Custom Built Dexter Axle Order Checklist: Before You Submit

A custom built Dexter axle is made to the measurements and choices you enter on the order form. Wrong numbers cannot be corrected by changing the order afterward: once placed, a custom axle order cannot be altered, changed, cancelled, or returned for any reason. Use this checklist before you submit, not after.

Key takeaway: choose the beam first, then complete its form

• Capacity and style select the form. Hub face, camber, spring seats and the available options are entered on that beam's form.
• Every form takes a 45" to 95" hub face. Spring center is entered only for welded seats.
• Options and field order differ. A missing choice is not an invitation to substitute a different beam.
• Resolve questions before ordering. Check the measurements, selections and purchase agreement together.

1. Make sure a custom leaf spring beam is what you need

This checklist covers the standard spring axle beam forms in Custom Built Dexter Trailer Axles. If your trailer has a torsion axle, use Torsion Axles instead; this checklist does not apply. A Dexter Torflex axle uses outside of bracket (OB) and a start angle instead of spring center; see How Dexter Torflex Axles Work. For 9K to 16K leaf-spring axles, use Dexter 9K to 16K Axles: What to Match Before Ordering rather than applying these lighter beam-form limits.

A custom order may not be necessary if a pre-configured beam matches your measurements and configuration. Start with Custom Built vs Pre-Configured Dexter Axles: Which to Order before filling out a custom form.

2. Pick the capacity and straight or drop form

Capacity and axle style are part of the beam you select, not extra fields to fill in later. Confirm the required rating with Choosing Trailer Axle Capacity: Hitch Weight, GAWR, Wheels and Tires. Do not choose capacity by tube size alone.

Straight or drop is separate from the camber choice. Compare the styles in Drop Axle vs Straight Axle: Deck Height Guide. If you change the beam style, check the measurements and overhang limits for the new form rather than carrying over the old form's limits.

3. Work down the fields on your selected form

Hub Face - required on every form

Enter the distance from the flat wheel-mounting face on one hub to the same face on the other hub. Every form specifies 45" to 95", with a maximum of 95". Do not enter spring center or overall spindle-tip width here. Use How to Measure for a Custom Built Dexter Trailer Axle before entering either measurement.

Cambered & Spring Seat Options - required on every form

All 17 beam forms offer these five choices:

1. No camber, spring seats ship loose.
2. No camber, spring seats welded on.
3. Cambered, spring seats welded OVER the axle (overslung).
4. Cambered, spring seats welded UNDER the axle (underslung).
5. Cambered, spring seats ship loose.

The no-camber, welded-seat choice does not include a separate over-or-under selection. For the difference between camber, seat position and loose seats, read Overslung vs Underslung and Camber: Spring Seat Options for a Custom Dexter Axle.

Wall Thickness on 3,500 lb. forms - before spring center

All three 3,500 lb. forms put this required choice immediately after camber and seats. Choose the 2-3/8" tube with a 3/16" nominal wall, or a 3" tube with a light .188" or medium .250" nominal wall. The 3" choices are an added cost. Select the tube before checking spring center because its overhang range differs.

Spring Seat Measurement - only for welded seats

This field is marked optional on every form, but fill it in if you selected welded seats. Enter the spring center: the distance from the center of one spring seat to the center of the other. If you selected loose seats, leave it blank. The forms state that a blank spring center means the seats ship loose.

For the form, total overhang = hub face minus spring center. Compare that total, not half of it, with the limits printed beside this field. Use the range for your exact beam, style, tube and any disc-brake condition shown. There is no single overhang range that works for all 17 forms.

For example, on the 2,000 lb. straight form, a 95" hub face minus an 80" spring center gives 15" total overhang, within that form's 11.50" to 15.24" range. That example is not a specification for a different beam. If your numbers do not fit your selected form, stop and ask before ordering.

E-Z Lube Options - where shown

Sixteen forms have a required yes-or-no E-Z Lube choice; yes is an added cost. The 4,400 lb. form has no selectable E-Z Lube field. None of these forms offers Nev-R-Lube as a selection. Do not treat those names as interchangeable; see Nev-R-Lube vs E-Z Lube vs Standard Dexter Bearings for the bearing-system differences.

Brake Flange - only on the two 2,000 lb. forms

The 2,000 lb. straight and 4" drop forms place this required yes-or-no choice after E-Z Lube. Yes is an added cost. Choose the flange if the axle will have brakes now or later. The other 15 forms have no selectable Brake Flange field; do not confuse a missing selector with a statement that the beam has no flange.

Pre-Wire - required on every form

Choose yes or no for pre-wire on all 17 forms. Pre-wire is for electric brake wiring through the axle tube; it does not turn a beam-only order into a complete brake axle. The standard 8,000 lb. straight and 4" drop forms mark yes as an added cost; the narrow-overhang form does not carry that added-cost label. Plan the matching brake parts with Electric Brakes on a Custom Dexter Axle.

Wall Thickness on 6,000, 7,000 and standard 8,000 lb. forms - after pre-wire

On the 6,000 and 7,000 lb. straight and 4" drop forms, choose a 3" tube with a standard .250" nominal wall, a 3" heavy .3125" nominal wall, or a 3.5" tube with a .50" nominal wall. On the standard 8,000 lb. straight and 4" drop forms, choose a 3.5" tube with a .250" or .50" nominal wall. Choices beyond the first are an added cost.

The 8,000 lb. narrow-overhang form has no Wall Thickness choice. For more help with tube, spindle, flange and wiring selections, use Dexter Axle Options: Tube, E-Z Lube, Pre-Wire and Brake Flange. Match the parts that clamp to the tube to the tube you order.

Purchase Agreement - required and last on every form

Read the agreement after checking every measurement and selection. The axle is custom built to the specifications provided on the form. Once the order is placed, it cannot be altered, changed, cancelled, or returned for any reason. Do not submit an order with a measurement you plan to confirm later.

4. Check the complete order before you submit

• Correct capacity, straight or drop style, and narrow-overhang version if needed.
• Hub face entered in the correct field and inside the 45" to 95" range.
• Camber and spring seat choice match the intended configuration.
• Welded seats have a spring center; loose seats have that field blank.
• Total overhang fits the exact form and applicable tube or brake condition.
• Every option shown has been reviewed, including Wall Thickness wherever it appears.
• Hubs, springs, hangers and U-bolts are planned separately; these listings are beam only.
• The purchase agreement has been read before the order is placed.

Use Build a Complete Dexter Trailer Axle to plan the remaining components. For bearing preparation and adjustment, follow Trailer Hub Bearing Adjustment and Grease, Step by Step rather than treating the beam order as a ready-to-tow assembly.

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