M416 Axle to Dexter 3500 lb Axle (1 Viewer)

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Bloomer

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Location
Just past the middle of nowhere in South Texas
This saga started with a cracked hub on the original M416 axle. I searched and searched and could not find a replacement. I wanted to retain the parking brake feature on the trailer so spent a good while searching for a single hub to replace the one that cracked. After searching for some time with no luck, I started doing some research on replacement axles and found that Dexter made one with both electric brakes and parking brake feature. So, I ordered one almost 2 years ago. Shortly after ordering, I ran across someone who also changed out their M416 axle, so I purchased both hubs, extra brake cable, and a few misc. parts to keep as spares. The Dexter went into storage and eventually ended up for sale. Good thing it did not sell as it turns out it was still needed.

During a trip last summer with friends to Colorado (HIH7), I noticed the driver side wheel had a slight wobble. It made it to Colorado, over wash board roads, and back to South Tx with no issues. It did, however, make me very nervous and I constantly was watching the wheel. After investigating, best I could determine is there must have been a slight bend in the spindle. So, the Dexter axle came out of storage and was installed on the trailer.

Install was easy. Everything mounted up exactly in reverse of removing the original axle, except the mechanism for the parking brake and parking brake cable. The parking brake arm and cable retainer on the Dexter axle would not work with the original M416 parking brake cable. I came up with several options that would make it work, but they all looked sloppy and somewhat jury-rigged. More research.

Found a company in Illinois (The Parts House) that custom makes cables. A quick call and some measurements, and original cable and data were soon off in the mail to them. A week later the original cable and new cable arrived at our gate. The new cable was well constructed and made exactly for the M416. It installed with ease and with sufficient adjustment to actuate the parking brake. Headed back to Colorado in a couple weeks for HIH8 and anxious to see how the trailer performs. Highly recommend The Parts House if you find yourself needing a new cable.

http://thepartshouseinc.com

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BTW....have OE M416 axle parts if anyone is looking.
 
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You wouldn't happen to have the Dexter axle part number, would you?

Thanks.
 
Thank you very much.
 
@Bloomer ....This thread is perfect! I've looking to replace my m416 axle too, but wasn't sure how the parking brake would hook up to it. This is a god-send! where'd you order your axle from? Do you think if I contacted The Parts House and told them that they had made up a parking brake cable for an m416, they'd be able to dig out your order & recreate it?

TIA!
 
@josx2 Purchased my 3500 lb Dexter from Southwest Wheel Company. Glad this post was helpful, not too many of my posts are actually worth reading. :)

Seems The Parts Warehosue could look up the order and replicate it. They really did a good job fabricating the cable and it has worked perfectly. Took the trailer to Colorado and back this summer and used the hand brake every day for over a week. No issues holding the trailer in place and it actuated and released with no issue.

Good luck with your project. Let me know if you have any questions.
 

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