trailer ?'s for you experts...

[shrpshtr]

here is the story...

i bought a 21' sea ray bowrider (3150# dry) a couple of months ago. no trailer meant no deal so the guy bought a wesco to put it on. (single axle - 3500lb capacity) when i picked it up it was supposed to be ready to ride and it took us 1.5 hours to get it where it would trailer. (trailer adjustments as this wesco was not setup like advertised.) after it damn near complete unscrewed my ball on the 1 hour drive home i made the seller buy a tandem axle kit and i mounted it on the trailer (it would have taken the manufacturer over a month before he could get to it.) when i mounted the tandem axle kit i noticed right away the original axle was pretty bowed (maybe 1" bow in middle of axle) but i continued on. kit mounted and adjusted and i have roughly 10% of the tongue and it pulls infinitely better. i still am not happy with this trailer though for 3 reasons:

1 - the bottom bunks stick out about 2-3" past the transom. this wouldn't bother me but it kicks my depth sounder transducer up and i have to get in the water to adjust launch the boat. (huge PITA)
2 - the rear tires of the tandem set won't touch the ground when the boat is not on the trailer. you can actually free spin them.
3 - the tires don't appear to be "in-line" when pulling but that might be because the bow in the original axle.

what can i do to address these issues? is the bowed axle causing unnecessary wear and should i contact the marina he got the trailer from to address? any help would be greatly appreciated.

shrpshtr

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: trailer ?'s for you experts...

1. move the speedo tube
2. major problem...... cobbled together tandem "kit"
3. of course a bowed axle needs replaced


4. you didn't ask but the trailer is a 3500 lb gross NOT 3500 lb capacity.... the boat weighs way too much for the trailer..... I'd just shop for another trailer............ yeah sure if the marina will help then go for it but either way that boat doesn't belong on that one

 

[bonz_d]

Re: trailer ?'s for you experts...

Would have to agree, sounds like a shoddy job on the trailer and is a poor match to the boat. Aside from being unsafe it could also cause damage to the hull. Neither of which are a good thing!

 

[wifisher]

Re: trailer ?'s for you experts...

What do you mean it unscrewed your ball? If the ball came loose, it was not tightened properly. It is not the trailer's fault.

The back axle not touching the ground is normally caused by the trailer being severely off level. You may need a higher hitch.

Bowed axle will destroy your tires in a hurry. Take it off, and if you want to you can try to straighten it, or just replace it.

When you added the second axle, did you get spring levelers too? Tandem trailers need the springs to work together to ride properly. Otherwise the load is all on one axle anyway.

Did you ask the manufacturer what the load capacity is with two axles? Just because the axles can lift it, the trailer may not be strong enough to safely support the boat.

 

[shrpshtr]

Re: trailer ?'s for you experts...

thanks for the responses thus far. a couple of things:

smoke - i am not sure i understand the "cobbled together tandem "kit"" statement. the kit is actually from the manufacturer of the trailer and is basically all the parts they would use to convert the trailer from a single axle to a tandem axle. kit is loose terminology on my side to describe the collection of parts. is there a chance i haven't assembled/adjusted something properly or are you saying that trailer can't be adjusted to ride properly with that boat?

the question about the bowed axle is this...is it bowed on purpose? i have seen a lot of trailers that have bowed (maybe bad terminology on my part) axles. i was not sure it whether it was made like that on purpose or if it happened due to overloading. i spoke with the guy from the marina that sold the original owner the trailer and he said the trailer was only used once to haul a repo'ed 20' CC from a dealer that went out of business.

the finished product actually looks like one of their trailers fresh off the assembly line. i spoke at length with the trailer manufacturer and the frame i have is actually designed for up to 26' boats and with the tandem axle setup 7000lbs.

any other help greatly appreciated.

 

[shrpshtr]

Re: trailer ?'s for you experts...

What do you mean it unscrewed your ball? If the ball came loose, it was not tightened properly. It is not the trailer's fault.

The back axle not touching the ground is normally caused by the trailer being severely off level. You may need a higher hitch.

Bowed axle will destroy your tires in a hurry. Take it off, and if you want to you can try to straighten it, or just replace it.

When you added the second axle, did you get spring levelers too? Tandem trailers need the springs to work together to ride properly. Otherwise the load is all on one axle anyway.

