Joel,
I'm glad you liked the pictures and information.
I ordered my Flexiride axle from Southwest Wheel Trailer Parts in Texas because they were the next nearest dealer. There is a shop in Arizona that might be a few hundred miles closer but I liked the Southwest Wheel web site better. It had more information. I live in western Washington state which is about 1800 miles from their shop. Here's a link to the page for the 2000lb rated axle:
http://www.southwestwheel.com/store/...sion-axle.aspx
My axle cost $274.95. The freight charge was $65. I see the price has not changed since last April.
I ordered mine with a 63-inch hub face to hub face (where the wheel contacts the hub) and 49 inches over the frame. The frame on my Scamp is actually 48 inches outside width but I needed the inside of the axle brackets to clear the dropped floor walls which are 45 inches wide. The brackets on the axle are 2 inches wide (49 -4 = 45). They stamped these dimensions and axle rating on the axle.
I was going to buy Dexter 7-inch brakes locally at place called Six Robblees' but in comparing prices with them and etrailer.com it looks like I will save $100.46 by ordering them online from etrailer. Plus, since the order is over $150 the shipping is free. Here are the brake assemblies:
7" Electric Brake Assembly for 2K Axles - RH Dexter Trailer Brakes 23-48
7" Electric Brake Assembly for 2K Axles - LH Dexter Trailer Brakes 23-47
And the hub & drum assemblies:
Trailer Hub & Drum Assembly - 2,000 lbs. Axles - 4 on 4 Dexter Trailer Hubs and Drums 8-173-16UC3
Note that these are the hub and drums for 7 x 1 1/4
electric brakes. There are different hub and drum assemblies for the slightly wider 7-inch hydraulic brakes.
The total for the brakes and hubs will be $233.80.
Etrailer claims to have the lowest prices and guarantees them. I ordered my LED
tail lights and marker
lights from them last year and like all reviews say, their service is excellent. Very fast shipping.
Hopefully the 7-inch brakes will work ok. A lot of people are using them.
It was interesting what Bob said in the first reply to my original message. The axle dealer he visited said "that in their experience, 7 inch brakes are just not very effective, and just about useless in emergency situations."
I don't think locked trailer brakes in an emergency situation would be a good thing. Skidding
tires are out of control. I think the trailer brakes should assist the tow vehicle and help to slow the extra
weight of the trailer.
I decided to search for some past discussions on this topic. Here's one I found:
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...kes-39854.html
There is a link in the last message of that one to another message about Setting Your Trailer Brakes.
Here's one I read last year and was impressed with what people had to say about the need for brakes:
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...amp-49231.html
I liked what Bob Longest said in a reply in this discussion about someone at a Florida meet adjusting the lean out of their trailer with the adjustable arms. I had never thought of that one.
After I put on this new axle I will not longer be able to get my 1977 Scamp into my garage with the 7-foot hight door. It barely clears now. I have read of people putting 12-inch
tires on to get them low enough for a 7-foot door. I have some of those but maybe they won't clear the brakes.
With the Flexiride I could move the arms to lower the height of the trailer just for putting it in the garage. The manufacturer of Flexiride does not recommend a starting angle of more that 10 degrees above horizontal for towing. I think I will have to go higher than that to get it in my garage but it would just be temporary.
The way my old axle is now I had trouble putting new Carlisle ST175/80R13
tires on the trailer in July. There was no problem removing the 14 year old passenger car tires that were on the trailer when I bought it nine months before. I did not feel comfortable towing a trailer with 14 year old tires on it. I really wanted trailer rated tires on it.
The new tires are a little bit taller and wider than the old ones and I could not get the wheels to go on the hub. The tires were jammed against the inside of the trailer walls. Now I had a trailer stuck in my garage on jack stands.
I went back to the tire dealer which is about two miles away to get my old tires remounted so I could use my trailer and he said no way! They could not remount 14 year old tires that are not trailer rated. He said the old tires could explode if re-inflated. I then thought of a possible solution.
I let the air out of the new Carlisle tires and the sidewalls were flexible enough to go into the wheel well of the Scamp and mount on the hubs. I have a 5 hp air compressor so inflating them at home is not a problem.
I knew I would be able to get a flat tire off on the road but would have to carry a portable air compressor to inflate the spare tire once it is mounted. I did not have a flat in the four times I went out with the new tires. The fact that they were new made me feel somewhat confident.
Fortunately with the new axle and higher ride height I'm sure I will be able to mount an inflated Carlisle trailer tire on my Scamp.
The three pictures I attached to this message show the ride height of my 1977 Scamp now. Raising it is one reason for a new axle but not the main reason.
It looks like someone tried to jack the trailer up by placing a jack to the right of center under the axle. I thought I read in the Scamp owner's manual that a jack should never be placed under the axle and this is why.
This messed up the camber on both wheels, especially the right side one. I could see excessive wear on the outside edge of the tread of that 14 year old tire. I wasn't too concerned with damaging my new tires as I didn't go more than 500 miles and I wanted to go camping!!!
When someone who looked at the Scamp before I did told the seller it needed a new axle she dropped the price $1000 to my benefit. She asked me about it and when I saw the bend I agreed.
It looks like Dexter axles come from the factory with a slight arc to them but not as much as mine. It really looks bent.
The third picture shows what looks to be some kind of shock absorber mount that some previous owner welded on the brake flange of this original axle. I cut that ugly thing off both sides so I could roll the frame out from under the body on a small dolly I made.
I would recommend downloading information on the Flexiride axle on the manufacturer's web site, especially the Axle Data Sheet. Here's a link to their Technical Data page:
Technical Data
That's enough for now. I've enjoyed all the replies to the previous messages.
Jeff