crooked trailer wheel

[rbyeab]

I have an older ez loader trailer. It is a fairly substantial trailer for my 17' Glaspar. One wheel sticks out at an angle (looking from the front) which is about 2-3" from where it should be. I know this is bad. The wheel tracks straight and doesnt wobble, so I am thinking it is a bent spindle. It is a straight axle. Is this something I can tackle my self? How do you get the spindle out of the axle? I can do a few mechanical things but am new to boat trailers.

 

[JB]

Re: crooked trailer wheel

Check out championtrailers.com, Yeabs. Replace the axle.<br /><br />Good luck.

 

[rbyeab]

Re: crooked trailer wheel

That is what I was afraid of. The local trailer parts place thinks replacing the axle is not that big a deal and I could do it myself. Any advice on that? What problems could I encounter? It looks pretty straight forward, u-bolts no welding needed from what I can see. I just need to block things up well. That website looks like it has a lot of good stuff there. I will read that first.

 

[jtexas]

Re: crooked trailer wheel

check out solittle's thread "How a trailer is made"<br /><br />it's got a cool diagram shows exactly how it goes together.

 

[craze1cars]

Re: crooked trailer wheel

Axles are reasonably inexpensive and quite easy to replace. Just like you say, a few Ubolts and transfer other necessary parts. If you have trailer brakes it complicates things a little bit and adds a bit to the expense, but if you're mechanically inclined, go ahead and tackle it...just make sure you get the axle centered and straight, and the bolts tight!

 

[Silvertip]

Re: crooked trailer wheel

The only problem with finding a "generic) replacement axle is to measure the distance between the spring perches. Spring perches are the brackets welded to the axle that the springs sit on. If you can't find an axle with the exact placement, buy one without the perches and buy separate perches. Your local welding shop can weld them on very reasonably. The length of the new axle should match the old one and of course have the same spindle size so you can use the same hubs. Check your local yellow pages under "trailer parts".