How to replace tandem axles the easy way?

Hey all,

I have an 88 travel trailer that I'm going to be swapping the axles out of for new ones.

I've seen people change tires by rolling either the front or rear wheel onto a ramp to lift the other tire on that side in the air.  I'm wondering if the same can be done to remove an axle?

There's an equalizer swing arm between the front and rear leaf springs, and I will not be removing the leafs, only the axles.  They are already flipped and sit under the leaf spings, so the u-bolts just need to be undone and the axles dropped. Then bolt up the new ones.  The new ones I'm buying have spring saddles on top and bottom so that makes life easy for flipped axles.

Instead of using ramps though, I would likely jack up the front axle enough so that the rear wheels are off the ground, and put the front axle on jackstands so I can replace the rear axle.  Then do the opposite to replace the front axle.

Would this work?  The trailer frame is high off the ground, and I would have to buy some very expensive tall jacks to use on the frame.  And I don't like the idea of putting the jacks on blocks, or block on the jacks, this doesn't seem stable to me.

Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks,

-Dorian

It should work, but I'd like some fallback support for the trailer frame just in case you unexpectedly do something that causes the equalizing bar to decide to flip over the other way.  Unlikely, but ...

Yeah that would be a good idea I think.  Although I don't see how the equalizer would flip the other way...

Speaking of the equalizer... Is there any issue with it holding all the weight on one side?  As I said before, I don't plan to disconnect the leafs from the frame at all.  I'm only removing axles from the leafs...

What is wrong with the old axles?

You'll probably find that there will be a bow in the new axles. Make sure the bow is up. They're designed that way.

Rene: The previous owner flipped the axles to raise it, and now the drum brakes are backwards.  I would need to do cutting of the backplate and welding to change them around.  The spindles on the passenger side of both axles are done anyways.  Too much wear, too many things wrong, just easier at this point to buy new ones.  They're originals on a 1988 so after 30 years, it could do with new.

I'm aware that the bow needs to be up.  My concern is lifting and then putting one axle on jackstands to take all the weight while I replace the other axle.

Check the bolt pattern on the new vs. old axles.  You may also have to replace the rims to match the new axle's pattern.

Going from above the springs to below the springs with the axle shouldn't affect the brakes.
If the brakes are backwards, then he turned the axles 180 degrees end to end.  Turn them back.

Old_Crow said:

Going from above the springs to below the springs with the axle shouldn't affect the brakes.
If the brakes are backwards, then he turned the axles 180 degrees end to end.  Turn them back.

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I agree just turn them end for end but I didn't know there was a difference from one side to the other. The shoes are interchangeable.

Brake shoes / back plates definitely come in LEFT and RIGHT side designs.  Brake shoes are the same, but the back plate is not!  One shoe is longer than the other!

grashley said:

Brake shoes / back plates definitely come in LEFT and RIGHT side designs.  Brake shoes are the same, but the back plate is not!  One shoe is longer than the other!

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Thanks Gordon but you confused me which doesn't take much. Read what you said.

The PAIR  of shoes - one long and one short - are the same on both sides.  The shoes on one side are different.  On one side, the long shoe goes on the left, on the other side, the long shoe goes on the right.  In both cases, the long shoe goes on the front (I think!), but the two sides are mirror images. 
Just some more mud for clarity!

The easy answer is to rotate the axle 180 degrees so the left side is now on the right, to make the backing plates face the right direction.  But doing this adds extra questions about wheel alignment ... a slight bit of toe in will become toe out when the axle is rotated, caster reverses itself, etc.

If there's only one set of spring saddles on the axle, you will literally "flip" it, rotating it 180 degrees so the saddles are on top of the axle instead of underneath it when moving the axle from over the springs to under them. The correct procedure is to weld another pair of saddles onto the top side of the axle, so it can stay in the same orientation after the move.  If this wasn't done, the axle will be upside down to let the springs rest on the original saddles, with the bend in the middle of the axle going down instead of up.  The brake backing plates will also be upside down, putting the wrong brake shoe in the lead position, unless they're removed and replaced in the correct orientation.

