Warning to light duty Dexter Torflex axle users

[aircommuter]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

I forgot, VW "Beetles" did too. Front and Rear.

Yup. One of the advantages of torsion bar springs is they can be (and were often)
made easily adjustable to correct to factory ride height. Coils and leaf not so much.
We had a bunch of Falcon Rancheros in the sixties that the CHP kept ticketing us on roadside checks. ?? Headlight position too low. Most springs do take an initial set.

[Jfkmk]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Torsion bars were used by "Mopar" to reduce unsprung weight which hindered traction on rough surfaces as well as ride comfort.

Also allowed for ride height adjustment as springs sagged and was first adjustment made on a "Mopar" alignment. Often times no further adjustments were required after ride height was corrected.

[emoji16][emoji16]

Yup, my 71 Challenger had a torsion bar front suspension.

My parents had a 75 Newport with torsion bar front suspension as well, and one managed to snap. Dad said it sounded like a gun going off! I remember helping him to replace it in the driveway.

[aircommuter]

Originally Posted by llr

FYI, you can't weld the torflex axles without destroying them. The axles set in rubber that would melt immediately.

Now if I was stranded somewhere I might chance welding it the take it easy on the way home then have it replaced.

It is not uncommon to use the absolute minimum axles. If a 4-5K axle is available that fits I would upgrade.

But the factory welded it?
Either the rubber doesn’t go to the end,1, or they inject the rubber after welding ,2, maybe quick cooling after welding, 3 ? Which do you choose answer 1,2,3?
At any rate that is poor weld and should be warranted as such, factory defect!

[aircommuter]

Originally Posted by Jfkmk

Yup, my 71 Challenger had a torsion bar front suspension.

My parents had a 75 Newport with torsion bar front suspension as well, and one managed to snap. Dad said it sounded like a gun going off! I remember helping him to replace it in the driveway.

All springs are subject to breaking. Even the animal kind. Ouch!

[Jshea]

Yes. Interestingly, German tanks had torsion bars in WWII.

[Ladaca]

Post it to the Dexter Axle Company FB page and every TT and RV page on FB. There are a lot of them.

[lkj831]

Over the years I’ve towed quite a few trailers of all kinds, some torsion axles and some equalizer leafs, and honestly I can’t tell the difference in towing. Maybe it’s just me. But, one thing I know about tandem torsion axle trailers. They need to be level when towing. Too low in the front will overload the front axle. Too high in the front overloads the rear axle. They don’t balance weight like equalizer leafs.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by lkj831

Over the years I’ve towed quite a few trailers of all kinds, some torsion axles and some equalizer leafs, and honestly I can’t tell the difference in towing. Maybe it’s just me. But, one thing I have learned about tandem torsion axle trailers. They need to be level when towing. Too low in the front will overload the front axle. Too high in the front overloads the rear axle. They don’t balance weight like equalizer leafs.

Of course--it seems obvious.

On a tandem leaf-spring setup that little rocker arm between the two axles is called the "equalizer" and does exactly that. It relieves the excess pressure (bend) on the more heavily loaded axle and applies it to the less heavily loaded axle until they are equal.

[aircommuter]

Originally Posted by lkj831

Over the years I’ve towed quite a few trailers of all kinds, some torsion axles and some equalizer leafs, and honestly I can’t tell the difference in towing. Maybe it’s just me. But, one thing I have learned about tandem torsion axle trailers. They need to be level when towing. Too low in the front will overload the front axle. Too high in the front overloads the rear axle. They don’t balance weight like equalizer leafs.

That’s true, and the same thing applies when you go over bumps. That is a drawback when using those on a tandem. Leaf with the equalizer can do better on the tandems.
I think Larry and I were typing together?

[Outsider]

I'm the OP. For many who may not know, that bracket is shaped in a "U" and is welded on the other side all the way around on 3 or 4 sides/seams to the axle. I suspect there is practically zero chance that it will totally fail in any way under normal use in the next week or two but I do plan to have something done as soon as I can.


I do plan to follow-up more with Dexter and posting on Facebook soon.

