My lift kit install

[flashpoint]

I just installed the lift kit on my trailmanor. All went well. It was a piece of cake and would have only taken me an hour "IF" the factory had paid a bit more attention to the hole spacing in the kit. One side was off by 1/4". I had to ream the hole out. besides that little detour of time, all went well.

First thing I did was put the trailer up on four jackstands. Once supported at each end I removed the tires, marked the axle in 6 different location to assure proper alignment once the kit was installed. I then placed the jack under the axle right in the middle putting up force on the axle itself. This allowed me to remove the stock bolts on the axle and replace them{both sides} with the longer bolts in the new kit. I then lowered the jack out and away from the axle. This gave me plenty of room to work without having to fight the axle. Then doing one side at a time I put the jack back under the axle but this time on the very end at the hub witch allowed me to remove the longer previously installed hardware/install the lift block/ then replace the hardware back again. I then repeated the same thing on the other side. It worked out fantastic. I let the axle pivot giving tons of space to install the kit. Once the blocks and hardware were installed I ran them up snug and did my final alignment. Then tightened them down for final position.

I'm very happy with the way it came out. The trailer is now 2 1/2 inches higher than stock and no more scraping pulling out of the driveway. An added bonus is that my stabilizer jacks still work without the need of blocks.

I have pics I just need to downsize them and that wll have to wait until the AM.

[B_and_D]

Looking forward to the pics, we've been thinking about the lift kit for our TM as well.

[Jim&Joan]

Interesting. You installed the lift kit for ground clearance and not for larger tires?
I thought the majority reason for the lift kit was to go to 15" tires.

What trailer model do you have?

[bfezel]

I also installed my lift kit (3124KS with 15 inch tires standard) for ground clearance. I have a steep transition coming up my driveway from the street and this took care of the tendency to scrape.

[flashpoint]

Hi Jim,
I have thought about going up to 15" rims. There are alot more tire choices in that rim size but for now the major reason was for clearance. I have a very steep driveway and the trailer would scrape pretty bad unless I used wood blocks. I own a 1992 23 in beautiful condition.

Again I have pics however they are to big at the moment for the site. I will download soon as I can.

[flashpoint]

here are the pics:

[B_and_D]

Thank you for the pictures.

[Bill]

Flashpoint -

You said (in your original post) that you put the jack under the axle, but the photos show that you put the jack under the mounting bracket near the end of the axle, and not under the axle tube itself. Thank goodness! Both Dexter Axle and TM warn against putting a jack under the axle tube, as it may bend or flatten, destroying the axle.

As for putting a jack under the hub itself, I'm pretty leery.

On the other hand, you already had most of the weight of the trailer supported by the jackstands, so lifting the weight of the axle itself was not a problem. So I guess this is just a warning to others not to interpret your description as "go ahead and lift the TM with a jack under the axle tube, or under the hub". Guess I'm just feeling nervous this morning.

Bill

[flashpoint]

NO NO NO......To be very clear here..I did not lift the trailer from the axle at anytime.

I jacked up the trailer in steps from both sides by the frame and supported the entire trailer with four jackstands. Once the trailer was in the air on all four corners I supported the axle via the jack and a 4x4, distributing the weight of the axle across itself. Then and only then did I remove the stock mounting bolts. With the jack under the axle I was then able to remove the stock mounting bolts {one side at a time}without having to fight the weight of the axle itself. I then reinstalled the longer mounting bolts that come with the kit. Once they were in place I lowered the jack therefore lowering the axle untill they bottomed out on the longer bolts.This process then gave me the room to install the lift kit block one side at a time. The picture with the jack under the hub is there ONLY to hold the minimal weight of one side of the axle. This way I could remove the longer bolts again,install the block then reinstall the longer bolts once more. The process allowed me to never have to fight the weight on the axle.