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06-13-2019, 11:41 AM
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#1
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: Alberta
Posts: 21
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3" Lift on 2005 T240 w/Torflex Axles
Hey everyone. I just finished my much needed lift on my TT. I found it strange that for the first 3 years of camping, the trailer was fairly rough to haul, even with Torflex suspension. Here's how my lift job came to be:
While setting up the brakes for the first time since buying the trailer (they were still working great but I haul for work and like my brakes very responsive) I noticed that the previous owner had turned the rear mount bolt on each side of each axle around. This kept the trailing arm from having full travel. This had me worried that the axle was worn out and this was his fix instead of replacing worn out axles.This wore off the end of the bolt and wore a nice groove into the back of each trailing arm.
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06-13-2019, 11:46 AM
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#2
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: Alberta
Posts: 21
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So first I did the obvious move, I purchased 4 new bolts and nuts and replaced them in the correct position to see if the axle now had too much sag. I looked up the specs on my axle to find the correct starting angle and found that there was nothing wrong with the axle, but the tires were very close to the plastic fender flare. I took the TT on a camping trip close by the next weekend and when I got to the campsite found that there was slight rubbing on the side of the tire. Not a lot, but enough that on a long trip it would eventually wear a groove into the side of the tire just below the tread. I had to really scratch my head to figure out what was going on. I have the factory size tires, so why is it rubbing? The only thing I found is that almost every other 2005 I see online does not have fender flares. Since I did not want to remove the flares, and my tow vehicle already tows it tongue high, a lift was the obvious answer.
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06-13-2019, 11:58 AM
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#3
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: Alberta
Posts: 21
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For factory made lift kits, I could only find these 2 kits. Either one was gonna cost $300 to get it to me. This price was unacceptable!
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06-13-2019, 11:59 AM
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#4
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: Alberta
Posts: 21
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So in my online search, I was lucky enough that someone had posted measurements in another forum for these lift blocks
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06-13-2019, 12:10 PM
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#5
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: Alberta
Posts: 21
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So I went out to my local machine shop and bought 4 feet of rectangular tubing for $30, bought all new hardware for another $40 and a set of stepped drill bits on sale for $12 at Crappy Tire (Canadian Tire for all the US people) and began to make them up. I made the side holes slotted to match my axle brackets and I'm glad i did, otherwise I would have had to do a bunch of grinding while doing the install.
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06-13-2019, 12:14 PM
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#6
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: Alberta
Posts: 21
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Install was simple, but a little awkward. As you can see the side bolts and bottom bolts are very close together which made tightening a little tricky. The one factory kit that uses the bolts/nuts with tabs welded on the ends is really on to something.
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06-13-2019, 12:22 PM
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#7
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: Alberta
Posts: 21
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Another tricky part was aligning the axles. Dexter says the best way on tandem axle trailers is to measure center to center on the left side wheels, then get that same measurement on the right side wheels. The max they can be out is 1/16". I found that when everything was in place I was out by a 1/4". This turned out to be caused by the hanger bracket that is welded to the trailer being slightly bent on the front axle, caused by that backwards bolt that originally got this project started. A little straightening of the hanger bracket and I got the alignment 100% perfect.
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06-13-2019, 12:25 PM
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#8
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: Alberta
Posts: 21
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There you have it, I didn't even have to adjust my hitch, it's still in the lowest position and tows perfect, a slight droop at the hitch due to tongue weight, and much better gas mileage. After completing it, I took it on a 30 km drive around the outskirts of north Edmonton, then parked it and re torqued the bolts. They were hardly able to be torqued any further, but I figured better safe than sorry.
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06-13-2019, 12:49 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Southern California
Posts: 2,142
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Well done! It looks like you are very experienced at handling tricky repairs. I'm assuming the lift has also given you better ground clearance, right?
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06-13-2019, 12:52 PM
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#10
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: Alberta
Posts: 21
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Thanks!
