Axle/springs/tires upgrade

cliffw42 · 10-10-2010, 06:14 AM

If anyone lives near the Coastal Bend area of TX (halfway between Corpus Christi and Galveston) I thought you might be able to help me. I need to find an honest, reliable place to get my axles/springs/tires

replaced. I have about 50k miles on my 2007 CF30SK now, and I am tired

of replacing blown tires. I had already upgraded the 15" load range D

tires to 15" load range E tires, but now I am going to upgrade the

axles/springs, and go with 16" load range G's. I just returned from a 2 month, 3500 mile trip to NC, and went through another 4 tires, so I think it's time to bite the bullet and upgrade.
Thanks for any information you can give me.
Cliff

artgpo · 10-10-2010, 07:33 AM

Cliff,

If you don't mind me asking, how fast do you go when towing? What about the weight?

cliffw42 · 10-10-2010, 07:54 AM

I usually keep it at 65 or lower.
The weights were OK when I got it...I'm going to haul it to the scales tomorrow or Tuesday and check to see if the weight has creeped up over the years.
Cliff

drcook · 10-10-2010, 09:21 AM

If you are keeping the trailer for the long haul, check into these suspension upgrades

http://www.morryde.com/php/products/suspensions/towables/index.php

2or 3 years from now our new Cruiser is going to get one of the systems. I would do it in the spring, but I need some parts for the truck. Going to put a little larger turbocharger on it and a full dual exhaust. I live in a county here in Ohio that requires EPA inspections, so I have to keep the catalytic converter functional. I am going to dual cats.

The independent suspension looks like it would really be the best way to go.It is fully adjustable for alignment and ride height.

The companymakes a lot ofgood stuff.

http://www.morryde.com/index.php

dc

cliffw42 · 10-19-2010, 02:07 AM

OK...after doing some more research, It appears that I should just go from the China junk tires to GY or Michelin, change from 15" to16", and from ST to LT. I can do this with only about 1" increase in diameter. However, that 1" makes the clearance close between the top of the tire and the wheel well.
Have any of you raised your camper? If so, any hints/tips?
Thanks,
Cliff

cliffw42 · 10-19-2010, 02:09 AM

Oh yeah, I forgot...I took it to the scales and am well within the weight limits (both for the axles and tires.
Cliff

Byron & Gail · 10-19-2010, 02:16 AM

Cliff

Have you had your axles aligned? There are a few alignment centers for large trucks that will also do camper axles. We went through three tires on a 31" Heatland - both axles were out of alignment, they were mechanically adjusted (rebent to the correct curve) that fixed it. Not only did the tires stay on and in place but the trailer pulled straight.

Regards

Byron

cliffw42 · 10-19-2010, 02:21 AM

Byron,
Thanks for the reply...No, I haven't been able to find anyone around here that does that. I do plan to have it done as soon as I can find someone to do it.
Cliff

Byron & Gail · 10-19-2010, 02:37 AM

Cliff - I accidently discovered it when I talked with a State/county construction supervisor. I asked who did the repairs on thier gravel trucks/heavy trucks. He gave me three names of companies in the Minneapolis area. You may try either the city or county - good luck.

b & g

scott · 10-19-2010, 02:50 AM

Gotta say thumbs up on the move to LT tires. When I changed tires I had one tire with the inside tread about gone while the rest still looked new. 2 years ago I changed to LT tires and so far everything looks good with the treadwear. I'm eventually going to change my axles for the simple fact that I will never own anything again that has Alko Kober parts on it.

cliffw42 · 10-22-2010, 10:52 AM

OK...here's the latest. Upon further examination, I decided my clearances were a little close for 16" tires. So, I cut off the shocks to make more room for the tire width. I had already replaced the suspension with the wet bolt kit and Equaflex parts. It looks like it will be a fairly simple job to have some extensions/re-inforcements welded on to the spring hangers. I think I will have the welder put 6" extensions with bolt holes every inch. That way, if my original 2" rise isn't enough (or if it's too much), I can re-adjust it later. I have room to raise the hitch, so I can keep it level.
Once all that is done, I plan to replace the ST 225/75R 15 LRE China Junk (Carlisle) with Michelin XPS Ribs either 225/75R 16 LRE, or 215/85R 16 LRE. They both have the same carrying capacity (2680 lbs @ 80 psi), The 225 is 8.7" wide with a diameter of 29.4". The 215 is only 8.46 wide, but 30.39" diameter. The current 15" tires are 8.85" wide and 28.28" diameter.
Do any of you see any red flags here? If so, I would appreciate a heads up.
I'll post again once all of that is done.

Byron & Gail · 10-22-2010, 10:33 PM

While talking to the Carriage Dealer in Mankato MN. The salesperson made a comment that I had not heard of. She stated that they order (from the factory) shackle extensionsto raise the rear of the trailer as well as provide additional clearance. This was supposedly on a 5th wheel.The salesperson says that when theyadd the extensions it raisesthe rear of trailer to accomodate the taller towing vehicles that they encounter. (meaning specifically 4 wheel drive trucks/roadvehicles). She also commented that the ride is better andall supportinghardware (shocks, etc.) is adjusted.

