21 foot on order

[BREWMASTER]

Just wondering if ETI offers conventional leaf spring axles for the 21 footer and have heard that the Dexter swing arm torsion bar axles need to be replaced at times. May be off pavement much of time and wonder if lifting trailer off axle avail from ETI. Thanks

[cpaharley2008]

Over on Fiberglass RV, torsion axles replacements have been discussed but only after 10-15 years is there any degrading of performance. Conventional leaf is offered on the 5.0 model since it has to be adjusted for the tow vehicle truck bed.

[Brian B-P]

There is no choice of suspension type - the 5.0TA has beam axles and leaf springs (Dexter D35), and the rest of the models have rubber-sprung "torsion" type independent arms (Dexter Torflex #10). As Jim said, the leaf-spring setup was chosen because it is easy to switch it between two different heights (about 4" difference) to suit different tow vehicles - matching height is much more important with a fifth-wheel, since the trailer must clear the truck box.

It would be a problem to offer a choice between these designs, because the mounting to the frame is different, and because there would potentially be interference with other components (such as water tanks) under the trailer. Switching from Torflex to leaf springs would generally be considered a downgrade.

Escape has offered a "high lift" Torflex suspension for some models in the past, but it is not currently listed. A lift (of about 2 inches) should be practical by inserting appropriately designed spacers, but that would need to be confirmed with Escape.

[GerriJ]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

Escape has offered a "high lift" Torflex suspension for some models in the past, but it is not currently listed. A lift (of about 2 inches) should be practical by inserting appropriately designed spacers, but that would need to be confirmed with Escape.

Dexter has a lift kit for their Torflex axles. Dexter Axle - Trailer Axles and Running Gear Components - Torflex Lift Kit

Mark

[rbryan4]

The high lift axles aren't listed as an option anymore because they're standard on new builds.