New Axles, New Tires, New Shelter
Last week our new Dexter axles for our 1972 Safari arrived (thank you Colin Hyde Restorations), so I promptly ordered new rims & tires, and somehow convinced Scott to help me install everything over the weekend. We thought it would be a one day event, but it took us a day and a half (10 hrs total labor) and left us both a little sore.
Here's what the old axles looked like. They got us home after the purchase but were in horrible shape and dangerous to use, so we made replacing them priority #1.
We also decided to go with a 3.5 inch lift kit so Bertha would better line up with Emmy Lou (our F-350 tow vehicle) and not be so inclined to bottom out.
New axle #1 is pictured below installed with lift kit and new shocks. We also used Ospho to treat the rust on the frame and then painted everything black. We'll eventually treat and paint the entire frame when we repair it, but that's a project for another day. Who am I kidding, that's a multi-day project!
At the end of day 1, we had one new axle (plus new shocks and tires) installed, and you can really see the difference the lift kit makes. We got the tires (Contender ST225/75R15 Load Range D with Silver Mod Wheels) from eTrailer online, and they arrived 2 days after being ordered. The Dexter lift kit also came from Colin Hyde Restorations.
On day 2, we took the new wheels back off and jacked everything up an extra few inches to give us more work space under the trailer. Then we removed the second axle, which gave Bertha a free flying look sitting on the 3-ton jack stands. Thankfully we had two beautiful (although hot) days to work on this project, and the beat up old Carefree awning (which needs new fabric and a few other parts) provided some much appreciated shade.
Although Bertha looks ready for the road, at minimum the running gear needs to be redone before we take her out "tent camping." We may just go straight into disassembly of the interior, but we have no firm decision on what we'll be diving into next. As always, we are mired down in too many projects and have to pick and choose our poison each weekend.
Last, but not least, Bertha got a new home a couple of weeks ago, and we moved her in last weekend. She has a Kubota for a roommate, but so far they are getting along well:)
Here's what the old axles looked like. They got us home after the purchase but were in horrible shape and dangerous to use, so we made replacing them priority #1.
We also decided to go with a 3.5 inch lift kit so Bertha would better line up with Emmy Lou (our F-350 tow vehicle) and not be so inclined to bottom out.
New axle #1 is pictured below installed with lift kit and new shocks. We also used Ospho to treat the rust on the frame and then painted everything black. We'll eventually treat and paint the entire frame when we repair it, but that's a project for another day. Who am I kidding, that's a multi-day project!
At the end of day 1, we had one new axle (plus new shocks and tires) installed, and you can really see the difference the lift kit makes. We got the tires (Contender ST225/75R15 Load Range D with Silver Mod Wheels) from eTrailer online, and they arrived 2 days after being ordered. The Dexter lift kit also came from Colin Hyde Restorations.
On day 2, we took the new wheels back off and jacked everything up an extra few inches to give us more work space under the trailer. Then we removed the second axle, which gave Bertha a free flying look sitting on the 3-ton jack stands. Thankfully we had two beautiful (although hot) days to work on this project, and the beat up old Carefree awning (which needs new fabric and a few other parts) provided some much appreciated shade.
As you can probably imagine, thanks to freshly acquired knowledge, axle #2 went up much easier than axle #1. Unfortunately, none of the original axle holes were in line with the new axle mounting holes (or lift kit mounting holes), so we had to drill eight fresh holes in the steel frame. That was probably the most difficult part of the installation as the drill bits wanted to wander away from their intended targets, but thankfully we have lots of nice tools. Our die grinder was probably the most valuable, as it allowed Scott to finish off all the drilled holes exactly as intended.
The pups like the new look and have indicated they are ready to travel anytime.
Although Bertha looks ready for the road, at minimum the running gear needs to be redone before we take her out "tent camping." We may just go straight into disassembly of the interior, but we have no firm decision on what we'll be diving into next. As always, we are mired down in too many projects and have to pick and choose our poison each weekend.
Old axles went to the dump yesterday . . .
. . . but I still have the original rims, tires, and moon hub caps. The tires are trash, but if anyone is interested in the rims and moon hub caps, let me know.
Last, but not least, Bertha got a new home a couple of weeks ago, and we moved her in last weekend. She has a Kubota for a roommate, but so far they are getting along well:)
Thanks for looking!
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