Shorting 6K dexter axles

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Gentleman, I have three 6K pound dexter alxes. The axles are to wide and i would like to shorten them. Has anyone ever done this? The axles have a small arch in them. Can I cut a section out of the center and weld them up?
Reply:cut off the axle hub assemblies at each end, where they are currently welded.  you can grind the current weld out and then once out, shorten each end of the tube, reinstall the cleaned up hub ends and reweld.  be sure to mark the position of the hub in relation to the axle so you can get them realligned correctly.  I will leave the whole welding on trailer flaming for others.Tiger Sales:  AHP Distributor    www.tigersalesco.comAHP200x; AHP 160ST; MM350P,  Spoolmatic 30A; Everlast PowerTig 185; Thermal Dynamics 60i plasma.  For Sale:  Cobra Mig 250 w/ Push-pull gun.  Lincoln Wirematic 250
Reply:Southpaw has it right. The critical thing will be keeping the toe-in right. Not sure how you will do that.
Reply:I have seen it done on a homemade trailer using mobile home axles and hauled many heavy, heavy loads without issue. However doing so on a quality axle will possibly create tire wear issues since modifying the center of the axle will change the deflection rate of the axle and the camber angle at the wheel end under a load. http://l.b5z.net/i/u/6149609/f/Appli...te_Catalog.pdf
Reply:Are they just tube axles or Torflex?  If Torflex, forget about shortening them.MM200 w/Spoolmatic 1Syncrowave 180SDBobcat 225G Plus - LP/NGMUTT Suitcase WirefeederWC-1S/Spoolmatic 1HF-251D-1PakMaster 100XL '68 Red Face Code #6633 projectStar Jet 21-110Save Second Base!
Reply:Originally Posted by welderjSouthpaw has it right. The critical thing will be keeping the toe-in right. Not sure how you will do that.
Reply:It might be better to use the axles "as is" and just install wider fenders to cover the tires. Then there are no issues with caster, camber, toe in, or weakening of the axles due to improper/insufficient welding. If you are building a new trailer from scratch, just make it wider to fit the axle width.
Reply:If they have stubs in the tubes, then that handles your caster and camber. If not, then you need a machinist level for decent set up.
Reply:When I built my deckover trailer, I shortened a pair of 3.5K axles. I measured the camber and toe carefully before I cut into them, and found them to have about 1° of positive camber and no toe in or out. These axles had a straight tube, and the camber was done at the joint from the tube to the spindles.I cut both spindles off, shortened the tube, when I put the spindles back on, I set them up with no camber and no toe, mainly because my trailer usually has very light loads on it and no need for the positive camber. I've put about 2,000 miles on it since and it tows great, and the tires don't show any signs of unusual wear. Welding on a trailer axle is not for beginners. Please be sure that you are competent to weld on these parts before you start, because if it were to fail going down the highway, it could kill somebody.Ian TannerKawasaki KX450 and many other fine tools
Reply:Any camber "built in" is intended to mostly settle out at zero camber when the axle is at or near its rated loading.  This ensures that tire loading from weight and braking forces will be carried mainly in the center of the tire.Shortening a "heavy load rated" axle to use for a much lighter weight load will dictate that your new camber angle specification be less acute than the OEM spec.Toe is not needed on non steering trail axles.  Toe is present on steerable axles simply to force the tires to take up the small amount of free play present in steering links AND to account for the dynamics of live (driving) steering axles.If you have ever detected Toe in a non steering trail axle, that axle was bent, or was welded out of kilter to begin with.
Reply:[QUOTE=walkerweld If you have ever detected Toe in a non steering trail axle, that axle was bent, or was welded out of kilter to begin with.[/QUOTE]I don't believe this is true. It would be near impossible to guarantee perfectly straight, and toe out would cause problems, so they put a little toe-in so they don't have problems. If you look close you will see the camber on a new axle is tilted just slightly to the rear which gives it a bit of toe-in.
Reply:there is no toe-in on trailer axles. they are cambered. dexter puts a punch mark to indicate top of axle,
Reply:Originally Posted by duaneb55Are they just tube axles or Torflex?  If Torflex, forget about shortening them.
Reply:I worked in my dads and my uncles trailer factories growing up and i got to make the axles. Thousands of them. A few hundred a week. We had jigs made from 3x3 sq tube with a 2x2  angle welded down the center line of the sq tube with the angle vee up. The end of the 3x3 tube had a sliding plate that went up and down (for straight and drop spindles) with a hole to bolt the spindle up to. Everything was lined up perfect. It was easy to shorten the pre made axles by just cutting the spindles off and cutting the tube to length. Then put the hump of the tube up on and tack the spindles on. The new axles were cake to make up as everything was new. We even had jigs to line up the spring perches...BobBob WrightSalem, Ohio  Birthplace of the Silver & Deming Drillhttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/southbend10k/http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sawking/1999 Miller MM185 w/ Miller 185 Spoolmate spoolgun
Reply:Originally Posted by welderj If you look close you will see the camber on a new axle is tilted just slightly to the rear which gives it a bit of toe-in.
Reply:They have no camber , grind or gouge one side shorten up reweld. Use 6011/13 /14-7018, fine wire mig, or flux core will all work. good prep makes the difference. Stringer beads lotsa heat makes the diference. the axel should have a stub slid into a tube. If you want take it out of the center but make a slug to splice and make a full pen weld.