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Old 08-23-2021, 09:09 AM   #1
wegone
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Axle question?

I have a 2019 Bullet 265RBIWE with about 5k miles of pulling on it.
I headed out yesterday on another trip and a guy behind me caught up to me and said he thought something was wrong with my trailer.
We pulled over and looked.
He said the wheels did not seem to be alighted.
He noticed on my trailer the axles are about 4 feet apart, where he said his were much closer together.
I recall when I bought the trailer the sales guy mentioned this fact and said with a wider spread the trailer tracks better, less sway, but since they are further apart, they can tend to fight each other in turns much like a 4 wheel drive vehicle on asphalt....
Anyway, I thanked him and we drove on to out destination, where I am now.
I looked closer today at the tire, axle and noticed the right rear tire has a little more wear on the inside edge, more like rounding off the edge...
And I noticed before I even left on this trip as I checked everything that in fact the rear axle has a slight noticeable bow/bend downward, not the fro t one.
Trying to find any info on this I have found that it’s normal, designed this way to help with loading, to no it’s not OK.
We don’t pack much weight in our trailer, just clothes and food, so I know it’s not over weight.

Now it’s bugging me, I don’t want it to ruin my vacation, nor do I want to pull a unsafe trailer back home, and we other trips planed to...
Any help at this point would be appreciated
thank you
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Old 08-23-2021, 09:15 AM   #2
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Pictures would be a big help. I can't help you with the bowing, but it sounds correct, unless one of the axles flipped somehow?

There are trailer with spread axles and some that aren't. I've found that the spread axle trailers tend to "sit" up higher, or at least they look like they do, more so than the non spread axle ones.

Both of my trailers have/had spread axles, but no one has ever chased me down to tell me they looked wrong, hence why I thought a pic might help.
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Old 08-23-2021, 10:04 AM   #3
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The bow in the axle tube is normal. As I understnd that is how they are aligned...bend the axle. But, I've never had that done.
Here is how to redneck check it....get a decent length of string, have a helper hold the other end, pull the string snug horizontal against the sidewalls of the 4 tires, front to back. check for a gap to determine if one of the tires is pointing in, or out.
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Old 08-23-2021, 10:12 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gearhead View Post
The bow in the axle tube is normal. As I understnd that is how they are aligned...bend the axle. But, I've never had that done.
Here is how to redneck check it....get a decent length of string, have a helper hold the other end, pull the string snug horizontal against the sidewalls of the 4 tires, front to back. check for a gap to determine if one of the tires is pointing in, or out.
My buddy’s father from West Virginia used to front end align his 1970’s spray painted nova with that method lol he didn’t have four matching tires though I don’t believe …he said it worked good enuff….lol
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Old 08-23-2021, 11:14 AM   #5
wegone
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Can’t upload pics, on my phone, not sure why.
The trailer is up about 3 inches on the right side now to level it off at our campsite, not sure if that would make any difference?

Pulls fine, just not sure what he saw, he couldn’t really explain, but some reason I think because they are further apart and when turning through the winding road, it gives it a different look that tires that are closer together?
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Old 08-23-2021, 12:00 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by Island Eddie View Post
Can’t upload pics, on my phone, not sure why.
The trailer is up about 3 inches on the right side now to level it off at our campsite, not sure if that would make any difference?

Pulls fine, just not sure what he saw, he couldn’t really explain, but some reason I think because they are further apart and when turning through the winding road, it gives it a different look that tires that are closer together?
In your photo settings set the aspect ratio to less than 1600 x 1600 when you're taking a photo to load to this site..
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Old 08-23-2021, 12:47 PM   #7
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Yeah I can’t even figure that out on my iPhone 😫
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Old 08-23-2021, 01:04 PM   #8
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Old 08-23-2021, 03:38 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jasin1 View Post
My buddy’s father from West Virginia used to front end align his 1970’s spray painted nova with that method lol he didn’t have four matching tires though I don’t believe …he said it worked good enuff….lol
It's really a practical way to align many things. I used it to align motor to fan shafts on large (30ft) refinery cooling fans. Years later someone developed a small computer/laser to do it.
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Old 08-23-2021, 04:56 PM   #10
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The bullets usually have the spread axle and the Lippert Correct track suspension alignment. Like the following link.
https://www.amazon.ca/Lippert-87220-.../dp/B00JMHF15G
I would measure the distance between axles on each side of the trailer. A difference in measurement should definitely be looked at.

