94 jayco 1207 torsion bar axle lift 3"

[fleagalbaum]

Hello all.  I recently upgraded my old 78 Lionel to a 1207 Jayco.  Big jump, but the new trailer is really low to the ground and we do most of our traveling off road at wilderness sites here in BC Canada.

Anyways I decided to put a 3" lift on the trailer.

I used some 2"X3" steel tubing and some plates to raise the frame off the axle mounts.  After lots of drilling on my back under the trailer and Bloody knuckles, I made it.

Here is some pics

the Axle was bent so I drove over it with my truck to straighten it.


The 2x3 steel lifts that fit between the frame and the axle perches.


The Lift blocks in place.


The side plates ready for paint and installation.


Side plates installed


view from underneath the trailer


Side view of the plates and blocks.


After getting it all back together, 12 hours worth of work, I bled the brakes to find out the wheel cylinders are seized.  Man was I upset.
It seems like I will never get it ready.

[mike4947]

Sorry about the brakes, but on a trailer that old and most likely not maintainmed by the previous owner, frozen wheel cylinders is pretty common.
Make sure you empty the master cylinder, lines, etc and refill/bleed with all fresh fluid. Any water left in the system will start the damage all over again.
Most dealers in boat trailers will have the parts in stock or you can go direct to Atwood for a little more money.

[wernstriumph]

Nice Job! Sorry to hear about the brakes, but it's better to find out now in your driveway than on the road.What size rims are you running?

[fleagalbaum]

I have 10 "rims, I think I will keep the same ones for now and see If it works well for me, I can go bigger now for sure without it hitting the wheel well.

I got  new backing plates with pads and hardware for almost the same price as the brake cylinders so I am going to put them on tonight and work the system.  the cylinders were 58 bucks and the backing plate with pads, piston and springs is 65 bucks, so it is a no brainer.


Thanks for mentioning the total evac of the brake lines, I never thought of doing that, the oil in the lines were pretty cloudy .

[wavery]

Nice job. Just 2 comments.

1. You should always use grade 8 bolts on anything to do with the suspension.

2. I would definitely upgrade to 13" wheels (12" minimum). It will give you considerably more ground clearance. Actually, you have no more clearance (at the axle) than you had before you started. The 13" tires & wheels will give you much more load bearing capacity (at the tires). If you are towing off-road, the tires take a lot of punishment. With 13" tires, you may be able to lower your air pressure to reduce the shock on your camper as well. You may also be able to tow at higher highway speeds also.

[mike4947]

Good price. But as for tires even if you go larger, ST (special trailer) tires unlike P (passenger) or LT (light truck) are designed to only be run at the maximum pressure.

I found out (the hard way of course) when I replaced a set of 10"ers with 13's that had almost twice the load rating. The trailer would literally hop off the road at expansion strips and skitter around corners. it was like the trailer had no springs. After quite a few calls to all the tire companies about what the load rating would be if I reduced the pressure they all said the same thing "ST tires are to be run ONLY at the maximum inflation pressure" I ended up back with the 10"ers. I got lucky as the dealer took the 13's back.
So if you upgrade,  keep the increased weight rating to about 20-30% higher than the stock tires.

[wavery]

Good price. But as for tires even if you go larger, ST (special trailer) tires unlike P (passenger) or LT (light truck) are designed to only be run at the maximum pressure.

I found out (the hard way of course) when I replaced a set of 10"ers with 13's that had almost twice the load rating. The trailer would literally hop off the road at expansion strips and skitter around corners. it was like the trailer had no springs. After quite a few calls to all the tire companies about what the load rating would be if I reduced the pressure they all said the same thing "ST tires are to be run ONLY at the maximum inflation pressure" I ended up back with the 10"ers. I got lucky as the dealer took the 13's back.
So if you upgrade,  keep the increased weight rating to about 20-30% higher than the stock tires.

I should probably have been a little more clear about the tire pressure. fleagalbaum mentioned that he does a lot of towing "off-road".

I have done extensive off-roading in my LONG life. It has been my experience that once I took the trailer off-road in sand or mud, I always deflated the tires to keep from bogging down and also to lessen the beating on the trailer. When I got back on the pavement or hard ground, I always inflated the tires. When towing in sand, which I did a lot (we had dune buggies), I would sometimes lower the air pressure to 10#s (or less) on the TV (class C motorhome) and trailer (toy hauler). It made a huge difference in being able to stay on top of the sand and I never experienced any tire problems.

[fleagalbaum]

Waverly:

I did use grade 8 bolts for everything, maybe the antiseize compound makes it look like a regular zinc plated bolt.  I only used grade 5 washers in one of the pics for spacers between the side plates.

I usually tow on gravel roads.  I have never had to drag my trailer through mud (except that one time I bent all the stabilizing legs off my old one.)  Axle clearance isn't the problem for me, it is the rear end dragging (Or the tongue for that matter) when crossing water bars in the road and when going over small dips and what not.

[aw738]

I did use grade 8 bolts for everything, maybe the antiseize compound makes it look like a regular zinc plated bolt. I only used grade 5 washers in one of the pics for spacers between the side plates.

The makings on the heads of the bolts give it away. If they were grade 5 they would only have 3 lines instead of 6. On a lot of trailer axles I've seen they are supposed to have an upward crown. It is to align the wheels correctly.

[fleagalbaum]

The makings on the heads of the bolts give it away. If they were grade 5 they would only have 3 lines instead of 6. On a lot of trailer axles I've seen they are supposed to have an upward crown. It is to align the wheels correctly.

The axle still has a slight bend in the middle. But what concerned me was the amount of wear on the inside of the tires so something was up.
Hopefully I got it close.

the axle looked like someone put a jack on the middle of it.