AT Horizon Hub Swap and a few other Mods

[Romer]

It's nice when you have a trailer to be running the same tires and RIMs as the tow vehicle so you only have to carry one spare tire.

I recently bought an AT Horizon, but it had Jeep Hubs and 33" Tires. I wanted to be able to use my 35" Tires on Toyota Rims.

I went to a local trailer shop and bought a 10" Dexter Toyota Hub with the bearings and seals.

You can re-use the existing bearings, but need to replace the inner seal. The new bearings were fairly in-expensive ( Compare to cruiser bearings) so I bought new. This also allows you to set up the new hubs and have them ready for a quick swap.

My trailer has the 3500lb Torsion bar Axel set up

The first thing of course is to remove the tire and the axle dust cap

Next, bend back the tang on the lock washer and then loosen the retaining nut

With the nut removed, remove the old Hub

Pack the new bearings.

I use Mobil 1 Bearing Grease and roll the bearings in my hand till it is well into the inners of the bearing. You want to see grease come up through the inner ring

Tap in the inner axle seal and ensure it is fluch with the inner part of the Hub.

I also put some grease on the inside part of the hub that goes on the spindle

Put the new hub on

Install the outer bearing that is also packed with grease

Install the lock washer

Add the lock nut

 

[Romer]

Now you need to tighten the lock nut until you can't turn the drum. This will set the bearings and seals in place.

Then loosen so the drum turns freely, but not to loose.

For those cruiser guys who do their own front axles, I used the fish scale method and set the pre-load to about 10lbs. Never done this before on a trailer, but it seemed about right to me

Then push the tab from the lock washer into place

Install the tire an torque the new nuts.

You can replace the Dexter bolts with Toyota's so you can use the same lug nuts if you want

 

[Romer]

I also installed the ARB Fridge Slide.


Lesson Learned: I installed it to far to the right so I had to modify the right latching mechanism

I then installed the Battery Charger and shore plug so I could charge it off of 110V rather than just the truck

 

[Romer]

Now I just need to swap the RTT for the one I want and I am set.

May want to get larger or at least a spare Propane tank and come up with some kind of heater system

 

[adventureduo]

Cool deal. It's fun to wrench on trailers. That hub swap was a piece of cake. Ours came with Jeep bolt pattern 5 on 4.5 so i used wheel wheel adapters for our 80 series wheels.. it bumped the tires out about 1", which made for a better stance and increase in stability.





Careful on the rubber straps on the fridge.. they'll snap or stretch and your fridge will move around. I've tried it. If you do use those, make sure they're hella tight and check them often.

 

[Romer]

Careful on the rubber straps on the fridge.. they'll snap or stretch and your fridge will move around. I've tried it. If you do use those, make sure they're hella tight and check them often.

I know what you mean. The straps are short term. You will notice I have the clips on the front of the fridge for more robust hardware like these

I had just moved the fridge from the back of the truck to the camper, but not yet the mounting hardware. Likely to go wheeling before a camping trip. so the fridge will be in the truck.

Maybe I need a 2nd one

 

[tdesanto]

x2 on getting the fridge tie downs in place. With that torsion axle, those straps won't stand a chance on even washboard roads. The turnbuckles should secure it very well.

Looks like you're well on your way. You're really going to like the Horizon.

 

[Borrego60]

I did the same thing on my Horizon. Had it ordered with the 6 5.5 for the tundra and just swaped out the bolts in the hub.

 

[ExpoMike]

Does anyone who swapped drums/hubs from 5 on 4.5 (i.e. Jeep) to whatever they needed, want to sell off their old drums cheap?

I have been looking to put brakes on the trailer but know I will need spacers to clear the Jeep wheel center bore (factory wheels) so if I can get a set of drums I can figure out the spacers and then order the correct width axle to match everything up.

Let me know. Nice work guys.

 

[Romer]

Does anyone who swapped drums/hubs from 5 on 4.5 (i.e. Jeep) to whatever they needed, want to sell off their old drums cheap?

I have been looking to put brakes on the trailer but know I will need spacers to clear the Jeep wheel center bore (factory wheels) so if I can get a set of drums I can figure out the spacers and then order the correct width axle to match everything up.

Let me know. Nice work guys.

Sure, they are just taking space. Make me an offer

 

[Romer]

To keep this complete on my buildup, my Eezi-awn globetrotter install is here
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34934


Edit: The Deka Blems I bought wouldn't hold a charge so I replaced with new Deka's

Installed Dual Batteries in the trailer today using two new Deka AGMs I bought. For the trailer I elected to use a Marine Rotary switch. You can find great stuff for batteries, terminals and manual switches at Marine Parts stores.

I have a 10amp charger that connects to wall power and will fully charge a single battery in 7-8 hours. Since It will be parked for days at a minimum between trips, I did not upgrade this to a 20 amp charger.

Removed the old battery (Lifeline 31 AGM)

Installed second battery tray


Wired up switch and installed

Installed both batteries and hooked them up.

Fairly simple and quick install

I will charge and drive with the switch in the both position.

When I get to camp, I will turn it to position 1. Based on my load, I expect it to last 3-4 days. I will then switch to position 2 and have a fresh battery.

I am going to test it over the next week with the fridge running and some other things and see how it does.

Debating on installing a voltage monitor to be able to tell how the batteries are doing. Probably will.

If I run out of power, I would just hook up the truck and recharge or find a 110 outlet.

 

[pete.wilson]

Hey

Romer,

Nice Trailer posts. A simple suggestion on checking your battery voltage is to go to your local autoparts store and buy a digital voltmeter that plugs directly into a cigarette style outlet (about $15 from autozone). It reads the voltage out on an LCD display and has 3 LED's: Red, Yellow and Green for condition. Name on it is: Innova (probably under other names also). You can leave it plugged in during charging for monitoring or even monitor an intermittent alternator by watching it drop off line and to what level the voltage drops to. Handy to have and no meter leads to deal with, compact, throw in glovebox.

Pete Wilson

 

[Romer]

Hey

Romer,

Nice Trailer posts. A simple suggestion on checking your battery voltage is to go to your local autoparts store and buy a digital voltmeter that plugs directly into a cigarette style outlet (about $15 from autozone). It reads the voltage out on an LCD display and has 3 LED's: Red, Yellow and Green for condition. Name on it is: Innova (probably under other names also). You can leave it plugged in during charging for monitoring or even monitor an intermittent alternator by watching it drop off line and to what level the voltage drops to. Handy to have and no meter leads to deal with, compact, throw in glovebox.

Pete Wilson

Thanks for the tip Pete. I see it on Amazon as well

http://www.amazon.com/Equus-3721-Battery-Charging-Monitor/dp/B000EVWDU0

 

[Romer]

I swapped out the white tank for the Black one and handpump and installed the Sink setup

Of course you take the sink off when driving :smiley_drive:

Installed real easy. Wondering what people put on the hand pump from the tank when driving

 

[Borrego60]

Can you post a picture of how the sink is mounted,In other words how is it attached to the main box. Is that the only attachment point? Planning to do the same with mine someday.