is fairly easy to do at the same time. I have disc brakes right now, but drums will stop the trailer just as well. The only advantage that I see with disc's is that they are less prone to overheating and subsequent braking loss (fade) when used for long durations. That's where my exhaust brake comes in - I rarely need to use the brakes on long descents.
 

jnbhobe

Well-known member
To each his own !! I just put disc brakes on my Bighorn and there is no comparison to electric brakes. I have backed my controler off 3.5 numbers from the electric brakes. JON
 

Willym

Well-known member
To each his own !! I just put disc brakes on my Bighorn and there is no comparison to electric brakes. I have backed my controler off 3.5 numbers from the electric brakes. JON
Both types of brakes can easily lock up your trailer wheels, assuming that the drum brakes are kept in adjustment (advantage disc brakes - no adjustments required!) However, on the disc brakes that I have used (Dexter) the actuator seems to only draw a small current from the contoller as it operates on voltage and draws it's own current as required. Electric brakes draw all of their required current via the controller, and with voltage drops between the controller and the coils, the controller will need a higher setting, i.e. a higher voltage output for the equivalent braking (this is my theory)
One disadvantage to discs is the time delay between brake demand and operation due to the time required for the motor to start and speed up to build the necessary hydraulic pressure. Because of this, users need to ensure that their systems are fully bled of air after any maintenance. Again, this is based on my observations of the Dexter system.
 

caissiel

Senior Member
I keep hearing the discussions on the axle size, braking system and bearing choices.

As for the no maintenance bearings, they are a curse on the trucks and are so close together that its true they are realy a life expectency problem due to the sideways forces extending the capability problem of these bearings.

The breaking capacity of 8000 lbs axles on 7000 lbs axles only add to the failure posibility of the bearings and flexing of the axles. In the past it was a common problem with trailers that the axles were bending due to to agressive breaking.

I have worked in the maintenance of major equipment all my life and we ran into many modifications that only elevated the chance of failure of the weakest link. It also applies to these units that we are all talking about. Its easy to add more heavier equipment but in the end the weak point changes and it gets more serious or safety conserns.

I am sure the designers have taken all the possible failures in consideration and we surely don't have the experience to advise akward refinement to our units.

The more things are maintenance free the less we check our equipment and spending a fortune on safeguard will not add to the dependability. I drive in the roughest road of any trailer owners on here and I am quite satisfied with the braking, bearing setup, and the 7000# axles surely are keeping my unit smooth enough on the road.
 

Wharton

Well-known member
We ordered our 2011 BH with 3.75" brakes and never lube axles, it came with easy lube axles. We were sure we read never lube someplace but may be confused. Having easy lube just means one more thing on our yearly to do list.
 

lwmcguir

Well-known member
We have used Easy Lube axles since they came out many years ago. Properly serviced they are great. We have all drum brakes now and see absolutely no need for Disk on the trailers. Maybe there is some advantage somewhere but none I have found. Nothing wrong with personal preference and that is the way it should be. Taking shock off a moving object is always a good thing but different bearings doesn't do that directly. Most folks will find their money is better spent in suspension upgrades if they tow a lot. Lot of good information comes across the forum and it should be a great resource for many folks.
 
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