Question: Axle Block on 5th Wheel. Good or Bad Idea?

[2004LB7]

Those axles are supposed to be bent like that. When loaded up they straighten out

 

[Pure Diesel]

Those axles are supposed to be bent like that. When loaded up they straighten out

My previous 5th wheel had those type of axles. It just looks bent more than it should be.

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[snowman22]

I would look into a morryde cre3000 (or equivalent) equalizer setup. I think you might get about an 1”-1.5” out of that. Go ahead and put some blocks on the axles and run panhard bars the whole length of the axle. That would help with any rolling effect around corners with the blocks.

This could be a good partial solution. I emailed them to see if it will change the ride height and if it will change the amount of spacing required between the tires. If it needs more clearance that would negate any height I could get from larger tires. Helping the ride quality would be nice since my wife will go back there from time to time on long straight trips.

Kal spring and steering could probably do what you need for about 500 bucks I would guess.

Shipping from Canada sounds rough.

My previous 5th wheel had those type of axles. It just looks bent more than it should be.

It looks way worse in the picture for some reason. It's a normal amount of bend in the axle.

So maybe between a Mooryde, a 4 leaf spring pack(Which will give me a slight change from an added leaf, but I suspect more from being a new spring vs a 25 year old pack), and some larger tires I might get the 3+" I need. This solution would be good for a better ride, new springs, and brand new tires. Still might build a 1" block for the axle, but that seems trivial for extra leverage that could cause me any real problems.

 

[2004LB7]

I wouldn't worry about 1" blocks. It's when you start getting into the 2" and 3" that scares me

 

[vern650]

I don't know if you've figured anything out with this yet, but I just got done dealing with a similar issue. my trailer came with 2" blocks, and I've been running them for the 2-3 years I've owned it without any issues. 9/16" u bolts though. The blocks look to be home made, they're just chunks of solid 2"x2" aluminum drilled and held in place by longer spring locator bolts. I still needed a couple more inches so last weekend I swapped out the stock 4 leaf 3500lb springs for the 6 leaf 7k lb springs. It gave me just shy of 2" more. So just about what I was looking for. I took it on a quick drive and with the heavy springs it still seems to ride smooth. I occasionally pull doubles so I was planning on upgrading suspension and eventually axles anyway. I have a few pics, but not sure the easiest route to get them uploaded on here.