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Topic ClosedAxle reinforcement
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StephenH View Drop Down
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Joined: 29 Nov 2015
Location: Wake Forest, NC
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Posts: 6288 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Axle reinforcement
    Posted: 01 Jun 2019 at 9:10am
The axle reinforcement project is finished. I have a picture in my mods. I hope to be able to test it on the road soon.
StephenH
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ouR escaPOD mods
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 May 2019 at 5:30am
Looks good so far, keep us posted. 
1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
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Joined: 29 Nov 2015
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Posts: 6288 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 May 2019 at 8:57pm
I am working on my axle reinforcement. I did a write-up in my mods with pictures of what I have so far. I hope to get it installed tomorrow. If not tomorrow, Saturday. This is the specific link for the post:  http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712&PID=124418&title=our-escapod-mods#124418
StephenH
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Apr 2019 at 10:35am
Originally posted by StephenH

Any updates on performance of the reinforced axle or have you not made any trips yet?

No trips yet this year, life is getting in the way of camping for me this spring unfortunately. Just some local short tows so far, back and forth to the "high" ground I park my rig on to avoid flooding from the nor'easters.
1994 Chinook Concourse
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Joined: 15 May 2017
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Posts: 2629 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Apr 2019 at 9:28am
Toyanvil's solution sure looks like a fine fix, but for the time and dollars involved, I think the "splint" that offgrid did would probably be all that anyone actually needs. Yes, that is an opinion.
bp
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Posts: 2587 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Apr 2019 at 9:06am
Hey Toyanvil how are your axle reinforcement brackets working out?  It looks like they should really solve the problem of the distance between the frame and the wheels from a lay persons point of view.  

Heck, your fix may be worth patenting before some manufacturer subcontracts a Chinese metal fabricator to mass produce them.  
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Joined: 29 Nov 2015
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Posts: 6288 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Apr 2019 at 8:24am
Any updates on performance of the reinforced axle or have you not made any trips yet?
StephenH
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Feb 2019 at 3:58pm
Originally posted by StephenH

 
One other change on this trip was the change from the Equal-i-zer hitch to the Hensley Cub hitch. I'm not sure if the way it is set up if it is transferring more weight to the trailer axle compared to what the Equal-i-zer transferred.

Any differences in trailer axle load should be pretty small between different wdh's assuming the same TV and trailer loads and that you've got them set up the same way, bringing the load on the TV front axle back to where it was before connecting the trailer. To estimate how much load a wdh is transferring to the TV front and trailer axles you can use this calculator. Once you have your weights and dimensions set up you can adjust the wdh tension so that the front axle load is the same with the trailer as it is with the trailer weight set to 1 lb (the calculator blows up if you set the trailer weight to zero). For me it adds about 150 lbs. Not insignificant but also not a huge increase. 
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StephenH View Drop Down
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Posts: 6288 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Feb 2019 at 3:33pm
Originally posted by Motor7

SH, that sounds more like a factory defect, or a axle damaged in shipping. A completed trailer shipped on a trailer could have been improperly chained or strapped down so tight that the axle could easily be bent.

Completed axles shipped from Lippert to FR could also be damaged by tie down methods. Ever see how they ship then? Dozens stacked 10-12' high, then chained or strapped by any method the driver chooses.

As far as numbers, does anyone here have a total of the production run R-Pod since inception? I am just assuming, but I am guessing that number is quite high.

Ours was not bent (excess camber) until after last Spring's trip out west. I think bouncing around Chicago area roads with tanks that were getting full from use probably did not help. Those were some of the worst roads I have driven on since we purchased our 179. That includes returning from the factory at Goshen after it was repaired following our accident.

One other change on this trip was the change from the Equal-i-zer hitch to the Hensley Cub hitch. I'm not sure if the way it is set up if it is transferring more weight to the trailer axle compared to what the Equal-i-zer transferred.
StephenH
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ouR escaPOD mods
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Feb 2019 at 1:22pm
I think the ride would be fine with the 5200 lb axle. I’d be concerned if it was a cargo trailer but travel trailers are never exactly lightly loaded. The Lippert axles in the pods are their 3500 lb series according to the part numbers on them. The lightest rpods appear to have 3500 lb ones derated to 3000.

Actually on a heavy rpod with a high tongue weight running a wdh the frame around the area where the a frame ties to the main frame rails is subject to load levels very similar to the axle tube. I would keep a careful eye on that area as well.



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