[Daniel.mullins4]

I had the Dexter Tortion axle 7000 lb on a 7500 lb dry weight Rockwood ultra lite 5th wheel, nothing but troubles, tire wearing on outer tread, bearing failure and just a terrible ride on these California roads, I upgraded to the Tembren silent ride 10,000 lb, purchased from etrailer, I had a local trailer shop install and these are awesome. Check them out on YouTube in action.

[krazyk]

As stated in the above posts, the main problems are with tandems and they seem to be especially bad in the @7000 lbs. range. Mine were 7K and they were an absolute nightmare.

[Jcape]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Apparently you missed, or just overlooked, all the posts on this forum regarding "leaf spring suspensions with broken spring hangars, worn bushings, broken leaf's, bent axles, and bent spindles.

Any suspension can have it's problems and torsion axles aren't any more prone to damage than leaf spring types.

You may be shocked to know how many times torsion suspensions are used because leaf springs aren't up to the task and how heavy those vehicles are. Here's a hint. One has a model number "M-1a" and weighs in excess of 60 tons.

Just for clarification, the M1A1 is in excess of 80 tons and they have 14 torsion axles.

[adaycj]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Apparently you missed, or just overlooked, all the posts on this forum regarding "leaf spring suspensions with broken spring hangars, worn bushings, broken leaf's, bent axles, and bent spindles.

Any suspension can have it's problems and torsion axles aren't any more prone to damage than leaf spring types.

You may be shocked to know how many times torsion suspensions are used because leaf springs aren't up to the task and how heavy those vehicles are. Here's a hint. One has a model number "M-1a" and weighs in excess of 60 tons.

I agree that any axle can have trouble. Having the suspension components separate from the actual axle spindle have holds a major benefit however. Those parts can all be repaired and are generally available. Twisty steel and rubber parts inside these types of totsion axles are considered throw away items if they fail. Sure we all wish TTs were built like tanks and held to military specs, but the reality is we are at the bottom of the other end of the market. Inspect able and serviceable wins here.

[Omaps]

Originally Posted by lkj831

Over the years I’ve towed quite a few trailers of all kinds, some torsion axles and some equalizer leafs, and honestly I can’t tell the difference in towing. Maybe it’s just me. But, one thing I know about tandem torsion axle trailers. They need to be level when towing. Too low in the front will overload the front axle. Too high in the front overloads the rear axle. They don’t balance weight like equalizer leafs.

The G19FD isn't a dual axle so that is not what happened here.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Jcape

Just for clarification, the M1A1 is in excess of 80 tons and they have 14 torsion axles.

My source for weights. Last tank I worked on while in Army was M-60https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1_Abrams

[nic7320]

This is very good reason why every RV should get on a truck scale. Without real numbers, you're only guessing what your total weight is. Fortunately, Oregon doesn't turn off their roadside scales at night, so now I know what my individual axle weights are.

One of them was a big surprise.

It's very likely your cargo weighs a lot more than you think. Even by a thousand or more pounds.

[NJKris]

Thanks for heads up on this, I have same trailer/axle. I will add this to my inspection list. For the record, this trailer has a tongue weight about 22% of weight due to single axle design. I am sure I am around 4k lbs loaded, which is within Rockwood specs. I estimate my tongue weight to be about 800 lbs give data from other owners on this forum.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by nic7320

This is very good reason why every RV should get on a truck scale. Without real numbers, you're only guessing what your total weight is. Fortunately, Oregon doesn't turn off their roadside scales at night, so now I know what my individual axle weights are.

One of them was a big surprise.

It's very likely your cargo weighs a lot more than you think. Even by a thousand or more pounds.

I'm guessing you don't mean that one of them was carrying way less than you thought. Tell us more...

[nic7320]

Cargo capacity on a trailer or any other RV, is a lot like your bank account. The available amount dwindles down a lot faster than you think, because we humans aren't that good at adding up all the little stuff.

And sometimes we get the big stuff wrong too.

I did get an interesting device that plugs into an OBD2 port to measure my rig's total weight. It uses the engine power and torque converter slip to estimate weight. How well it works has yet to be determined. When I get back to a truck scale, I'll see how accurate it is

/quote from the internet:/
"Priced at just $99, here's why the BetterWeigh™ mobile towing scale smartphone enabled device makes a great gift for RVers on your holiday shopping list an interesting device to manage cargo weight."

I got mine on Amazon.