Escort trailer axle sag help.

[DunbarLtd]

I bought an 88 bayliner to restore a bit and customize into a fishing boat and I found out the round single axle is sagging about a 1/4" with the boat loaded. I put a 5 foot straight edge on it.

The trailer is an 88 escort and the name plate is sun baked and i cant read any of the markings so first of all i have no idea how much the axle can take. It is a 2" axle after measuring. I do have a vin though.

With that said, how much sag is too much??? Do i wait until the tires start to wear on the inside? The trailer tows fine and doesnt sway or anything but this is my first boat so Im not too experienced with this sort of stuff. I never owned a trailer either.
Also, if I need to replace the axle, Im having a tough time finding part. It has an "open eye" setup and the leaf is on top of the axle.

The wheel camber is visually off but i havent stuck a level on it yet.

So should I worry about this sag?

The leaves are sagging as well. Id like to replace them. I believe I need a 26" 1750lb but not sure. The boat is a Capri 1700 @ 1450lbs and the engine weighs 255lbs. I found a performance sheet online and it states they tested the setup @ 2088 lbs.

Not sure what to do here. Thanks for any help.

 

[jimmbo]

Pictures would help a lot.

Springs sagging is easy to understand

I'm not sure what you mean "the round single axle is sagging about a 1/4" with the boat loaded. I put a 5 foot straight edge on it."
Do you mean the Axle is bent and the Wheels are not Perpendicular to the ground?
If so, a Frame Shop might be able straighten it. However it is probably overloaded or someone went over a Bump a little too fast. Replacement is probably the best Option

Harbour Freight should be able to supply a new Axle and Springs, or even a Torsion Axle, that would be a nice upgrade

 

[jbcurt00]

I bought an 88 bayliner.....

The leaves are sagging as well. Id like to replace them. I believe I need a 26" 1750lb but not sure. The boat is a Capri 1700 @ 1450lbs and the engine weighs 255lbs. I found a performance sheet online and it states they tested the setup @ 2088 lbs

What does YOUR 1988 Bayliner Capri and motor weigh?

What it weighed when new is nearly irrelevant 32yrs later.

 

[H20Rat]

What does YOUR 1988 Bayliner Capri and motor weigh?

Given the model & year, the odds are very good it is probably 1000# heavier than when it left the factory.

 

[hemi rt]

Is the bend in the middle of the axle? If it is, is it facing down? If it is someone flipped the axle to the top of the spring to lower the trailer; this can be done but the right way to do it is to weld spring saddles on the other side of the axle, the bend in the axle is for setting the camber and toe of the tires and is bent to get the camber and toe inline with the capacity of the axle. I'll bet this is what happened.

 

[DunbarLtd]

Is the bend in the middle of the axle? If it is, is it facing down? If it is someone flipped the axle to the top of the spring to lower the trailer; this can be done but the right way to do it is to weld spring saddles on the other side of the axle, the bend in the axle is for setting the camber and toe of the tires and is bent to get the camber and toe inline with the capacity of the axle. I'll bet this is what happened.

Yes the wheels dont wobble when jacked up. So i dont think the spindles are bent. The entire axle just sags towards the ground. It looks to have a bend in the middle somewhere according to the gap i saw after put a level on it.

I checked the foam with a moisture meter when i was reglassing the floor and it looked dry. Maybe even water soaked foam sill stay heavy even if the water evaporates? Not to sure about that. I really should weight it.

I think the 4 bolt hubs and the 2 inch axle from my research is looking at 2Klbs weight limit so its possible its overloaded. I definitely should go weight it.

The axle isnt flipped. The axle is on bottom.

 

[DunbarLtd]

Pictures would help a lot.

Springs sagging is easy to understand

I'm not sure what you mean "the round single axle is sagging about a 1/4" with the boat loaded. I put a 5 foot straight edge on it."
Do you mean the Axle is bent and the Wheels are not Perpendicular to the ground?
If so, a Frame Shop might be able straighten it. However it is probably overloaded or someone went over a Bump a little too fast. Replacement is probably the best Option

Harbour Freight should be able to supply a new Axle and Springs, or even a Torsion Axle, that would be a nice upgrade

We did hit a large bump ner the ramp last year. Knocked a bearing buddy off and lost it. I guess they buried some type of pipe or whatever and built up a sort of temporary speed bump with asphalt. I had been to that ramp before and this was new and it caught me off guard because i wasnt expecting it. No warning sign. So we hit it like hitting a speed bump and bounced the boat a bit. Its possible it bent then. Or it was bent when i bought it and never noticed. I was redoing the bearing recently when i noticed it. Going through what i have gone through on my first boat i will definitely know what to look out for. The boat is in good shape for these old bays. Needed some tlc and carb rebuilds. Runs good for its age actually. But its been a huge learning process.