Did you ask the manufacturer what the load capacity is with two axles? Just because the axles can lift it, the trailer may not be strong enough to safely support the boat.

wifi, on the initial trip home (about 60 miles ~1 hour) when we arrived the ball had actually come unscrewed almost 2/3 the way down the shank. (very dangerous) what we discovered when we attempted to take the trailer off the ball was the boat tried to stand straight up in the air. (thank GOD for safety chains or i would had to buy a new lower unit also.) the boat was severly off balance with the single axle. i assume as we were driving down the interstate the severe over-weighting on the transom kept trying to "pull" the ball up with enough pressure to cause it to come un-screwed. i don't think it was the ball but i guess it could have been. it's on a class III receiver and i haul my atv's, father's boat, car hauler, etc. behind my truck without ever having a problem with that ball.

when you ask about the level of the trailer, it passes the "eye level" test i guess as it doesn't look out of level. can you be more specific (please excuse ignorance here)?

not entirely sure what the spring levels are. i'll google it to see but basically i received the following parts to add the tandem. i took several pics of a trailer at the manufacturer's yard when i picked up the parts and the end result of my trailer appears to be assembled like the pics taken.

the trailer manufacturer did say the capacity of that trailer is a 26' boat and 7000lbs with the tandem axle setup.

parts -

1 - axle
2 - leaf springs
2 - tandem fenders
2 - tires
2 - 3 point joints (term?) that join the to leaf spring sets together
miscellaenous nuts, bolts, & washers

thanks all.

 

[wifisher]

Re: trailer ?'s for you experts...

The trailer being tail heavy probably helped the axle bending. That actually transfers some of the weight of your truck onto the trailer. (further overloading the already overloaded axle) This can also be dangerous when unhooking the trailer. If you are standing over the hitch, and unlatch it, the rising tongue can give you a pretty good smack in the head.

The "eye level" test is what I meant by level. To keep both axles the same height off of the ground.

3-point joint is the spring leveler.

I would replace the bowed axle and see if the axles load better. With the bow in the axle, it may be enough of a difference to prevent it from hitting the ground.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: trailer ?'s for you experts...

well given the more info I'd say it is POSSIBLE that this trailer won't be a loss.... the bowed axle is pretty easy to figure out.... If the center is bowed DOWN it is from overloading ... some trailer axles are indeed bowed when new but the center is always bowed UP...

The ball was absolutely not nearly tight enough.... If it has a 3/4" shank reese says it should be torqued to 160 ft/lbs.... In reality I torque em "friggen tight as hell"

show up a pic if the spring leveler with the boat off the trailer and the axle not touching the ground.

 

[jeeperman]

Re: trailer ?'s for you experts...

The ball coming unscrewed is your problem. That can happen with any trailer if the ball was not installed properly, i.e. tight enough and with a lock washer.
If the trailer wanted to stand up when unhitched, I am surprised it hauled straight going down the highway without severe fishtailing.

So the trailer was designed to accept a second axle?
You say it is leaf sprung, so how did the second axle mounting brackets get installed?
Did you get a new cradle that would accommodate the now tandem setup? And it slides back and forth for adjustment of the load?

The new axle is exactly identical to the first axle, in every respect, everywhere, 100% ?

The 1" bow up in the center of the axle beam is the way they are made. Once loaded to capacity, the axle will theoretically be straight.
If the trailer is level and the axles are 100% exactly the same, mounted on the same I-beam, etc. the 100% identical four rims and tires should be on the ground all the time.
Perhaps you assembled the tandem axle springs, brackets and hangers incorrectly. Or you over tightened the many pivot bolts in the same hardware. Doing thus could cause the tandem axle setup to bind enough that the axles dos not equalize the load among all four tires as designed.

Be thankful the bunks are a bit to long out the back. The builder built the trailer without having the boat to fit to?
So maybe he gave you extra bunk since there are many tools made that can easily shrink lumber to length.
But a tool to stretch lumber has not yet been invented.
There are also other tools that can be used to move bunks forward if you do not have any of the shrinker tools.

 

[sw33ttooth]

Re: trailer ?'s for you experts...

as to your question on bowed axles. some axles come from factory with a bow in them i believe there are only for single axle trailers and lighter wieght.

as for the trailer well, we both know it wasnt ment for the boat but doesnt mean it cant be properly set up look for a new axle of same gross wieght as the one you added i'd make sure 3 things

1. your trailer sits level when attached to truck this is key!.
2. your tires and hubs on trailer are all the same size and in line i/e not 15 inch tires on front and 14 on rear.
3. check that your mounting hardware doesnt have spacers between the front axle which would cause it to raise the rear axle.

 

[haley]

Re: trailer ?'s for you experts...

About the ball...

Silly question but my ball has the nut and a split washer that is pretty thick. It is purposely not flat. Screwing the ball in will flatten it but the split washer keeps pressure on the ball/nut so it does not come loose. I also just had to replace my receiver with a new one with a 2" lift. The new one came with a hex shaped indentation that fits the base of the ball. Much nicer than my original. This too is designed to prevent things coming loose.

jh

PS Using hind site, if I ever get in a situation like this I will ask for a price reduction for not having a trailer and then find one myself. You are looking for a trailer for the long haul. The seller wanted one good enough to get the boat from his driveway to yours.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: trailer ?'s for you experts...

the "split washer" is called a lock washer it is designed to actually dig into the nut slightly and hold it from turning but the nut needs to be much much tighter than what is required to flatten the lock washer.... the hex shank ball is not to keep it from coming loose but rather to hold the ball in place while you tighten or loosen the nut.

It sounds like your trailer will likely be ok but you will need to sort out the problems with it.

we can help but you will need to post some pictures