I just finished putting an Outback axle on our 2016 320S, and
thought I'd share a few notes on the process for others who may wish to
do the same
We had planned to buy an Outback for the ground
clearance, but got a screaming deal on a barely used 320S we couldn't
pass on. After dragging the spare tire across numerous gas station curb
ramps on the Great Eclipse Expedition of 2017, we knew an Outback axle
was still something we needed.
1.
Procurement. Order the axle from nuCamp. They will give you the part
number so you can have a Dexter dealer order it, but I'm pretty
confident you'll like the nuCamp price better. If you are having a shop
install the axle, pick the shop before you order the axle, and have it
shipped to the shop. The axle weighs over 100 lbs and is quite awkward
to handle.
2. Axle handling. Before that axle
arrives, make sure you have a place to park it, and a means to get it
there. You need a furniture dolly ($15 at Harbor Freight if you don't
have one), and a 2x4" or 2x6" cut to 56" length. The 2x4 lays on top
of the dolly, and the axle will sit with the torque-tube/cross-member on
the dolly, and the swing arms of the axle sitting on the ends of the
2x4. You get it there by lifting one end at a time, with a helper to
keep the dolly from moving on you.
3.
Axle receipt. When the axle gets dropped off, inspect for damage. It
is shipped in the open, bubble wrap around the brakes but no other
protection. Note it *naturally* has a slight bend (crease) in the
middle, probably for wheel camber. On our axle, one of the EZ-lube hub
caps had been smashed (probably on delivery, they stood it up on the
hubcap next to the front door!), and the little nylon loop on the left
brake backing plate (to hold the brake wires) was missing. While
inspecting, clean off the shipping labels, but leave the white Dexter
sticker in the middle of the cross-member, where the serial number is
printed.
4. Tools. Besides the dolly and 2x4,
you'll need a floor jack and a motorcycle jack. (I'd planned to do it
with two floor jacks, but a friend loaned me a motorcycle jack, and I'd
now be a little fearful of using two floor jacks). MOST IMPORTANT: You
need 3-4 jackstands (1.5 tons or better). DO NOT TRUST the stabilizing
jacks to carry the weight of the trailer when you are working around
and under it. You'll need two more 2x4s cut to span the motorcycle
jack (or the two floor jacks to approximately level the Outback axle
(front-to-back) when jacking it into position To remove the belly
cover, you'll need a 3/8" socket, and a short extension is needed to
remove the screw clamping the fresh water drain. A utility knife is
required to cut the sealant around the AC condensate drain. Axle
removal requires 3/4" wrenches. You'll need a ratchet, a breaker bar,
and a combination wrench. Additionally, you'll need a crow-bar/pry bar
to separate the axle from the frame (besides the bolts, there is a
slight interference fit.) Removal of the spare tire mount requires a
9/16" socket, and we needed a 13/16" wrench and extension to remove the
spare tire from the bracket. For the brakes you'll need wire cutters,
strippers, and a good-quality crimping tool suitable for the crimps
you'll use for the brake wires.
5.
Supplies. Besides the axle, you'll need about 12' of 14 or 16 gauge
wire (I used 14 gauge, but recommend 16 gauge, since that is what is on the axle and the trailer) for the brake wire
cross-over. The original axle has the cross-over wire integrated (it
runs through the center of the torque tube). The Outback axle does
not. You'll also need appropriate crimps for the brake wires. It
appears Pleasant Valley used "Hydralink" one-sided multiwire
heat-sealing connectors, but I had poor luck with these and reverted to
heat-shrinkable butt splices and liquid electrical tape. Because you
are running new wires across the belly, you'll also want zip ties and
some adhesive zip-tie mounts. To mark the belly cover mounting strips,
you'll want some masking tape and a Sharpie pen. You'll also want zip
locks or another suitable container for hardware. Finally, you'll need
some sealant to reseal the condensate drain.
6.
