Replacing A Damaged Axle On A 1997 Fleetwood Mallard 24J

Published 03/15/2024

Question:

I have a 1997 fleetwood mallard 24j and I am possibly in need of an axle. It has a gvwr of 6000 I believe. The spindle on the one axle is pretty messed up from a wheel bearing failure. What size axle do I need to get to replace it?

asked by: Andrew L

Expert Reply:

Hey Anderw, I can definitely point you in the right direction. Unfortunately, we do not have a way to look up your trailer to know what size and capacity axle you have currently.

Do you happen to know the weight capacity of each individual axle? With a 6,000 lb GVWR it should be something like two 3,500 lb axles, but we will need you to verify this. We will also need to determine the hub face length, and spring center length of the current axle. If you are replacing just one axle on a tandem axle trailer, the replacement axle will need to be an exact match as far as the hub face length.

From here, I suggest going under your trailer and checking to see if you can find a tag or sticker on the axle. This should have some useful info such as the hub face (HF) length, spring center (SC) or at the very least a manufacturer, model number or serial number. If you can send me that info, or even a picture of the sticker, I am happy to take a look and let you know what your options are. If no sticker or tag is present, you can always measure the HF and SC length. It sounds like you may need new hubs and/or bearings so if you can tell me the hub bolt pattern, we can get you those components as well.

The diagram below will show you how to measure a typical 3,500 lb axle. You can feel free to reach out to me if you have further questions.

expert reply by: Jesse M

3,500 lb axle measurement diagram
(click to enlarge)

Andrew L.

3/15/2024

I’m currently out of town but when I get back next week I’ll send you a picture of the axle tag. Also long story short the bearings went bad 10-15 years ago and the spindle took some damage and last year the same one failed and I think the surface on the spindle is kinda damaged causing it to fail. We don’t use it often but might start going further distances and I wanna make it safe as possible. I believe you have to cut and weld a new spindle on if you replace the spindle.

Jesse M.

3/15/2024

@AndrewL Yes replacing just the spindle is tricky. It requires a special machine to attach the spindle correctly. If the angle is off by even a fraction of an inch it can cause big problems. Unless you happen to be a professional axle spindle welder it will make a lot more sense to replace the axle entirely. Send me that tag info when you can and I will look into it.