New To Us A.S. Nest

[deminimis]

I was thinking Westy (I miss our former) or yet another Bigfoot (or Northern Lite) truck camper. Wife said no to a Westy and hard to get Bigfoots to book out for my credit union (same with Casitas, Scamps and the like). Well, a 2020 Airstream Nest followed us home yesterday. Well built, nice components, but very low clearance. We have a few things to sort, but I'm already thinking about replacing the current torsion axle with a 22.5-45 at some point. Other than the little fancy do-dads, I really like that it comes from the factory with a 2 5/16 coupler and 16" wheels (two surprises). Perhaps it will be easy trail ready at some point.

 

[deminimis]

Now the big question, stay with Dexter Torflex or give Timbrens (with 2x3 cross tube) a go? Lots of discussion on the forum, but not finding the definitive answer (a question I've pondered trailer mod after trailer mod). I'll probably play it safe, stick with Dexter, and get the appropriate drop angle to get some badly needed lift. I'm also bumping up 1000#. These factory axles are only rated at 4000# (trailer is around 3500# dry). That leaves only 500# for water (beer), gear, propane, etc. Also, the factory axle comes with cartridge bearings (nev-r-lube). I hate those things. Had to replace one on our former TPD race trailer. What a hassle (having to order the bearing), and costly. I ended up carrying a passenger vehicle cartridge bearing with us (same dimension, not the capacity, but relatively cheap) in case of an on the road failure. No thanks. I like EZ lube.

I haven't had time to check it out for myself, so I asked A.S. Sure enough, the factory axles are 22.5 up. Thus, 22.5 down should do me just fine.

Oddly, the spouse is on board with mods. Well, mods for this trailer only.

 

[Obsessed2findARuggedHybid]

Timbren 5200 hd with 4" rise would give some awesome ground clearance. No idea if the chassis would handle the timbren mount. I would call Timbren and ask. Dexter s are so mass produced

 

[deminimis]

Nope. I slithered under there last night to get current axle specs. There is zero way to install Timbrens on this camper (short of lifting the body off and building up a new frame). No room for the cross tube, which it would definitely need. Now that I have the actual specs, I'll just order up the Torflex axle we need (and associated accoutrements) and it will be plug and play. Oddly, there may have been a mid-production axle change as my 2020 has a #11 axle (detuned to 4000#), whereas it appears some 2019s may have had #10 axles (but I'm far from certain of this). I'm glad we have the 11.

 

[Sparse Gray Hackle]

Invest in Rock Tamers or some other mudflap to keep the front of that trailer nice and shiny.

 

[anume]

Nope. I slithered under there last night to get current axle specs. There is zero way to install Timbrens on this camper (short of lifting the body off and building up a new frame). No room for the cross tube, which it would definitely need. Now that I have the actual specs, I'll just order up the Torflex axle we need (and associated accoutrements) and it will be plug and play. Oddly, there may have been a mid-production axle change as my 2020 has a #11 axle (detuned to 4000#), whereas it appears some 2019s may have had #10 axles (but I'm far from certain of this). I'm glad we have the 11.

I've always liked the smart and efficient design of the Nest. But the 500# CCC is a too small. I am interested in your solutions. Is there a way to increase to a heavier duty axle and a lift too?

BTW I found a blog response on e-trailer mentioning there's a lift kit K71-707-01 which increases the #10 axle up by 2-5/8".

Independent suspension on this would be sweet.

 

[deminimis]

PO liked silicone. In case anyone has forgotten:

 

[deminimis]

To answer the above question: I have a quote for a new Dexter axle. #5200 and 22.5 degree down starting angle (orig de-rated to 4000# and 0 degree start angle). That will solve that. However, I have to buy a Retrax roll-up for my pickup first.

 

[deminimis]

I just installed a roll up cover with t-slots so I could run a couple solar panels. It was a pricey bugger, but I think worth it (as we also need secure, relatively dry storage) I already had the panels laying around (160w x2) and the Yakima cross bars. I bought Yakima towers that are used on their (Yakima) trailer as they are stout (alumn) and about 1/3 the price of four of the usual (plastic) t-slot towers. The problem is they are plumb and attach perfectly perpendicular to the mounting surface. My bed rails are angled at 2 degrees outboard for water control. If I was just to mount the towers, they would be splayed out and would not work. The fix was to add 1/8" EVA foam underneath the works and another strip of 1/8" EVA foam on the outboard half. Uncompressed, this resulted in approx a 10 degree tilt. When tightened, the towers remained perpendicular to the cross tubes, the compressed EVA handled the differing angles between the rails and towers, and everything snugged up perfectly. More robust than I thought it would be. The setup is simply out of the way for now, but I'll mount the panels with stainless u-bolts to the cross tubes. From there, an Anderson connector at the front of the bed, connected to a Victron controller in the bed (tucked out of the way and protected from rain), from there to an Anderson surface mount at the hitch. I'll make up a length of cable with Anderson connectors to connect to our small Nest camper (not enough real estate for much solar), our huge camper (lots of real estate, but no need with this setup) and even our dump trailer (they always need more juice than the batts and tow vehicle can provide). Anyway, you get the idea. The savings from the towers almost pays for the Victron and all that 8AWG marine wire I need. I waited years to purchase the roll up. I should have done it much sooner.

 

[deminimis]

Under the cover, I'll stow a genny, air compressor, tools/jack, our Dometic fridge/freezer from our boat (when necessary), and some Action Packers with our clothes, gear, whatever. A good place to secure sailing equipment too. This will help address the very limited space in the Nest. Something of a two birds sorta dealio.