With all of the above variables, it's probably easier just to replace the whole axle assembly, as Dorian originally proposed.  Especially if as he said, there's noticeable wear on one or more spindles.

Don't know if it was correct, but I was taught the" long lining lags" meaning the shoe with the long lining is mounted to the rearward position.

Thanks everyone for your input on correcting the problem, but these axles are going away and being replaced with new ones that include brakes.

No sense discussing flipping them around or anything, dead end subject for me.  The decision is already made.

My question is about supporting the trailer while removing each axle, and if I can jack up one axle to remove the other.

Get some good jack stands,6ton and jack the rear axle until all wheels are off the ground.Place the stands rearward of the axles.Now you can do them both.I replaced several pairs of axles that were recalled this way.

Don't lift by placing the jack in the center of the axle or it will probably bend before lifting.

when i replaced my old, worn out oem axles on my 1992 Fleetwood wilderness, 22ft. i bought new straight axles, which raised my camper a few inches. how i replaced the axles : first i rounded up plenty of concrete blocks, 4-3 ton jack stands, plenty of wood blocks ( for shimming ). i then used my 3 ton floor jack to raise the trailer up with the 3 ton floor jack on the frame, NOT THE AXLS !, once i got the frame high enough, i placed the blocks on the frame at the ends, and in the middle as close to the axles as i could. then i used my 3 ton floor jack to raise one of the axles. now, please keep in mind, i was replacing all of it, shackles, leaf springs, all of it. but in your case, you can leave the floor jack under the axle in the middle, unbolt the u-bolts, and leaf spring on one end only ( i don't know if your putting the axles under or over the leaf springs ? ), with the leaf spring un-done at one end, this leaves it open to install over the spring, bolt axle on with u-bolts, jack axle back up high enough to attach leaf spring, install tires, rinse -repeat for other axle. if your replacing the leaf springs and shackles ( very good idea to at least inspect/replace the shackles and equalizer , as these tend to wear bad over the years ) use the blocks and jacks like i mention, but this time, make sure the trailer is fully supported with plenty of blocks from front to back, then you can remove one axle at a time, it's pretty easy, never did one until mine needed them. very happy so far. word of caution !!!!, try to work outside of being under the trailer if posb ?, or at least make sure you let some one know what your doing, where your at ?..and to check up on you every so often !, safety first !. i spent all day removing and replacing both my axles. put two 3500lb straight axles, 1500lb leaf springs, new shackles, new equalizers, all new bolts, washers. really love the rise i got going from drop down axles to straight axles, now i don't worry about ripping my waste drains off..lol.

So a quick update on this.  After sourcing all the parts, 2 axles, 4 complete brake sets, ubolts, I realized that it only costs me an extra $200 to have the local RV shop just do it for me (parts and labor all included).

So, because I had issues with driveway space (it slopes except at the very top which isn't much flat space to work on) and the fact that it's not much more to have a shop do it with warranty, I'm bringing it in for them to just do it.

Kind of a relief this way I guess.  I thought for sure the shop was going to be much more than just buying the parts and doing it myself.  But they of course get the parts for much cheaper...

Dorian said:

So a quick update on this.  After sourcing all the parts, 2 axles, 4 complete brake sets, ubolts, I realized that it only costs me an extra $200 to have the local RV shop just do it for me (parts and labor all included).

So, because I had issues with driveway space (it slopes except at the very top which isn't much flat space to work on) and the fact that it's not much more to have a shop do it with warranty, I'm bringing it in for them to just do it.

Kind of a relief this way I guess.  I thought for sure the shop was going to be much more than just buying the parts and doing it myself.  But they of course get the parts for much cheaper...

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How much were the parts?

Rene T said:

How much were the parts?

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All in was $1,380 for parts alone if I were to do it myself.  Yes it's expensive in Canada...
For the RV shop to do it it's $1,600 for parts and labor, and includes warranty on their work.