ewarnerusa
Helena, Montana
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Joined: 12/20/2011
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THe skids are what broke and bent on mine.
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LVJJJ
NW WASHINGTON
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Joined: 12/29/2006
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Since I tow with a flat front 1965 Chevy Van, I'm all for less wind resistance so I lower all my trailers if possible. Never had a problem damaging any thing under the TT. Before pulling onto a dirt road or into a rough camping spot, you got to look it over carefully and plan your moves to avoid problems. I do use skid wheels. Actually, what's worse with low TT's than off road towing, are steep driveway entrances to gas stations, just have to hit them at an angle and go slow, whilst gouging grooves into the asphalt.
Our relatively new (to us) 1985 Wilderness has 13" tires, love it!! It's a serious lowrider.
1965 CHEVY VAN, 292 "Big Block 6"
1985 WILDERNESS 3000CL
2008 HHR
L(Larry)V(Vicki)J(Jennifer)J(Jesse)J(Jason)
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Lowsuv
Oregon
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Joined: 12/06/2011
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We dry camp a lot.
Sometimes in campgrounds, sometimes not.
Komfort 21T has more ground clearance than most.
I lowered my trailer ball about 2 inches.
This raised the back about 2 inches.
In practical experience this tows really well behind my 2500HD GMC D/A.
And I never get high centered even in the meadows / river side campsites in the Ochoco / Willamette / Santiam national forest.
If you have the room I would go to a 225/75R15 load range D tire.
That way you help eliminate tire overheating and have a stronger tire carcass to stop rock / nail punctures.
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Bill & Kate
Stone Harbor, NJ
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Joined: 03/04/2008
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LVJJJ wrote:Since I tow with a flat front 1965 Chevy Van,......
Looks a bit like this?
65 ford by cathcartww,
Bill & Kate - Stone Harbor, NJ
w/ Sunny (parti poodle) & Molson (goldendoodle)
2005 Ford/Quigley 4x4 E-350 Chateau Super Duty Van with 6.0L PSD ("Moby")
2012 Outback Super Light 277RL - 10th Anniversary Edition ("Salty Dog House II")
l.jpg)
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ExRocketScientist
Laurel, MD
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Joined: 11/11/2010
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At $250 an axle for the air helper springs, you could spend less money having a subframe and new spring hangers installed. With a 2" subframe, you get an extra 2" of clearance. An "axle flip" mentioned earlier does 4.5 to 5.5 inches, depending on the height of the spring pack and the diameter of the axle tube.
If you have the clearances, changing wheels and tires is another option.
One more thing . . . sometimes there are multiple holes in the spring hangers. If this is the case on your unit, you may be able to switch to the lower holes. My Jayco is that way.
You might need to do a combination of things. I am looking at buying a new unit, but it sits too low to get it in my driveway. I would rather raise it than use drag wheels (I've used them on two trailers now and would rather have the higher clearance). When I am ready here in a couple of months, I am going to talk to the factory about building it with the 2" subframe and putting bigger tires and wheels on it. I figure I can get 3 to 4 inches out of that and not change the looks of the trailer. The thing I'm not sure of is if they are using the 24" springs or the 26" springs. With the larger wheel/tire combo, I would need the 26" springs. If they are currently using 24" springs, the switch from the 24" to the 26" means you lose 1" of clearance. Might need 1" taller spring hangers too. The ones they are using are 3.25. They make 4.25 inch hangers.
ERS
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LVJJJ
NW WASHINGTON
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cathcartww wrote:LVJJJ wrote:Since I tow with a flat front 1965 Chevy Van,......
Looks a bit like this?
65 ford by cathcartww,
Yes, wow, nice Econoline pick/up!!
How do I post a picture of the van?
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ewarnerusa
Helena, Montana
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Here are what my axels look like. Looks like they could moved to under the spring.
Moderator edit to re-size pictures to forum limit of 640px maximum width to avoid scrolling.
* This post was
edited 12/28/11 02:53pm by an administrator/moderator *
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Turtle n Peeps
California
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Joined: 06/23/2008
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Trailers are like race cars; the lower the better. 
If you must do this and if it's a straight axle you can just spin the axle 180 degrees. No need to weld a new perch on.
You will also have to reclock your brakes if you do this.
~ Too many freaks & not enough circuses ~
"Life is not tried ~ it is merely survived ~ if you're standing
outside the fire"
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ewarnerusa
Helena, Montana
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While I'm not certain my trailer axel is like this, I've been told they are always bowed to help with loaded weight distribution. So literally flipping the axel would put the bow in the wrong direction and the tire camber would be way off and you'd get a messed up ride and tire wear.
What is reclocking the brakes?
Thanks.
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ExRocketScientist
Laurel, MD
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Joined: 11/11/2010
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ewarnerusa wrote:While I'm not certain my trailer axel is like this, I've been told they are always bowed to help with loaded weight distribution. So literally flipping the axel would put the bow in the wrong direction and the tire camber would be way off and you'd get a messed up ride and tire wear.
What is reclocking the brakes?
Thanks.
The bow is called camber. And that is precisely why you don't literally flip the axle.
reclock = relocate -- a reference to detaching the brake backing plate from the axle, turning it upside down, and then reattaching it so that the brake functions properly.
Although that would fix the braking problem with literally flipping the axles, it would not solve the negative camber issue.
Getting the perch welded on is not a big deal.
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