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  1. #1
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    What are my options for axle upgrades?

    I am working on getting my Momentum 320G setup correctly with my toys. It is a double axle trailer. One of my issues is the axle weight. With fuel, 3/4 tank water and just my Harley, I am sitting over capacity. 14,120 lbs on my axles, and almost certain the rear is carrying the majority of the load based on the fact the rears heat up quicker than the front.

    I am working on relocating weight to the front to keep the nose down, but even then I will need to ride with no fuel in the cell and very little water to get within the axle limits on other toys to bring along.

    I see people are upgrading their axles to 8,000 lb, going with disk, and going IS.

    What would be the best option? I see anywhere from $1500-$7000. My main focus would to be increasing the axle capacity just so I am not overloaded. I also see that some places will lift the the rear to help the camper ride level. That would be helpful, but I feel would lose some bridge clearance and make it harder to unload the cycle if the camper is 2" higher.



    Total camper weight is 16,260 lbs. I will be pulling some stuff we don't need to try and lighten it up. I think GVWR is 16,800. If it's in the neighborhood of $2,000 to upgrade the axles and not worry about how I load the garage I think that is money well spent. The problem comes on understanding what I actually need. IS looks nice, but not sure I need it since everything seems to stay put now. Disk brakes look nice, but I haven't felt like I needed more braking that I do now. I appreciate any input or advice.

  2. #2
    Site Team Second Chance's Avatar
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    I would not upgrade the axles to handle more weight without upgrading the brakes from drum to disc. It's a safety thing when you're running heavy. That said, I'm a big fan of the MORryde independent suspension. We've had it on two fifth wheels, now. At a given rating, the MORryde IS is much more robust than leaf springs with shackles, hangers, etc. It's also fully-alignable for caster, camber and toe which helps with tire wear. If you don't want to spend that kind of money, the MORryde heavy-duty shackle and wet bolt kit along with the cross-braces for the spring hangers would be a good place to start. I would still upgrade to disc brakes either way. You don't need them until you need them, and they will reduce your stopping distance by up to 40%.

    Rob
    U.S. Army Retired
    2012 F350 DRW CC LB Lariat PS 6.7
    2020 Solitude 310GK-R, MORryde IS, disc brakes,
    Sailun LRG tires, solar, DP windows, W/D
    (Previously in a Reflection 337RLS)
    Full time since 08/2015

  3. #3
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    So we went out this weekend and paid attention to the braking. We were going down some steep twisty grades (7%), but they were 35mph curves. At that point I wished I had better braking. Any time I've been on steep grades like that, it's been on open highway and the exhaust brake kept up no problem. The slow speed sharp turns were a different story.

    I did manage to redistribute the weight in the camper a little. ie: heaviest stuff as far forward as I could. This was the result.



    Truck weight went up a little since I weighed with the family vs solo. I am now under axle weight with the cycle and 80 gallons water right now. However, if I load 2 x quads (800 lbs each), I would have to run with no water to stay under axle rating. In the case of this weekend, our campground had no water since they shut it off for winter. I am very happy I didn't drain the tanks.

    Would a camper store be able to quote/do this type of work (8K lb axles+ disk brakes) or should I go to an actual trailer store?

  4. #4
    Seasoned Camper larry0071's Avatar
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    With the equalizer between your dual axles, you can not overload one axle compared the other. That is the entire reason for that equalizer, it always puts nearly identical weight load on both axles. Next time you hit a scale, run back around for a re-weigh and place the trailer front axle on the steer pad and the trailer rear axle on the drive wheel pad (your truck will be passed the scale pads. You will prove to yourself (assuming the equalizer is not seized) that the axles are seeing the same load within a few pounds.
    2020.5 Reflection 311BHS Dual AC, 2019 Ram 2500 Bighorn Level 2, 3.73 / 392 Hemi 14,404.34 lb towing and 3,004.34 payload, 2019 F-150 King Ranch 3.5EB CC/LB, 2016 Cherokee Trailhawk, 2014 Wrangler Willys Edition, 2019 Iron Bull 14K 22' Equipment Trailer, 2019 Quality Trailers 7K 18' Utility Trailer

  5. #5
    Seasoned Camper Thorvald's Avatar
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    Can you post your CAT scale without the trailer? Can’t figure out pin weight without it.