One last thought - I have thought about replacingtrailer shocks with air shocks - have you considered that for the extra clearance or is the weight to great?

thx

byron & gail

cliffw42 · 10-23-2010, 01:24 AM

Byron,
Thanks. No, I haven't thought about air shocks. I don't think I will need any shocks at all, since I installed the Equaflex.
That's a great idea about the shackle extensions, if Crossroads has them. I'm going to send them an email now, to see. That would save me a lot of trouble, not having to re-invent the wheel.
Cliff

Byron & Gail · 10-23-2010, 01:28 AM

Cliff

I am not 100% sure but I think that Lippert actually makes them. And, why is it that you won't need to have shocks? thx b

cliffw42 · 10-23-2010, 02:28 AM

Byron,
When I was researching the Equaflex, and installing them (Jan 09), the folks who had already done it were mostly in agreement that with the Equaflex installed, the shocks were unnecessary.
Also, with the shocks installed, the corners of the top mounting brackets were really close to the tires. Around the time I got my rig, (Dec 06), this forum had lots and lots of posts about problems with the shock mounts rubbing the inside of the tires, causing lots of problems. CR adjusted that problem after that, and mine didn't ever rub the tire, but they were still closer than I am comfortable with. So, I decided since I'm going to get bigger tires anyway, I might as well eliminate as many problems as I can. If I notice a big difference without them, I will probably re-install them, but with lots more tire clearance than before.
Cliff

Byron & Gail · 10-23-2010, 02:37 AM

Ok - got it. Thank for your detailed response.

byron

Ridgeman · 10-24-2010, 11:59 AM

Cliff,

I just started reading this post so I am a little late on commenting.

On my 07 30 SK, I have 4 1/2 " between the front and rear tires at the closest point. If you go with the larger diamater XPS, you will only have 2 1/2 " between tires. I don't know if that is a problem. Just wanted to point it out if you hadn't considered it. When you talk to Crossroads you may want to ask someone like Randy if that would be a problem from an engineering standpoint.

Iuse BAL chocks between my tires and I'm sureyou would not be able to get them between your tires with either of the XPS tires.

I talked with a Lippert rep acouple of years ago andshe told me they DO make a 5 inch on center spring hanger. They may also have some with multiple holes for adjusting. However, as a former machinist, I think drilling aspring hanger hole every 1 inch would weaken the hanger. So unless it was made of a fairly high grade forged steel or thicker than normal hangerI wouldnot have holes every inch. Maybe every 2 inches, but better yet would be a hanger that has been engineered specifically to carry the load of your trailer and have multiple holes. That's why I suggest you talk with Lippert about your ideas or with Randy at crossroads since they apparently now build trailers with adjustable spring hangers.

I had 2 sets of XPS RIBS on my last rig which was a 17,000 lbclass A motorhome. Put about 65,000 miles on them . They are a great tire. As you know all steel belts, including the side walls. But big $$$.

Please keep us updated on your mods. I will be very interested in the outcome. I have made all the adjustments that I can with my hitch and pinbox and my5er still is about 3" higher in the front than the rear when towing. Even though it pulls like a dream, I'm not happy with the clearance between my truck bed siderails and the botttom of the trailer overhang. When I am backing from a level surface to a down slope (as in backing from my street to my downslope driveway) I have to be very carefull to avoid contact between the truck and the trailer. It also gets a little hairy when I am traveling on rough dirt roads. Now that my frame warranty is expired, I may do something to raise the rig.

cliffw42 · 10-24-2010, 01:36 PM

Kurt,
Thanks for the thoughts. I sent an email to Crossroads about it, hoping to hear from them.
Otherwise, I will go to a professional whee/spring shop and have them do the 2" rise. I had decided not to do the multiple hole thing for the same reasons you presented.
I'll let you know how it all works out.
Cliff

fixit5561 · 10-24-2010, 07:20 PM

I had my travel trailer raised up a bit so that I could add the Equaflex on my axles (talked with the women at equaflex for about 2 hrs measuring and figuring out what had to be done to do it right).

We had a welder here that would come out to the house to do it. All I had to do was pull it into my driveway and they did the rest. It worked good, raised the trailer up about 2" too and Im very happy with the way it sits now.

I dont have a 5er but I like the heigth it has now. I only raised up the center hanger, the others were left in place and it didnt do anything to my alignment. Been using it this way for the whole summer and not a problem with odd tire wear. I do have the Carlisle 205 75r15 so they are the China tires but I havent had any problems like I said.

So Id go with rasing it up. I do know that once mine was raised up it did spread the tires out more also. So in that you may find that raising yours up may do the same thing and give you the clearance that you need between the tires to put larger dia. tires on it.

cliffw42 · 10-25-2010, 01:07 PM

Well, I have an appointment to take it to San Antonio to Southwest Wheel a week from next Wednesday. They come highly recommended so I'm going to bite the bullet and have some major "beefing up" done. They will raise it 2" (steel tube, not just new hangers), take the 6 lug wheels off and put on 8 lug, and all the stuff that goes with it. Then they will put on new wheels and tires (Goodyear G614 G rated, 14 ply, 3750 lbs @110 psi). I DO NOT plan to be by the side of the Interstate with a blowout AGAIN! I'll also raise the hitch, so it's level, after all the mods are completed.
I'll post again after the work is done, and I tow it home (3 hrs...that should be enough to see how it runs).
Cliff

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