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  1. #1
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    Default tyre to leaf spring clearance

    hi all, can some one advise from experience the minimum distance one should have between sidewall of 31.5 x10.5 offroad tyres and side face of leaf springs (7 leaf x65mmx1080 long)to ensure not to damage tyres on an off road camper.thanks ,danny

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    Where I work, we don't normally have more than 40mm no matter what the tire used. More than that will only put more leverage on the axle because of the overhang. There may be other opinions out there, but this has been our policy for the 30 years since I started my trade.

    Robert
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    today i assembled bearings,brakes,welded on mountng plates and pads and wheeled it under the trailer,i ended up with 20 mm between sidewall and spring leaves when fitted with fats,when i put split rim on with standard rubber i have 60mm.was a little concerned about overhang so went with a 45mm axle even though trailer should'nt go over 800kg loaded.thanks for your comments.cheers danny

  4. #4
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    Yonnee is offline Trailer Bloke & Mild Mannered Moderator
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    As Robert said, 1-1/2" or 40mm is usually the norm. Being a single axled trailer, you're not going to get a lot of sideways movement of the wheel (if alot of suspension travel at all), so even the 20mm should be fine.
    Also, the gap between tyre and spring should hardly change at all... it's the gap between the top of the inside of the tyre and the inner guard that will change with axle/suspension movement.
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  5. #5
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    Following on from the above, the gap is determined by your nominated axle length (as a result of your calculations) . . . so when I ordered a non-standard length axle a year or so back , I was told that axles are made in increments of 1". Is that standard for the trailer industry or do other suppliers in other areas make axles to an exact length?
    Not a big deal obvioulsy but might be something other DIYer's might need to take into account when working out the gap/axle length?

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by danielhobby View Post
    hi all, can some one advise from experience the minimum distance one should have between sidewall of 31.5 x10.5 offroad tyres and side face of leaf springs (7 leaf x65mmx1080 long)to ensure not to damage tyres on an off road camper.thanks ,danny

    Think I have read this before somewhere amazing the crossover between forums eh?

  7. #7
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    Yonnee is offline Trailer Bloke & Mild Mannered Moderator
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bazzmate View Post
    Following on from the above, the gap is determined by your nominated axle length (as a result of your calculations) . . . so when I ordered a non-standard length axle a year or so back , I was told that axles are made in increments of 1". Is that standard for the trailer industry or do other suppliers in other areas make axles to an exact length?
    Not a big deal obvioulsy but might be something other DIYer's might need to take into account when working out the gap/axle length?
    If you order your axle directly from the manufacturer, the axles are cut from 8.0M bar stock, so you can order an axle cut to whatever measurement you like. With some companies you have to be a little insistant that you want it that particular length.

    Funny story... when I worked at Melbourne Trailer & Caravan Supplies, for a while I ran the Repair shop, and in the same factory was the Independent Suspension fabricator and the Bulk Steel rack and CNC cutting machine. Just about all the axles are made to an Imperial measurement in 1/2" increments, however, the CNC is in Metric, so the bloke running the cutting machine calculates the Imperial to Metric for the CNC. I needed an axle for a Caravan we were modifying (fitting 17" HSV wheels), and the clearances were critically tight, so I measured and put forward my order in Metric. But for some strange reason, the production office then calculated the measurement into Imperial, and rounded it to the nearest 1/2" for the CNC operator to convert it back to Metric... see the problem??
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  8. #8
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    We order all of ours with a face to face measurement and they come back almost to the millimeter preassembled. There seems to be some variance in the lengths, on a tandem trailor that has both axles made at the same time from the same company may be differing lengths of up to 5mm, but that really isn't an issue. I would suggest that ordering in 1" increments may be the resellers requirements.

    Just my thoughts.

    Robert
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  9. #9
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    Yonnee is offline Trailer Bloke & Mild Mannered Moderator
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    "Stock" sizes are in 1" increments, and they are usually what's carried by companies who don't actually manufacture the axles themselves, and even then they'll only carry lengths to suit 4', 5' & 6' wide trailers.

    THe difference in the pair of tandem axles would be a 9" Hydraulic & Lazy combination. The drum casting used by some manufacturers doesn't have the same bearing to face offset as all the other hubs and drums in the range, so the axle has to be made 16mm shorter, however, they usually round them to 1/2", so they're still out by 3.5mm. And that's if the bloke on the cutting machine is fussy with his tape measure...
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