|
|
Member
Posts: 17
Location: Naples FL | We have an Bison 4 horse LQ with whole bar torsion suspension and one of the 4 tires has scrubbed off 3/4 of its tread in 6 month! is it possible to adjust the wheel alignment |
|
| |
|
Expert
Posts: 3802
   
Location: Rocky Mount N.C. | Welcome to HTW...!! Nothing there to adjust. It's either right or not right, sounds like you got a bent axle, bent spindle or the rubber in the torsion area has broken down. Replace the axle. Contact your Bison dealer, there may be some warranty there, but I doubt it.
Edited by retento 2010-05-01 3:04 AM
|
|
| |
|
Member
Posts: 17
Location: Naples FL | Thanks, I was half expecting that, sounds expensive, how can I tell if the rubber has gone |
|
| |
|
Elite Veteran
Posts: 720
| Buy an axle & be done with it. Not too expensive. It'll never be a warranty. Caused by over loading, or "abuse" (hole, curb, etc.). It is a fairly frequent occurence. However, your comprehensive insurance may come into play here if you wish. Often times you'll find a bent wheel on the same position also. |
|
| |
|
Expert
Posts: 3853
Location: Vermont | Replacing the axle assembly ONCE is cheaper than replacing the trailer tires over and over again...
Edited by PaulChristenson 2010-05-01 1:57 PM
|
|
| |
|
Expert
Posts: 5870
Location: western PA | I would recommend you discover the exact problem before you start changing axles. A trip to a wheel alignment shop will quickly determine if the axle is bent, whether you have a caster, toe in, toe out or camber problem. Has the wheel been checked for run out? Is the drum running true? Are the bearings in good shape or possibly improperly torqued and slack? Has the axle been jacked and the wheel observed while it's spinning? Has the wheel been inspected by grasping the top and bottom, and pulling on one or the other to observe side play? Find out the cause of the problem, before you jump into a possibly unneeded, expensive repair. |
|
| |
|
Member
Posts: 17
Location: Naples FL | Thanks guys, I will do some more checking |
|
| |
|
Veteran
Posts: 197
Location: MT | Don't need to replace your axel, if you can find a place that will bend you axle straight again. We get our axels checked every year on all our trailers. The place that does our is called beeline and pretty sure this website is same company.
http://www.beeline-co.com/ |
|
| |
|
Veteran
Posts: 104
| I had 1-tire wearing, and took my trailer to an alignment shop and had it fixed. Worked out great. They give you a computer print out of your alignment b-4 and after. Way cheaper than an axle. |
|
| |
|
Member
Posts: 17
Location: Naples FL | Great info, thanks, please let me know if you have torsion bar suspension, what was the name of the alignment shop and how you found it, our trailer is 40ft long so it will not fit anywhere |
|
| |
|
Elite Veteran
Posts: 802
Location: Tenn/Ala. | Originally written by brew26 on 2010-05-03 8:54 AM Don't need to replace your axel, if you can find a place that will bend you axle straight again. We get our axels checked every year on all our trailers. The place that does our is called beeline and pretty sure this website is same company. http://www.beeline-co.com/[/QUOTE] Be careful- As a former master HD truck technician I owned a facility that was capable of bending axles on trucks up to class 8 (by the way- this is done with 100 ton rams. Not for the meek of heart). By the mid 90's it was all over. Rockwell and Eaton both would replace an axle under warranty that didn't meet specs. These were straight axles in the 12-20K class that don't bend with a pothole or curb. After that, they specified replacement as they had seen too many reports of axles broken in use after they had been bent. Dexter has never recommended bending their Torflex axle (the Bison in question probably has a Lippert brand, but similar issues) for a number of reasons, not the least of which is usually it isn't the axle beam that is bent, it is the swing arm/spindle assembly. And that part is pressed into the rubber sleeves under special conditions and is not field replaceable. Now- if it is an old beater trailer, with spring axles instead of torsion, then give it a shot if you can tolerate the risk. But a torsion axle- sure you can bend it- but you are probably just covering up the problem because you aren't going to bend it back where it was bent in the first place. Remember- you can buy just a replacement beam and transfer all of the brake parts and beams just aren't that pricey and you know it is straight. My opinion is I'm going to suggest one follow the factory's recomendation and replace a torsion axle that is out of alignment, rather than perform a non-approved repair with potential safety and durability issues. Just my .02$ RTSmith |
|
| |
|
Member
Posts: 17
Location: Naples FL | More great info thanks, I spoke to Bison, really helpful! gave me all the specs on the axle, they said the spindle and arm are all welded and cannot be replaced or adjusted, here is the axle ours is a 7000lb http://www.al-kousa.com/pdf/4000_71.pdf |
|
| |
|
Veteran
Posts: 134
| Hi , I had the axles aligned on my 4-horse LQ. they were rubber torsion axles and it worked great. I was extremely happy with the results. Good luck |
|
| |
|
Member
Posts: 17
Location: Naples FL | Please let me know where you got them aligned |
|
| |
Can you adjust wheel alignment with torsion bar suspension
