Axle & disc brakes

[tdharley]

Well here it is 3 years from when I picked up my BH. All in all I still would buy another. A lot of little problems but nothing major until now.

After 3 camping seasons we were on our way back from Dorney Park in PA with the grandkids when my brother in law from behind me tells me that my rear tires look "off". Sure enough I look at them and the seem out of plumb more than usual. I say more than usual because I have noticed this before , maybe the beginning of last year but not to this extent.

So I bring it to my local authorized Heartland/Al-Ko repair center and sure enough they tell me I need to replace the rear axle and 2 new tires.

I am well out of warranty, even though I kind of have a bone to pick with Heartland since the year after mine they upgraded all the axles in my size rig (3500) to 7000lb. axles from 6000lb.

Anyway, I start looking around the internet to see what I am going to do, I get in touch with a axle dealer who tells me that I could change just the tubes to 7000lb. and while I was doing that I was going to switch out my drums for disc brakes. The tubes with shipping will be around 375.00, seems like a good way out. I can go with a complete 7000lb. change out with new drum brakes for 384. per axle + shipping. Also he tells me that 7000lb. axles come setup with slipper springs? Is this true?

So I need the forums opinions on a few things

1. Heartland's responsibility to help me out (maybe someone from Heartland can answer that)?
2. Replacing the tubes to 7000 lb. with out changing out the springs, by the way my spring are not flat or compressed.
3. Recommendation on good disc brake assemblies.

Also to be fair I have not called Heartland on this, my service center talked to AL-IKO and they want me to buy a new axle from them , ship my axle to them and they will make a determination if they will do anything for me. I need to layout 625.00 + shipping (both ways) for one 6000lb axle. Remember I got a price of 384.00 per on the internet for a 7000lb.axle complete. My service center brought up the upgraded Heartland axle situation and they bounced it back to Heartland.

All opinions would be helpful especially from you guys that have changed their axles and/or changed out the drum brakes for disc.

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

I have to ask a question before I can even come up with my opinions (for what they're worth). Specifically, what happened to the axle??

 

[tdharley]

Dont know.

Just coincidentially I was in Conneticut in the middle of the summer and stopped at a truck stop for diesel. While there I drove onto the scales, it showed a axle weight of 11,500 lbs. Seems right even for 2-6000lb. axles.
See attached ticket

 

[Cyncwby]

Just a thought and I know money is tight right now (then again when isn't it?) I WOULD NOT even think of replacing just one old axle, specially going from a 6k to a 7k. Going to throw the hole rig out of balance.....mho only.....but good luck.

 

[jmgratz]

If I were in your shoes and could afford it I would put the Mor-Ryde IS system with disc brakes and never lube bearings on and do away with axle problems altogether.

 

[tdharley]

Sorry I thought I made it clear that the 375.00 price was for 2 axles only no springs. They trell me they are the same diameter, but thicker walls

My real concern with that is it ok to change just the tubes and not the springs. It is easier although more time consuming to change just the axles. I do not have jacks and safety equiptment to jack up the rig and remove the complete axles with springs.

 

[Paul_in_MN]

As a farmer, I have fixed a lot of trailers, equipment, and have built a few road worthy trailers. So I have worked with axles, springs, shackles, etc.

It is perfectly OK to change the axle without changing the springs. If the springs were OK before the change, they will be OK after. When you get the axles be sure that the mounting plates that mate with the springs are the same distance apart as on the original axles, and then check the axle tubes for a slight bend. As these trailers have the axle mounted beneath the spring pack, the axle should be bent "up" on the same side as the flat side of the spring mounting plate. This gives the wheels camber (top of wheels are slightly further apart than the bottom of the wheels...at least when the trailer is lightly loaded). You would be suprised at how much the axle flexes during road travel, thus changing the camber. (Some axles are built with the bend in the opposite direction, so they mount on the top of the spring pack).

If you have any doubt about the U-bolt's integrity, or condition of the threads, buy new ones. They are minimal size (compared to stuff I work on) and the steel may be stretched if they are at all loose on the original axle/spring pack. If they are quite tight, and look good with careful inspection, then OK to reuse them. When you set the new axle in place, there should be a round "bolt head" sticking out the bottom side of the spring pack. This bolt head must be located in the drilled hole in the axle mounting plate, then tighten up the U-bolt nuts. The round bolt head locates the axle for correct axle alignment. I do not know the torque spec for the U-bolt nuts, but it needs to be "real tight", like what you can do with 1/2" drive socket and breaker bar. After the trailer has been on the road for a few dozen miles, I'd crawl under and check the tightness of all the U-bolt nuts again with the same wrench.

