reelfishin
Captain
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2007
- Messages
- 3,043
I've been working on and restoring boats and trailers for years. A few recent posts got me thinking and more specifically checking several of my own trailers and others I see or use regularly.
What gets me the most is the mismatch of axles, spindles, and springs on various frame sizes.
I constantly see trailers with 4 and 5 leaf springs, yet with 1" spindle axles, and trailers with frames that sag with even a small aluminum boat either equipped with way too heavy or way too light of a suspension.
Most are older trailers, but most are all original. I have one here with 3x4" galvanized tubing, with a 2" axle tube, and 1" spindles and it's got a GVW rating of 2,700 lbs. Anther has 1 3/8"/ 3/4" spindles, two 3" axle tubes and a GVW rating of 7,500 lbs. Yet another, built with 1 1/2" x 3" C channel, has 1" spindles, a 1" solid axle beam, and 5 leaf springs and a rating of 3500 lbs.
The way I see it, a 1" or even a 1 1/16" spindle is good for no more than 1,000 lbs, making such an axle 2,000 lbs at best. It also seems that most trailers are over sprung for what they are carrying, I was not able to find a new trailer on the lot here to match a bare 16' aluminum boat, every one that was suitable in size was rated way too high and way over sprung.
Putting a 600lb boat on a 3500 lb. trailer is like running with no suspension at all.
I can't figure out how so many trailers get built with such odd combination's?
I have one trailer that will only fit a 14' boat at best, yet it was built with 2" wide 4 leaf springs and a 1 1/2" solid axle and 1" spindles. I removed 2 leaves to allow it to properly suspend my 12' jon boat and trolling motor. In its original configuration, the springs would not move even with me in the boat.
All of this on 8" tires and with a decal reading 1100 lb GVW. The boat weighs about 280lbs, plus a trolling motor, battery and two seats. It goes down the road at about 600lbs tops. Even minus two leaves, it's sprung a bit heavy. I wasn't able to find a lighter spring in that width, so removing leaves was the only answer.
The 7,500 lb. Shoreline tandem trailer I have was built with no provisions at all for brakes, no backing plate flange and no bolt on coupler to accept a surge brake master cylinder. (The coupler is welded and galvanized permanently to the trailer tongue). It also uses an odd spindle size, 1 1/4" x 3/4", which is basically the same as several 1/2 ton pickups. The trailer was built in 1989, it came new with a 24" Sea Ray with an I/O.
I've used this trailer for many years with no issues but do realize that it is and never could have been legal due to not having brakes. Why do they build such a rig if it doesn't or can't ever comply to state laws?
I was at a local dealer the other day, there was less than 10 tandem trailers with brakes, most were non brake trailers. None of the single axle trailers had brakes. This is the norm here, and most people toss the brakes once saltwater does it's magic. I have never to this day had a trailer with brakes, or even one that would allow the addition of brakes.
I have one tandem trailer that is a complete oddity, it was sold with a high end bass boat, it's a tandem axle trailer, with a 5400 lb GVW on a 1 1/2" x 6" tubing frame, with two 2 2,000 lb axles, 13" 5 lug wheels and totally independently mounted axles, (no center equalizer, the springs hang as individual axles). It has to be towed dead level to equal the load on both axles. The boat it came with weighed only about 2200 lbs tops. The frame is way heavier than needed, but the axles only total 4,000 lb capacity yet they rated it at 5400 lbs. Even better, it uses strange, sealed light modules that I have yet to be able to find replacements for. The fenders are also super heavy, and welded directly to the frame with no adjustments.
It has no keel rollers, only two 8' long beveled, 4x6" carpeted wood bunks made from what looks to be pressure treated oak. The cross members are super heavy 3/8" thick, 6" angle iron with the same used as bunk brackets. The trailer is heavy, it alone probably takes up the remainder of it's GVW with a boat on it. The part I don't get is why the light duty axles? If your building a trailer with that kind of steel, why would they not put heavier axles on? The springs are appropriate for the boat that was on it, but the rating just don't match, nor does it make any sense to have a trailer that can only carry 4,000 lbs. weigh in at what I guess to be about 1500 lbs or so empty. It also has it's axles permanently mounted all the way at the rear of the frame, so it's future use on another boat is limited. (I replaced it in favor of a full roller trailer under the bass boat years ago, it's been sitting in storage ever since). The worst part is that it will only handle a 16' to 18' boat, there is little room for bow stop adjustment and the fact that the axles are fixed as are the bunk mounts, limits what it can haul without serious mods.
