400 lift

Michael49

Planning an extended trip out West and Alaska with our 400. It is not the Boondock edition. Is it possible to add an aftermarket lift to the 400? I know that aftermarket lifts are popular with Airstreams, for example. Would love to have a few more inches of ground clearance.

DanManz

Interestingly when we were picking out our 2019 400 BDL, we also looked at a few of the standard 400s.  They had several different graphic options and closet/refrigerator configurations on the lot.  I told the dealer I wanted one with the higher ground clearance.  He told me they could do an axle swap at the dealership and install a BDL axle onto a standard 400 if we liked one of them better than the BDLs he had.  We ended up picking a BDL model we liked so I never pursued it further.  In any event, he made it sound like an axle swip-swap was no big deal.

falcon1970

The Dexter Torsion Axle is bolted directly to the frame.  I have doubts that a lift kit could be easily installed without compromising the geometry of the running gear.  Swapping the standard axle for the boondock axle shouldn't be very hard.  That would get you another couple of inches of clearance.  The trickiest part is getting the trailer jacked up enough to work without damaging the frame or stressing the entire cabin.

Michael49

DanManz said:

.... He told me they could do an axle swap at the dealership and install a BDL axle onto a standard 400 if we liked one of them better than the BDLs he had....

Thanks for the input! I'll have to check with our local dealer.

Michael49

Just a quick update on this issue for those who are curious. I spoke with our local dealer who told me that the only real difference between the standard and boondock 400 axle is some spacers; the standard 400 already has the pitched axle. They said they could raise our 400 between 1.5 and 4" using a Dexter axle spacing kit. They thought the 400 boondock had about a 2.5" lift over the standard but they weren't sure. I'll update this when I know more if people here are interested. 

atlasb

Real interested it "adding spacers to the axle".   The BDL axle has a different pitch and the BDL  tires are wider with the 75 ratio which adds some height.  I just finished the Axle update going from the 3500 lb that was in our 2018 400 to the newer 3900lb axle.  pictures of the process are here on the forum.  Look for "DIY 400 axle upgrade".  The frame is notched out for the axle tube so adding spacers looks like a non starter to Me.  The change to the newer axle seemed to add an additional inch in hight and this is not the BDL axle.

Michael49

atlasb said:

Real interested it "adding spacers to the axle".   The BDL axle has a different pitch and the BDL  tires are wider with the 75 ratio which adds some height.  I just finished the Axle update going from the 3500 lb that was in our 2018 400 to the newer 3900lb axle.  pictures of the process are here on the forum.  Look for "DIY 400 axle upgrade".  The frame is notched out for the axle tube so adding spacers looks like a non starter to Me.  The change to the newer axle seemed to add an additional inch in hight and this is not the BDL axle.

Interesting. Thanks for the info. Could be our local dealer doesn't know what they are talking about .

Couple of questions: did you order the axle yourself (I thought only a dealer could order an axle)? Do you know what the weight is new compared with the old axle?

N7SHG_Ham

AFAIK there is not any spacers to get height on the 400 BDL. It is the starting angle or pitch of the axle.

You can go to Dexter and look at axle specs, there sell axles with both rise and drop, I have a Wells Cargo that has a drop axle, same basic axle as in the NuCamp products. All you need to know is the axle specs and ANY Dexter dealer can sell it to you and you may even be able to order direct from Dexter, but not 100% certain on that.

atlasb

I talked with NU Camp and was given the Dexter numbers for both axles.  I contacted a dexter dealer and had them price the axle and was told it would take about a 4 week time frame to make it.  Contacted my Dealer,  Dana at Missouri tear drops and gave him the number for the one I wanted.  He got me a quote and then I ordered it from Him.  NU Camp shipped it directly to me and I paid my dealer.  The Dealer price was somewhat better than what the Dexter dealer quoted me.  The freight will be different depending where you are located.  It was shipped Via UPS, they lost it a time or two and finally showed up in front of our home getting ready to leave it in the front yard.  Ship weight was listed at 150 lbs and was a hand full for the lady that was the driver.  UPS dropped it and crushed the backing plate a little but I was able to fix it.  Also lost one of the EZ lube caps.  No problem..  The swap went as I had planed ,  On to the next mod.

Michael49

atlasb said:

I talked with NU Camp and was given the Dexter numbers for both axles.  I contacted a dexter dealer and had them price the axle and was told it would take about a 4 week time frame to make it.  Contacted my Dealer,  Dana at Missouri tear drops and gave him the number for the one I wanted.  He got me a quote and then I ordered it from Him.  NU Camp shipped it directly to me and I paid my dealer.  The Dealer price was somewhat better than what the Dexter dealer quoted me.  The freight will be different depending where you are located.  It was shipped Via UPS, they lost it a time or two and finally showed up in front of our home getting ready to leave it in the front yard.  Ship weight was listed at 150 lbs and was a hand full for the lady that was the driver.  UPS dropped it and crushed the backing plate a little but I was able to fix it.  Also lost one of the EZ lube caps.  No problem..  The swap went as I had planed ,  On to the next mod.

Thanks so much for the info. Sounds like my dealer doesn't know what they are talking about :( 

So your dealer ordered it from NuCamp, shipped it to you and you did the install?

Did you install different wheels/tires?

If you don't mind I'd love to know how much they charged you for the axle so I have a rough idea - you can message me the price if you don't want to post it here. 

Thanks again for the info - really helpful. 

atlasb

Michael49,  I just sent you a PM.

atlasb

Michael49

atlasb said:

Michael49,  I just sent you a PM.

atlasb

Thanks - very helpful.

Another dealer just quoted me $2700 to swap out the axle, wheels and tires!! I do quite a bit of DIY but not sure I want to take this one on myself and not sure its worth $2700 - will have to give it some thought.