Is it safe to weld a winch post to the coupler?

[jhande]

If you are good at welding and can do it correctly it will be stronger than bolts but of course permanent. Plus make sure it's positioned correctly. With bolts it's adjustable.

 

[DarrinT]

If you are good at welding and can do it correctly it will be stronger than bolts but of course permanent. Plus make sure it's positioned correctly. With bolts it's adjustable.

On the Starcraft forum a guy had just totally restored a beautiful 22ft runabout . He splashed her for the first time and on the way home the hitch popped off , the tongue nosedived and every weld failed - winch post ,tie downs and the safety chain welds.
Boat skated right through a fence beside the highway and ended up 150ft away in a field with major hull damage!!!!
He attributed the total failure to fatigued welds.
If yur gonna fix up that old decrepit looking trailer it looks to me like the major fatigue failure point would be the welded hinge pin at the bottom of the swinging post where the bow eye slots.
Totally depends on how much high speed towing you do as to how far you want to go !!!!

 

[ahicks]

On the Starcraft forum a guy had just totally restored a beautiful 22ft runabout . He splashed her for the first time and on the way home the hitch popped off , the tongue nosedived and every weld failed - winch post ,tie downs and the safety chain welds.
Boat skated right through a fence beside the highway and ended up 150ft away in a field with major hull damage!!!!
He attributed the total failure to fatigued welds.
If yur gonna fix up that old decrepit looking trailer it looks to me like the major fatigue failure point would be the welded hinge pin at the bottom of the swinging post where the bow eye slots.
Totally depends on how much high speed towing you do as to how far you want to go !!!!

Moral of that story here has me wondering what would have happened if that hitch had not "popped off".

You don't always build for crash survive ability. Consider how heavy an airplane might get for instance? Much smarter to build to prevent crashes.....

Another example might be a ball joint failure. Do you design in a manner to limit damage should that happen, or do you work toward a design that won't fail?

BAD rust pits on coupler noted earlier....

 

[jhande]

He splashed her for the first time and on the way home the hitch popped off , the tongue nosedived and every weld failed -

Then the welds were not properly done. A proper weld will be stronger than the metal surrounding it. If you don't really know how to weld then yes bolts are better.

Look at almost anything out there such as trailers, cars, race car frames, bicycles, motorcycles, heavy equipment, etc... plenty of welds.

 

[DarrinT]

Then the welds were not properly done. A proper weld will be stronger than the metal surrounding it. If you don't really know how to weld then yes bolts are better.

Look at almost anything out there such as trailers, cars, race car frames, bicycles, motorcycles, heavy equipment, etc... plenty of welds.

I am the worst case senario kind of guy
Figger out what the worst case could be and prevent it
Welds done by pros in a controlled jig etc. are the best but on aircraft they frigging x-ray them when they are aging !!!
That trailer was built in 1981 those welds are fatigued for sure.
Had an expensive French 10 speed bike fall in half on me while riding it. .
Still have a scar on my thigh 35 yrs later from the failed welds!!!
Bitten once twice shy.
Knowledge is power