Broke axle on the road....

[Titanium48]

Re: Broke axle on the road....

^^^If the rest of it was also rusting out then yes, but

It's an aluminum trailer with ALL stainless steel hardware except for the axles, hubs, and wheels.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Broke axle on the road....

I had a damaged torsion axle on an enclosed car trailer, it was one of three axles. The rear axle had been backed into something bending and cracking it in the center. I removed the axle assembly, ground away the actual torsion suspension units on each end and made a new center tube, reusing the original torsion suspension ends. On that trailer, the axle, while installed as a unit, was actually just two independent ends which house the torsion suspension which are only supported and connected by the center tube. I've also seen trailers which do not use a center tube, if the torsion axle or spindle is mounted adjacent to a cross member, there is no need for a connecting axle.
On a boat trailer, most torsion axles are one piece units which are then galvanized for rust protection. Any welding or cutting would compromise the galvanized coating. I use a single Tie-Down brand torsion axle to replace a single sprung axle on one trailer, I used drop axle set up with a center drop in the axle beam to clear the hull. It worked out well and even made for a smoother towing and riding trailer since the torsion axle is self damping, meaning it's less susceptible to bouncing.

 

[lmannyr]

Re: Broke axle on the road....

you may be better off with a newer, used trailer.

Oh no. Around here, a used trailer wont be less than a 2K AT LEAST!! After replacing the axles, the trailer would be basically almost new.

I"m leaning torards the torsion setup up. The torsion will cost me 700 bucks shipped without breaks. The spring axle will cost me 400 bucks shipped, plus the cradle (having a shop weld it) and any headachs associated with the switch.

With the torsion setup, I simply remove 4 bolts, take out the old, slide in the new, tighten 4 bolts and I'm done with both axles.

....

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Broke axle on the road....

i made the used trailer statement before you said the trailer was aluminum. i agree fix the trailer.

 

[freddyray21]

Re: Broke axle on the road....

I am far from an expert on trailers so do not want to dispute anything said. But something to consider it how old is the trailer? Those are probably the original axles. If they lasted this long with a torsion set up then a new axle should last at least that long. My only advice it to go with the highest load rated axle you can still get bolted on and working okay. Two years ago had to replace the axle on my trailer and went from 2000lb to 3000 lb and love it. Mine is a single axle though.

 

[lmannyr]

Re: Broke axle on the road....

The trailer decal says Gross: 6000 # Net 980#

I'm assuming it should have been 9800#? Or is it a typo. I thought the GROSS would be the weight of trailer plus it's payload.

Trying to figure if I need the 3500# or 5200# axles.

 

[mickarch]

Re: Broke axle on the road....

Perhaps the 980 net number is just the weight of the trailer itself??

 

[freddyray21]

Re: Broke axle on the road....

the 5200 would be the way I would go. Never hurts to have too much trailer, but does to have too little.

 

[lmannyr]

Re: Broke axle on the road....

Trailer Decal..

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Broke axle on the road....

Perhaps the 980 net number is just the weight of the trailer itself??

My guess would be that if the GVW is 6,000 lbs, then the Net carrying capacity would be more like 4,900 lbs, leaving the remainder of 1,100 lbs as the trailer weight. My guess is that they left off the '4'. It does say "Net CARRYING Capacity.

I would go by the weight of your boat, you don't want a trailer that is severely over sprung as it won't provide the proper suspension or cushion to protect your boat. Going too heavy could also fatigue or damage the aluminum frame.

Remember to take into effect the weight of the boat, fuel, oil, all accessories, equipment, and anything else that rides to the ramp in your boat when figuring your boats weight.

 

[lmannyr]

Re: Broke axle on the road....

Dry weight = 4000#
Fuel Capacity = 58 GAL Weight = 464#
Water Capacity = 20 GAL Weight = 160#
Holding Tank Capcity = 20 GAL Weight = 160#
Misc gear.... Weight = 200#

Using 8#/gal.

Total Weight = 4984#
Weight of trailer and boat = 5964#

That puts me right at 6000#s. The 3500 # axles will give me 7000. I wont load the boat to 7k #.

What do you guys think?

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Broke axle on the road....

I think the 3500 pound axles would be fine.Thats probably what the old ones are anyway.
They just gave up do to rust..

 

[HappierWet]

Re: Broke axle on the road....

