Raising Sunline Trailers: Axle Relocation, Kits, and Real-World Results

[JSForbes13]

Greetings, Has anyone flipped their springs to raise their Sunny for better ground clearance?
Or used something to raise it?
We would like to get about another 5"-6" clearance from the bottom of our Sunny to the ground.
Thanks in advance for any information.

 

[Sunline Fan]

No, but I'm a little familiar with the kit. Just to clarify, you don't flip the springs to do this, you actually relocate the axle from the top of the leaf springs to the bottom. The kit has hardware to do that since the standard parts don't work to install in the other location on their own.

Just to clarify first, do you have leaf springs underneath for sure? Although a bit rare, Sunline did offer optional rubber ride axles that have no leaf springs. The only way to change ride height on those is to order all new axles manufactured at a different angle.

A couple things to consider when doing this:
- The trailer's center of gravity will be much higher, so the trailer will react to wind more than before.
- You will need some accommodation to get into the trailer after the axle mod- the standard likely single entry step(s) you currently have on the trailer will be way too high now. You'll need to either have the step replaced with a dual step model, or always carry some sort of manual step to set on the ground to fill the gap.
- You may need to extend the electric brake wiring to reach the brakes at the new location.
- You will need to reset your hitch equipment to accommodate the new height.
- Your towing fuel economy will decrease.

 

[JohnGB]

Hi JSForbes,

I have added what Dexter Axle Inc. calls an "over/under" kit to several Sunlines with leaf springs. The leaf spring pack is moved from under the axle tube to over it. This is sometimes nicknamed an axle flip, which is a bit of slang, since you are not flipping anything. You really do not want to flip the axle tube, as there are front and rear, and left and right, sides that must remain as the camper was originally built. The front and rear of the tube control the axle toe angle for wheel alignment. The left and right sides of the axle tube determine how the electric brake operates. To change the ride height, the leaf spring pack moves, while the axle tube remains in its original orientation.

You mentioned 5 to 6" ride height, there are only 2 kits from Dexter, one for the 2 3/8" dia axle tube that worked with the 3,500# axles, and the 3" axle tube that works with the 3" dia. axle tubes 5,200 to 6,000# axle tubes on the larger Sunlines. Neither of those kits will get you 6". You can get in the 4"-4 1/2" lift range, which really helps with low-riding campers.

As Sunline Fan stated, you will need to deal with the camper entry steps and the camper hitch setup to accommodate the new ride height.

What year and model Sunline do you have? We can help better if we know which camper you have.

Many owners have raised the ride height to reduce the rear-end drag of the camper frame during towing. And pending the camper model, it also helps at the dump hole of full hookup sites where the camper dump pipe can be lower than the top of the campground dump pipe, which, per many health codes, has to be 6" above grade.

Also, depending on the camper's year and model, raising the ride height may affect whether the camper can fit through a 10 ft overhead door. I bought a new 2004 T2499 in 2004, intentionally a 2004 model, because the camper would fit through a 10 ft overhead door. They also had the 2005 models on the lot then. However, the 2005 T2499 introduced a new mainframe design that increased the camper's overall height, just missing the clearance for a 10 ft overhead door. Your situation may not have this to worry about, as "most" Sunline travel trailers will fit through a 12 ft overhead door, or you do not store your camper under cover. Just mentioning this, as a ride height of 4 1/2" change may affect building entry door clearance.

Hope this helps,

John

 

[ep1966]

Greetings, Has anyone flipped their springs to raise their Sunny for better ground clearance?
Or used something to raise it?
We would like to get about another 5"-6" clearance from the bottom of our Sunny to the ground.
Thanks in advance for any information.

I have a Sunline Sunlight 19 foot trailer. About 7 years ago, I had a local welding shop weld a 6" piece of U channel to raise my trailer. It has worked perfectly and made a huge difference. No more dragging going into gas stations, etc etc. I have not detected any different handling characteristics either. It cost $1000 and was well worth it.

 

[Stubborn1]

T 1950 year 2000, we used the Dexter kit to change our springs axle professionally at a service center. I do notice a difference in the towing. All things as stated by the others have been my experience also overall it still tows so beautifully that we really enjoy not scraping driveways. Sometimes we find ourselves crossing a field to camp, and this has helped in those situations too. Here’s a picture taken a few days ago of our trip from Tennessee to Florida.

 

[crburrows]

JSForbes, I did this a number of years ago. Attached a link....

Dexter Axle "Flip" on F2353

Having bought a new (to me) truck that was significantly higher than my old truck it was time to "flip" (relocate) my axles from over the leaf springs to under them. The Sunline is a 1987 F2353 with dual 3500# Dexter axles. Thad had posted in the forum a short time ago about his process and here...

www.sunlineclub.com

 

[JSForbes13]

I have a Sunline Sunlight 19 foot trailer. About 7 years ago, I had a local welding shop weld a 6" piece of U channel to raise my trailer. It has worked perfectly and made a huge difference. No more dragging going into gas stations, etc etc. I have not detected any different handling characteristics either. It cost $1000 and was well worth it.

Thanks for the info

 

[JSForbes13]

T 1950 year 2000, we used the Dexter kit to change our springs axle professionally at a service center. I do notice a difference in the towing. All things as stated by the others have been my experience also overall it still tows so beautifully that we really enjoy not scraping driveways. Sometimes we find ourselves crossing a field to camp, and this has helped in those situations too. Here’s a picture taken a few days ago of our trip from Tennessee to Florida.