    —-

    Correct me where I am wrong with the numbers but wow that seems like a low max rear cargo capacity as designed:

    Harley 900 lbs (no idea what yours weighs, just stole this number from another thread)
    Water 920 lbs (115 Gal x ~8 pounds)
    Total Cargo: 1810 lbs

    add in full fuel:
    Fuel 240 lbs (30 Gal x ~8 pounds)
    Total: 2050 lbs

    To me that doesn’t seem an unreasonable amount of weight for a toy hauler, especially a medium sized one.

    —-

    GD’s paper specs show:
    GVWR:16800
    UVW:12400
    Cargo Cap = 16800-12400=4400 lbs

    So to get anywhere near 4400 lbs of Cargo Cap in the rear isn’t possible as it takes all the weight off the pin?

    —-

    On a side note, drives me nuts when companies cut corners. When buying a $100k+ trailer, what is a another $1k for properly sized axles and the ability to tune pin weight by putting the fresh water tank in front of the axles (or is that that what GD is doing, providing the ability for people with light or no toys to add more weight behind the axles to remove pin weight).

    I hope Alliance gets their toy haulers right, they seem to be following all the proper trends so far with their 5th wheels to date.
    2022 Momentum 25G (aka "Baby Mo")
    2020 Ram 3500 Laramie SRW | 6.7 HO Aisin | 6’4” bed | 3.73 gears | air suspension | 3694# Payload
    Blog Post: 1500 Pickup’s and Towing - The REAL numbers with example
    Blog Post: 2016-2018 Imagine 2800BH - 3500 lb Axles Tire Rubbing Issues

  6. #6
    Seasoned Camper
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    Quote Originally Posted by Thorvald View Post
    Can you post your CAT scale without the trailer? Can’t figure out pin weight without it.

    —-

    Correct me where I am wrong with the numbers but wow that seems like a low max rear cargo capacity as designed:

    Harley 900 lbs (no idea what yours weighs, just stole this number from another thread)
    Water 920 lbs (115 Gal x ~8 pounds)
    Total Cargo: 1810 lbs

    add in full fuel:
    Fuel 240 lbs (30 Gal x ~8 pounds)
    Total: 2050 lbs

    To me that doesn’t seem an unreasonable amount of weight for a toy hauler, especially a medium sized one.

    —-

    GD’s paper specs show:
    GVWR:16800
    UVW:12400
    Cargo Cap = 16800-12400=4400 lbs

    So to get anywhere near 4400 lbs of Cargo Cap in the rear isn’t possible as it takes all the weight off the pin?

    —-

    On a side note, drives me nuts when companies cut corners. When buying a $100k+ trailer, what is a another $1k for properly sized axles and the ability to tune pin weight by putting the fresh water tank in front of the axles (or is that that what GD is doing, providing the ability for people with light or no toys to add more weight behind the axles to remove pin weight).

    I hope Alliance gets their toy haulers right, they seem to be following all the proper trends so far with their 5th wheels to date.
    Truck by itself and only me:


    Your numbers are 100% correct. My cycle is 900 lbs by literature and I had 80 gallons of water since the rest siphons out and half a fuel cell filled. I chose the 320G based on the 4K+ CCC.

    When I got my camper, the sticker weight was up approximately 1200-1500 lbs. I get it, from all the add-ons. Generator, 3rd AC, awnings, 3 season door, etc etc. However, that should STILL net me a solid 3K lbs in CCC. I can barely get half of that and am under the 16,800 GVWR. Prior to purchasing I did my research and knew this ahead of time though. I saw what others had for stickers. However, no one had weighed theirs at the time to see how the weights were located. I learned my lesson that GVWR and UVW aren't the only numbers to worry about. Who would had thought an $80K+ toy hauler would have too small of axles for the load it's rated to carry.

    I did talk to Grand Design and they strongly suggest not upgrading the axles due to camber issues. Guess I am stuck now.
    2020 GD 320G
    2021 Ram 3500 H.O. SRW.

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