Axles on conventional vs baja models

[kirkelli]

Lowering the Baja Height is not gong to effect your millage significantly, maybe a half percent.. My bet, once you lower it and start dragging the ass end on steep driveways/inclines you will miss the Baja height. I'm constantly dragging mine, even on my own RV Driveway at home.. I'm at the point where i want to raise mine a few inches. .. I'd defiantly stick with the height advantage.

[Eric H.]

Originally Posted by FishNFarm

The biggest difference you will feel is top heaviness and fuel mileage loss because of more air drag. As the load gets higher it has more leverage on the springs.

How do you feel the top heaviness of a travel trailer?

[Kim Gass]

We are averaging 14 with a non Baja 195 from Maine to CA and now back
Whatever you do check the brake lines aren't pinched We have fixed them so many times but finally the last fix was a game changer
The OEM wiring ran OVER the a me and with every pothole got pinched
Now its under the axle
You have nice roads out west. You eill be coming to the land of lets launch your trailer at least once every mile
Between potholes and frost heaves.

[SAMM Kinder]

Just my opinion... Love our 185RB Baja ..... I have considered installing standard 14 inch tires and wheels to loose a step entering our trailer (We are Old) .. Stand non Baja tires next to Baja tires .. What a difference !!! I bet they lower 4 inches

[Eric H.]

Originally Posted by TWX

Because one of the first big uses we have planned is a 6000 mile road trip to take my octogenarian mother in law home to pay respects to her fairly recently deceased husband's ashes. It'll be an over the road trip that is expected to remain on paved roads the whole time. We have to drive to New England, so every bit of extra stability and reduced drag is helpful.

If just an axle-flip and then flipping the brakes back over along with short bumpstops is all it takes to lower it down to conventional height, I can do that in a few hours myself once I figure out how to safely lift the trailer by its frame. I am admittedly concerned about the black/grey drains, even on the Baja they hang lower than I wish they did, but given the issues I found when I went through the TT on Saturday I may just see about any possible changes to those for added ground clearance anyway.

We'll see though. I averaged basically 10 miles per gallon on yesterday's test run. I'm going to modify the tow vehicle too, I'm going to install a larger fuel tank out of a Nissan Titan to hopefully up my range to closer to 300 miles while towing, but I expect that will be a fair bit of work as I'll have to move a truck frame crossmember and notch an under-bed crossmember to make it fit. By comparison flipping the axle would be a walk in the park!

First off, if you expect anything better than 10 MPG perhaps RVing isn't your cup of tea. Second, you claim you want a lower height for better stability and fuel mileage. Your either trying to fix problems that aren't there or your compensating for too small a tow vehicle. Lowering your trailer will not significantly affect stability because it won't reduce the amount of weight pushing around your TV. If you are concerned about it being top heavy when cornering, you are probably driving too fast. You already have concerns about the drains being too low but you're willing to go through major modifications to fix stability and MPG's that aren't a problem to begin with.

So you are brand new to towing an RV and asking for advice from people who have been doing it for many years. Everyone here has said your theories are flawed. Are you trying to convince us that they are not?

[Eric H.]

Originally Posted by Kim Gass

We are averaging 14 with a non Baja 195 from Maine to CA and now back
Whatever you do check the brake lines aren't pinched We have fixed them so many times but finally the last fix was a game changer
The OEM wiring ran OVER the a me and with every pothole got pinched
Now its under the axle
You have nice roads out west. You eill be coming to the land of lets launch your trailer at least once every mile
Between potholes and frost heaves.

But what tow vehicle do you have and are you figuring actual mileage at fill ups or going by the computer? I get 13-14 too pulling a bigger rig but I have a 3/4 ton diesel pick up.

[Retiredflyer]

Originally Posted by TWX

I did an around-town tow to practice with my new-to-me 174BH Baja. Due to the tall height the air resistance impacted fuel economy enough to leave me concerned.

So what I'm curious about is how the non-Baja models' axles are set up. The Baja appears to have an undermount straight axle. Is the non-Baja basically just a straight axle mounted above the leaf springs, or would it have a drop-axle to lower the trailer frame even further?


I ask because doing an axle-flip to mount the axle above the springs is not beyond me, but I'm hesitant to lower the trailer too significantly. If the non-baja models have drop axles then those would sit even lower than a straight axle that has been flipped, so that would tell me that even flipping the Baja axle would not put it as low as the conventional model.

I have just done exactly what you inquire about. We have had a Jayco repair facility flip the axle. It did require some new parts, and the estimate was $650. It turned out that we had a broken spring, so we replaced both. Including bearing service, all up cost was $1026.
Trailer tows much better, gas mileage has improved, but I haven't had it on the road enough since the change to know exactly.
We are very pleased with the result. I was concerned that the dumps outlets might be too low, but that has not been a problem. Stabilizers are not anywhere near as extended, and trailor is more stable when set up.

[Eric H.]

Originally Posted by Retiredflyer

I have just done exactly what you inquire about. We have had a Jayco repair facility flip the axle. It did require some new parts, and the estimate was $650. It turned out that we had a broken spring, so we replaced both. Including bearing service, all up cost was $1026.
Trailer tows much better, gas mileage has improved, but I haven't had it on the road enough since the change to know exactly.
We are very pleased with the result. I was concerned that the dumps outlets might be too low, but that has not been a problem. Stabilizers are not anywhere near as extended, and trailor is more stable when set up.

