On 2008-04-04, Bruce L Bergman wrote:
On Thu, 03 Apr 2008 21:41:23 -0500, Ignoramus18496 wrote:
Just askin'. Better to realistically assess the chances now, than to
spend a bunch of money, then have to do it all again for the next try.

Axles are critical and very inexpensive. Buy a Dexter or some such,
made to your spec, and be happy forever.

Go get the axle made by Dexter or another axle mfg. company, and it
will come the way you need it, including pre-assembled 7" or 8"
electric brakes and even a set of wheels and tires. The premade axles
include installation kits - all the spring saddles, springs, u-bolts,
shackles, frame saddles and brackets needed to install it safely.

That was exactly my experience. New 6,000 lbs axle, new tires, new
electric brakes, new mounting hardware, new springs, made exactly to
my spec, just appx. $600 delivered. It works great and does survive
6,000 lbs of weight, at least it did so the last 2 times I tried (both
times with power supplies that weighed 4,500 lbs each).

Making my own axle? Not for me.

It would have cost me a lot more to make homemade, and I would have
missed some gotcha that would ultimately cost me dearly.

There's way too much fabrication involved, and you have to get ALL
the little details right - or you will deal with failures that could
have multi-fatal consequences.

Yes.

And fabricating a suspension from scratch is reinventing the wheel
and will cost you dearly in parts and time. The axle company buys all
these pieces in bulk, and you will save in the long run.

And they know exactly how to put them together so that the axle does
not fall off if you hit a speedbump.

The axle tubing has to be the right steel for strength, the welds
holding the spindles on are critical and tricky, and the axle needs a
2 or 3 degree bend in the middle /at an angle/, to provide a bit of
toe-in and camber so it tracks right. They know how much to tweak it,
you would have to experiment till the trailer tracks true.

They also heat treat their axles after welding, not something
available to a typical home shop.

The main reason why my trailer works so well for me, is that I started
off with two very well made items, the bed and the axle.

i