How Can I Identify an Axle Without a Sticker?

Question:

Do you have the part number for a hydraulic brake set for my hubs?

asked by: Don J

Expert Reply:

Thank you for the pictures! It looks like you've got some sort of square drop axle on your trailer and if you can't find an identifying sticker, I can still help you figure out what you've got so that you can make the swap to electric brakes on your trailer.

It looks like you've got 6 bolts on the wheels, which can help narrow down our search, but we'll need to know what size the brakes on the trailer are and if possible, what size (or number) the inner and outer bearings are on the hubs.

If you've got 10" brakes you'll want something like the Dexter Nev-R-Adjust Electric Trailer Brake Kit # 23-468-469 which has the left and right brakes for one axle. If you've got 12" brakes, you'll want the Dexter Nev-R-Adjust # 23-464-465. The easiest way to tell the brake size is to measure the inside diameter of the brake drum.

If you can pull the wheel and drum off and measure what size your brakes are, this would be the first step. Since you may want to replace the hubs as well, you can remove the bearings and check for numbers on the backs of the bearings to determine what size bearings you've got. If there aren't any visible numbers on the bearings, you'll want to measure them using a digital calipers like the # PTW80157

Since you're switching to electric brakes you'll also need to add a brake controller and a trailer breakaway kit. For the breakaway kit I recommend the Hopkins Engager # 20099 which is a push-to-test breakaway system with a built in charger so you don't have to worry about the battery ever dying on you when you need it the most. For a brake controller, of our most popular and well reviewed controllers is the Tekonsha Prodigy P3 # 90195 , which will provide you with a proportional brake controller for up to 4 axles. If you can let me know what your tow vehicle is, I can recommend the appropriate adapter plug to help make the installation of this in your truck a lot easier!

expert reply by: Erik B

click to enlarge

Don

11/13/2019

12 x 2 20/64 inside drum. Castle nut thread diameter .7520 Outer bearing timikin 1779 Grease seal 21463-8258 A 2.1060 B 1.9035 C 1.4930 D .9350 E .7520

Erik B.

11/13/2019

I have a solution for you, but it doesn't look like the hub that was on that trailer is currently available any longer, and we only have partial matches on the bearing components-but we do have a braking assembly that will work well. For your 12" brakes I recommend using the Dexter Nev-R-Adjust # 23-464-465, which is a self adjusting brake kit that will replace your existing 12" brakes. These kits do not come with any brake hardware so you'll also need Mounting Bolts and Hardware for 12" brake assemblies # BRKH12. To replace the Timken 1779 outer bearing you'll want to use # 1779 and for an inner bearing you'll want to use # 2788 and race # 2729. We do have grease seal # 10-40 which measures 1.938" inner diameter and is close to your 1.9035" measurement; because of the unique characteristics of your axle and hub, this is the closest match I can find for your 21463-8258 grease seal. Because of the unique makeup of this axle and the lack of replacement hubs, you may want to consider just replacing the entire axle with a complete axle kit like the Dexter Trailer Axle w/ Electric Brakes # 6340624-EB which is a 95" (hub face to hub face) axle and has a 6 on 5-1/2" bolt pattern that appears to match your existing wheels. The spring center to spring center measurement on this axle is 80" and it comes with all of the components you're looking to replace (plus the new axle). If you wanted to go this route, you'll need to take a few measurements and determine which capacity axle you'd like in order to choose the best one for you. If you can provide: -The axle capacity you need -Spring center to spring center dimension -Hub face to hub face dimension With that information, I can find you an axle that will work on your existing trailer and allow you with the ability to easily perform maintenance in the future.

Don

11/14/2019

Do you have the part number for a hydraulic brake set for my hubs?

Erik B.

11/14/2019

The 12" hydraulic brake set you can use for your trailer is the Dexter Axle Hydraulic Drum Brake Kit # 23-342-343. These are free backing hydraulic brakes that mount to a 5 bolt mounting flange.

Sandy S.

4/6/2020

I have a 2004 gooseneck trailer tandem axle 8 lugs trailer scale weight is 4320 lbs how can i figure out the gvwr rating

Chris R.

4/7/2020

The GVWR is something that should hopefully labeled somewhere on the trailer itself (with a main info/spec plate or stamped onto the coupler possibly) or written in the trailer's original paperwork. If you can't find anything then the only real way to determine its GVWR would be to have it fully inspected and tested by a local facility that could help out with this.