So you've hardly driven it but you know the mileage is better but not how much. You also haven't had a problem with the lower drains but you've also not driven it enough to figure the gas mileage? Did you ever think that it is much more stable now because you don't have a broken spring any longer? With one broken spring you were basically driving with a different spring rate from one side to the other. This is most likely why it feels so much better.

[Retiredflyer]

Wow, who knew that trolls exist on a chat space like this?


to EricH. I don't calculate precise mileage until I have at least 500 miles of driving, in order to be able to account for driving conditions such as terrain, winds, etc.


I am pretty sure the springs have very little to do with the trailer's stability when parked and set up with all four stabilizers are in place and tensioned properly.


Finally, lowering the center of gravity of the trailer has had a discernable effect on towing, which is done with a load distributing and anti-sway hitch system. The spring was cracked, not completely broken.

[Levinehikeski]

I have a 2019 frontier and used to have a 2014 sport 8 popup. I think I lost 2-4 mpg towing it. Camper was ~2000lbs with gear, at most. I can definitely feel the newer camper, it’s a Forest River 16BHS Black edition, stickers says about 3700, dry (I think). It has more to do with front area of the camper than weight.

[Eric H.]

Originally Posted by Retiredflyer

Wow, who knew that trolls exist on a chat space like this?


to EricH. I don't calculate precise mileage until I have at least 500 miles of driving, in order to be able to account for driving conditions such as terrain, winds, etc.


I am pretty sure the springs have very little to do with the trailer's stability when parked and set up with all four stabilizers are in place and tensioned properly.


Finally, lowering the center of gravity of the trailer has had a discernable effect on towing, which is done with a load distributing and anti-sway hitch system. The spring was cracked, not completely broken.

I'm not trolling. I'm a member on a few RV forums because I am an RVer and I am always learning or trying to help clarify with misleading posts that don't make a lot of sense. Your post said you haven't driven it enough to figure mileage. Was I supposed to read between the lines and know that meant 500 miles was your idea of figuring an average? You know, my average is the same whether it's 100 miles or 500 miles give or take a 1-2 MPG. I don't own a Jayco or a Forest River product currently but I do own a Prowler TT and have owned Aljo and Dolphin Rv's but I'm members on both forums because they are the two brands I'm considering for our next RV. I've been RVing for 20 years as well. I've been a mechanic including RV's since 1986. I apologize for not sugar coating my reply but a broken (or cracked) spring is a major problem that absolutely created a stability problem so saying your rig is much more stable on the road now because you lowered it is only a speculation and one that is not based on suspension knowledge. A cracked or broken spring has lost any weight carrying capacity of that broken leaf and seriously affected the balance from one side to another.
I also edited my reply because I realized I said the lower height wouldn't affect stability when parked but I meant to say that would be the only significant affect to stability.

[Tiguan Tow r]

We had a 145RB. We did an axle flip which raised the trailer about 4 inches. Originally the axle was above the springs. The flip moved the axle below. Dealer did parts and install for under $240 Canadian in 2018. If you drop your trailer be sure you’ll be OK how low the waste pipe is to the ground. That’s why we did the flip.

We didn’t notice much difference in mileage before or after the flip. I don’t think you’ll be happy with mileage either way.

[Kim Gass]

We got 8 mpg going westMy signature has my equipage if anyone actually reads
We got 14.1 going east
Wind does count. Our last trip was 10,000 miles
we are okd we keep a notebook of price paid per gallon and gallons ingested
Winds were pretty wild especially going over Texas in the ice storm

[mohok1]

Around town = stop and go = poor mileage. IMHO

[Hotrod6]

Look into a wind deflector on the trailer/tow vehicle. Semi-truck/trailers are equipped with them. Reduce towing speed and don't tow in overdrive.

[FishNFarm]

All that it takes is one big out of place chug hole and your plumbing system is un usable until it gets fixed. Not to mention how nice the LW talks to you.

[Racer X]

We own a Hummingbird 17RK and I wish it had the Baja axle. Bottomed out the rear bumper just pulling out of a service station and mangled a front jack on relatively flat grassy area.

[campin]

I have a thread Goin’ Baja https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...t=Goin%92+Baja.
With a little research and about $200-$300 in materials (leaf springs, Dexter lift kit, 15” wheels and tires) it’s pretty straight forward. The TT height increased by 7” and great ROI for camping off road (tranquillity imo : )

[Happy wife / happy life]

Originally Posted by SAMM Kinder

Just my opinion... Love our 185RB Baja ..... I have considered installing standard 14 inch tires and wheels to loose a step entering our trailer (We are Old) .. Stand non Baja tires next to Baja tires .. What a difference !!! I bet they lower 4 inches

Absolutely brilliant!! A simple solution to a simple problem.

[campin]

Originally Posted by SAMM Kinder

Just my opinion... Love our 185RB Baja ..... I have considered installing standard 14 inch tires and wheels to loose a step entering our trailer (We are Old) .. Stand non Baja tires next to Baja tires .. What a difference !!! I bet they lower 4 inches

Are you serious (if I understand you correctly)?? 😁
The Baja wheels i see are 15” not 18” ; )