Lift kit added a mistake?

I wanted to upgrade my 2720sl to 15 inch tires and assumed that I would need a lift kit. After way more work than I had hoped grinding off the welds, busting loose the bolts and installing the new kit I found that I may not have needed to do it.

After the lift kit I have 5 inches clearance above the new tires and 22 inches ground clearance.

My thoughts at this time is that I should remove the lift kit and restore to original.

Any one have suggestions?

[Bill]

You are right, in that you might not have actually needed the lift kit to provide tire clearance. But I can't think of any reason to remove it. It raises the center of gravity a couple inches - why not? It restricts your view out the back and over the top - but you couldn't see over the top before. It doesn't materially increase the wind resistance, so the effect on mpg is minimal. It gives you more ground clearance against rocks and roots in a campsite, and in gas station swales and speed bumps - but that is a good thing, right? If you need to get under the TM for some maintenance and repairs, it is now easier. You have a better angle of attack for your dump hose in campgrounds with a high curb. And it makes it easier to change a flat tire - again a good thing, though you hope it's never needed.

I would not be sad if TM built all trailers a bit higher. The only downside I can see is that it is a bit more of a step at the entry door. And if that is a problem, it is easily managed.

I would carry on as you are.

Bill

[BrucePerens]

The new ones are built that high.

[Bill]

Bruce -

You are exactly right. We had a discussion about that earlier this summer, and I completely lost track of it. As my daughter would say "Dad, is this Old-timer's Disease coming on?"

Bill

[B_and_D]

I'd leave it too. It helps prevent damage to the TM when you drive through dips and such. And as Bill has pointed out, there are other advantages. I'm always envious of people who have trailers that are set high up off of the road; we see them quite often when taking our walks along Seacliff State Beach.

[ShrimpBurrito]

Having more space in between the tire and trailer should at least theoretically lessen any damage to the trailer in the event of a blowout.

Dave

[ka9nyn]

I had the lift kit installed on mine earlier this month. Makes underside access much easier for my...girth.

Also more room for a tray for the sewer hose (made from PVC fence post & gutter) or a 30 gallon blackwater tank if you change from the recirc unit.

Possibilities are, maybe not endless, but manifest...

I'll be taking a 'shake down cruise' to the Black Hills in about a week. Looking forward to the escape.

We took our newly lifted / 15 inch tired TM on a 100 mile shakedown run to a nearby town. Will re-tork all bolts today on wheels and inspect insides for unusual shake.

Two things came up The tail is significantly higher now. I will only be able to lift my hitch ball up one inch so that will have to be the way it rides. It should stop all fears of tail drag. But it also means it will be harder to quick stop and not unhitch to level.

The second was a a little more sway. Not sure why but I did feel more desire to sway than before. We have towed about 10 12 K miles with a TM so I was disappointed.

After I lift my ball up one notch I will also try tightening my weight distribution hitch chains one link and see it this settles it down.

Any other sway reduction suggestions?

[TM Pilot]

Originally Posted by RogerR

Any other sway reduction suggestions?

Not sure if a misaligned axle can be a direct cause of trailer sway, but even if not I thought I would mention that my Dexter Axle manual says that the axle must be 90 degrees (+/- 0.5 degrees) perpendicular to the centerline of the trailer. Being outside of this tolerance causes uneven/excessive tire wear and poor tracking. Seems to me that this is a very, very small tolerance. Perhaps a math whiz here can shed some light on just how small....

Make sure that if you use a cross member to check this axle spec that the cross member is 90 degrees (+/- 0.5 degrees) perpendicular to the centerline of the trailer first or you'll just transfer the error from the cross member to the axle. After the axle is back in spec, I would also highly recommend anyone who added a lift kit to tack weld the components again to prevent any small movements over time.

[Padgett]

I make that tolerance over an inch which should not be hard to meet. Frame should be welded up on a jig to tighter tolerances than that.