tuna couldn't you get the exact axel measurement from Henechen in Jackson
center....They special made new axels for my 64 soverign and shipped them to
SoCal for me several years ago. Pearl
> Tuna: I don't know the answer to your question re original axle length, but
> I'll take a wild guess and say that even if you keep the new axle at the shorter
> length, that independent suspension thing doesn't look like a good thing. I
> thought one of the purposes of replacing the frame was to improve on the flaws
> of the pipe frame? Can you construct a ladder frame by attaching all the
> cross-members together, in whatever way distinguishes them from pipe frames? I
> would think this is your opportunity to make those kinds of alterations and you
> would not be wise to pass it up. Even maybe wait for Kimm Flatt to score us
> some of those titanium I-beams he mentioned. I'm pretty sure he meant to get
> them for us for free `:P (<-- in case you can't tell, that is an extremely
> wicked look)
>
> I guess I don't understand why you seem to think wider or narrower might make a
> difference to the independent suspension, or a difference to whether it is a
> good thing or not? I would have thought the main difference a shorter axle
> could make is whether the wheels still fit into the wheel wells. Are you asking
> whether you should stay with this slightly shorter axle (eg stability issues),
> or whether you need to make changes to the frame either because of or regardless
> of the axle length (flexion issues), or what?
>
> --Sarah
>
> PS that must have been some blowout! Makes me want to be VERy careful about
> tire, wheel & hub maintenance!
>
> Robert Townsend wrote:
>
> > I've expanded this question re: the original axle-length for the 1948 19'
> > 'Trailwind' (It would probably be the same axle used on the post-war
> > 'Clipper')...
> >
> > I've got the Trailwind shell up on blocks, and i've rolled the 'truck'
> > back under it, and blocked the main frame 'pipe' up into relative position,
> > so
> > that what i have now is a real-life 'exploded view' of a '48 Trailwind,
> > minus cross-members and floor (and interior). I've 'braced' the shell with
> > couple of 80" 2x4" spreaders.
> >
> > Something didn't look 'right'. When I bought the trailer, i was told that
> > the axle/wheels/brakes had been replaced a couple of years back; the 'truck'
> > rails and suspension (leaf-springs) are original. Wheels are new(er) steel
> > 15", 5x5.5 bolt pattern. Now to my question:
> >
> > What was the length of the original axle? That is to say, from hub-to-hub,
> > or the centerline of each tire?
> > {}---------{}=?
> >
> > The replacement axle appears to be a couple of inches shorter than it could
> > be, and made more so by the camber-bend to it.
> >
> > So - do people think that 'Wider is Better'? Remember, this is a
> > pipe-frame. The truck-rails were essentially independent, rendering the
> > trailer's suspension as 'independent', as well. Hence the flexion of the
> > floor on both the longintudinal ('pipe', or 'keel') and latitudinal axes is
> > restricted only by the aluminum sheet-metal 'I beams, only two of which are
> > attached to the fore and aft of the truck's frame-rails.
> > (see illustration below/attached)
> >
> > To illustrate further, if one side the trailer were to be towed over a berm,
> > or a rock, or tree-root, the aluminum I-beam cross-pieces (not illustrated)
> > would actually facilitate the flexing, by concentrating the torsion along
> > each 'beam', through the floor.
> >
> > By comparison, a 'ladder frame' will spread not only the load, but reduce
> > the flexion of the floor.
> >
> > The cambered axle/wheels mitigates this only very slightly, but the effects
> > of the flexing of the floor are cumulative and progressive, so that only
> > small effects and time will pretty much result in what i've found here.
> >
> > Incidentally, my ongoing forensic investigation into this trailer's past
> > seems to indicate that the streetside tire must have blown, and the
> > resultant damage to the streetside wheel-well and water-heater led to the
> > eventual explosion and fire which took out the water-heater.
> >
> > Tuna
> > WBCCI#8862, VAC
> > Reno, NV
> >
>
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