Camper Axle Flip | 5 inch lift kit on our camper = more free camping options | Full Time RV Living
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- čas přidán 23. 09. 2019
- See how we lifted our camper with a axle flip kit. This should open the door for many more boondocking and free camping options as we live the full time rv lifestyle.
You need one kit per axle.
If your trailer has two axles you will need to order two kits as we did.
Dexter 2 3/8 inch axle flip Kit:
amzn.to/2vqcABT
Generators:
These generators have worked well for our free camping and boondocking adventures:
Champion 3100-Watt RV Ready Portable Inverter Generator with Wireless Remote Start
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Yamaha EF3000iS, 2800 running Watts/3000 Starting Watts, Gas Powered Portable Inverter
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Gear we use to shoot and edit our videos
Latest version of our Laptop Computer:
Latest Dell Inspiron 15.6" Laptop (Intel Quad Core i7-6700HQ, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSHD(Solid State Hybrid Drive, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M, MaxxAudio Sound) Ultral-HD 4k LED Touchscreen Computer Windows 10
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Cameras and Gear:
Canon EOS M50 Mirrorless Camera with 4K Video and EF-M 15-45mm Lens Kit (White) and Deco Gear Deluxe Travel Gadget Bag Case + Microphone + Monopod + Filter Set + 64GB Memory Card Accessory Kit Bundle
amzn.to/2SeeIpm
DJI Phone Camera Gimbal OSMO MOBILE, Black
amzn.to/38hktbF
Primary camera has been our Samsung S7 Edge cell phone
Backup camera has been our iPhone 7S Plus
Connect with Camper Size Living on Social Media:
/ campersizeliving
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CamperSizeLiving@gmail.com
Get all your Travel Needs Taken Care Of!
Contact Kimberly with Blue Tide Travel Agency:
BlueTideTravel@gmail.com
www.bluetidetravel.com
/ bluetidetravel
DISCLAIMER: This video and description contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, we will receive a small commission. This helps support the channel and allows us to continue to make videos like this. Thank you for the support!!
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Wonder if somebody could answer my question what’s that thing between the tyres (Tires)?
I believe you are referring to the X-Chock Wheel Stabilizers.
Here's our link to them on Amazon:
amzn.to/2HE6jsE
We love them. They take all of the front to back movement out of the camper.
Thanks for that It’s what I was thinking it was for I don’t own a camper so I’ve never come across it before
Spring hangers
I know this is a pretty old vid now, but just wanted to say thanks to the OP and crew for the detailed video. I just did this to my 30' very low camper following your method and it went better than expected. Big job, but big reward +6 inches of lift and no more bottoming out. One thing worth mentioning that I am glad I did, buy new bushings and bolts with grease fittings on them to replace as you do the job. I was glad it was mentioned to me beforehand as my bushings were all shot to hell. Nice knowing that they are all new now. Great vid and thanks again.
Late to the show lol, building a car hauler trailer with drive over fenders and I noticed my wheels sit just too high above the deck than I'd like, the custom fender frames I built for this trailer will be 7" above the deck and not much can clear that without having a decent lift kit. So I heard about flipping the axles and this video was the most thorough. So thank you Soo much! When I'm finished the fender frames should sit 2" off the deck which is absolutely perfect for my build!
Kudos! As an registered trailer manufacturer, I have seen people actually flip their axles not even having a clue about the "load bow" built into the axle tube, and mounted them upside down. For all to know, the bow is where the axle gets it load carrying capacity....as long as the peak of the bow is up. When you flip without adding the mounting boss to the top (i.e. upside down) you destroy the load capacity and set yourself up for near future problems.
You did everything perfect! Great job.
Great job explaining the new axle perches, the need for the upwards bow angle of the axle, and rotating the breaks. I see so many people giving bad advise on flipping axles and not addressing these requirements. Even helped a guy on the road who did this very thing and warped his leaf springs so badly that the trailer was about 3" lower on one side so he had to buy new ones. On top of his tires being totally worn down on one side. Great video!
Very thorough and helpful tips.. I have a 2012 Jayco Swift, and I really have to do this. Can barely get it up my driveway. Kudos to your helpful friends who are willing to lay on the ground in the rain for you!
Right?! They are the best!
Hey there James, Kimberly & Autumn! Great job on raising the RV! When I go full time soon I’ll be in a Class B…after 38 years of pulling trailers in the trucking industry, from 38 to 57 foot long, I have NO intentions of ever pulling another trailer again as long as I live! Lol! But, it WAS interesting to watch how and what y’all did to remedy your low clearance problems! Stay safe and God Bless! ~Jim~
Excellent Video! Congratulations on this successful fix for your trailer!
