Torsion Axle for camping trailer

Are there any circumstances where a new, light weight, camping trailer build might include a torsion axle rather than a traditional axle with leaf springs?

My particular use of this trailer is for fairly modest use in fairly simple environments, extremely limited off roading and no rock climbing, carrying loads of gear totaling less than 500 pounds, with the trailer itself weighing less than 1,000 pounds.

One aspect I'm considering is the design angle of the torsion arm, to increase the cross tube height from the ground to increase ground clearance while running, perhaps, 15" wheels and tires.
 

Woods

Explorer
I've redacted this post. Sure would like to see a comment from Dexter about this.
 
Last edited:

skersfan

Supporting Sponsor
And yet the US military uses them on every single new trailer, from quarter ton to 10 ton. Dexter axle has never heard of this failure nor have they seen any pictures of this failure, nor have any ever been provided on this site. These axles are not cheap, highest quality out there for a production axle. They are not recommended in a tri axle set up, but single and dual work perfectly.

I have built trailers for over 25 years and have never seen one fail, other than from impact by another vehicle, or in a high speed roll over.

The other provider for the US military is Alko, possibly their axle failed, but again their number one competitor for military sales is Dexter and they have not heard of Alko failing.

One small trailer builder states they are no good, and it becomes fact, but yet the military decides that they are good enough for American servicemen to use in life situations. Maybe the sand and washboard roads have been paved in Iraq and Afhganistan.
 
skersfan, thanks for the information. It reassures me that the recommendation from my machinist who's fabricating my new trailer frame is a sound recommendation. He said that in his entire career as a machine and welding shop owner, he's only had one of the numerous torsion axles that he's installed fail and that one was specifically due to the rancher who owned the trailer put twice as many pounds of cattle in the trailer as it was designed to carry. Even then, the machinist said, if he had only known that the rancher intended to grossly overload the trailer, they could have simply installed an adequately sized axle and then the failure would not have occurred.

Black_ZJ, when I searched for "trailer torsion axle" earlier this afternoon, I got 20 pages, with 25 threads per page that mentioned the words. I only looked through the first 7 pages or so and didn't find any threads that were specific to my question, so that's when i posted my question. Could you please reference a few specific threads that discuss this please? Thanks
 

Martyn

Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0018
Sort of a tough topic as Torsion axles seem to bring out strong opinions in some of our members. I wrote an article on axles, you can read it here.

We tried torsion axles for a very short period of time on our trailers and found them not to fit the bill for us as a manufacturer. We used Dexter torsion axles and while we are very happy with their other products the torsion axle was a failure in our opinion.

We had three total axle failures. One with a failure on both sides, two with a failure on one side. One of these was caused by misuse of the trailer, 4-6 ft of air down in Baja, the other two were caused by the rubber inserts in the axle failing on wash board.

The most recent incident happened in Death Valley, it cost the owner around $900.00 to have the trailer towed to Lone Pine, we shipped them a used torsion axle as a replacement, and they booked in to have the trailer converted to our trailing arm system.

Torsion axles work well on road, I have them on my horse trailer, but off road they just don't perform well. Failure of a torsion axle is not repairable in the field the closest you can come to it is welding a gusset in place to solidify the broke arm.

In my opinion you'd be much better of using leaf springs and a live axle with shocks rather than going with a torsion axle.
 

bunduguy

Supporting Sponsor
I am certainly not going to get in a pissing match with members here, but i feel it prudent to offer a contrasting view.
Jurgens, a 60yr old company in South Africa, sells every single one of their trailers with Alko torsion axles. They sell 400 XT140's alone, every single year in south Africa. They have never had a failure. Sure, we do not do technical wheeling with trailers in southern Africa, but that is not where axles fail anyway. What we do have, is hours and hours and hundreds and hundreds of miles of corrugations and sandy tracks. Considering they have now sold 2,000 XT140's alone (they also sell the XT75 and XT120 with Alko torsion axle), and NEVER had a failure, may be an indication of something.

We happen to be inclose contact with the largest trailer manufacturer for the US military. They have produced over 100,000 torsion axles (yes, you read it right) for the US military and never had a failure of the undercarriage. Ever.
 

rsbmg

Observer
Although I know what the torsion axles are and basically how they work, Skersfan or Martyn can you provide some info on how to size them properly for an offroad application. The trailer I'm planning on will weigh in the neighborhood of 1600 lbs. when loaded and used offroad. My plan is to match the 33's on my Tacoma to the trailer. Can you point me in the direction of an appropriate axle for that application or what other consideration I need to keep in mind?

I have not decided wether I'm going torsion or standard leaf yet, just trying to sort through it. Thanks for the help.
 

skersfan

Supporting Sponsor
I can order and axle for you. I need frame width to the outside, meaning where the axle will be attached, just like leaf springs. Main runners of the frame. I always figure 3.5 inches from the main frame rail to the tire sidewall, gives room if a rock or large log gets rolled up inside. Then they need the distance between hub surfaces. Sounds technical but really isn't. I would suggest a 2000 pound axle with 5 or 6 lug. Going to a 3500 pound axle is too heavy and will cause problems. This may have been the problem with the one that broke. They are normally over sprung for the weight they are assigned as almost everyone overloads their trailer it seems. Being at 2000 pounds the axle would most likley carry 2400 easily. I have used the 2500 or 2700 pound axle on all of my expedition trailers, a little over 30 so far, still no failures and no complaints to this date. I have built close to 400 trailers is my guess and have used anything from 1000 to 5000 pound axles, never a failure. Most are still running the desert filled with cars or quads, motorcylces. Most know how the people at Glamis drive, take that for what it is worth.