You bet, everything is now 3" higher. It's gonna take some time getting used to the single step being higher, but its's not enough to warrant getting a double step. Also the stabilizer jacks now need a 4x4 block under them, I am tossing around the idea of getting scissor style jacks welded to the frame, don't know yet.
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06-14-2019, 01:54 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: SoCal
Posts: 324
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CONGRATULAIONS! You did all the homework and then carefully followed through on the execution.
Good job!
__________________
2016 F281BIKS, Added Renogy DC-DC charger to better charge deep cycle batteries.
2003 F250 7.3L Powerstroke Crewcab longbed 20K lbs GCWR
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06-14-2019, 01:59 PM
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#12
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: Alberta
Posts: 21
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Thanks dude!
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06-16-2019, 11:49 AM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: SoCal
Posts: 324
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Nearly all of our previous trailers have had scissor style jacks welded to the frame. I liked that you could actually level the trailer with them rather than being able to just stabilize it at a given angle to the ground.
__________________
2016 F281BIKS, Added Renogy DC-DC charger to better charge deep cycle batteries.
2003 F250 7.3L Powerstroke Crewcab longbed 20K lbs GCWR
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06-16-2019, 03:09 PM
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#14
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: Alberta
Posts: 21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JimboFunFinder
Nearly all of our previous trailers have had scissor style jacks welded to the frame. I liked that you could actually level the trailer with them rather than being able to just stabilize it at a given angle to the ground.
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I agree, the type I have that drop down at an angle aren't very sturdy, and I have to level by putting blocks under the tires to level side to side.
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06-16-2019, 03:28 PM
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#15
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: South Dakota
Posts: 3,105
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I don't travel rough country backroads or trails so no reason to do a lift.
Franky, I've seen trailers, motorhomes and semi's fipped due to high winds and high profile...so not something I think is a very safe thing to do as many camper sit quite high as it is with a 3 step or 4 step entry. I prefer lower is better here in the plains states. Just my opinion.
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2012 Fun Finder XT 276 Toy Hauler & Harley Davidson Ultra Classic with Condor wheel chock
2014 Dodge Ram 2500 AT 4X4 Crew Cab 6.4 L Hemi, 373 gears, tow package, Rambox option, Revolver X2 tonneau cover, Equal-I-zer anti-sway hitch.
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06-20-2019, 06:30 AM
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#16
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Member
Join Date: May 2019
Location: Fenton, MI
Posts: 45
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Don't you just love when it's hard to do it right so lets do it wrong and maybe no one will notice.
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2014 Ram 1500 Big Horn 5.7 hemi
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06-20-2019, 07:37 AM
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#17
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: Alberta
Posts: 21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shelleyb48
Don't you just love when it's hard to do it right so lets do it wrong and maybe no one will notice.
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Care to elaborate on that response?
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2005 Fun Finder T240
2018 F250 XLT 6.2L V8
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06-20-2019, 08:36 AM
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#18
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Member
Join Date: May 2019
Location: Fenton, MI
Posts: 45
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigfoot Danny
Care to elaborate on that response?
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Sure, you said the previous owner did the original work on the axle and put the bolts in wrong causing the wear. You on the other hand took the time to do it correctly. Good on ya!
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2014 Ram 1500 Big Horn 5.7 hemi
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06-20-2019, 09:56 AM
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#19
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: Alberta
Posts: 21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shelleyb48
Sure, you said the previous owner did the original work on the axle and put the bolts in wrong causing the wear. You on the other hand took the time to do it correctly. Good on ya!
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Oh gotcha. Thanks man! He got me... I didn't notice for 3 years!
__________________
2005 Fun Finder T240
2018 F250 XLT 6.2L V8
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06-20-2019, 11:41 AM
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#20
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: SoCal
Posts: 324
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I once bought a small utility trailer and didn't notice for awhile that both ends of the leaf springs had rigid mounts to the frame. It bounced a lot! The previous guy did not install shackles so I did.
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__________________
2016 F281BIKS, Added Renogy DC-DC charger to better charge deep cycle batteries.
2003 F250 7.3L Powerstroke Crewcab longbed 20K lbs GCWR
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