Rebuilding my Trailer

[atimm693]

I bought a 14' Ouchita V-hull from a local scrapyard last month. Included was a 5.5hp Evinrude Fisherman and this little homemade trailer. I paid 250 for the trio, with all of the titles. The boat was pretty rough but it's water-tight now, and the little 'Rude runs great (needed the usual, impeller, points etc.) After inspection I noticed this weird little trailer needed some work before I will be confident towing it. All of the framework and inportant welds look like they are done pretty well. Some of the other work is shoddy.

Plans:
1. Redo the bunks (they are small and hard on the boat, caused a crack in the hull, gonna make them bigger and wider)
2. Grease the rollers, replace and add if needed
3. Replace the axle
4. Paint
5. Tires
6. Winch needs a little work
7. Lights and Wiring

Anyway the other day I went to the scrapyard and got another axle. You can buy them all day for .25 cents a pound. Got an axle (4 lug, 3500lb?) two wheels, one tire, and the U-bolts and hardware for 20 bucks.

The axle I got with the trailer is some sort of wagon axle I think... Has steerable knuckles that were welded and an I-beam shape. Hubs were not sealed at all so it had to go. Any ideas on what it's from?
What I started with:



How did this thing pass inspection? Maybe it wasn't required in the 70's when they put it together. Redneck engineering at its finest. The other side was made of 3/8 all-thread.


After some quick work with the torch it was stripped down.

What I ended up with:

 

[atimm693]

Re: Rebuilding my Trailer

I started work on the the new axle as well. It is a little long at 51 inches perch-to-perch. The trailer springs are about 46 inches PTP.

The axle had angle welded to the bottom for strength I presume. It's already pretty stout with 1/8" wall tubing. Way more than I need considering my whole boat doesn't even weigh 500lbs.

Anyway a cutting wheel on the grinder made pretty short work of the welds holding the angle on.


Ended up with this after a while. Pic ended up blurry for some reason.


Anyways I am gonna cut a little off the axle and re-weld it.. Considering the light weight I'm sure it will hold. Gonna bevel the edges of the cut, grind it flush, and weld the angle iron on top and bottom of the butt weld. I am confident it will hold much more weight than it needs to. Got class tomorrow but work will resume this weekend.

That was all I got done today... Got kinda sick of dealing with the 20 degree weather.

I am considering changing out the leafs on the trailer as well.. Not sure what they are from but the shackles really aren't done well and I doubt its 100% straight. I could probably get the spring pack and shackles that my axle came from at the scrapyard for pretty cheap. Any thoughts?

 

[gm280]

Re: Rebuilding my Trailer

Here is some food for thought. Instead of cutting the axle and making a beveled butt weld joint some where from the spindles, how about cut the axle to the proper length and buy new spindle(s) at a tractor supply store and weld it in. That way you don't have a butt joint to be concerned with and a more stronger setup as well. They are relatively cheap and new and machined for the bearing and seals you will need anyways. I am also building a trailer for my boat. In fact I just got my paperwork today for a home made trailer and my trailer registration plate to attach on my trailer as well. All I need now is a few nice warm days without rain so I can prime and paint it.

 

[atimm693]

Re: Rebuilding my Trailer

Here is some food for thought. Instead of cutting the axle and making a beveled butt weld joint some where from the spindles, how about cut the axle to the proper length and buy new spindle(s) at a tractor supply store and weld it in. That way you don't have a butt joint to be concerned with and a more stronger setup as well. They are relatively cheap and new and machined for the bearing and seals you will need anyways. I am also building a trailer for my boat. In fact I just got my paperwork today for a home made trailer and my trailer registration plate to attach on my trailer as well. All I need now is a few nice warm days without rain so I can prime and paint it.

That would be the "correct" way to do it. However being a college student my budget for the project is minimal. I am considering using a sleeve, instead of the angle, however. I know that would be a lot stronger than the angle. Since the boat is so light it doesn't need to be very strong, but overbuilt is better than a busted axle going down the highway.

