As I read through the Airstream Forums, I came across stories of axle failures. It turns out that there is a well known problem with the axles originally equipped on Airstreams from the early 1960’s. The shape of the spindle on which the bearings (and the wheel) spin makes it susceptible to weakening over many years of wear. In this weakened state the spindle can break in two causing the wheel to break free. Imagine your wheel suddenly no longer connected to the axle. Imagine the damage the wheel could cause to the wheel well. Imagine even worse damage that could result, especially on a trailer that has only one axle. If you need help imagining how bad this could be, then read this description of a 1965 Caravel that lost its wheels while driving down the highway.
I was sure that the axle on our trailer had never been replaced. But did it really need to be replaced? How could I tell? I found many suggestions for determining whether or not a torsion axle should be replaced including:
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Have someone ride in the trailer while you are towing it (note: this is illegal). Have them tell you how rough the ride is.
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Look for fasteners working loose inside the trailer. This is typically caused by the trailer riding rough.
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Look at the angle of the trailing arm from horizontal. How many degrees toward the ground is it pointing. When you jack up the trailer, does the angle of the trailing arm change or is it frozen.
Ultimately I was convinced to replace the axle when someone told me, “The axle on your trailer has a well known reputation for catastrophic failure. Don’t waste time inspecting it. Just replace it ASAP!”
Now where was I supposed to get an axle and how was I supposed to install it? I don’t have a shop to work in. Any work that I do myself will need to be done in my gravel driveway. I found that there are basically two manufacturers of the kind of axle I needed: Dexter and Axis. When you order an axle from the manufacturer you need to supply all kinds of measurements to ensure that the axle will fit your trailer properly. I didn’t feel confident about supplying those measurements myself, so I looked for someone who could do it for me and guarantee that the axle would be ready to install when I received it. I contacted three different sources for help. I first contacted the folks at Inland RV. At the time they told me that while they could order an axle for me, I would need to weld the shock mounting brackets on myself. They recommended that I speak with someone at the Airstream dealership in Los Angeles. I made that phone call and collected information about the axle that I could get via that route. Through Airforums.com I was also referred to Colin Hyde Trailer Restorations. Colin is well known in the Airstream community as the regular expert guest on the Vintage Airstream Podcast.
Finally I decided to purchase an Axis axle through Colin. From the time I placed the order with Colin I had a about two months in which to remove the old axle and install the new one before going on our first camping trip. Let the countdown begin.