THSCC Forums

I am thinking about swapping to 4" drop axles on my trailer. Has anyone done this? Anything I should look out for?

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Jim Pastorius
2008 Silverado VortecMax
1992 Camaro CMC#92
2002 BMW R1150R

2009 3rd Place CMC Mid-Atlantic Championship
2009 CMC Hyperfest Winner

Jim,
As long as the axles have the same OD. the changeover should be easy.
You may have to raise your fenders for clearance,though.
I have a set of stands I made to work on trailers.they would be perfect if you are changing axles. Drop the old ones down,roll the new ones in and jack them into place.You can borrow them ,if you'd like.
Later,
Chris

Bling bling yo!!

That trailer will be MAD tight when it's all lowered and isht!!!

Are those drop axles JDM???



Anders

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Lina Racing: As Seen On Radio

You might want to talk to Brad Mackey about his trailer, it has drop axles, and last I heard, he wished it didn't (hmm, how about a trade...)

Something about it bottoming out on most driveways, etc.

That's my Cue!!!

Jim:
I ordered my Kraftsman with 4" Dropped Axles. Also, you need a 4" dropped hitch receiver.
It really makes it nice loading the Miata with the low clearance, since the ramp angle is reduced whatever the Tangent of 4" over 60" is.

The clearance issues under the rear of the trailer are real. and you need to be aware of them whenever you leave level pavement. I've learned to "quarter" the curbs at McDonalds' and other parking lot entrances.

All in all, after learning to handle the clearance situation, the ability to just drive the car on the trailer without any funky ramp extensions or extra 2 X 10's makes it very convenient. Plus, the vision through the rear-view mirror is improved somewhat with the Miata, but probably won't improve your situation with the F-body. Oh, it probably wouldn't help anyway when you grow your mullet

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Brad

Jim,

Do your current axles mount above (underslung) or below (overslung) the leaf springs? I know that sounds backwards, but you can get a better view of what I'm describing at www.dexteraxle.com.

If your axles are below the leaf springs, check to see if you have enough clearance to move them above the leaf springs (it will most likely depend on the shackles). If you have clearance, remove the u-bolts, rotate the axle 180o, place ontop of the springs and re-install the u-bolts. The leaf-springs should have a small post on the top and bottom that secures the plate used with the u-bolts. This allows you to setup in either overslung or overslung configuration.

If that works, it will easily get you 3" to 4" lower.

Also, besure to see how much clearance you have with your fenders in the current setup. You may have to remove the fenders and weld them back in place to give you proper clearance with the new configuration.

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Rob Harvey
919-697-5485
1997 BMW M3
1992 Acura Integra (Simon)

Click HERE for a picture of Brad's axle that shows the clearance required in an underslung configuration. IIRC there's about 2.5" to 3" of clearance.(yes, he has drop axles, but that doesn't have any impact on the overslung configuration)

If you are thinking about going this route, I'm sure Brad would be happy to confirm the clearance on his trailer.

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Rob Harvey
919-697-5485
1997 BMW M3
1992 Acura Integra (Simon)

Hey Rob!
Whatchu dooin' crawlin' around under my trailer???!!!

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Brad

That's from when we evaluated the new timing system for the TT program at Rockingham back in Jan. I was trying to decide what to do about the axles that I had on my trailer (those dreaded mobile home axles and no brakes....yikes!).

Since your trailer was sitting there with the fender already off of it, I decided to snap a couple of shots of how the axles, brakes, springs, and shackles where configured. I've got about 20 more shots if you want them!!!

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Rob Harvey
919-697-5485
1997 BMW M3
1992 Acura Integra (Simon)