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Old 06-13-2019, 11:41 AM   #1
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Default 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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Old 06-13-2019, 11:46 AM   #2
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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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Old 06-13-2019, 11:58 AM   #3
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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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Old 06-13-2019, 11:59 AM   #4
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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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Old 06-13-2019, 12:10 PM   #5
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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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Old 06-13-2019, 12:14 PM   #6
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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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Old 06-13-2019, 12:22 PM   #7
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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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Old 06-13-2019, 12:25 PM   #8
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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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Old 06-13-2019, 12:49 PM   #9
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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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Old 06-13-2019, 12:52 PM   #10
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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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Old 06-14-2019, 01:54 PM   #11
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CONGRATULAIONS! You did all the homework and then carefully followed through on the execution.
Good job!
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Old 06-14-2019, 01:59 PM   #12
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Thanks dude!
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Old 06-16-2019, 11:49 AM   #13
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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.
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Old 06-16-2019, 03:09 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JimboFunFinder View Post
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.
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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Old 06-16-2019, 03:28 PM   #15
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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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Old 06-20-2019, 06:30 AM   #16
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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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Old 06-20-2019, 07:37 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shelleyb48 View Post
Don't you just love when it's hard to do it right so lets do it wrong and maybe no one will notice.
Care to elaborate on that response?
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Old 06-20-2019, 08:36 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigfoot Danny View Post
Care to elaborate on that response?
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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Old 06-20-2019, 09:56 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shelleyb48 View Post
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!
Oh gotcha. Thanks man! He got me... I didn't notice for 3 years!
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Old 06-20-2019, 11:41 AM   #20
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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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