Staging the work area. Locate the trailer on a hard level surface for
the project. You'll be moving the old axle out and bringing the new
axle in under the back of the trailer, so you'll need about a 6'x6'
clear area behind the trailer for this maneuvering. Drain the fresh
water tank; the petcock needs to be in the open position to remove the
clamp. While the trailer is still on the wheels, crack the wheel nuts
loose. (Don't remove them yet.)
7. Jack
the trailer TO THE FULL HEIGHT as prescribed in the owners manual. You
can use the stabilizing jacks as described (or your floor jack), but you
should get the trailer as high as practical (stabilizing jacks straight
up and down). If you use a floor jack, DO NOT ALLOW the stabilizing
jacks to be side-loaded at all (tilted) - they will fail! PLACE YOUR
JACKSTANDS under the frame! The jackstands should be placed under the
aft cross-member, just inboard of the frame rails.
8.
Belly cover removal. With the trailer jacked and supported by
jackstands (and, as backup the stabilizing jacks), remove the spare, and
the spare tire bracket (those bolts will do serious damage to your
head!) There are 7 metal strips around the periphery of the frame
holding the belly cover on. Put some masking tape on each of these, and
label with position ("Left Side, Rear") and orientation ("Forward
->"). Start removing the screws holding the strips and cover in
place. There are two lines of 3 screws with washers in cross-members. I
don't know if there is a best order for removal, but I'd suggest
removing the screw at the drain petcock first, then working front to
back. Once all the screws are removed, you'll need to cut the sealant
around the condensate drain (be careful to not cut the drain tube, nor
the coroplast belly cover.) The axle flanges do extend under the cover
so you'll need to slide or bend the cover a bit to remove it.
9.
Cut the brake wires. If your axle has the cross-over wires in the
axle, you'll only need to cut the wires on the right side. Cut right at
the crimp, so you don't loose much wire.
10.
Loosen the bolts holding the axle to the frame. 4 Grade-8 1/2"x1-1/4"
bolts per side, 6 MCX washers. Leave the bolts in place - the axle is
hanging on them!.
11. Roll your motorcycle
jack into place from behind, centered laterally under the axle. Place
the 56" 2x4 across it, and jack it into position, with the 2x4 just
barely forward of the hub (you noted the proper position of the 2x4 when
you were handling your new axle). DO NOT JACK the trailer off the
JACKSTANDS, just get the jack against the axle.
12. Finish removing the wheels, and move them out of the way.
13.
Pull the axle bolts and washers out, noting the positions of the
washers. Drop the jack slightly (< 1"). If the axle doesn't drop
(it won't), you'll need to give it a hand. Use the crowbar between the
lower axle mounting flange and the frame. It shouldn't take much force
(although you'll probably need to do it both sides of the trailer), and
the axle will drop onto the jack. Lower the jack to the bottom
position.
14. Roll the axle aft towards (close
to) your rear jackstands. Lift the trailer slightly with your floor
jack, place jackstands just forward of the where the axle is now
located. These jackstands MUST be aft of the center of mass of the
trailer - that means they should be aligned with the BACK lip of the
wheel cutout. With these jackstands positioned, you should be able to
drop the BACK jackstands, and perhaps slightly lower the rear
stabilizing jacks (they are your backup). Lower the trailer onto the
forward jackstands you just placed, and ensure they are carrying the
weight of the trailer.
15. Once
satisfied that the weight is on those jackstands, you can raise the
stabilizing jacks, pull the motorcycle jack with axle out from under the
trailer, and relower the stabilizing (backup) jacks.
16. Congratulations! you are half-way done.
17.
Swap the axle positions, putting the Outback axle on the motorcycle
jack. As noted earlier, you'll need a couple of extra 2x4s under the
torque-tube to make the axle approximately level. Center the motorcycle
jack and axle laterally under the trailer so you'll be able to roll it
forward into position.
