The Axle Replacement Saga

[Pete Dumbleton]

A friend once pointed out to me that traffic circles in the UK made more sense with the ubiquitous "Yield to the Right" rule that exists regardless of which side of road one drives on -- Vehicles entering the circle in UK must yield to the circle (CW) vehicles whereas vehicles in the circle (CCW) in US need a sign to trump the rule.

[Andrew Gibbens]

Curiously, the 'Yield to the right' rule has never existed in Britain. And I remember driving in France when they still kept the 'priorité a droite' (yield to the right) rule on roundabouts/traffic circles, which would lock up frequently - just chaos!

And anyone thinking they know about traffic circles, might like to look at the aerial photo on this web page of the 'Magic Roundabout' in Swindon, England (named by locals after a popular kid's TV show), which has five mini-roundabouts grouped around one big two-way (yes, two-way) roundabout:
Swindon's Magic Roundabout

Andrew
(who is a little ashamed about being a thread hijacker)

[Pete Dumbleton]

I have been through the Swindon (aka Swine-don) circles a number of times -- Kind of like a horizontal rollercoaster!

I did find this:

"Where's the Yield Sign?

There is no "yield" sign in the UK, but that does not mean that you should not be cautious when driving into traffic and others have the right of way. Instead of a sign that says "yield", be on the lookout for a sign that says "give way". Always give way to traffic on the right. This rule applies at roundabouts too. Once you know that, navigating through roundabouts will seem so much easier."


"There is a fundamental rule in British traffic...

You must GIVE WAY to the right - which is to say, YIELD to traffic approaching from your right."

http://www.roundabout.net/DIBgiveWay.html

[Darwin Maring]

In the 60’s
When in Rome - Never make eye contact with another driver and if your front fender is ahead of the other vehicle just give it the gas and go on. What is behind you is not important.

In the 70s When in Izmir Turkey, do not stop at the 1 red light because you will be rear ended. Just take a quick look left and right and if no one is in the intersection you’re good to go. Also: If you are in a Taxi and it has an accident, you are partly responsible because the Taxi wouldn’t have been there if you had not rented it. If you break down just stack 3 rocks on top of each other and leave the vehicle, even if it is in the middle of the road.

[Roy in TO]

"There is a fundamental rule in British traffic...

You must GIVE WAY to the right - which is to say, YIELD to traffic approaching from your right."

http://www.roundabout.net/DIBgiveWay.html

Interesting Pete,
The one thing I noticed that if the driver is on the right side of the car (our passenger side) and they don't give way to the right, they are the ones most likely to sustain personal injury in an accident. That should serve to be a pretty good motivation for most.

[Pete Dumbleton]

I got to drive in Naples, Italy, (drove down from Rome airport and there was a difference!) one time and it was exactly as Darwin said -- If you look another driver in the eye, you have just yielded Right of Way -- Turn rearview mirror so you can't see in it because you should be concentrating on what's in front of you (don't worry about side mirrors because they have already been wiped off the car by close calls!) -- Red lights mean "Slow down and use caution while going through this intersection".

Another interesting thing is going to lunch in local Naples eatery -- Hardly any room at table because everybody has his removable radio/stereo with him on the table...

[Robert W.]

this might be a stupid question but how do i tell if its my axle that's gone or bad tires with flat spots??drove this thing once couple miles thump thump thump like on concrete highway. not bad but noticeable? before i start buying windows and vents?like to find out if its an axle it will get sold fast. please help me

[Raya]

this might be a stupid question but how do i tell if its my axle that's gone or bad tires with flat spots??

Have you tried running with different tires yet? Just curious as this would be a relatively easy way to reduce the variables, and even if you sell, new tires are probably one of those things you can get your money back on (at least last time I bought them they weren't that expensive, tho' that was a few years back).

I'm sure others will pipe in with various axle tests.

Raya

[Greg A]

this might be a stupid question but how do i tell if its my axle that's gone or bad tires with flat spots??drove this thing once couple miles thump thump thump like on concrete highway. not bad but noticeable? before i start buying windows and vents?like to find out if its an axle it will get sold fast. please help me

Robert,

You could tell our axle was bad several ways.

1. Looked like a "low-rider"
2. When you stepped in the trailer it sank and stayed there
3. You should have about 3-4 inches clearance above the top of the tire to the top of the wheel well
4. Black marks at the top of the wheel well not a good sign

If your trailer is over 15 to 20 years old and you know the axle is original equipment that is probably a clue too. The bumping sounds like it would be more of a tire issue(I believe they call those watermelons) though that wouldn't necessarily preclude your axle being bad as well.

[Roy in TO]

5. You should have about 3" of movement between no load and full bump load.
The Dexter site describes the terms and the amounts based on start angle.

[Greg A]

Update to the axle saga.
We took our first trip on the "new axle" last weekend.
Although it was a short haul to Sedona (about and hour and half away), everything performed beautifully.
Nice to have this chapter behind us.