 

[DunbarLtd]

What does YOUR 1988 Bayliner Capri and motor weigh?

What it weighed when new is nearly irrelevant 32yrs later.

Good point.

 

[DunbarLtd]

Pictures would help a lot.

Springs sagging is easy to understand

I'm not sure what you mean "the round single axle is sagging about a 1/4" with the boat loaded. I put a 5 foot straight edge on it."
Do you mean the Axle is bent and the Wheels are not Perpendicular to the ground?
If so, a Frame Shop might be able straighten it. However it is probably overloaded or someone went over a Bump a little too fast. Replacement is probably the best Option

Harbour Freight should be able to supply a new Axle and Springs, or even a Torsion Axle, that would be a nice upgrade

yea wheels are a bit cambered inwards but the spindles are not bent. Wheel spins fine. Just the axle is "bent" somewhere near the middle based on the gap i was able to see when i put a level on it. Its drooping towards the ground.

 

[DunbarLtd]

[No message]

 

[DunbarLtd]

[No message]

 

[jimmbo]

Any Idea what the Trailer's GVWR is?

 

[ahicks]

Plan of action might depend on how the trailer is used too. For example to and from the boat landing twice a year might not need the same degree of maintenance as a trailer that's routinely dragged several hundred miles.

Another thought. If you are going to get into it to the point you are replacing the springs, you might look into what a 3500# axle would cost. With some careful shopping, I think you might find that axles are not that expensive....

 

[Alumarine]

Hemi rt might be on to something.
Can you rotate the axle 180 degrees and then check the camber?

 

[GA_Boater]

I checked the foam with a moisture meter when i was reglassing the floor and it looked dry. Maybe even water soaked foam sill stay heavy even if the water evaporates? Not to sure about that. I really should weight it.

Once wet, always wet.

My boat never saw a lake for 10 years before I bought her. After ripping out the rotted deck I found dripping wet foam. And stinky too.

Weigh the boat and trailer to see if the trailer is overloaded.

Depending on the state, the title or registration may have the GVWR of the trailer.

 

[JASinIL2006]

I think the first thing is to actually weigh the boat. If it checks out at/near what the new specs were, then investigate the trailer. My money is cautiously on the likelihood that your boat weigh a lot more than it should do to watersoaked foam. I hope I'm wrong, because a new axle would be much cheaper and easier to fix than a waterlogged boat.

 

[dingbat]

How do you bend the center of an unconstrained beam downward with the weight centered supported (tires) on both ends from above?

 

[ahicks]

Load is supported by the springs, which are inboard of the spindles supporting the wheels. Add enough weight to the springs, and that weight WILL bend the axle.

 

[dwco5051]

Your local frame shop can do it in about 20 minutes and that counts the 5 minutes to write up the bill. The first one I did took a whole day by the time I searched my scrap pile for a length of I-beam, found where I put my 20 ton hydraulic post jack, dug out some big chain, and welded up a saddle to fit the top of the jack. The next one I did for a friend took less than an hour since I knew where every thing was. Chain both sides of the axle just inboard of the springs around the beam, put you jack in the center and push up, measure as you go to get to where you want. It is much easier to do with an empty trailer so you can lift it to get every thing in place but I have done it both ways since I have enough jacks and blocking to get it up.


But first you should check your weight.

 

[DunbarLtd]

Your local frame shop can do it in about 20 minutes and that counts the 5 minutes to write up the bill. The first one I did took a whole day by the time I searched my scrap pile for a length of I-beam, found where I put my 20 ton hydraulic post jack, dug out some big chain, and welded up a saddle to fit the top of the jack. The next one I did for a friend took less than an hour since I knew where every thing was. Chain both sides of the axle just inboard of the springs around the beam, put you jack in the center and push up, measure as you go to get to where you want. It is much easier to do with an empty trailer so you can lift it to get every thing in place but I have done it both ways since I have enough jacks and blocking to get it up.


But first you should check your weight.

Ive seen some videos of people unbending their axles. And yes the problem is i dont have an i beam or a railroad tie.

Ive looked up the spec on my boat and its weight is 1475lb including tnk of gas and motor weight. So the boat should weight somewhere aroune 1000-1100lbs. I belive the 2" tubing is rated at 2K lbs. I hve a 4 bolt hub and all the new 2" 4 bolts for sale ive seen are rated @ 2klbs.

So with the boat from factory @ 1475lbs I have 2 extra 50lb batteries and a small trolling motor. Maybe another 125lbs.

Its possible, although im not convinced, its water logged and above 2000lbs over all. I still cant find info on trailer weight. I dont have an option to drop the boat off at the docks and take the trailer to get weighed. Lake is just too far away from any weight scale. So getting accurate weight is gonna be tricky if i cant find specs on the trailer.

Im not convinced its overloaded but what do i know.

Anyways Ill try to find a frame shop and have them look at it. Thanks for the advice.