To flip or not to flip

I had not choice but to flip. Only 2" of bed rail clearance, not enough. Dealer did it after a long discussion and me telling them what they could do with it if they didn't. I don't think it would fit where I said they could put it.

my other trailer, bumper pull was low. I took it to Auot Safety House here in Phoenix, they removed axles and added a section of tubing on the frame, if i remember 2" x 3" then reinstalled axles, re-aligned and i never had any issues. I am not sure about a fifth wheel, but i am sure it can be done, but make sure done right and re-align. Good Luck & Be Safe ! ! !

I fabricated lift block for both my toy haulers to raise them but they already had spring over axles...Keep in mind you can't really flip the axles, you have to get the kit that positions a spring pad on top of the axle housing. Most if not all RV axle housing have a slight bend in them allowing for the weight of the RV. A factory camber.

I added correct track to my unit. It raised it 2 inches runs level with my 2500 now

The pin box is where it should be, 7 inches. I will be putting new tires on this coming week and will mention the options posted here on the forum. Thanks.

I would be surprised if your '11 Cougar had the springs under the axles. That would not be original, but since you bought it used, anything is possible. Still, I'll bet the springs are already over the axles, and if you need to go higher you will need a lift.

No one has asked, but how much clearance over the bed rails? If more than 6", may just need to adjust the pinbox/hitch head.

take some of the air out of the trucks tires and put it into the trailers tires, that will level it out ,,, no?
LOL

SteveB wrote:
Flip it and add shocks. It would tow fine. If for some reason you get chucking then an air hitch like 5th Airborne would help.

I see no need for an air hitch on a small to medium 5er! Yes, get it level flip the axle and put shocks on both axles. Good shocks on theTV, then you should be fine.

Flip it and add shocks. It would tow fine. If for some reason you get chucking then an air hitch like 5th Airborne would help.

Flipping your axles could be too much lift . I flipped my axles and added ezi flex by Dexter and wet bolts. It rides good. I also upgraded to 16" tires and wheels which lifted it about 3/4". It also made the tires closer together so my x chocks still fit between the tires but they are borderline of not going in. If you add a sub frame the spring/shackle brackets would be able to be moved just a half inch or so apart and move the tires apart a little bit. You would want to look at the fender skirting etc before doing that part.

Before you do anything, simulate the amount that it takes to make the rig level. Be sure the pin box is moved up, be sure the bed to rail clearance is satisfactory then drive onto enough boards so the rig is level. You dont want to experiment and tell them to build an x inch sub frame only to have it come out wrong.

When you flip the axles you will get this much rise: The axle radius + the perch that is welded to the axle + the spring thickness. Mine came out to 5.5" + 3/4" increased tire diameter = 6 1/4". Also consider that your bottom step is now going to be higher and the rear stabilizers may not reach the ground in all camping spots. The good news is that it will be easy to work under the rig, you wont scrape in gas station dips and off road use is better.

As mentioned above they also make an alignment kit that will add lift. When adding that kit I believe some guys will also go with cross bracing to strengthen the now long "legs" of the dropped brackets. It makes the shackles longer/lower which in theory makes them less stable. It's not a huge drop or big issue but be aware of what it is doing as it will depend on how long your brackets are now. I have seen people weld long shackle bracket extensions which look very unstable. The longer the shackle bracket becomes, the more of a lever it is. In that respect the flip or sub frame are more stable because it keeps the brackets short and tucked up to the frame. Axle flip is hard to beat unless it lifts it too much.

If doing a sub frame make dog gone sure you have a good fabricator because having the brackets welded in the wrong places will then give you a tire wear problem. That's actually what the alignment brackets set out to cure but they also give you some lift.


Kit

Flex

Align/Lift