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Old 01-12-2020, 03:09 PM   #1
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axle under springs mod

Trailer is a 2019 FR Wildwood FSX 17' single axle bumper pull. Want to put the springs over the axle to raise the trailer height. Drag the rear mounted tank drain valves too easily. Any drawbacks that folks have run into? I will add and weld new spring perch mounts to the axle instead of "flipping it". This will not change the caster or brakes set up. It appears that I will gain about 4-3/4" to 5" of height. I will have to remeasure and reset my WDH head once this is done. My trailer actually sets about 1" tongue high on my Tahoe as it is now.
Most of my camping is done locally in Idaho and is boondocking. More gravel roads than any other type. I should expect a tad more wind resistance but should not be a problem. I don't expect problems with sway using the WDH and this trailer is reasonably small and light. My stabilizers might need a block under them. Entrance steps are pretty close to the ground now and I don't think they will be to high. What have I missed?
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Old 01-12-2020, 03:46 PM   #2
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Wildcat has no such model. The only FR brand I know of, that makes a FSX model is Salem and Wildwood, which are twin brands.
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Old 01-12-2020, 04:59 PM   #3
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It is Wildwood my mistake.
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Old 01-14-2020, 12:16 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tumbleweed01 View Post
Trailer is a 2019 FR Wildwood FSX 17' single axle bumper pull. Want to put the springs over the axle to raise the trailer height. Drag the rear mounted tank drain valves too easily. Any drawbacks that folks have run into? I will add and weld new spring perch mounts to the axle instead of "flipping it". This will not change the caster or brakes set up. It appears that I will gain about 4-3/4" to 5" of height. I will have to remeasure and reset my WDH head once this is done. My trailer actually sets about 1" tongue high on my Tahoe as it is now.
Most of my camping is done locally in Idaho and is boondocking. More gravel roads than any other type. I should expect a tad more wind resistance but should not be a problem. I don't expect problems with sway using the WDH and this trailer is reasonably small and light. My stabilizers might need a block under them. Entrance steps are pretty close to the ground now and I don't think they will be to high. What have I missed?
Doesn't sound like you've missed much of anything. You probably won't gain quite as much height as you stated, but it'll probably close.
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Old 01-14-2020, 12:42 PM   #5
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If you were to drop the nose 2" so that you are nose low you may gain enough height to save your self some work.
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Old 01-14-2020, 02:03 PM   #6
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Sounds like a straight forward solution to the problem, and it will give you about 3" at the axle. You can save yourself some work by simply rotating the whole axle 1/2 turn. Caster doesn't enter into a non-steering axle application, and the brakes are not affected, as the wheels still rotate in the same direction, thus the self energizing feature still operates as designed.
Sounds like you're golden.
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Old 01-14-2020, 04:18 PM   #7
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Axel

I would try MountainBikes suggestion !st. If you swap the axel you will loss some stability and introduce more sway, especially on a single axel trailer.
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Old 01-14-2020, 04:46 PM   #8
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It will tow a little differently as you are also raising the center of gravity (so may be more prone to wind sway?). But it sounds like you have the basics covered. Good news is with adding a new spring perch, you can always go back to the original setup if you don't like it. If you wanted more height after the spring location change, you should have more room for a larger diameter tire if you want to go that route as well. Just make sure your stabilizer jacks still have adequate room and are not over elongated with the new height. You could upgrade to taller jacks if needed, but you will probably be OK.
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Old 01-14-2020, 05:08 PM   #9
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A loot of the fellers around here do a spring over fix on their toy haulers and 5th wheels so they have more clearance getting back into the high country around here. These are the folks who do long distance type touring but are hunters and outdoorsy people who rarely ever get out of state or even go over 150 miles to their destination.
A weld shop here does a lot of fifth wheel lifts to accommodate lifted trucks.
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Old 01-14-2020, 06:29 PM   #10
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same here in So. Cal as Blackrock says. sounds like you're a decent fabricator and welder and your approach is correct. "Flipping" the axles is a misnomer as you're camber will be all wrong, "switching" the axles is a little better. Yes COG will be a little higher but doubt you'll even notice. We like to boondock but the places we go to are easy flat dirt roads so having a fiver has not been a problem so far. Tag trailers are easier but still have to be careful and remember to remove WD hitch bars if you're articulating a lot, don't want to bend the frame.
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Old 01-14-2020, 07:47 PM   #11
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My post said caster and I meant camber on the axle. Sorry. I know the difference really.
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Old 01-14-2020, 09:15 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Photo Lab View Post
Sounds like a straight forward solution to the problem, and it will give you about 3" at the axle. You can save yourself some work by simply rotating the whole axle 1/2 turn. Caster doesn't enter into a non-steering axle application, and the brakes are not affected, as the wheels still rotate in the same direction, thus the self energizing feature still operates as designed.
Sounds like you're golden.
Sounds like a good idea but axles do have camber built in. The axle tube is arched and will flatten out with weight applied. If you were to mount a axle upside down the inside of the tires would wear out very quickly and you run the risk of having the tube collapse.
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Old 01-15-2020, 05:26 AM   #13
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What you will gain in height will be the diameter of the axle + the height of the spring stack.

Years ago I lived in Alaska and had a 23' Layton. It had an underslung axle already mounted below the springs, and sat very low. to the ground. It caused me some issues so I flipped the axle in the auto/welding shop at Ft Wainwright.

Worked perfectly. It did raise the height about 5 1/2". I found an empty 82MM mortar round crate. It was perfect, had two rope handles sat just in front of the steps as a third step and when traveling it sat just inside the door on the floor. It also doubled as a misc. tools box.
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Old 01-15-2020, 12:02 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DouglasReid View Post
What you will gain in height will be the diameter of the axle + the height of the spring stack.

Years ago I lived in Alaska and had a 23' Layton. It had an underslung axle already mounted below the springs, and sat very low. to the ground. It caused me some issues so I flipped the axle in the auto/welding shop at Ft Wainwright.

Worked perfectly. It did raise the height about 5 1/2". I found an empty 82MM mortar round crate. It was perfect, had two rope handles sat just in front of the steps as a third step and when traveling it sat just inside the door on the floor. It also doubled as a misc. tools box.

If adding a third step is not possible you can get one of those aerobic step deals, plastic used for exercise and use it as a first step too.
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Old 01-15-2020, 12:39 PM   #15
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The first trip out on our new 2019 Gray Wolf 23dbh leaving a Walmart parking lot we smashed the two rear stabilizers flat. The tanks discharge pipes also hung way to low to the ground and I knew we would eventually drag and bust them, so decided to have the axles flipped. Worked quit well for us and now have good clearance. We do a lot of boondocking off the main roads and not have a problem. Towing did not seem to change either. Tows just fine and we traveled over 10k last year. Gray Wolf is a tantum axle setup, however. .
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