I've got a question for YOU....

While I work on fabricating the brass bushings for the axle pillow blocks.....
 

A really good idea......

.... click here for more details!

 ......I'm trying to figure out the geometry on the "lift kit" my Scotty came with.  It appears a former owner along the way added about five inches of ground clearance to the frame by placing a section of 5-inch tall I-beam between the frame and the axle assembly.  During the 265-mile trip home, the trailer followed right along at 60+ MPH without any hint of actually being behind the truck - no swaying, no bobbing, and even without the "plastic graphite" axle bushings (but quite a bit of hardened grease!), no banging either!  Before I reassemble the axle into the pillow blocks and reattach it all to frame, I want to make sure the "lift kit" was properly engineered or at least has a reasonable amount of science behind it to ensure safe trailering.

On site before bringing it home - it doesn't really look "lifted", does it?

End view - but it isn't quite square

I can correct the lean of the I-beam by using a wedge-shaped washer for each of the bolts.  The bolts were bent by the nuts securing them through bearing on the angle of the underside of the flange.  I've seen square wedge-shaped washers somewhere in the past.  I'll need two on the top, two on the bottom - four for each side -  eight in total.  If the holes in the I-beam are correctly offset from the edge (as viewed from the end) and with the addition of the wedge-shaped washers, none of the bolts should end up being bent like the original ones I removed from the frame.  Now for the big question:

Certainly robust enough!

Why were the pillow blocks set 2" to the rear in the first place?  The photo above shows the carriage bolts - the front one at the intersection of the cross member and the 2" frame tube - and the other a little less than eight inches behind that.  The pillow blocks are mounted on the lower flange and 2" aft of the centerlines of the carriage bolts.  The only reason I can see for setting the axle back is to lower the now-elevated center of gravity slightly by relocating it rearward.

But is that really why?  What was the reasoning behind it?  Was this an idea that was published in a old edition of Trailer Life?  Since this trailer handled so well for nearly 300 miles, should I trust what was done?  I need the ground clearance as I camp in places that often do not have much asphalt.  What would you do?