Just a word of caution here. Torsion axles outwardly would appear to be very trouble free but there is one characteristic with these axles that makes them less than desireable for tandem or tri-axle use. Think carefully about this -- these trailers need to be towed perfectly level and anything that causes the wheels on one axle to be greatly displaced from those on the other axle, means you have an instant overload on one axle. Why? Because each axle is mounted directly to the frame and the wheels are attached to a swing arm at each end. When you went over the speed bump, you forced first the front axle upward without moving the back axle. This has the same effect as towing the trailer with the tongue way low. When you went over the bump with the back axle, you created a situation where the trailer is being towed with tongue way high. Anything other than perfectly level with a tandem torsion axle causes high stress on the displaced axle which in your case looks like it had a rust problem anyway and the net result is it broke. If that trailer were mine, I would convert it to a conventional tandem axle spring setup. And you will probably do it for less money than replacing both torsion axles. The new setup can be mounted on a cradle that can be adjusted fore and aft to get the proper tongue weight. Torsion axles are fine on single axle rigs but not in tandem configuration when loaded at or near the max and especially if running on uneven terrain. I've seem many tandem snowmobile trailers for example being towed tongue high and when going out of a parking lot the front wheels are off the ground. That means the entire load is transfered to the rear axle overloading it. The same thing happens with a boat trailer. Sprung tandems don't have that issue because the axles are sprung from the walking beam that allows distribution of the load regardless of terrain.

Is that what is happening when I see a tandem at the local ramp...first one axle then the other in the air? When he backs over the angle, first the rear axle is dangling...then as his rear bumper gets closer to the angle the front axle is in the air. Until I read this I thought something was wrong with the axles or the ride height.

 

[lmannyr]

Re: Broke axle on the road....

Trailer Part dot com wants 2166.45 for two torsion axles with stainless steel disc brakes and freight.

I'll probably go with just the axles at 700.00 if I can't find a better deal with stainless Kodiak brakes.

No decent trailers witih brakes on craigslist yet....

 

[lmannyr]

Re: Broke axle on the road....

Torsion axles have "angles" What angle should I use for my rig.

http://www.trailerpart.com/torsionaxles.htm

 

[lmannyr]

Re: Broke axle on the road....

I took another picture today of the "semi good axle" All I have to say is that I was REEAALLLYY Lucky. I'll keep you all in suspense and post the pic later.

I did order the Axles today from trailer part dot com. 3500lb no brakes with hubs installed, just under 700 bucks shipped. Should be here by the 18th.

I took the old axles to the scrap metal yard 1 mile up the road and got $2.40 for it. What a waste of my time. The net weight was 240

Stay tuned for the pic....

 

[mikeneal]

Re: Broke axle on the road....

I think you did the right thing staying with torsion. Leaf springs in salt water do not last. True the trailer must be level to dist. the weight evenly but that is no big deal, just need the right drop hitch. The fact that it raises one axle off the ground when backing down a ramp means nothing. The loads it sees driving down the road are far greater then that. It failed because it rusted, nothing at inherently wrong with torsion, in fact they are far superior IMO.

 

[lmannyr]

Re: Broke axle on the road....

As promised....

and the other end...

For those of you that don't know what is inside a torsion, now you know. Thats the axle that got me home.

Mikeneal,

If those are the original axles, they lasted 15 years. I can deal with that. I like the simplicity of the torsion axle. 4 stainless steal bolts hold each axle in place. took me longer to take the wheels off than it did to remove the axles.

I'll keep you all posted....

 

[lmannyr]

Re: Broke axle on the road....

Received axles on Tuesday. It's a very nice product. Fit's perfectly! Custom made. The torsion angle is adjustable.

Only down side is it had no corrosion protection. I sanded all the surfaces. Primed and painted with rustoleum Stop Rust. There about 8 coats of paint on each axles.

The bolt used to adjust the torsion angle is not stainless so I need to replace that.

So far I'm very happy. I recommend trailer part . com

I removed the tires from the rims and trashed them. The rims are getting the same paint treatment for a nice look with gloss white.

....more to come.

 

[lmannyr]

Re: Broke axle on the road....

And one month later...I received 4 New tires for X-mass. Mounted all 4 tires to the rims this AM with my 9 yr old son in the back yard. Took them to Wal mart for balance and valve stem replacement.

We mounted the wheels back on the trailer, and took the trailer off jacks. The trailer/boat now sits on it's own again.

I have been away from the water for too long because of this incident. We plan on taking her out on Tuesday to test the tires