Awesome....we would definitely like that kind of clearance. Thanks.

 

[JSForbes13]

No, but I'm a little familiar with the kit. Just to clarify, you don't flip the springs to do this, you actually relocate the axle from the top of the leaf springs to the bottom. The kit has hardware to do that since the standard parts don't work to install in the other location on their own.

Just to clarify first, do you have leaf springs underneath for sure? Although a bit rare, Sunline did offer optional rubber ride axles that have no leaf springs. The only way to change ride height on those is to order all new axles manufactured at a different angle.

A couple things to consider when doing this:
- The trailer's center of gravity will be much higher, so the trailer will react to wind more than before.
- You will need some accommodation to get into the trailer after the axle mod- the standard likely single entry step(s) you currently have on the trailer will be way too high now. You'll need to either have the step replaced with a dual step model, or always carry some sort of manual step to set on the ground to fill the gap.
- You may need to extend the electric brake wiring to reach the brakes at the new location.
- You will need to reset your hitch equipment to accommodate the new height.
- Your towing fuel economy will decrease.

Thanks so much for all the info.
Yes, we have leaf springs.
Also, we have independent steps that we use and should be able to accommodate the extra height.....Good catch.
We'll keep everyone posted if we actually get around to doing this.
Thanks again!

 

[JSForbes13]

Hi JSForbes,

I have added what Dexter Axle Inc. calls an "over/under" kit to several Sunlines with leaf springs. The leaf spring pack is moved from under the axle tube to over it. This is sometimes nicknamed an axle flip, which is a bit of slang, since you are not flipping anything. You really do not want to flip the axle tube, as there are front and rear, and left and right, sides that must remain as the camper was originally built. The front and rear of the tube control the axle toe angle for wheel alignment. The left and right sides of the axle tube determine how the electric brake operates. To change the ride height, the leaf spring pack moves, while the axle tube remains in its original orientation.

You mentioned 5 to 6" ride height, there are only 2 kits from Dexter, one for the 2 3/8" dia axle tube that worked with the 3,500# axles, and the 3" axle tube that works with the 3" dia. axle tubes 5,200 to 6,000# axle tubes on the larger Sunlines. Neither of those kits will get you 6". You can get in the 4"-4 1/2" lift range, which really helps with low-riding campers.

As Sunline Fan stated, you will need to deal with the camper entry steps and the camper hitch setup to accommodate the new ride height.

What year and model Sunline do you have? We can help better if we know which camper you have.

Many owners have raised the ride height to reduce the rear-end drag of the camper frame during towing. And pending the camper model, it also helps at the dump hole of full hookup sites where the camper dump pipe can be lower than the top of the campground dump pipe, which, per many health codes, has to be 6" above grade.

Also, depending on the camper's year and model, raising the ride height may affect whether the camper can fit through a 10 ft overhead door. I bought a new 2004 T2499 in 2004, intentionally a 2004 model, because the camper would fit through a 10 ft overhead door. They also had the 2005 models on the lot then. However, the 2005 T2499 introduced a new mainframe design that increased the camper's overall height, just missing the clearance for a 10 ft overhead door. Your situation may not have this to worry about, as "most" Sunline travel trailers will fit through a 12 ft overhead door, or you do not store your camper under cover. Just mentioning this, as a ride height of 4 1/2" change may affect building entry door clearance.

Hope this helps,

John

Hi John,
Thanks so much for all the info.
We have a 2006 T2499.
Even 4" would be super. As you stated there are issues with draining at full hookup sites and 4" could help tremendously.
Also, 4" additional entry height shouldn't be a problem as we use a separate set of portable steps that would accommodate the extra step.
As far as trailer height, the place we store it has plenty of door height.
Thanks again....if you have any additional information feel free to send our way.
Sandy

 

[JohnGB]

Hi Sandy,

Yes, being on full hookups was a problem, and the sewer line was a problem when we had our 2004 T2499. I recall one camp where the top of the camp dump pipe was 6" above grade at the campsite. I had to back the whole camper (all 4 wheels) on wood blocks to at least get me up about 3" higher to make the drain work.

Another thought, you already have a separate step, and we had one too, even though we didn't lift the camper with the under/over axle kit. It was more of an issue coming out of the camper, where the short width of the factory step made it hard to step down because it was so narrow. I made a custom step/platform with 4 independent adjustable feet for uneven campsites. Here are some pics of it and where it is stored on the camper for travel.

It was long enough that when it was muddy out, I pushed it to one side, and our muddy shoes were on the deck instead of inside the camper. This step platform worked out really well. I wish I had kept it. I sold it with the camper when we got a bigger Sunline. I could make another one...

And where we stored it for travel.

Have fun camping this season.

John

 

[JohnGB]

Hi Sandy,

You asked about this, and this came to mind.

Thanks again....if you have any additional information feel free to send our way.

Not sure how long you have had your Sunny, or if you have seen this post on how to check the camper frame for cracks. Trailer Frame Inspection - Where to look. (Picture heavy)

It is a detailed post with many pictures, and it may take a bit to read through the inspection part. But once you know where to look, the inspection does not take very long. Any camper, almost new or old, should have the inspection done annually.

I hope this helps.

John