I truly believe they are a great option, just as I believe what AT offers is a great option, but with the millions of axles made by Dexter, one failure would be pretty remarkable. When others reach the production level of Dexter or Alko, I bet the numbers would be considerably worse.

Again the exact same type of axle is available to you, the same as the US Military uses and NATO forces. There are active duty personel on this board that can verify the statements of Military use.
 

Martyn

Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0018
I am certainly not going to get in a pissing match with members here, but i feel it prudent to offer a contrasting view.
Jurgens, a 60yr old company in South Africa, sells every single one of their trailers with Alko torsion axles. They sell 400 XT140's alone, every single year in south Africa. They have never had a failure. Sure, we do not do technical wheeling with trailers in southern Africa, but that is not where axles fail anyway. What we do have, is hours and hours and hundreds and hundreds of miles of corrugations and sandy tracks. Considering they have now sold 2,000 XT140's alone (they also sell the XT75 and XT120 with Alko torsion axle), and NEVER had a failure, may be an indication of something.

We happen to be inclose contact with the largest trailer manufacturer for the US military. They have produced over 100,000 torsion axles (yes, you read it right) for the US military and never had a failure of the undercarriage. Ever.

Agreed, it's all about airing opinions and experiences and allowing people to make their own decisions.

Part of the decision making has to be on ride quality. If you base this on military performance it leaves some questions hanging. Military trailers are built and designed for full loads. Leaf springs and torsion axles are rated for full loads and their suspension works best (smoothest) when they are laden. A good example of that is the M416 or Canadian 101 they give a smooth ride when at full load capacity and a poor bouncy ride when below this mark or empty. Hence all the spring conversions to smooth the ride. The same maximum load rating principal is applicable to torsion axles. And yes I understand about leaf packs, variable ratings, and spring selection, but the overriding factor that effects the smoothness of the ride is maximum load.

Expedition trailers have variable loads, anywhere from empty to lightly laden to fully laden. The loads vary anything from eggs, beer, wine, bananas, glass ware, to clothes, and camping gear. Military loads are normally fuel, ammo, weapons, (all heavy and well packed), or electronic equipment packed in foam encased Pelican style cases. For the military loads jarring and bouncing has little or no effect, for expedition loads it's scrambled eggs and spilled beer.
 

bunduguy

Supporting Sponsor
I completely agree about the comfort and smoothness of the ride. It is all going to come down to choosing the right capacity for the intended use. There is no reason a torsion axles cannot be every bit as comfortable as anything else. There is a reason why Airstream uses them and they have the reputation for smooth but very long-lasting trailers. Though the load on an expedition trailer is variable, it should be remembered that it will never be un-laden. Otherwise you probably won't be using a trailer. Just match the axle rating to your intended load properly.
 

skersfan

Supporting Sponsor
axles

I have learned that by increasing/decreasing air preasure in the tires is the answer. If the trailer is empty less air preasure in the tires will stop the bouncing, on the highway more air preasure, very sledom do I run air preasure in the trailer tires above 30 pounds and have ran them near 8 on the trail. It is learning to use what works best, just as it would be with your system Martyn. I am sure you have changed the air preasure in the air bags to obtain the best ride and comfort, a learning experience.

As stated before, your system is ahead of the pack in some aspects. A great idea, with great adjustment capabilities. But most do not own AT trailers or may not have the capabilities of installing your system. Most of us using our trailers have invested a good chunk of change in them and do not run willy nilly through our off road experience. Packing the trailer, driving with contents and trailer in mind, considering air preasure, all are learning experiences that each will use, whether using your system or mine or anyone elses.

I will admit I have broken eggs in mine, on its first trip to Ouray 4 years ago, but quickly changed air preasure and did away with the problem. My guess is we all have like experiences. I carry a LCD tv, microwave, stereo, and other electronic gadgets in my new trailer, have yet to break anything in it or on it. And it has been on some very tough trails and over obstacles that others do not make with just a vehicle. Not a talent, but a learned ability.
 

gabepari

Explorer
I've done DV Racetrack Road down Lippincott out to Saline Hotsprings in my 1/2 ton Chevy 2WD pickup. Did I make? Yes. Did I break anything? No. Would I do it again? NO!!!

Some people don't care for having to MAKE things work, they just want it to work. Rather than force a system down someone's throat, we match up the right trailer and chassis with the new owners' intended use and desires. We offer torsions, leafs and shocks, AT's trailing arms, tandems, "one off" customs... They all have their place, none are "better" than the others, just different.

BTW - I was towing a torsion axle trailer on that DV trip. Next trip out I took a Krawler with leafs and shocks, absolutely NO comparison.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,534
Messages
2,875,615
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top