Crossmember rotted out

[tramsdell]

Ive got a shore landr trailer with welded construction... the front crossmember is rotten through. I know how to cut and weld it properly but to save time i have a very similar trailer except that one is all clamped together, any issue with cutting out the whole crossmember and clamping in the other one?

 

[GA_Boater]

Clamped? I hope you mean bolted. :smile:

When one part of a trailer rusts through, other parts are on their way out, too. What is the condition of the rest of the trailer?

 

[Scott Danforth]

buy a new trailer, as GA indicated, the rest of the trailer is not far behind

 

[tramsdell]

Rest of the trailer is pretty good. That part must've held water at some point in history.

 

[racerone]

Saw that on a trailer last year.-------No drain hole in 3 of the dropped crossmembers.----What a shame when they cut corners like that

 

[tramsdell]

I suppose i should restate my question for more acurate responses. Is there any pratical difference in strength between a bolted ceossmember vs a welded crossmember?

 

[Scott Danforth]

yes. to do a proper bolted joint, you must take into consideration clamp force, torque and moment. bolted joints generally have backing plates or thicker members to take the localized bolt loading vs a welded joint can usually get by with a thinner base material.

how was the trailer designed..... continue on with that.

 

[tramsdell]

Fixed it. Built new bunks. Trailers good for another season or 2. Its kinda punky all around. I'll start shopping now.