Replacement Axle question and wheel balancers

[osubbfan@aol.com]

I had extreme tire wear on the front drivers tire and Dexter replaced the axel and tire. Question is is there a specification on the measurement from the front axel to the rear axel to assure they are running truly parallel. As i installed the new axel noticed bolt holes were slotted (I assume for adjustment) but the axel fit very tight. I also have raised axels (basically a spacer).

Next has anyone ever used the Centramatic dynamic wheel/tire balancers? I used them on a motorcycle once and found they worked great, eliminated cupping and gave a very smooth ride. Considering getting them for my 5.0.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by osubbfan@aol.com

Question is is there a specification on the measurement from the front axel to the rear axel to assure they are running truly parallel.

That's not how you would ensure correct axle alignment. Equal and correct spacing on each side could still mean both axles are misaligned with the trailer, just by the same amount. It also doesn't check that the suspensions are not bent.

[MVA]

Originally Posted by osubbfan@aol.com

I had extreme tire wear on the front drivers tire and Dexter replaced the axel and tire. Question is is there a specification on the measurement from the front axel to the rear axel to assure they are running truly parallel. As i installed the new axel noticed bolt holes were slotted (I assume for adjustment) but the axel fit very tight. I also have raised axels (basically a spacer).

Next has anyone ever used the Centramatic dynamic wheel/tire balancers? I used them on a motorcycle once and found they worked great, eliminated cupping and gave a very smooth ride. Considering getting them for my 5.0.

I had to replace the front axle on our 19. Both the right and left tires on the front axle had uneven wear. The measurement of the rear axle tire wear was almost perfect in regard to being even. Dexter sent us an axle free of charge when I sent then the tire wear data and a photo showing the non-parallelism of the passenger side tires (front tire turned inward) with a straightedge across both tires.

To your question. Dexter instructions have you measure from the center of axle to the hitch to ensure the axle is perpendicular to the plane of the towing center of the trailer. Makes sense, except for the Escape 19 trailer (and perhaps others) where the body of the trailer is low enough where you cannot draw a straight line from the axle to the hitch without the trailer body being in the way. Given the near perfect tire wear of my rear tires, I did line the front axle to be parallel to the rear since by inspection, the rear axle appeared to be near prefect. Depending on your situation and tie wear, you may be able to be the same. It is a trailer after all.

2 cents

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by MVA

Dexter sent us an axle free of charge when I sent then the tire wear data and a photo showing the non-parallelism of the passenger side tires (front tire turned inward) with a straightedge across both tires.

That's a more useful indication than the distance between axles; even better is the combination of both.

Originally Posted by MVA

Dexter instructions have you measure from the center of axle to the hitch to ensure the axle is perpendicular to the plane of the towing center of the trailer. Makes sense, except for the Escape 19 trailer (and perhaps others) where the body of the trailer is low enough where you cannot draw a straight line from the axle to the hitch without the trailer body being in the way.

The usual fix for this is to drop from the relevant points to the floor (driveway, whatever) surface using a plumb bob, electronic equivalent, or vertical level, and measure between those points.

[MVA]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

That's a more useful indication than the distance between axles; even better is the combination of both.


The usual fix for this is to drop from the relevant points to the floor (driveway, whatever) surface using a plumb bob, electronic equivalent, or vertical level, and measure between those points.

I tried that, but the compounding errors of measurement did not get me closer than simply measuring from axle center to axle center. I may have been fortunate that my rear axle was apparently near perfect based on tire wear.