Thank you so much. Love your attitude and the way you showed us how to do this. Blessings to you!
Thank you so much Jenny. So glad to hear it was helpful for you. 👍😊👍
I'm glad I came across this had trouble getting in my buddies property due to clearance issues
Love the video sir. I live in AZ and do quite a bit of boondock camping with our family. I, too, raised my camper 4 inches for the clearance in the desert and mountain trails. One piece of advice from me to you is build a skid plate that is removable for each of your tanks and also build something to protect the black water tank lines like a skid plate. Mine are all built out of reclaimed steel 1/8th inch diamond plate. I know the added weight is a thing but the satisfaction of hitting a steel plate vs. knocking a hole in your tank is a great trade off.
That's a really great idea Troy Jackson. I thought about skid plates for the truck but hadn't thought about it for the camper.
edifying. solid people
Great job that’s what I need to do on mine
Nice job. Thinking about doing this with our camper. You brought up some great information I hadn’t thought of. 😅
Great video. And great shirt! We just dropped our camper off to get this done before the camping season here in Colorado. Excited to get out on more roads this year with the camper. I was tired of dragging the rear end of our 28’ camper when we dispersed camp.
We were always so grateful it was done! Everytime we pulled into a place with uneven we were like, “we could not have even come here before the lift.” You will love it!
Great job! I'm looking to do this as well in a few months. I'll be sure to click through your link for the flip kit when I do.
Thank you so much Michael. We appreciate that. I think you will be happy with the upgrade. We absolutely love having more ground clearance!
Great information, thanks for sharing 🙂
Great info thank you
Great video!! Hoping to do this but because i have a lifted truck!
That’s awesome bud
Thanks for the video, I was undecided but now gonna move forward! Need to clearance for boon docking .
Thank you Carl! So glad👍 We were so thankful for it every time we boondocked of the road or even pulled into a steep drive. Feel free to use our Amazon link in the description below the video 👍
One question, driving on highway, any handling issues? sway etc.
Same!!!
Great Job .
Thank you Patrick Henri!
Good job, I need to do this too.
Thank you. We are very happy with the results we got from this project. 👍
Nice example of how to! And your slow and steady and clear explanation was great. I can't believe you did it right in the campground. I assume that you had to get 2 of those kits? I have a twin axle trailer that sits really low and I have to do this. Thanks for sharing! R
Thank you so much for the feedback and encouraging words Rory Olson! We did get permission to do it on our site which was in the middle of our friends and coworkers sites. Some of whom you can see helping in the video. We did use two kits and love having the added clearance every time we pull it! Good luck with your axle flip!👍
Thanks man that was actually really helpful. I'm about to do that on my 5th wheel. Old 5th wheel with a newer truck that sits pretty high. Not a hole lot of room on my on the rear bumper or in-between my truck bed.
So glad it was helpful. We loved ours👍
Hello, thanks for your efforts in putting together this video. Question... approximately what was your clearance from top of tires to underside of fenderwells prior to flipping?
My 2016 Forest River (I bought it used at about 18 months old) has axles above springs. I only have about 1 inch of clearance between top of tires and fenderwells. I have about 2.5 inches of arc in springs. I have wondered if manufacturer put wrong axle/spring set up on it. Your trailer is about the same size as mine. Yours is the only one that I have noticed with axles above springs in this size of trailer.
After buying mine I towed it 200 miles and lived in it for nearly 4 years. It wasn't till I towed it to my first camping trip, with it, that I noticed that fenderwells had rubbed on tires.
Excellent,don't change any
Very Kool can you but shocks system on it ;) very kool showing us your works enjoy it
Thank you Isa Salah! Not sure about different shocks. We have not had any problems with the original suspension though. 👍
We took out a stabilizer at the Badlands. They have a couple of bad dips.
I know this is an old video. But if you run into the stuck bolt issue again. Put your impact on the bolt side and run it in reverse. Will normally just thread itself right out.
Hi, we are actually going to be doing this same lift kit on our camper. My husband was wanting to see what he needed to use to do the break extension (the wiring).
Great question. Just need the same gauge wire and your choice of connectors. We just cut the wire in the middle and added and a piece to make it longer.
Look forward to an update.
Having issues dragging myself. Mine is only 21ft and drags just pulling in my driveway which is not steep at all. I even have to disconnect my stabilizer bars every time I pull in and out. These manufacturers should actually try towing and using these campers. Things like that really need to be addressed by all companies.
Someone please get Jacob a funnel to help him have his protein break (chocolate milk).
