Small boat trailer... gizmo/thingy question - From another planet!

[nate1220]

Re: Small boat trailer... gizmo/thingy question - From another planet!

My take with a few assumptions; the spring is under a light load (compression) as it sits. There is a slot in the wheel support arm that rides on the bolt that attaches to the frame. There is a spring on the opposite side that is a mirror image.

Try moving the spring(s) as pictured here.View attachment 150827

The force of the spring should push the wheel support arm so it rests on the bolt on the RH or hitch side of the slot, wheel up. As the boat is loaded the added weight pushes on the wheel and the arm travels to the LH side of the slot, wheel down. Pink arrow shows the force of the spring

It acts as a mini shock absorber.

64osby you are correct with your first drawing. The "J" shape is a bump stop. The spring pushes on the underside of the tongue and the back side of the roller mount thus pushing the "J" down and the rollers up.

 

[nate1220]

Re: Small boat trailer... gizmo/thingy question - From another planet!

Wait correction. The "J" slides forward. May need some lubrication.

 

[jim j geezer]

Re: Small boat trailer... gizmo/thingy question - From another planet!

See post #14 to this thread. That spring configuration WOULD... drive the wheels up, but up and over and ultimately down - except with the wheels lying nearer the aft end of the trailer. It's just rotating the current condition 180 degrees.

 

[64osby]

Re: Small boat trailer... gizmo/thingy question - From another planet!

If you take the spring off whet is the resting (no load) position.

One of the things to consider is that is set up correct and the spring has lost it's original set or tension.

 

[crackedglass]

Re: Small boat trailer... gizmo/thingy question - From another planet!

Maybe there was some sort of bumper or glide in the hole on the J bar to allow it to rock or slide without dragging or wearing the tongue or spring?

The best guess I have is that maybe its just an auto adjusting forward support to compensate for a trailer flex but the lack of a center roller is odd.

 

[jim j geezer]

Re: Small boat trailer... gizmo/thingy question - From another planet!

64osby: If I remove the spring (<--singular), the weight of the "J" bar would pull down on the wheel assemblies - pretty much raising them to their highest level, which I think would be good. But what would be bad is that "J" bar dangling down to snag water weeds, brush and shins.

Just for giggles, picture the gizmo with the "J" bar flipped. That is, with the open end of the hook of the "J" hanging downward.
I tried it but it gave me a headache and crossed my eyes.

The spring is uniformly shaped and has plenty of tension.
Which reminds me of a technical 'torsion spring' question: I have a HUNCH that this spring is intended to load by closing the "V" formed by the open/hooked ends and the closed/crossover end. I think that means it's a "compression" type torsion spring rather than an "expansion" type.

 

[64osby]

Re: Small boat trailer... gizmo/thingy question - From another planet!

Does the spring have enough tension to raise the wheels if both ends of the spring are under the tongue?

 

[jim j geezer]

Re: Small boat trailer... gizmo/thingy question - From another planet!

Both ends of the spring ARE under the tongue.

 

[64osby]

Re: Small boat trailer... gizmo/thingy question - From another planet!

One on the left and one on the right hooked under the tongue, not on the roller support.

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: Small boat trailer... gizmo/thingy question - From another planet!

My turn, but first two questions.



#1 - What does the hole in the "J" bar match up with?

#2 - Is he shaft is through a tube welded to the bottom of the "J" bar?

And one more - which way is the front of the trailer, 1 or 2?

 

[Jlawsen]

Re: Small boat trailer... gizmo/thingy question - From another planet!

O.K. so the original owner made this a dual purpose trailer. A 12' boat is easy to pull off by yourself. My guess is that he had a debri box that he winched on and the rollers helped it to roll up onto the tounge. Pretty cool idea if I'm right. Why have two trailers when all you need is one.

 

[jim j geezer]

Re: Small boat trailer... gizmo/thingy question - From another planet!

#1 - What does the hole in the "J" bar match up with?

#2 - Is he shaft is through a tube welded to the bottom of the "J" bar?

And one more - which way is the front of the trailer, 1 or 2?

#1: The hole in the "J" bar is ~3/8"D and matches up with nothing. The only hole I found on the underside of the entire length of the tongue is back near the axle - to fish lights wiring through (I think).
#2: The shaft is welded directly to the "J" bar.
#3: The front end of the trailer is toward the right in the images.

Unlike the top of the tongue, which is indented along its length - presumably to catch and hold debris, or to add an element of stiffness, the bottom and sides are smooth with radiused square corners. This means the hooked ends of the spring have nothing to hold onto if latched onto the bottom surface. Also, the spring is too wide.

 

[crackedglass]

Re: Small boat trailer... gizmo/thingy question - From another planet!

#1: The hole in the "J" bar is ~3/8"D and matches up with nothing. The only hole I found on the underside of the entire length of the tongue is back near the axle - to fish lights wiring through (I think).
#2: The shaft is welded directly to the "J" bar.
#3: The front end of the trailer is toward the right in the images.

Unlike the top of the tongue, which is indented along its length - presumably to catch and hold debris, or to add an element of stiffness, the bottom and sides are smooth with radiused square corners. This means the hooked ends of the spring have nothing to hold onto if latched onto the bottom surface. Also, the spring is too wide.

If the ends of the spring are just hooked, (separate left and right springs), maybe the hole in the J bar held a roller or tube which both gave a place for the hooked ends of the springs and a means for the whole thing to slide?

Could this thing have had some sort of handle on it and in some way be used to unload the boat? Sort of a lever type mechanism to push the boat up and rearward?

A buddy had a sailboat from the early 50's with a period trailer with both mechanical rod actuated brakes and a huge lever which uses a pair of rollers to lift and push the boat off the trailer. (It also had a huge parking brake arm which would lock the brakes when parked).
There were some odd gadgets in those days, there was no real standard to follow when it came to trailers.