Question about Dexter Torflex axles

[Jrwigley]

I’m planning a trip with my 2104 Rockwood Mini Lite up the Alaskan Highway/Dempster Highway which is around 1100 miles of dirt roads that in some places are washed board, does anyone have any experience with the Dexter Torflex axles in these conditions? Some sites say the torsion axles aren’t made for these types of conditions and some say they are. What do you guys think?

 

[Bob K4TAX]

Depends on how fast (or slow) one drives.

Our previous trailer had Torqflex axles. They were 10 years old and in dire need of replacement. The rubber in the tube had little to no elasticity.

Bob

 

[TitanMike]

That highway will beat any trailer, with any axle type, if driving "lower 48 freeway speeds".

My Torflex axles have held up well since 2017 on forest service roads but 35 mph is the normal speed on the "washboard" portions.

I worry less about my suspension on rough roads and more about the damage to the inside when roads are rough. Bottoms falling out of drawers, rods coming loose in closets with hanging clothes, etc.

Another casualty of driving fast on those highways is rock damage to everything on the front of your tow vehicle and trailer. Rocks tossed up by passing traffic hit far harder the faster you go. Headlights, windshields, trailer front, and even A/C condensers are common casualties.

I traveled for work extensively in AK between 1972 and 1985 and every once in a while I was able to rent a car with an unbroken windshield.

 

[trailerdude]

If you carry an air pump I would say deflate your tire pressure to the minimum for your weight, that would make it much easier on your trailer on the rough road. I think these axles are kind of delicate. I've noticed mine are sagging. All 4 of my Goodyear tires are wearing on the inside, I keep pressures at 65.

 

[Jrwigley]

I agree, I think the key is slow and easy we’re retired so we want be in any hurry for sure.
Thanks for the input.

 

[TitanMike]

One more thought to add, before setting out on the trip, load the trailer and truck with everything you will be taking. Full tank of fuel in truck along with all expected truck cargo. Hitch to trailer with full propane and water tanks, groceries, clothing, etc.

Now go to the scales with all expected passengers/pets.

A CAT scale ticket will reveal whether or not you're within weight capacity of truck and trailer which will go a long way towards preventing rough road damage.

Gone are the days when could just look at springs and tires then say "looks OK let's hit the road",

 

[D W]

That highway is treacherous. It's what the Alaska Highway was 50 years ago. The road in 90% unpaved. When I say unpaved I mean raw gravel, with ruts, mud holes, frost heaves, riff rock and washouts. Your rigs will be a mess when you finish your trip. It will beat your mini-lite to death whether it has springs or torsion axles. You should have at least 2 spares for your tow vehicle and 2 for your mini-lite. Stuff is very expensive up there.

 

[jimmoore13]

I had a PUP with the Dexter Torflex axle, and for almost its entire life I tortured it on an 11 mile "sand-paved" road that was so badly washboarded and potholed that average speeds were between 5 and 10 MPH. The road was "strewn" with leaf-spring rigs with broken springs. (a bit of an exageration, but there was a tow company that did a regular business picking up broken rigs, dropping them at their site in the lakeside campground and then picking them up at the end of their stay...and then fixing their springs. Good money in that. Never saw a Torflex breakdown, and never had a problem with mine...even though the rig shook itself apart, and I had to develop many repair methods to ensure it would stay together. (You might be interested in those...if you don't already know them.)

The Torflex won't break in that stuff. It's superior in these conditions.

BUT THERE'S ALWAYS A CATCH. The Torflex can literally come apart. The arm embedded in the rubber "springs" inside the tube can begin working its way out of the tube, and that's gonna be a problem in the middle of the Alaska/Canada wilderness.

And, of course, if you abuse the crap out of anything, it's only steel and rubber, and welds can break, and steel can bend. This suspension is not designed for the open class in the Baja 1000.

Click here to do your homework.

 

[jimmoore13]

If you carry an air pump I would say deflate your tire pressure to the minimum for your weight, that would make it much easier on your trailer on the rough road. I think these axles are kind of delicate. I've noticed mine are sagging. All 4 of my Goodyear tires are wearing on the inside, I keep pressures at 65.

Good advice. Tires are the first "spring" to encounter the surface. I always ran my tires on the soft side for my trips to the lake...in my other post. I only had to go 5 miles on asphalt before I hit the torture road, so being 5 to 10 PSI under the sticker PSI was not a problem, and with low speeds on the dirt, the soft tires never heated up. But slow was the thing.

A thought on tires. If your rig has "factory" Special Trailer tires with regular old "highway" tread, consider changing the tires to something more rugged...designed for off road use. Many RVs come through with them, so you can get the RV version of an off-road tire that fits your rig. The big advantage of these is that the deeply lugged tread is more protective of the tire carcass...with fewer chances of puncture. And while you're at it, have more than one spare and be sure you know how to patch punctures and worse. Have a set of tire irons that will allow you to dismount one of the two beads off the rim so you can patch a gash from the inside on the road with no help. And by "air compressor" we mean at MINIMUM a ViAir or similar with a duty cycle that can handle the job. I'd want a better version of a ViAir than the one I own. Something that runs directly off your tow vehicle battery, because it will draw 15 to 25 amps...because it's a real compressor. Something that runs off a cigarette lighter outlet or a rechargable battery is junk. Last summer, a guy near me had a slow leak, and his truck's tire went down to about 10 to 12 PSI. He had a quite nice rechargable compressor/jump starter. It could not get his tire above 25 PSI...noticably soft, and it was on the front axle of his tow vehicle. My ViAir will easily inflate my rig's tires to the recommended 65 PSI in no time.

And all that leads to a serious jack and good quality lug wrench.

If you're going out into the great white north, you're gonna need some tools and skills. Roadside assistance is likely to be you.

 

[Rhigh]

Depends on how fast (or slow) one drives.

Our previous trailer had Torqflex axles. They were 10 years old and in dire need of replacement. The rubber in the tube had little to no elasticity.

Bob

Hey Bob,
Were you able to replace your axles?

 

[TitanMike]

Hey Bob,
Were you able to replace your axles?

Replacement Torflex axles are available from e-trailerband other online sources.

 

[Bob K4TAX]

Hey Bob,
Were you able to replace your axles?

We have a company locally that manufactures trailers of all type and they have a very extensive parts department. When I examined the cost to replace the Torque Flex axles, we decided to sell the trailer as is.

I did have them inspect the trailer and they detemined the axles were defective "i.e. shot" and recommended replacement. They made measurements, in my presense, with the trailer on the wheels and with the wheels in the air. Clearly, with the trailer on its wheels, there was no additional flex availalbe to accomodate rough roads or additional loading.

It doesn't seem to big of a job to replace the axle if one has the tools, patience, knowledge, and space to work. Ours were welded to the frame which is NOT recommended by Dexter. That's the way it was manufactured. I would use an angle grinder to cut the axle weld from the frame and fabricate a new mounting method using VERY careful alignment and measurements to assure the trailer tracked correctly.
Bob

Bob