 

[gm280]

Re: Rebuilding my Trailer

atimm693, if you have the abilities to cut, bevel and weld the butt joint back together on the original axle, why not cut the old wheel spindle out of the axle and clean it up and re-weld it back in the newly cut off axle length again. That would be that cheapest and best option for strength and cost..

 

[atimm693]

Re: Rebuilding my Trailer

atimm693, if you have the abilities to cut, bevel and weld the butt joint back together on the original axle, why not cut the old wheel spindle out of the axle and clean it up and re-weld it back in the newly cut off axle length again. That would be that cheapest and best option for strength and cost..

Thank you for your concern and input.

I agree, if it was carrying anywhere near the capacity of the axle I would go that route. My boat weighs maybe 300lbs, motor, gear, and all. The trailer is 150 tops. This axle would probably carry that if it was broke in half. :laugh:

It would take a lot of time and effort to try and cut the spindles out of the axle tubing. In fact I'm not even sure if it could be done, not to mention I would have to cut and reattach the spring perches. I am leaning towards using a sleeve. I would drill a few holes in it and weld them full for more strength. I'm sure a butt weld would hold, but I don't know if it would last through all of the flexing and bouncing that the middle of the axle takes.

 

[mla2ofus]

Re: Rebuilding my Trailer

I think your best investment in time and money would be to go buy a HF boat trailer.
Mike

 

[Starcraft5834]

Re: Rebuilding my Trailer

what mla said,,, boat trailers/axles/hubs are designed to be dunked in the water...those pics looks like a vehicle axle...

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Rebuilding my Trailer

Out of curiosity, what type/voltage/amp welder are you using here?

 

[atimm693]

Re: Rebuilding my Trailer

I think your best investment in time and money would be to go buy a HF boat trailer.
Mike

I am making the best of this one, since I already have the title and it won't cost much to do what I need to do. The HF trailer does seem like a good value though, with a 25% off coupon.

what mla said,,, boat trailers/axles/hubs are designed to be dunked in the water...those pics looks like a vehicle axle...

I'm not sure what axle you are referring to. I pulled the new one off of a tandem axle factory-made boat trailer, so I'm sure it is rated for the occasional dunk. Most axles don't have spring perches, but this one does. The hubs are not in the pictures but I have them and they are in good shape. 4x100/4" bolt pattern.

Out of curiosity, what type/voltage/amp welder are you using here?

Lincoln 145 110v MIG for small stuff.. Will probably use the old tombstone Lincoln for the axle. The little MIG lacks heat, especially on an important weld like this one. Will probably use a 1/8 6011 for the root pass, although I'm considering my options.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Rebuilding my Trailer

Will probably use the big portable Lincoln Ranger for the axle welds since they need to be strong.

Good. I hear too may people that think they can do welds like this with a 110V MIG

 

[atimm693]

Re: Rebuilding my Trailer

Good. I hear too may people that think they can do welds like this with a 110V MIG

The Lincoln is a great little welder, and I've welded some pretty thick stuff (1/4 tubing) that has held great over time. But I'm thinking a 1/8 7018 at around 100-130 amps is a good place to start and be stronger than the base metal.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Rebuilding my Trailer

Personally, I think you should buy an axle though. They build them in jigs so the spindles go on square and you won't wear your tires to pieces.

 

[atimm693]

Re: Rebuilding my Trailer

Personally, I think you should buy an axle though. They build them in jigs so the spindles go on square and you won't wear your tires to pieces.

If that's the case then if I followed gm280's advice it would be pretty difficult to get the spindles in straight...

I will use either a piece of channel iron or the angle clamped onto the axle tube so they are very close to parallel. When I weld it together the alignment will probably be closer than the truck pulling it. I am more worried about getting the axle aligned onto the spring packs, since they don't have a dowel. Thats another reason why I'm considering swapping the spring packs. Anybody know if it's hard to drill through a leaf spring?