If you are using the original brakes and back plates, mark them "L" or "R" before taking them from the original axle. Electric brakes are quite directional and need to be on the correct side of the trailer. Make sure your wheel bearings are freshly greased and are adjusted correctly before hitting the road. Good luck with this project (even if you have a shop do the work, you need to know that it was done correctly).

Paul in MN

 

[tdharley]

Thanks Paul

Thats the kind of info I love about this site.

 

[TXBobcat]

When I changed out the 6k axles to 7k axles Lippert changed the springs from 4 leaf to 5 leaf. This raised my trailer about 3 inches. Personally I would not keep the 4 leaf springs. I would add a 5th leaf or install a new 5 leaf spring. The springs support the weight as much as the axles. You could install 8k axles but if you have 6k leaf springs your still limited to 6k.

That is what I would do if I were keeping the axle and spring suspension.

As you can see I now have Mor/Ryde IS & DB.

BC

 

[porthole]

I have two, practically new (10 miles), 7000 pound axles, springs, hangers, U-bolts, backing plates and hubs I will be listing on eBay soon.
They were taken off my 3010 Cyclone in July.

I'm in New Jersey if this helps.

 

[Retired CPO]

For Sale by Owner

I have two, practically new (10 miles), 7000 pound axles, springs, hangers, U-bolts, backing plates and hubs I will be listing on eBay soon.
They were taken off my 3010 Cyclone in July.

I'm in New Jersey if this helps.

What are you looking to get for them, I may be interested.

 

[TXBobcat]

Just a thought.. If anyone is near Goshen IN, you might call Mor/Ryde and see if they have any axles and springs available. They sell them as junk. My 7k axles were less than a year old and I tried to give mine away but no one took me up on it...

FWIW
BC

 

[tdharley]

Heartland was no help, Eric refered me to Lippert. Lippert refered me back to Heartland, undersized axle. I am not gonna get in the middle of Eric's fuzzy math. He said their reason for switching to 7000lb. axles as that they were "more available". Yeah.Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Anyway, I got in touch with Mor-Ryde and will probably go with the IS & disc brakes.

 

[jmgratz]

Anyway, I got in touch with Mor-Ryde and will probably go with the IS & disc brakes.

A wise decision....IMHO

 

[D and J]

I have an '07 3055 Bighorn. I wrote to Heartland on the forum but so far no reply. I have been having tire problems, blowouts, bubbles, sidewall breakdowns but always on the same tire. I am thinking maybe the axel.

I have 235/80/16 load range E tires now and I was thinking of going to 235/85/16 LR G but don't know if my aluminum wheels can handle the 110 PSI. Any reason I should not go with this upgraded tire?

I am heading back to AZ for the winter in about 2 months. Does anyone know of a good place to go to have axels checked/replaced? I talked to someone at a tire dealership here in WA and he said I could not go up to a 7000 lb axel because the trailer frame cannot hold the extra weight.

I feel like I am chasing my tail. I am unhappy that Heartland installed 6000 lbs axels on a trailer that is rated for 14000 lb instead of the 7000 lbs axels. It would be great if they could help me out BUT I need to do something now as we don't feel safe with the current situation we have.

Any suggestions/input would be greatly appriciated.

Thanks, Dianne

 

[cookie]

Dianne, I am not sure if your I-beam frame will support the weight or not. Remember that your 3055 is shorter than the rigs that have the larger frame. That might be relevent to the capacity of the weight rating. I do know of some people that have ordered 7,000# axles on thier rigs in place of the 6,000# and have not heard of any problems. I doubt that anyone else has either. IMHO your tire dealership should stick to selling tires. Your axles are rated at 6,000#, but do not carry 14,000#. Your pin/truck carries about 20% of your weight. So if you are loaded properly, you will have about 2,500# on your hitch and 11,500# on the axles (14,000#). The inflation capacity should be molded or stamped into the alluminum rims. Look at the back side of them an you should see those numbers.

Peace
Dave

 

[Larryheadhunter]

I have the 3400RE but also moved up exactly what you are suggesting to G rated Goodyear 614's and believe me there is a world of positive difference. I know a few people with your exact rig 3055 that have moved up. All of them had 16" aluminum rims and are extremely pleased.