Will be picking up a TAXA Cricket Overland, soon, built with Timbren 3500 spindles. Question is: can I easily change out the 3500s for 5200s? I realize it wouldn't, necessarily, increase the load capacity of the rig but I am just looking to beef up the spindle to make it a bit less injury prone. Previously, I had a Moby1 (long, sad story) with similar spindles. While I don't think I am blameless in the situation, I also think that if it was equipped with 5200s, the damage may not have occurred. Thought? Experiences?
Timbren
- Thread starter alascal
- Start date
You really don't want to carry a load much below 50-60% of the rating
too stiff a ride will bounce rattle & roll the heck out of the mounted pod and contents.
Some models you can swap out the rubber bits if needed.
eTrailer.com has great inside tracks to Timbren's engineers.
too stiff a ride will bounce rattle & roll the heck out of the mounted pod and contents.
Some models you can swap out the rubber bits if needed.
eTrailer.com has great inside tracks to Timbren's engineers.
Louisd75
Adventurer
@Timbren Might have some insight if they're still monitoring the forum.
Keep in mind that at some point something has to give
If the Taxa was designed for 3500 and you put 5200, have you just moved the weak point from an axle spindle that can be replaced in the field to the frame that is probably a wee bit more difficult to field repair?
Martyn
Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0018
The spindle shouldn’t be an issue, it’s the bearings and races that need looking into. I would disassemble the hubs and replace the bearings and races with Timken bearings and races, then make sure the bearings are well packed with grease and adjusted correctly. The vast majority of trailer issues come from badly packed bearings, badly adjusted bearings and lack of bearing maintenance. Suggested timelines for bearing maintenance apply to on road usage not off road usage. As a general guide line I would re-pack the bearings every 6 months and check for excess bearing movement prior to every trip. When on a trip I check the bearings every time I stop for fuel, and every morning before setting off.
Timbren
Supporting Sponsor
Great question, our customer service team loves to help with questions like this, shoot them an email! Sales@timbren.com
calicamper
Expedition Leader
Timbren has had lots of issues with their axles. Taxa and Intech both have been having axle failure tied to the arms or the socket bending creating bad camber / \
Timbren
Supporting Sponsor
The biggest reason people have failures with their suspensions is that they haven't been spec'd properly. Instead of buying a 3500lb HD model they'll purchase a 3500lb model instead because it saves some cash. If you plan on doing any off-road or overlanding you need a properly spec'd HD model. Our HD models have been built to handle the abuse and stress of off-road and overland travel.
If any of you need help selecting a suspension please reach out to us. We love to help customers get the right product the first time.
calicamper
Expedition Leader
Then why is it the 5200’s that have been failing? Lol
I believe that the difference between the 5200 and the 3500HD is just the elastomer stiffness? All of the structural parts are shared between them, not just the spindles? @Timbren should be able to verify that.
I have some welds on mine that look poorly done. The weld that I've seen in a picture that failed does look OK on mine (5200), but some others look like cold welds with not very much penetration.
calicamper
Expedition Leader
5200’s
Have been doing this on a few different trailers. Taxa Mantis, Intech trailers etc. Its a big enough issue that trailers are parked and unusable waiting for a fix. For some this is #2.
The early issues seemed to arm casting issues related. The current issues seem to be similar.
The Cricket did have a few problems earlier but I haven’t come across any recent cases.
If I buy one of these trailers I’ll likely just dump the timbren for a different product.
Have been doing this on a few different trailers. Taxa Mantis, Intech trailers etc. Its a big enough issue that trailers are parked and unusable waiting for a fix. For some this is #2.
The early issues seemed to arm casting issues related. The current issues seem to be similar.
The Cricket did have a few problems earlier but I haven’t come across any recent cases.
If I buy one of these trailers I’ll likely just dump the timbren for a different product.
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wADVr
Adventurer
Good to know and maybe Timbren will confirm. It’s been a while since I studied the drawings on their site so may have it wrong.
Timbren
Supporting Sponsor
You're right, the rubber spring used in these is different. Also, the outboard arm and spindle configurations are different on the HD models.
As for your weld issues, that could very well be a warranty issue (hard to say without seeing it). Give our customer service team a call and they can confirm for you 1-800-263-3113.
@calicamper, unfortunately, without knowing the specific cases where there have been failures it's really hard to comment. As I said, in our experience, most failures are due to poorly spec'd suspensions.