What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

-a matco nose wheel assembly tolerance stackup

I'm trying to assemble the Van's supplied nose wheel, bearings, and mushroom spacers into the front fork and am having problems. The assembly is .190" wider then the space between the fork legs. That seems to much to comfortably squeeze the wheel assembly into. I called Vans and they said to go ahead and stretch the fork legs apart (not an easy thing to do while holding onto the wheel assembly. I don't like their solution as a permanent setup. Has anyone else encountered this problem? The gap between the fork legs is 4.53". The overall width of the wheel/bearings/spacers is 4.72" and that is with the bearing/spacers compressed into the wheel halves (to squeeze the rubber seals on the bearings). I'm considering spending the ~$72 to get the Matco axle but would like to figure out this problem if solvable.

David Olivares
RV-8a in process
 
The antisplat mod is great in my opinion but won't fix your issue unless you request different dimensions. When sending the wheel into them, Alan requests the factory spacers to modify and use with the stock fork dimensions. I am sure he can modify the spacers on a lathe to the dimensions you need. You might consider sending him the fork, wheel and spacers if you are going that route so you get a perfect fit after the bearing mod.

Worth calling him.

There are other wheels you can buy, but that will be even more money.
 
So why not over spread the fork enough to make it retain a natural set allowing the wheel to fit without a hassle?

The Modification seems to have become very popular. So after spreading the fork a little to make it fit, the only time it should need to come off would be to change the tire.

I really just wanted David to know about the available Mod.
 
Matco Axle

I used the original Van's axle setup for many years, however I never really liked the design. I also had to spread the fork open slightly to get it to fit.
I switched to the Matco axle some years back. I prefer the Matco design over the original Van's design as the load on the bearings is not dependent on the axle bolt.
 
Larry: I stretched the forks out to about 4.8 before getting cold feet. I'm concerned that stretching the forks will put an unwanted stress in the welded joints. I am concerned that any residual stress would induce fatigue cracking and premature failure of the welds. Also, when I did remove the stretching device (threaded rod with washers and nuts) the fork legs went right back to the original .253 dimension.

Skid: what do you estimate is "open slightly" in terms of inches? Like I said I've got .190" to compensate for.

My next step is to machine down the spacers, shoulder side, by .050" that will get me to within about .090" to overcome and should then be able to "stretch" the fork legs to that point without putting undue stress in the weldment. I'll report back with progress in a day or two with those results.
 
I'm trying to assemble the Van's supplied nose wheel, bearings, and mushroom spacers into the front fork and am having problems. The assembly is .190" wider then the space between the fork legs. That seems to much to comfortably squeeze the wheel assembly into. I called Vans and they said to go ahead and stretch the fork legs apart (not an easy thing to do while holding onto the wheel assembly. I don't like their solution as a permanent setup. Has anyone else encountered this problem? The gap between the fork legs is 4.53". The overall width of the wheel/bearings/spacers is 4.72" and that is with the bearing/spacers compressed into the wheel halves (to squeeze the rubber seals on the bearings). I'm considering spending the ~$72 to get the Matco axle but would like to figure out this problem if solvable.

David Olivares
RV-8a in process

....The overall width of the wheel assembly is supposed to be 4.560" and to make assembling things easy, it is nice to have a little clearance in the fork (say 4.600" or so). If you have a scissor jack, you can use it to spread the fork to what ever you prefer for clearance. If we can be of any help to you just let us know. Thanks, Allan...:D
 
Update: my solution was to machine down the spacers by .050" each for an overall reduction of .100". My neighbor did the job for me with his lathe. His work was perfect. The wheel/bearing/spacer assembly now slides right in with just a very slight interference and the fork leg easily bent enough, with very little pressure, out of the way for the wheel assembly to slide right in.

Thank you to all those that responded for your suggestions. It was a big help in understanding the problem and developing a solution.
 
Back
Top