flipping my axles
 

i have a 95 jayco designer 5er. im considering flipping the axles so the springs are on top instead of below the axles, and having a bracket made for the shocks at a local fab shop. i only have 7 inches of space between the bottom of the gooseneck and the top of my box. i do have one notch up i can go on my hitch and one down i can go on the gooseneck but with the 35s on my truck im conserned with it putting it even more unlevel than it already is. so im hoping that flipping the axles would buy me the raise in the rear that im looking for as well as letting me adjust my hitch and gooseneck to buy me more space between the camper and my box. has anyone tried this before? any pros or cons? i hate to get into modifying it like this but id hate to smash the back of my box of the front of my camper for ignoring something like this. TIA

mike

Dexter makes a kit for just such a purpose. Read this DTR thread; https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...+Axle+Flip+Kit

Hope this helps!

Pro's==you can finally pull your camper

cons==your step is gonna be a lot higher, your leveling legs and stabilizers may need to be extended or you'll carry more blocks for them. The additional overhead clearance may keep you from going some places, you'll have to sell it to someone in the market for a taller rv unless you manage to keep the modifications reversible.

Many people do this. It aint no big deal. I've heard the Dexter kit is easy and doable with at home.

i feel comfortable pulling the camper. i just have to keep my eyes on the box when i get into some spots where my truck would be level and my camper is still dragging down hill a bit. thanks for the help guys

I did this to one of my utility trailers years ago.... I just picked up some new spring perches from the trailer shop and welded them onto the top of the axles 180° from the original ones. I left the original ones there so I could return it to stock form to keep resale value when the time came to sell it.

I did that with the 30' one I had.

Rather than the dexter bolt on kit, I purchased regular spring perches. Square them up on the other side of the axle and weld them on.

I did have to use blocks for the rear stabilizers, but the landing jacks were fine.

It let me tow it level with lots of room above the bedrails, and it did not seem to effect handling.

Some folks will cut off the perches and weld them on the other side, or fab up perches, but they are so cheap they aren't worth the time to fab, and if you leave the stock ones in place you can use them as a point of reference to get the new ones exactly square.

Another plus, I was worried about the effect on handling, and having the factory perches still in place would make it easy to put back to stock if I didn't like it.

axle flip
 

We run a 2007 Jayco Recon Toyhauler, and the axles are flipped on it so I can pull it with my mega on 37's. Works perfect. Still have plenty of room to clear the DOT 13'-6" max height limit too. When I'm all hooked up, and loaded, I have about 7" between the top of the bed rails, and the bottom surface of the camper.

Did it on my dad's older 5th wheel to get more ground clearance when back country camping as well as increased box clearance. He said he doesn't notice any difference pulling it.

Did it sort of on a whim one weekend and couldn't find any perches locally so I cut the old ones off carefully with a grinder and cutting wheel and then welded them back on the other side.

The shocks worked out fine as they bolted to the spring plate which was just moved up an inch or two to the top side of the spring pack.

Working out in the yard with an extension cord and air line dragged out it took us about 4-5hours. That includes dragging the diffs into town to my garage and doing the welding there.

Hardest part was getting the unit jacked up high enough and safe enough as we were working on soft, uneven ground.

i plan on buying new perches, the only fabbing i would have to do is the shock brackets. i like the idea of keeping the old ones on for "just in case" purposes. anyone know if i can buy a set of shock brackets to go with me new perches?