New Dexter Axles ordered

Smart way to go - a nice clean, thorough fix!

mgann wrote:
Recently bought a 95 Mallard 19n, in exceptional condition with one little thing not so good, the axles and brakes. Never thought to inspect or ask PO about them (not that he probably knew). Took a short trip, had a problem--hot hub. A mechanic pulled the hub(s) and found brakes shot and the magnet was stuck causing the hot hub. Suggested to remove all (4) sets of brakes and did so. Returned home just fine, took TT to a dealer for repair. Found out my 95 axles/hubs are obsolete. Dexter confirmed this with me also. So I ordered new 3500# ez lube axles complete with hubs and brakes. Should be on in a couples of weeks.

Unless the stubs were damaged, there IS no reason to replace the entire axle.

You DO NOT NEED to use "Dexter" parts.

Simply can buy drum and backing plates for 3,500 lb Dexter axles.

3,500 lb 5 on 5.5 drums and 10" brake backing plate can be bought through Amazon..

HERE which gets you TWO drums, and TWO backing plates with all new shoes, magnets and moving parts all for $130 plus $50 shipping.

Just need two sets for two axle trailers..

MUCH cheaper than replacing the entire axle and much less work involved..

You do not "need" the "neverlube", it is for the lazy folks who never bother looking at the brake shoes.. To get a look at the brake shoes, you MUST remove the drum anyways which makes it a perfect opportunity to clean and repack the bearings.

You do not getaway with that in PA, all trailers with electric brakes MUST get a YEARLY safety inspection.. I pull mine every year to verify no issues with be found when I drag my trailer to the inspection station.

Someone sold you a bill of goods..

Stubs/spimdles were damaged, each hub had too much play in them eventhough bearings were good. Backing plates were welded to the axles by Dexter and per Dexter. Old axles were 2500#, checked on new hubs and found only 139 still available and had to be turned to specs, cost per wheel about $175 for hubs, brakes, bearings. Hence, new heavier axles complete. Lazy maybe...Not...just peace of mind rolling down the road. Bill of goods, maybe, but I'm comfortable with my decision.

Good move, especially if those were the Torflex type axles. 20+ years is a long time for the rubber parts.

mgann wrote:
Stubs/spimdles were damaged, each hub had too much play in them eventhough bearings were good. Backing plates were welded to the axles by Dexter and per Dexter. Old axles were 2500#, checked on new hubs and found only 139 still available and had to be turned to specs, cost per wheel about $175 for hubs, brakes, bearings. Hence, new heavier axles complete. Lazy maybe...Not...just peace of mind rolling down the road. Bill of goods, maybe, but I'm comfortable with my decision.

Trailer axles unlike automobile axles, you CAN NOT "take the play" out of the bearings. In fact, taking too much play out of the bearings on trailer axles means you HAVE THE BEARINGS TOO TIGHT!

If you take a look at the castle nut for a trailer axle then compare a automobile castle nut, you will notice that the trailer axle nut has about HALF of the castle-ations. Trailer axles do not require zero play, in fact the Dexter manual tells you to BACK OFF to the next opening in the nut.

2,500 lb drums should cross to 2,000 lb axles, Dexter makes the axle range from 2,000-2,500 so parts should be plentiful for your axles.

Typically 2,000-2,500 lb axles will have 4 bolt hubs and if that is the case, you will also need rims to go with the 3,500 axles (3,500 lb axles use 10" drums with 5 bolt pattern).

Not trying to smart, just pointing out that there was no need to just randomly change the axles when parts are still available.

Just because Dexter may not "sell" the parts anymore, does not mean you can't get them. These ARE very common parts and many aftermarket manufacturers do offer parts for these axles.

The ONLY ones that I am aware of being impossible to find is the old "Fayette" or "Star Rims", those drums and rims are no longer manufactured but you CAN often replace them with standard Dexter style drums and rims.

I ran into that with my 1980s trailer, it has the Fayette/Dexter axles, rated 3,300 lbs. Called Dexter and they crossed that axle to standard 3,500 lb Dexter axles..

The only thing you will get is a bit better braking.

On edit, I should also note that just because the backing plate is welded on to the axle it doesn't mean that you can't replace the brakes. You do pretty much what you would do with a automobile that has drum brakes, you replace the SHOES and any other parts needed.

You simply buy the new backing plates because they are cheaper than buying just the shoes. Then you TRANSFER ALL OF THE NEW PARTS TO THE OLD BACKING PLATE.

EASY PEASY.

Anyone who goes to all the work to replace entire axles is certainly not "lazy". It also looks like for a couple hundred bucks you got absolutely everything, including springs .
That seems like a decent deal to me.

ScottG wrote:
Anyone who goes to all the work to replace entire axles is certainly not "lazy". It also looks like for a couple hundred bucks you got absolutely everything, including springs .
That seems like a decent deal to me.

Anyone that doesn't bother to REALLY research is lazy, simple and easy to just call it quits when one place turns you away, much harder to dig down into the nitty gritty details.

There is nothing special about the OPs 2,500 axles and a little knowledge and understanding on how to research the OP could have saved on heck of a lot of hard work and totally refreshed their running gear.

The only thing I do acknowledge is the 3,500 brakes will be stronger (but keep in mind, TOO much brake strength CAN present it's own challenges), other than that the Neverlube is a waste of money and grease.

Gdetrailer wrote:

ScottG wrote:
Anyone who goes to all the work to replace entire axles is certainly not "lazy". It also looks like for a couple hundred bucks you got absolutely everything, including springs .
That seems like a decent deal to me.

Anyone that doesn't bother to REALLY research is lazy, simple and easy to just call it quits when one place turns you away, much harder to dig down into the nitty gritty details.

There is nothing special about the OPs 2,500 axles and a little knowledge and understanding on how to research the OP could have saved on heck of a lot of hard work and totally refreshed their running gear.

The only thing I do acknowledge is the 3,500 brakes will be stronger (but keep in mind, TOO much brake strength CAN present it's own challenges), other than that the Neverlube is a waste of money and grease.

I don't understand your provocative and insulting attitude towards the OP.
Way too much of this on the forum these days. We should treat each other like friends sitting around the digital campfire and show a little support.
Besides, he isn't doing anything wrong.

I just bought a brand new aluminum car hauler trailer a couple of weeks ago. It was equipped with 2 Dexter 5200 lbs axles. Had a wheel vibration, so I pulled the wheels to get them balanced. The brake drums have LIPPERT in big letters cast into the outside of the drums. That made me look to make sure the axles were Dexter. Yep, they had the Dexter tag on them. They came that way from the trailer factory. I don't know if Dexter is putting Lippert parts on their axles, or if the trailer manufacturer bought Dexter axles and equipped them with Lippert drums (and possibly more parts, I didn't look).