18. Raise the rear
stabilizing (backup) jacks, and roll the axle forward under the trailer,
up almost to but not touching the jackstands. Drop the stabilizing
jacks, lift the rear of the trailer slightly with the floor jack, and
place jackstands behind the axle, under that rear cross-member. Lower
the forward jackstands, then lower the trailer onto the rear jackstands.
19.
With the trailer on the rear jackstands, you can remove the forward
jackstands and roll the axle into position. Slowly lift the axle into
position. You'll probably need to adjust position slightly as you lift
it. Stop when either the axle flange hits the bottom of the trailer
(because the axle isn't quite level) or one bolt hole is aligned.
20.
Insert a bolt on each side if you can. As necessary, use your floor
jack under one end of the axle (swing arm or mounting flange) as
necessary to adjust the axle position to align the bolt holes. Once the
second bolt is inserted on a side, very little motion is necessary.
Put a nut on each bolt (just to keep it in place) each time you get one
inserted.
21. Once all the bolts are
installed, install all washers and nuts as you removed them from the
original axle. Torque them in place.
22.
Install the wheels and tires (you may choose to delay this; I wanted
them on as quickly as possible since I'm paranoid a jack will fail).
You'll torque the nuts once the weight is on the wheels.
23.
Run two wires (16 gauge or 14 gauge) for the brakes across the aluminum
cross-member just aft of the axle. There are large holes in the frame
for the wires to run through. There should be at least one foot of
extra wire on either side of the frame rails. Using zip ties and
adhesive mounts, anchor the wires to the cross-member in a position
where they will not be pinched by the belly cover, or abraided by the
screws which hold that cover. Practically, this means anchor them to
the backside of the angle-aluminum.
24. Crimp, seal, and dress the wire connections at the left wheel.
25.
Crimp, seal, and dress the wire connections at the right wheel. Note
that here you have to connect splice two sets of three wires; the brake
magnet, the trailer brake line, and the cross-over. To make this easy
working under the trailer, I fabricated two "V" harnesses with two wires
and three butt-splices each on the bench, then installed under the
trailer (this mean each crimp only had one wire in it, except for one
that was done on the bench.)
26. Replace the
belly cover. I found it easiest to do the cross-members first, then
work from front to back with the edge strips. To get the condensate
drain tube back through the belly cover, you'll probably need to reach
through the belly cover hole with needle-nose pliers, pinch the end of
the hose and pull it through.
27. Seal the condensate drain.
28. Reinstall the spare, if you are keeping it under the trailer. (We moved ours to the tongue.)
29. Lower the trailer to the ground. Torque the wheel nuts and the axle nuts.
30.
Hook it up to your tow vehicle and make sure the brake controller
recognizes the axle. Then take it for a slow drive and adjust the brake
force as needed.
31. Go camp places that you couldn't get to with the standard axle.
Comments
You are on your way to a fantastic write up!
2021 T@b 320 Boondock "Mattie Ross" | 2021 T@b Nights: 239 | Total nights in a T@b 455 | 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Overland | T@b owner since 2014
Draco dormiens numquam titilandus.
I ask as we recently purchased a lightly used, well maintained 2017 320S. I have noticed, without yet measuring accurately, the right wheel is apparently about 1.25 - 1.5" "ahead" of the left. It is visible in the fender wells and frame, and I can see the crabbing effect in my mirrors. It is not likely off enough to ever hurt anything, and it doesn't affect handling nor reversing, but it's something I see.
Thanks for this thread!
"It's great to be a Florida Gator!"
At this point I'm going to assume the frame is straight and the alignment issue is with the body on the frame. I've pulled it about 3,000 miles and have no detectable tire wear problems so I think this is something I need to learn to ignore.
The upside is we've had a great time with this trailer since the purchase this summer!
"It's great to be a Florida Gator!"
Did you find any issues with fender clearance due to the different axle swing? In other words, would the mounting spots for a factory Boondock/Outback be different?
What did you use for tires/wheels?