Maintenance & Restoration

**RogerDat** · 02-01-2016, 09:59 AM

Good news on not needing an axle. You can't beat a knowledgeable and trusted professional who is able to examine the situation.

If the rubber is good then it may well be that the axle was replaced and if it was with an axle having less down angle it might appear to ride low. I don't recall the difference in angle to make an inch difference but going from 0* to 22.5* down was at around 2 or 3 inches of height change as I recall.

New axle with 10* or 22.5* less down angle would drop the trailer ride height some. But then Scamp 13's do sit low. Low enough they don't have a step in the doorway. Just ground to floor in one step.

Couple of inches of ground to skirt clearance won't hurt when going down a rough back road but don't forget the axle tube is still the same height Frame is lifted 2 inches not the axle tube.

Just a thought but you might want to see if those "blocks" can run along the frame far enough forward to become mount points for a future trailing arm axle. May not be relevant or useful but if it is just a matter of running the new tube further along the frame..... maybe worth considering.

Bill Nolen · 02-01-2016, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RogerDat

Good news on not needing an axle. You can't beat a knowledgeable and trusted professional who is able to examine the situation.....

Just a thought but you might want to see if those "blocks" can run along the frame far enough forward to become mount points for a future trailing arm axle. May not be relevant or useful but if it is just a matter of running the new tube further along the frame..... maybe worth considering.

Roger, that is a good idea. However, I hoping to get the shop to change the axle now from a leading arm axle to a following arm axle. However, I'm not sure if they can do this with my axle. I don't know enough to know if the degree of up or down settings on the arms on my axle would permit this or not.

The only problem that I can see with running the tube further down would be the extra welding time involved. I'm trying to hold the costs down...with the thoughts of a new paint job in the future!

Thanks for you comments.

Bill

Bill Nolen · 02-04-2016, 07:56 PM

Today i was told that my Scamp was ready to be picked up! Much faster service than I had expected.

The trailer company had installed 2-inch metal tubing between the axle and the frame. In addition, they had removed the hubs and inspected the spindles and bearings.

They found the spindles and bearings in good condition, but, replaced the old bearings and seals with new ones...plus new grease.

One interesting thing that they discovered was that there was no brakes installed on the axles. What makes this strange is the fact that there was wiring wrapped around the axle leading to both wheels, plus there was holes in the bottom of the trailer with the non-hooked up brake wires going inside the trailer. They thought it was possible that a older axle, with brakes, had been replaced, or that for some reason the brakes assys had been remover.

Of course, I'm leading towards thinking (and hoping) that a non-brake new axle had replaced the original axle that must have had brakes. But, it's something that will never be known, i guess.

The trailer towed just fine on the way home. However, I was unable to drive faster then 50 MPH.

Tomorrow if I have time I'll take a photo showing the tubes/fblocks. The cost was $210.00 for 3-hours labor and the new bearing and seals, which I thought was reasonable. Plus, I believe the trailer looks better being 2-inches higher.

Bill