That would be a good start.
I would look at all shackles, bolts, springs, etc. and ensure everything is tight and intact also.
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Old 08-23-2021, 05:31 PM   #11
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I would use either a good straight board or better yet a length of angle iron or unistrut to span the two tires. If it doesn’t set flush at both sides of each tire you have a problem.
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Old 08-24-2021, 02:25 AM   #12
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Originally Posted by gearhead View Post
It's really a practical way to align many things. I used it to align motor to fan shafts on large (30ft) refinery cooling fans. Years later someone developed a small computer/laser to do it.
I wasn’t trying to make fun of your idea…it does work with many things especially in construction…it just brought back memories of my buddys father…moment in time long forgotten….he grew up in the mountains and had to figure stuff out himself …my buddy ended up giving up the city life and moving back to the mountains where his family is from….quit the hvac field and moved to a primitive cabin / house and went to work in a sawmill.
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Old 08-27-2021, 10:38 AM   #13
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I found this string on the axles interesting because i have noticed at times when stopping tha one of my wheels seems to be tilted. It is always the same one. I have tried to research what may causes this and is it anything to worry about. I have a 2013 Bullet ultra lite. I had bearings and brakes repaired on all 4 less than 6 months ago. It was after that i started noticing it. Checked that tires are on tight and they are and i don't see any tire wearing.

Look forward to any thoughts!
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Old 08-27-2021, 10:58 AM   #14
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So you know when talking to someone, the term for top to bottom wheel alignment is Camber. Perfectly straight up and down is 0 camber. The top leaned out is Positive Camber, and the top leaned in is Negative Camber. You see negative camber on cars the are lowered extremely.

Two thoughts...

My trailer has the spread axles also. Every tandem axle trailer I have ever towed, when you are in a tight turn, one tire noticeably gets a positive camber, but goes back to normal when straightened out. It could be that.

The wear is a little concerning. I had a brand new Keystone trailer that wore all 4 tires out on the inside (threads showing) , after a few thousand miles. The dealership determined my axles where bent from the factory, and replaced the axles under warranty.
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Old 08-27-2021, 02:55 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by luv2camp2020 View Post
I found this string on the axles interesting because i have noticed at times when stopping tha one of my wheels seems to be tilted. It is always the same one. I have tried to research what may causes this and is it anything to worry about. I have a 2013 Bullet ultra lite. I had bearings and brakes repaired on all 4 less than 6 months ago. It was after that i started noticing it. Checked that tires are on tight and they are and i don't see any tire wearing.

Look forward to any thoughts!
If you turn your trailer at an angle it will do that. The more the angle the more you will see. If you pull forward or back up it should return to normal. It's best not to park it like that for any significant time.
The bearing and brake work shouldn't have any effect on seeing what you're talking about. If the bearings are so loose that you can see a "tilt" they will fail before you get around the block. If you're going down the road and see a wheel/tire wobbling you have serious issues.
You can do the string check by yourself in just a couple minutes for the price of a roll of kite string.
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Old 08-27-2021, 03:14 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by jasin1 View Post
I wasn’t trying to make fun of your idea…it does work with many things especially in construction…it just brought back memories of my buddys father…moment in time long forgotten….he grew up in the mountains and had to figure stuff out himself …my buddy ended up giving up the city life and moving back to the mountains where his family is from….quit the hvac field and moved to a primitive cabin / house and went to work in a sawmill.
The string alignment method was accepted by all the engineers I worked with, mostly because there was no other way to align two sheaves that are 4-8 ft apart. The big belt driven fans were relatively slow moving so we weren't measuring thousandths of an inch.
Imagine your car radiator turned horizontal, about 30 ft across, with the fan shaft being powered by a 50 hp electric motor driven through a 6 inch wide belt. Fun work in the summer.
Necessity being the mother of invention, someone invented a laser system to align pumps, turbines, gearboxes etc.
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Old 08-30-2021, 07:49 AM   #17
wegone
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Update all.

Made it home safe and sound. Trailer pulled fine, no issues at all. No tread wear, nothing. Stopped and check for hub heat and tread heat a few times, nothing, tires on truck were warmer.

I am thinking lots of opinions and prejudice seem to cover the topic of spread axles, much like Ford or Chevy debates, and I ain't entering that fray here...lol!

Thanks to all who offered help and chimed in, it was appreciated.

I made a appointment to have the trailer "serviced" anyway, going on two years now, however I can't it it in till November...golly.

Had a great stay....

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Old 09-02-2021, 07:29 AM   #18
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If you still have concerns you may want to bring your trailer in for a wheel alignment. Not only will they align things, they will tell you if anything is wrong. Best $250 I ever spent on my old trailer.
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