FlipFlopping (more trailer crap)

In the spirit of upcoming elections and in the finest traditions
politics, I have a total flipflop/turnaround on one of my recently
posted opinions. (though admittedly probably not as amusing as McCain
announcing that he suddenly decided MLK Day is actually is a good idea
after all, but I digress...)

Upon further research, I need to modify my statements on torsion
axles, too accommodate my new revelation. I have found a torsion axle
that seems very promising, made by Dexter. The key thing of interest
to me it that is has independent suspension that is customized for
your individual trailer, and of course can be made with the square
flange on it to accommodate the electric brakes (no flipflopping
there!). It has elastomer suspension, like many of the other torsion
axles on the market, so being a skeptic I naturally had many
questions. I just got off the phone with the Dexter tech guy, who was
very helpful and friendly. Here is what he learned me:

The axles are all made custom to order, and the elastomers are custom
sized based on your specific trailer weight (none of these axles are
stocked as "in house" items and all are made to order). The axles of
concern to us as glider pilots are the #9 axle, rated for 1000 -
2200lbs, or the #10, rated for 2000 - 3500lbs. Either axle can be
fitted with either the flange for 7" brakes (2000lb rating, kinda
weak), or the flange for 10" brakes (3500lb rated, much better! I
didn't ask about the 12" flanges on these axles though). Dexter need
only be supplied with your specific dimensions for your trailer, as
well as your gross weight. From that info, they custom load your axle
with the specifically sized elastomers for your exact trailer by first
freezing them in liquid nitrogen and then slipping them into the room
temperature axle where they promptly and permanently expand inside the
axle tube. The whole mechanism is completely sealed, and the elasomers
are expected to last the life of the parts (although only garunteed
for 5 yrs...). The swingarms are permenantly mounted to thier pivots
via a pressed/welded square broached arrangement.

What does it all mean? It means you can get a kick a%! axle, with
independent suspension, set up for brakes, custom suspended for your
weight trailer that would be an extremely easy installation, both new
or retro. It can be of the heavy duty axle/brake setup, the lighter
axle with heavy brakes, et c for a very low cost. I was quoted at $300-
$400, depending on the size setup/combo you ordered it with. It is
made by Dexter and shipped to any one of their nationwide distributers
where you can pick it up in person, thus saving an avoidable freight
charge. Included in the price is a new independently suspended axle,
custom made to your exact dimensions/weight, fitted with new drums/
brakes, and hubs. All you have to do is bolt it to your trailer, bolt
on the wheels and wire it in (2 wires).

Although the travel is slightly less than a good leaf setup, the
wheels moving independently and with custom matched rubberbands more
than makes up for this. As to reinforcing the area above the torsion
axle (reccommended highly), just add 4' or so long pieces of 1-1/2 x
1/8 angle iron (or something similar to suit your trailer) in between
the new axle brackets and the trailer frame.

Backpeddaling,
Paul Hanson