That is too funny Oby-1! 🤣😂
You can lead a horse to water...lol!
I miss living in Tucson
It is a great city!! 🌵
You should have replaced those leaf springs at same time as they nearly done for
Now that its taller, you haven't lost your A/C unit to any lower than normal bridges have you? Do you have to make a lot of height considerations when you travel?
My concern with this is how flat the leaf springs have become with the flip, losing some of their ability to support the camper body and flex appropriately.
Most likely you'll never run into an issue but that would worry me a bit.
The heads of the bolts on the shackle are not locked up they're actually serrated and pinned in there and they're not supposed to turn. Pulling both nuts off and pulling that half of the shackle off is the correct way to pull them apart
Our video this week was similar but our axles were already on the bottom 😞
hi. just one tidbit of info. Dont forget to add the height difference to overall height. would suck to find out hard way at a low overhead area by loosing the ac unit,or worse. :-)
Are you still happy with doing this now that some time has gone by? Has it caused any concerns or issues? I have the same model camper and the same issues that you were having.
Do you have to weld the brackets?
good job dude, even though it was years ago.
Thank you so much for the encouraging words Van Trucker! We greatly appreciate it!👍
Don't forget to relevel your trailer and your truck together after you lift your trailer
Great tip Pat! 👍 We did just that and once we got the wiggle out of the hitch it was awesome 👍
Hi, What a great video! Thank you for that. I do have a question. I have a very small camper compared to the one in the video, but I too want to get a little further off road than I am presently able to go due to clearance. I have read that axles tend to be one of the parts that wear out the most. My concern is the welding. Welding the bracket would certainly, as was mentioned in the video, make the connection permanent. If the axle needs to be replaced at some point after the flip, and after the welding, this would make the replacement far more difficult. I have a 17ft, single axle camper that weighs in at 3600lbs loaded - no slide-outs. With this size and weight, would it be possible to skip the welding? I am only looking for recommendations and understand that you may not be an expert at weight loads and welding joint strength. Any offers of reply will be considered a friendly non-expert advice to be used at my own risk. But thanks, I can use as much info as possible. :-)
Great question crewcalls. If you need a new axle down the road, I believe you could just buy an over slung axle. Then you won't even need the kit. It will have the perches on top already. Hope this helps. 👍🙂👍
What r the tork specs on the 4 nuts
Do you think you need to weld the new brackets on?
I’m from Tucson Az and I feel your pain . I own a 2014 Viking 17fq and these trailers sit super low. My recent trip out to arivaca lake I almost took out my
Pipes . So now I’m looking to flip my axles . But a few questions how’s the ride now ? How does it handle in wind ? Any worries ? Thanks pal.
Great questions Ben Lopez! Every time we pull into a parking lot with a dip or drive down a rough road we are super thankful that we did the axle flip. The ride is just as good as it ever was and there's no more issue with wind then we had before. The only issue we did have was with the hitch wiggling because I had to flip it over to get it to be high enough. But we got a little device to tighten hitch up from Amazon and haven't had any more trouble with that. All in all, I wish I had done this as soon as I pull the camper off the sales lot! We hope to have an update video on this very topic within the next few weeks.
How’s the lift so far? Any issues?
Where did u buy the perch kit at
Just wondering how your camper towed after the axle flip. I bought a 5th wheel camper today but didn't realize it would be a problem with my truck being lifted 6 inches. Not very well thought out i have to admit. But Im thinking I might try to flip the axles. Being a 5th wheel i might have height issues on over head clearance though.
Factory heights on newer trucks are bad enough for 5ers, let alone being lifted. My 5er rides at 12'8" at the front a/c unit. You will definately have clearance issues.
Did you do the flip, any issues?
Great vid👍🏼 how are you liking the height and new clearances. Just got a 2021 -26 DBH and already running into issues with backing it up into my hill spot on driveway the rear levelers will scrape. Need to do this but they said it will void warranty. Didn't think it would be issue but obviously low clearance is always and issue. And 1st axel from rear bumper is 8ft.
Thank you adubbz23. We absolutely love the height! One of the best things we've done in our opinion. Helps us almost daily when traveling. 👍
@@CamperSizeLiving that's awesome how is the 26 dbh thing looks amazing hope to get tons of years out of it
@@CamperSizeLiving finally did this and man I couldn't be happier I wish this was done from factory! Hope all is well safe travels in your 5th God bless
This is an excellent video. Been looking to do this for some time. What torque did you put on the U bolts? Thanks for the link to the kit. I 🇺🇲🗽😎⛏👍
Hey Geno. Thank you so much! Unfortunately, I can't remember the torque. It was probably that German torque. Goodentight. 😉
I installed Dexter’s K71-384-00 on my Grey Wolf 29TE just this weekend and we’re taking it out for the first time on Saturday. Your video was very helpful, and I appreciate the time you took to put it together.
