boat trailer repair question

[goatnad]

Sorry if this isn't in the right place. I couldn't find a trailer repair section. I was supposed to get my boat sand blasted by my cousin but he can't get his blasting setup to work. It has been a month already and I don't want to wait any longer. I decided to sand it myself using wire wheels and a rust converter called ospho. I pulled apart the trailer so I can work on it in peices. I am now working on the long beam that has the towing tongue on it. I can look down the center and see there is rusting on the inside. Not to bad. Pretty much the same as the outside. Seeing as I can't sand the inside does anyone know if I can just pour the ospho in there and leave it after it cures without painting it? Or should I just not worry about the inside of the beam?

 

[GA_Boater]

Moved your thread into the trailer section so the guys who know can tell you about the Ospho.

 

[goatnad]

I thank you very much

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

You can use a large sponge with a cord tied to it. Dip the sponge in the Ospho and pull it through the tongue.

 

[goatnad]

Thank you lckstckn. That seems to have done the trick. I now have another question. I'm now working on the axle area of the trailer. The leaf springs are looking pretty rusted and I'm wondering if I should just replace them. The trailer is a 1958 lone star road king. Where would I go to get new springs? Are springs specific to the trailer or will they work if they are the right length and strength? Here are pictures of the springs now. The bottom of the springs look really bad. Let me know if you guys think they need to be replaced.

 

[redneck joe]

love your screen name....


What is that int he upper right corner on first pic Pretty sloppy looking weld.

 

[goatnad]

It is the little guide post things on some trailers. No clue who put those on there but I hate them. It's a really tight fit getting the boat on and off. I'm probably going to have them cut off.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Based on the look of the springs I would replace them. The axle looks kind of thin.
What size bearings does the axle use? If they are not at least 1 inch I'd replace it too.

 

[goatnad]

How would I find out the bearing size? Also could you explain why they need to be 1"? Sorry I'm new to mechanic style work.

 

[MH Hawker]

you take off a hub and measure the bearing inside diameter--------Wheel bearings have little to do with tire/wheel size but more with axle capacity. Unless you know that or take the wheel off, remove the bearings and actually look at them, you don't know what you have. A straight spindle axle can have one of two bearing sizes. 1 inch inner and outer, or 1-1/16 inch inner and outer. 1-1/16 being common on 1500 - 2000# axles. Axles rated at 3000 - 3500# have 1-1/16 outer and 1-3/8 inner (not 1-3/16 inch).

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

I have an older trailer that uses 3/4" bearings and an odd size seal both of which are getting harder to find. Replacing the axle will give your trailer a stronger axle with easier to find bearings and seals and new hubs if you ever need them.

 

[goatnad]

Ah ok. Thank you to both of you.

 

[hemi rt]

For the spring - measure the distance between the center of the eyes and the width of the spring, and then count the number of leafs. this is how you measure the spring. Get a new one with the same measurements or the closest length of your measurement of the eye distance going on the shorter distance if you can not find the same. hope you understand this, if not let me know what you don't understand.

Jim

 

[redneck joe]

bearings - take them out and wipe clean and take to your parts store they will match.

Springs - i redid my trailer completely and etrailer was a great resource, then back here to ask questions

 

[goatnad]

I understood that perfectly hemi. Thank you. Also thank you redneck for your post. I will be checking out etrailer.

 

[redneck joe]

http://forums.iboats.com/forum/gene...ies/trailers-and-towing/8289496-trailer-rehab

 

[goatnad]

wow redneck. I'm glad I don't have a trailer like yours. lol. It seems you had to go through alot of work and money. Nice to see you got everything back in top shape though. I checked etrailer and could not find a spring that will work for my trailer. I also spent the last hour calling local shops and searching other websites for these springs and they seem to be a size no one uses or sells anymore. I measured them today and found they are 36" long with a width of 1 3/4". The closest replacement I could find was 30" and width of 1 3/4". I have one last local trailer shop I will be trying monday but I don't really have high hopes for them finding these springs. What do I do now?

 

[gm280]

goatnads, If you want, you can remove those springs and install others that will support the weight but are of different lengths then yours. You do that by moving the mounts to accommodate the new springs. Another way is to remove the springs and take them apart and refurbish them. Sand the rust off, prime them and paint and reassembly again. I did that to my trailer rebuild. If you care to see what I did, clink on the trailer link below and have a look. It is up to what you want to do. JMHO

 

[goatnad]

Unbelievable gm280. That trailer is absolutely amazing after your rebuild. You do very good work. Tomorrow I am going to try and clean up my springs. Not sure how that is going to turn out seeing as they ate in pretty bad condition. Only other options I have is like you said, move the mounts for smaller springs or get custom springs built. How would I go about getting the clamps off of the top 2 leafs? You can see one to the right of the axle in the first picture.

 

[goatnad]

I sanded my springs today and found that they actually aren't quite as bad as I thought. They are pitted a good bit on the bottom but not to deep. The top of the spring is in much better condition with very minimal pitting. I still have some sanding to do in places but the springs are looking much better. The center bolt is circular on top and I don't really know how to get it loose. I don't want to strip or break it so I just left it be. There are 2 clamps on each end of the springs that have a bolt going through them but they don't come out on the underside of the spring so again no clue how to get those off. I need to get the rubber things that go inside the eye if anyone can name them or tell me where to get them. Here are a few pics of the sanded springs. If you think they are still to bad to use let me know. I can't find anywhere that selL thesee springs so if I can't use these then my only option is to convert the trailer to accept shorter springs.

bottom

top

clamps

rubber things for eye