How Can I Identify an Axle Without a Sticker?

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Question:

Do you have the part number for a hydraulic brake set for my hubs?

asked by: Don J

0

Expert Reply:

Thank you for the pictures! It looks like you've got some sort of square drop axle on your trailer and if you can't find an identifying sticker, I can still help you figure out what you've got so that you can make the swap to electric brakes on your trailer.

It looks like you've got 6 bolts on the wheels, which can help narrow down our search, but we'll need to know what size the brakes on the trailer are and if possible, what size (or number) the inner and outer bearings are on the hubs.

If you've got 10" brakes you'll want something like the Dexter Nev-R-Adjust Electric Trailer Brake Kit # 23-468-469 which has the left and right brakes for one axle. If you've got 12" brakes, you'll want the Dexter Nev-R-Adjust # 23-464-465. The easiest way to tell the brake size is to measure the inside diameter of the brake drum.

If you can pull the wheel and drum off and measure what size your brakes are, this would be the first step. Since you may want to replace the hubs as well, you can remove the bearings and check for numbers on the backs of the bearings to determine what size bearings you've got. If there aren't any visible numbers on the bearings, you'll want to measure them using a digital calipers like the # PTW80157

Since you're switching to electric brakes you'll also need to add a brake controller and a trailer breakaway kit. For the breakaway kit I recommend the Hopkins Engager # 20099 which is a push-to-test breakaway system with a built in charger so you don't have to worry about the battery ever dying on you when you need it the most. For a brake controller, of our most popular and well reviewed controllers is the Tekonsha Prodigy P3 # 90195 , which will provide you with a proportional brake controller for up to 4 axles. If you can let me know what your tow vehicle is, I can recommend the appropriate adapter plug to help make the installation of this in your truck a lot easier!

expert reply by: Erik B

0

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Sandy S.

4/6/2020

I have a 2004 gooseneck trailer tandem axle 8 lugs trailer scale weight is 4320 lbs how can i figure out the gvwr rating

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Chris R.

4/7/2020

The GVWR is something that should hopefully labeled somewhere on the trailer itself (with a main info/spec plate or stamped onto the coupler possibly) or written in the trailer's original paperwork. If you can't find anything then the only real way to determine its GVWR would be to have it fully inspected and tested by a local facility that could help out with this.

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Don

11/13/2019

12 x 2 20/64 inside drum. Castle nut thread diameter .7520 Outer bearing timikin 1779 Grease seal 21463-8258 A 2.1060 B 1.9035 C 1.4930 D .9350 E .7520

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Erik B.

11/13/2019

I have a solution for you, but it doesn't look like the hub that was on that trailer is currently available any longer, and we only have partial matches on the bearing components-but we do have a braking assembly that will work well. For your 12" brakes I recommend using the Dexter Nev-R-Adjust # 23-464-465, which is a self adjusting brake kit that will replace your existing 12" brakes. These kits do not come with any brake hardware so you'll also need Mounting Bolts and Hardware for 12" brake assemblies # BRKH12. To replace the Timken 1779 outer bearing you'll want to use # 1779 and for an inner bearing you'll want to use # 2788 and race # 2729. We do have grease seal # 10-40 which measures 1.938" inner diameter and is close to your 1.9035" measurement; because of the unique characteristics of your axle and hub, this is the closest match I can find for your 21463-8258 grease seal. Because of the unique makeup of this axle and the lack of replacement hubs, you may want to consider just replacing the entire axle with a complete axle kit like the Dexter Trailer Axle w/ Electric Brakes # 6340624-EB which is a 95" (hub face to hub face) axle and has a 6 on 5-1/2" bolt pattern that appears to match your existing wheels. The spring center to spring center measurement on this axle is 80" and it comes with all of the components you're looking to replace (plus the new axle). If you wanted to go this route, you'll need to take a few measurements and determine which capacity axle you'd like in order to choose the best one for you. If you can provide: -The axle capacity you need -Spring center to spring center dimension -Hub face to hub face dimension With that information, I can find you an axle that will work on your existing trailer and allow you with the ability to easily perform maintenance in the future.

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Don

11/14/2019

Do you have the part number for a hydraulic brake set for my hubs?

Reply

Erik B.

11/14/2019

The 12" hydraulic brake set you can use for your trailer is the Dexter Axle Hydraulic Drum Brake Kit # 23-342-343. These are free backing hydraulic brakes that mount to a 5 bolt mounting flange.

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Answer 1

Depending on how the trailer was made, there will be a few spots you can check to identify the axle. First, if the trailer was pre-made by a specific company, you may be able to find this information in either the paperwork or on a placard…

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Answer 2

We checked with Dexter and P-21 just indicates where the axle was made. With the serial number we could track down more info on your axle. However, in the mean time you could pretty easily get the bearing numbers off of your current bearings and…

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Answer 3

Pull the hub off on the problem wheel. I bet your brake assembly has a mechanical problem and just needs to be replaced. For a replacement Dexter brake assembly for the right hand side of a 10k Dexter axle you would want the part #23-451.

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Answer 4

I do have a few easier options for you to determine the weight capacity of an axle other than using the bolt pattern or the number of lug nuts. The problem with using the bolt pattern to tell the axle capacity is that an axle may have the a bolt…

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Answer 5

Technically, a trailer rated for 10,000 lbs can have 5 lug hubs. They are most common on 3,500 lb axles but can be used on the rare 4,000 lb axles as well. You could have a gooseneck or 5th wheel trailer with the 10,000 lb capacity and tandem axle…

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Answer 6

The trailer will have a plate or sticker on it that will list the VIN number. The weight rating of the axle should be listed on that same plate or sticker. Also, the axle could have a tag or plate on it that will list the weight capacity. You can…

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Answer 7

To find the load capacity for your axle you should look on the trailer VIN plate or sticker that lists the VIN number. The weight rating of the axle should be listed on that same plate or sticker. Also, the axle could have a tag or plate on it that…

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Answer 8

I reached out to my contact at Dexter and they don't have any information based on that serial number in their system. They recommended taking off one of the wheels and on the hub there will be a number that starts with 8 followed by a dash…

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Answer 9

To correctly measure a leaf spring, you'll want to jack the trailer up on jack stands so the axle is hanging freely, then measure directly across from the center of one spring eye to the other, as shown in the provided diagram. The height of…

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Answer 10

A trailer that has two 7,000 lb axles has an axle capacity of 14,000 lbs, but trailers aren't always limited by the axles which means a trailer could be rated for 12,000 lbs but have to 7k axles which means it's overall capacity is…

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Answer 11

It's definitely possible to upgrade a trailer's axle rating to a higher rating by just swapping the axles. To pick out the correct axle you'll need to measure the distance between the hub faces and the spring seat centers and…

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Answer 12

The only way to know for sure is to check your bearings. That being said, the most common 4-bolt configuration is a 4 on 4 bolt pattern, which are typically found on 2,000 lb to 2,700 lb trailer axles. The only 4 on 4 bolt pattern hub and drum…

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How Can I Identify an Axle Without a Sticker?

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