It's axle time. I knew that when I bought the Airstream I was going to have to put on some axles. Airstream uses an axle that is called a torsion axle. It has 4 rubber rods inside that compress to provide the suspension. Over time the rubber deteriorates and the axle sags. The other issue that I had was that the brakes on the Airstream were a Vac-Assist hydraulic disk brake system. My truck is a diesel and it does not create the vacuum that I needed to run the brakes. I scrapped the whole system and bought all new axles and disc brakes. Originally the axles were manufactured by a company called
Henschen. There is only one authorized dealer in the country for these axles and he can charge whatever he wants. Needless to say, I was not paying the outrageous price. I purchase my axles from Dexter Manufacturing. I got new axles with disc brakes and a
electro-hydraulic pump for about $100 more than electric brakes from
Henschen. Dexter is the largest manufacturer of torsion axles and if I need parts, I can pick them up anywhere in the country.
The axles are only held to the Airstream with 4 bolts per axle. Mine were rusted so I had to use my
sawzall to cut the bolts off. I backed one of the axles of the Airstream up on some 2x6's. The other axle was hanging in the air. I left the truck attached to Airstream so that I was not in danger of the thing falling off the jacks and crushing me, not to mention killing me. I cut the four bolts off and the axle just
dropped right out. I used a floor jack to lower them to the ground. The old axle tubes are only 1-1/2 square. My new axles are are 1-5/8 square. I will post all the specs for the axle in another post. I had to cut the frame of the Airstream a little larger so that it would accept the larger
axle. I cut it with a jig saw. It took about 2 minutes per side. After that, I sanded up all the metal and sprayed it with some flat black paint. When the paint
dried, I put the new axles back in. I installed them by myself. It would have been much easier if I had someone to help, but I had to make due. The axles are pretty heavy. I think around 200+lbs. I
balanced them on the floor jack and jacked them up into the enlarged openings. One of the holes in the frame lines up perfectly with the new axle. The other one needs to be enlarged by about an 1/8 of an inch.
After that, just bolt them in place. After I had one of the axles bolted in, I needed to put the wheels on so that I could change out the other axle. This is where I ran into trouble. I grabbed the wheel and tried to put it back on the axle. IT DID NOT FIT. What I did not know was that the Dexter axles that I had specified had much larger disc brakes than were originally on the Airstream. Bottom line was that I could not use my current rims and tires. I
freaked out. I had spent $400 on new rubber for these 15" rims and was concerned that I was not going to be able to find new rims to fit my new rubber. Well I put out a question on the forums and within a few hours I had my answer.
New rims It looked like new rims were were going to set me back another $400. With every problem comes a solution. I
ebayed my
original Airstream rims and got $400 bucks for them.
I put the rims back on the axle and repeated the axle install on the other axle. I now had both of the axles on, but had no idea if the brakes worked. As I stated earlier, I purchased hydraulic disc brakes. The way they operate, is that an electric pump is installed in the Airstream and it pushes hydraulic fluid through the tubes and activated the disc brakes. I have a controller in the truck that regulates how much electricity is sent to the pump. If the truck stops quicker, the controller sends more electricity to the pump and the Airstream stops quicker. I installed the pump in the front the Airstream under the front window and hooked up the hydraulic lines. I bought a kit from distributor and I had all of the lines that I needed to complete the project. I am not sure if the pump will remain at this location or if I will move it to another location, but it is hooked up now and it works. The whole project cost about $1000 more than the electric brake option, but I figure that if I have to stop quickly, I want to have the full stopping power of disc brakes. If I stop in an emergency and fail to stop in time, I will know that I have done all that I can. It's my
family's safety that counts.
It's axle time. I knew that when I bought the Airstream I was going to have to put on some axles. Airstream uses an axle that is called a torsion axle. It has 4 rubber rods inside that compress to provide the suspension. Over time the rubber deteriorates and the axle sags. The other issue that I had was that the brakes on the Airstream were a Vac-Assist hydraulic disk brake system. My truck is a diesel and it does not create the vacuum that I needed to run the brakes. I scrapped the whole system and bought all new axles and disc brakes. Originally the axles were manufactured by a company called Henschen. There is only one authorized dealer in the country for these axles and he can charge whatever he wants. Needless to say, I was not paying the outrageous price. I purchase my axles from Dexter Manufacturing. I got new axles with disc brakes and a electro-hydraulic pump for about $100 more than electric brakes from Henschen. Dexter is the largest manufacturer of torsion axles and if I need parts, I can pick them up anywhere in the country.
The axles are only held to the Airstream with 4 bolts per axle. Mine were rusted so I had to use my sawzall to cut the bolts off. I backed one of the axles of the Airstream up on some 2x6's. The other axle was hanging in the air. I left the truck attached to Airstream so that I was not in danger of the thing falling off the jacks and crushing me, not to mention killing me. I cut the four bolts off and the axle just dropped right out. I used a floor jack to lower them to the ground. The old axle tubes are only 1-1/2 square. My new axles are are 1-5/8 square. I will post all the specs for the axle in another post. I had to cut the frame of the Airstream a little larger so that it would accept the larger axle. I cut it with a jig saw. It took about 2 minutes per side. After that, I sanded up all the metal and sprayed it with some flat black paint. When the paint dried, I put the new axles back in. I installed them by myself. It would have been much easier if I had someone to help, but I had to make due. The axles are pretty heavy. I think around 200+lbs. I balanced them on the floor jack and jacked them up into the enlarged openings. One of the holes in the frame lines up perfectly with the new axle. The other one needs to be enlarged by about an 1/8 of an inch. 
After that, just bolt them in place. After I had one of the axles bolted in, I needed to put the wheels on so that I could change out the other axle. This is where I ran into trouble. I grabbed the wheel and tried to put it back on the axle. IT DID NOT FIT. What I did not know was that the Dexter axles that I had specified had much larger disc brakes than were originally on the Airstream. Bottom line was that I could not use my current rims and tires. I freaked out. I had spent $400 on new rubber for these 15" rims and was concerned that I was not going to be able to find new rims to fit my new rubber. Well I put out a question on the forums and within a few hours I had my answer. New rims It looked like new rims were were going to set me back another $400. With every problem comes a solution. I ebayed my original Airstream rims and got $400 bucks for them. 
I put the rims back on the axle and repeated the axle install on the other axle. I now had both of the axles on, but had no idea if the brakes worked. As I stated earlier, I purchased hydraulic disc brakes. The way they operate, is that an electric pump is installed in the Airstream and it pushes hydraulic fluid through the tubes and activated the disc brakes. I have a controller in the truck that regulates how much electricity is sent to the pump. If the truck stops quicker, the controller sends more electricity to the pump and the Airstream stops quicker. I installed the pump in the front the Airstream under the front window and hooked up the hydraulic lines. I bought a kit from distributor and I had all of the lines that I needed to complete the project. I am not sure if the pump will remain at this location or if I will move it to another location, but it is hooked up now and it works. The whole project cost about $1000 more than the electric brake option, but I figure that if I have to stop quickly, I want to have the full stopping power of disc brakes. If I stop in an emergency and fail to stop in time, I will know that I have done all that I can. It's my family's safety that counts.
