Trailer axle question(s)

[LowellBen]

A while back I bought a used Big Tex 20' tilt deck trailer with a 9990 GVWR to haul my Mahindra 1538.

I eventually noticed that the tires on the front axle have a different camber than the tires on the rear axle. So what is going on there? Jacked up the trailer and put a 4' straight edge on the axle tubes. Front axle is not straight, it is bent up in the middle. Was this axle built with camber or did it get bent? Rear axle tube is completely straight as far as I can measure. So did the rear axle have an overload event that bent the camber out of the tube?

Paper tags on both axles have matching part numbers and serial numbers - axles should be the same. Tags say 6000# axles. I called Dexter and using the serial number the rep was able to look up the build specs for the axles. Specs say nothing about camber. I talked to a different Dexter rep this morning and he indicated that the axles should be cambered, but he had no way to verify that by looking at the build spec.

I cannot find anything on any of Dexter's website pages that help me figure out if the bow in the front axle tube is to spec or not for a cambered tube. One or the other axle tube is damaged, maybe both.

In the past two days I've learned way more about axles than I ever wanted to know. Dexter can build axles with a bunch of variations. For this specific axle tube (3"), there are 3 flavors; LT with 3/16" wall, MT with 1/4" wall (standard) and a HT with a 0.302" wall. These are for a 5200#, 6000# and 7000# axles respectively. Spindles are all the same and there is the option of using the standard 6x5.5 hub or the next size up hub.

Anyone have any ideas as to how I can determine whether these axles are supposed to be cambered or not? Or a resource I can reference.

Thanks

 

[Halftrack]

My 2 cents worth of input:

Unless you have unusual amounts of abnormal tire wear or crooked tracking, I would not be concerned with the camber issue. A repair or axle swap may introduce new issues.

The other pennies worth:

You might call this shop in my area with your questions, PRECISION CUSTOM SERVICES,
574-354-1384
I have not used them, but they are recommended.
If they are helpful let us know for future references.

 

[Jstpssng]

You say that you jacked it up. Did you take the weight off both axles? Go into Tractor Supply anf look at the axles they sell, I believe they are cambered. When you put weight on; i.e., jacking it up and putting all of the weight on the rear x; they flatten out somewhat.

 

[orezok]

Jacked up the trailer and put a 4' straight edge on the axle tubes. Front axle is not straight, it is bent up in the middle. Was this axle built with camber or did it get bent? Rear axle tube is completely straight as far as I can measure. So did the rear axle have an overload event that bent the camber out of the tube?

When you say you jacked it up, did you jack under the frame or the spring pad? If you jacked under the axle, they are easily bent.

 

[LowellBen]

@orezok , I jacked it under the main frame. Just lifted one side up to where I could slide underneath and get a straight edge on the axle tube.

@Jstpssng , Good comment, I understand the engineering behind a cambered axle. So when the axle is under the rated load, the camber at the tires is close to zero, to minimize abnormal tire wear.

@Halftrack , thanks for the reference.

I have gotten a little bit more info since my original post. I talked to a tech guy at Dexter. He confirmed that for a 9990 GVWR trailer, the axles would have been cambered. But I forgot to ask if there was a spec that I could check to see if the camber was correct. In talking with the owner of the place I bought the trailer from, he also confirmed that the axles should have camber and if I was seeing a straight tube on the rear axle, that that one probably has an issue.

And as @Halftrack mentioned, that lack of camber in the rear axle may not be a significant problem. The trailer is only going to be used if the Mahindra has to go to the dealer. Closest dealer is 200+ miles, so I hope that I never have a need to go. Tires are going to age out before they would wear out.

Selling shop wants me to take some pictures and send them to him. Dealer is about 140 miles away, so kind of a hassle to take it back up to him so that they can put eyes on it. So pics for now.

Thanks for the comments guys.