What gets me the most is the mismatch of axles, spindles, and springs on various frame sizes.
I constantly see trailers with 4 and 5 leaf springs, yet with 1" spindle axles, and trailers with frames that sag with even a small aluminum boat either equipped with way too heavy or way too light of a suspension.
Most are older trailers, but most are all original. I have one here with 3x4" galvanized tubing, with a 2" axle tube, and 1" spindles and it's got a GVW rating of 2,700 lbs. Anther has 1 3/8"/ 3/4" spindles, two 3" axle tubes and a GVW rating of 7,500 lbs. Yet another, built with 1 1/2" x 3" C channel, has 1" spindles, a 1" solid axle beam, and 5 leaf springs and a rating of 3500 lbs.
The way I see it, a 1" or even a 1 1/16" spindle is good for no more than 1,000 lbs, making such an axle 2,000 lbs at best. It also seems that most trailers are over sprung for what they are carrying, I was not able to find a new trailer on the lot here to match a bare 16' aluminum boat, every one that was suitable in size was rated way too high and way over sprung.
Putting a 600lb boat on a 3500 lb. trailer is like running with no suspension at all.
I can't figure out how so many trailers get built with such odd combination's?
I have one trailer that will only fit a 14' boat at best, yet it was built with 2" wide 4 leaf springs and a 1 1/2" solid axle and 1" spindles. I removed 2 leaves to allow it to properly suspend my 12' jon boat and trolling motor. In its original configuration, the springs would not move even with me in the boat.
All of this on 8" tires and with a decal reading 1100 lb GVW. The boat weighs about 280lbs, plus a trolling motor, battery and two seats. It goes down the road at about 600lbs tops. Even minus two leaves, it's sprung a bit heavy. I wasn't able to find a lighter spring in that width, so removing leaves was the only answer.
The 7,500 lb. Shoreline tandem trailer I have was built with no provisions at all for brakes, no backing plate flange and no bolt on coupler to accept a surge brake master cylinder. (The coupler is welded and galvanized permanently to the trailer tongue). It also uses an odd spindle size, 1 1/4" x 3/4", which is basically the same as several 1/2 ton pickups. The trailer was built in 1989, it came new with a 24" Sea Ray with an I/O.
I've used this trailer for many years with no issues but do realize that it is and never could have been legal due to not having brakes. Why do they build such a rig if it doesn't or can't ever comply to state laws?
I was at a local dealer the other day, there was less than 10 tandem trailers with brakes, most were non brake trailers. None of the single axle trailers had brakes. This is the norm here, and most people toss the brakes once saltwater does it's magic. I have never to this day had a trailer with brakes, or even one that would allow the addition of brakes.
I have one tandem trailer that is a complete oddity, it was sold with a high end bass boat, it's a tandem axle trailer, with a 5400 lb GVW on a 1 1/2" x 6" tubing frame, with two 2 2,000 lb axles, 13" 5 lug wheels and totally independently mounted axles, (no center equalizer, the springs hang as individual axles). It has to be towed dead level to equal the load on both axles. The boat it came with weighed only about 2200 lbs tops. The frame is way heavier than needed, but the axles only total 4,000 lb capacity yet they rated it at 5400 lbs. Even better, it uses strange, sealed light modules that I have yet to be able to find replacements for. The fenders are also super heavy, and welded directly to the frame with no adjustments.
It has no keel rollers, only two 8' long beveled, 4x6" carpeted wood bunks made from what looks to be pressure treated oak. The cross members are super heavy 3/8" thick, 6" angle iron with the same used as bunk brackets. The trailer is heavy, it alone probably takes up the remainder of it's GVW with a boat on it. The part I don't get is why the light duty axles? If your building a trailer with that kind of steel, why would they not put heavier axles on? The springs are appropriate for the boat that was on it, but the rating just don't match, nor does it make any sense to have a trailer that can only carry 4,000 lbs. weigh in at what I guess to be about 1500 lbs or so empty. It also has it's axles permanently mounted all the way at the rear of the frame, so it's future use on another boat is limited. (I replaced it in favor of a full roller trailer under the bass boat years ago, it's been sitting in storage ever since). The worst part is that it will only handle a 16' to 18' boat, there is little room for bow stop adjustment and the fact that the axles are fixed as are the bunk mounts, limits what it can haul without serious mods.