Dexter torsion axle or Timbren Axle-less

skersfan

Supporting Sponsor
Or the manufacturer builds the trailer with too light of an axle. That is evident by the drop on the axle being upward from original design. If it is over weighted it will fail, but as Mark states, the normal thing I see is too much axle for the intended use. As a group, we tend to think only a 3500 pound axle will work off road, but with that axle most remove a leaf. The 3500 pound axle has better braking and bearings, overall stronger. Torsion axles can be built to the trailer spec. Again as Mark has stated, these things are nearly bullet proof. I have built trailers for nearly 30 years, and never seen one fail as described above. I am sure it can happen, but history of how and why it happened is needed.

I would agree that what AT offers is more adjustable, and repairable in the field, again if the parts are carried. Martyn and Mario make great products, but I doubt they share their failures with the public.

Either Dexter or Alko torsion axles are used on almost all military trailers under 5k currently and according to Phil Duckworth (National Sales Manager) of Dexter axle, they have passed the 10K and above testing. Meaning the majority of military trailers, US and NATO forces will use a torsion axle that is nearly identical to the ones available to the general public. This is one of the main reasons you are seeing the military trailers being sold currently, to make room for the new trailers setting at bases all around the country.

These are extremely economical, less moving parts and proven world wide. Not saying they are the only answer, but they are far from being unreliable.

Also, a trailer is no different than the tow vehicle. If you lower the air pressure on the tow vehicle, the trailer follows suit. I ran Goodyear MTR's at 8 pounds on the truck and 5 on the trailer before, it handled anything I could find to drag it across.

Timbren may be a great alternative, not sure as I have never tried them, but with the tires we run it puts a lot of torque on the set up, a cross member between the two, I think should be considered. The frame needs to be built differently. With the Dexter/Alko axles, they actually become a cross member for the trailer and make the frame much stronger.
 

XVENTURE TRAILERS

Supporting Sponsor - XVENTURE Trailers
Cheers to that Skersfan. We are closely evaluating the Timbren technology as an alternative to Torsion axils. However, at this time we do not believe their performance warrants the higher cost or additional complexity. Those units are almost 3 times the price for an equivalent Torsion axil with negligible performance gains if any. Any claim that the Timbren units are superior to Torsion Axils are outright misleading and less than accurate. Eliminating the cross bar appears nice at first glance however this is only a benefit for improperly matched axils that have an upward articulated swing arm. With our stock 32" wheels we get 19" of ground to crossbar clearance. Additionally, the crossbar adds protection to our Water Tank Cradle.

I believe the optimal solution for a high-end overland trailer is a simple swing-arm design with an air adjustable bag like the Timbren's rubber balls. This type of design is presently expensive and adds quite a bit of complexity to the average trailer, but its not out of reach. We should have this type of solution available later this year as standard equipment. We manufacture in-house Rubber and Steel torsion axils and usually do prototyping using Dexter products.

Anyway, for professional grade consumer overland trailers the most important aspect of matching an axil solution to your trailer is to not over-axil the trailer. A great advantage Torsion units have is that if you overload one by reasonable amounts it actually delivers a nice smooth ride and still maintains reasonable amount of vertical travel, most important if you are going for that cadillac float. If you overload a tibren-style unit you'll be riding on the rubber stops. And that condition will ruin your chassis and cargo bed structure in off road conditions.

That said, the Timbren design is a fine product and very well made. For me though I would prefer to spend that extra 500 bux on solar panels and a case of Jameson : )
 
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VanIsle_Greg

I think I need a bigger truck!
Timbren may be a great alternative, not sure as I have never tried them, but with the tires we run it puts a lot of torque on the set up, a cross member between the two, I think should be considered. The frame needs to be built differently. With the Dexter/Alko axles, they actually become a cross member for the trailer and make the frame much stronger.

Timbren do indeed have a 2x2 opening for a cross member between the 2 sides to tie them together. I have a friend with a set of their early ones...they custom made a set of 2000# spring rate with 3500# spindles so he could add brakes. Now they sell these as a regular stock item. Following him at high speed along many miles of washboard and gnarly FSR, I would say these can handle just about anything.
 
Spindle Break

Reviving this thread:

I apologize if this is discussed elsewhere but I thought I would followup with the torsion axle discussion and ask if anyone has seen the spindle brake in half on the the trail? This is a dexter 2K rubber axle, from 2015, I bought it used but there wasn't many miles on the trailer before I bought it. I attached some pictures of the damage and recovery...

I am working with Dexter about a warranty but if that doesn't work out, I am wondering about replacing the axle with a different system...

Much appreciation for your time!
 

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whitenoise

Adventurer
@Rachel - what was the fully loaded weight of your trailer (roughly)? Most people using a torsion type axle are using 3500lb spindles which have a much larger snout and inner bearing (1.375" if I remember correctly). Large off-road tires and heavy loads are expected to fail the spindle in the exact manner shown. Your failed spindle appears to be of the "EZ lube" type which have holes machined in them, further reducing the strength. The 2000lb spindles IMHO can't really be used on anything weighing over 1000lb for off-road use.
 

g-tex

New member
Spindle Break

Reviving this thread:

I apologize if this is discussed elsewhere but I thought I would followup with the torsion axle discussion and ask if anyone has seen the spindle brake in half on the the trail? This is a dexter 2K rubber axle, from 2015, I bought it used but there wasn't many miles on the trailer before I bought it. I attached some pictures of the damage and recovery...

I am working with Dexter about a warranty but if that doesn't work out, I am wondering about replacing the axle with a different system...

Much appreciation for your time!

Well, this just happened to me on North Padre Island. I had the trailer picked up and it is now at Expert Welding in Corpus Christi for frame reinforcement, lock n roll hitch installation, and timbren axle-less suspension installation.

Hope you had a good outcome on your problem; it looked like a mess. 34708196_10215662873505908_8437390908562866176_n.jpg34745514_10215662873905918_2899140132101685248_n.jpg
 

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