As a bit of backstory, we had issues with the back end dragging everywhere we went. Those triangle protection brackets snapped off after our third trip. These issues, as well as our steep driveway made this kit necessary. I’m not sure why Cherokee makes these trailers with the leaf springs under the axle in the first place.
Anyhow, going into our first tow this weekend, I’m curious as to how it’s going to handle, considering center of gravity, sway, and even general stress on the suspension (although im not sure if suspension stress is technically any different).
We’ll see!
Thank you. I'm so glad it was helpful brother.👍 I totally agree with you on it being necessary for the grey wolfs. We had our triangles bent and would drag leaving some parking lots. I didn't notice any negative affects on the sway or other handling issues.. if anything it was easier to tow because clearance was rarely an issue after the nod. 👍😉👍
How did it workout? I have the exact same model and same problems. I'm thinking about doing the same. I don't understand why Cherokee makes these so low to the ground. On the standard cherokee TT's (not Greywolf) they sit a lot higher.
@@Blackhawkdriver it worked out really well. We’ve towed the camper twice since raising it, and so far it’s all been worth it. I can’t think of any reason not to perform this upgrade. Be sure to use some type of anti-seize on bolt threads just in case you ever have to adjust in the future. Also make sure the U-bolts are torqued appropriately and don’t just go by feel. Lastly, and I can’t stress this enough, be safe when jacking up the trailer. To get all four corners off the ground is nerve racking. Don’t put yourself or anyone else in harms way by over-confidently jacking. Jack stands and or blocks are a must.
So just a quick question and maybe I'm crazy but could you not skip using that kit and just rotate the axel 180° so the original bracket was against the bottom of the spring?
Good question Hunter Stevenson. The problem is two fold. First is the axel is curved like an upside down leaf spring. So when the weight of the trailer sits on it it straightens out. If you rotate the axel your tires will tilt in at the top, making them ware on the inside. Attempted to show this in the video when it was out from under the trailer. Second is the electric brake has to maintain its original orientation or it will not function correctly. Could possibly remove and rotate it but still have problem number one which would be a safety concern. Hope this helps. 👍
Thanks I appreciate the reply! Makes sense for sure.
No problem at all. I had the same question before we got started with our axel flip. 👍
I got a question could you put the bolt shown at 3:55 on the upper bolt hole to lower the trailer?
I really don't know the impact that would have but it sure looks like it would work. Maybe others can chime in on this topic.
My dude you must be a millwright lol using the proper tool for the job. 🤣
We have a 2017 GreyWolf would the kit fit that as well?
The camper in the video is a 2017 grey wolf 26dbh so I would assume it would work for yall's as well if it is similar size Just be sure your axle is the same size as the kit you order. The link in the description is what we ordered for ours.
You're not supposed to just tack weld them in place. You're supposed to weld the whole seam. Would not recommend just tack welding it. You're relying on the threads of that bolt to not let that perch move
You didn't show how to properly left the camper
Yes ma'am. That can be a pretty dangerous situation and the way that we did it may not be the way that everybody's comfortable doing it. I would hate to show how to do something and then have somebody get hurt doing that. That's why we left that part out. There are lots of other resources with professionals that will show how to properly lift and support the camper correctly.
lift just 1 axel or you gotta do both?
I'm not an expert but would definitely do all axles at the same time. Maybe others on here have helpful advice on the subject. 👍
why don't you just add some milk to the can of nesquik would be easier
Check out moab utah
We can't wait to do that RichHodlerGod!👍 We drove through there two years ago but didn't have time to stop and explore. It looked amazing!
More clearance Easier to flip the camper
🤣😂
Naa, 4.5 more inches won't roll her over easier, no matter what she tells ya
You DON"T EVER jack by the axles!!!!! They CANNOT hold the weight of the trailer on such a small area of the axle. Soft metal...Also, You have raised the height of your trailer, and changed the center of gravity creating a potentially dangerous towing situation.
Larger tires would help the center of gravity situation, but even then, 4.5" is minor.
4.5 inches isn’t a drastic change and if it is he can change the offset of the wheels.
Not a camper, you may camp in it but it's a trailer
After watching all these RV videos the one thing I'm really thankful about is that I don't have some stupid ass woman up in my RV up in my business all of the time in my face.. f*** that s*** I'm staying single