"demountable" hubs vs standard 8 lug on Trailer

chillman88

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Some people think that I'm strange for carring two spares in the truck for longer trips.

I have a Dually and on trips I still carry two spares. I actually am going to have a third soon because I have an extra tire and was just given an extra wheel. I really don't like being stranded. Paranoid or not, better safe than sorry when you're 1000 miles from nowhere.

I rarely ever have a blow out on my flatbed with triple axles, I keep pretty good tires on all the time. They seem to be a common tire here to find. For $600 can put a whole new set on.

That's about what the shop near me quoted. $95/ea mounted and balanced with new valve stems. If I decide to keep what I have, I'll probably order a set of these:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00V3MSTP2/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_awdb_rMAZCb9Y1XBEK

They come mounted already (which I will verify) and then I'll have my old set as spares just in case.

I'm also going to buy one or two spare sets of bearings to keep on hand after I repack the current bearings. Did I mention I hate being stranded?
 

chillman88

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Well I found what Randy said I would lol. It is indeed what Dexter refers to as an MHU axle, a 6000# axle that has smaller bearings making it derated to 4500#.

Inner bearing surface on the spindle appears to be 1-3/8"

Outer bearing surface on the spindle appears to be 1-1/4.

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I measured from the 1 inch mark because the end isn't square so I don't know how reliable it is.

My research shows that a standard #42 spindle is 1-1/4 for the outer bearing and 1-3/4 for the inner. I can't just swap hubs but.... I might be able to adapt the spindles:

https://www.fastenal.com/products/details/3150684

I don't plan on it now. I'm just going to bite the bullet and get tires and repack or replace the bearings as needed. I just figured I'd update everyone on my findings.

Bearing kit appears to be available here:
http://www.dexterpartsonline.com/product/27-089-MHU

Picture of the ID of the drum where the seal mounts for my own future reference.
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chillman88

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typ4

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I didnt read every post. Go 8 lug ,dont look back. I did this on mine and did 4 brakes, stops better than the truck.LOL
BUT make sure your bearing numbers are the same ,there are some wierd MOHO axles out there.
 

chillman88

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I have another set of mobile home axles I picked up for another project, I think I'll look at the bearings in those and see what size they are. They are in better shape anyway.

Thanks for the input guys.
 

Macrobb

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I like those 14.5" MH-type tires. Small, lots of load capacity for the size, and they are tough. Now, I'm not hauling as far as any of you guys with them, usually less than ~200 miles round trip. But, my triple-axle beaver-tail trailer handles a load quite nicely. I hauled 12K on it last time, and the tires weren't bulging much at all.
Pretty sure all of the tires shoudn't be on the road, and I've been planning to get new ones... but man they just keep on working!
 

Randy Bush

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I like those 14.5" MH-type tires. Small, lots of load capacity for the size, and they are tough. Now, I'm not hauling as far as any of you guys with them, usually less than ~200 miles round trip. But, my triple-axle beaver-tail trailer handles a load quite nicely. I hauled 12K on it last time, and the tires weren't bulging much at all.
Pretty sure all of the tires shoudn't be on the road, and I've been planning to get new ones... but man they just keep on working!
Same here except I am hauling 15k on mine, I run 80-90 psi in them , 14 ply and they don't bulge a bit.
 

chillman88

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Felt kinda bad for the FedEx guy today.

I didn't really want to spend it but I certainly couldn't use the old ones! Yes that says load range H. Mounted on rims shipped to my house, 2 for $170.

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IDIBRONCO

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Man, those look nice. What size are they? 8-14.5 or 7-14.5? Either way, where did you find them? That's a good price.
 

jaluhn83

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MH axles aren't single use, they're just designed for lower speed/less use than a standard trailer axle. Bearings/seals are off the shelf parts, though as mentioned it's an odd spindle. Also any number of different manufacturers over the years some with various different configurations but they look the same externally.

TJT INC out of Woodland CA is a great resource for MH axle parts and tires.

Tires are the big place to be careful - there's MH tires that are basically one use, and all the way from load range C up to H. Learned that one the hard way when I realized my 3 axle GN way overloading the tires empty because some moron put LR-C MH tires on it.

Spares are a big deal, and IMHO a good reason to swap to 8 lug on their own. I've had a couple trailers with various oddball tires, and invariably have issues with tires when away from home. You may have a spare or 2, but that only goes so far and when no one at the tire shop has a clue what you're even talking about trying to get replacement tires gets very painful.... and even if you can find them it's very expensive. Swap to 8 lug and it's easy to find some sort of 16" tire that will fit.
 

IDIBRONCO

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Tires are the big place to be careful - there's MH tires that are basically one use, and all the way from load range C up to H.
I have to add my experience to this. I used to run MH tires on my trailer. I've pulled them dry rotted. I've pulled them with a chunk of tread missing and have also arrived at my destination to find that there's now a chunk of tread missing that was there when I left home. I've only had one flat tire while using them. I came out of my house to find one had gone flat after I parked it. I can only assume that I picked up a nail. I had an old timer tell me that low tire pressure in them will cause blow outs, and you never want to use them with less than 70 PSI in them. I have no idea on the accuracy of that, but I always had at least 70PSI in mine. Now I run non MH tires so that I "can run less PSI in them".
 

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