wellcraft-classic210
Master Chief Petty Officer
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2010
- Messages
- 839
On a recent vacation I experienced a broken axle after going over some bumpy roads in the Adirondack MTNs of NY. If you saw or know how beautiful the lakes are you would understand why we do this.
I was able to get the trailer home by tying the broken axle up & running on 3 wheels as no parts were readily available. Luckily it was not the brake axle that had broken.
The springs were worn and allowed the trailer to bottom out on the articulating ( and Rusty ) axles more freely when going over bumps & pot holes. This in turn placed a very large load on the front axle as it tried to raise the trailer. The rear : where most of the weight is produced a leveraged force that was too much for the old rusty axles.
As I researched replacement parts it became apparent I did not have standard parts. If the axles were to be replaced with new ones the hubs and brakes would have to go as well. The centers on the springs were closer to the center of the trailer than newer trailer (presumably as it is a roller trailer) which in turn meant that 3500 lb axles would not be covered under warranty and were not really rated for the job at hand. Going to heavier axles meant replacing all the parts mentioned above and the 13 inch wheels would have to go as well. The 3 inch drop was also a rare find.
So it was time to buy a new trailer or fabricate some parts. Being a die hard do it your selfer I chose to weld / fabricate the parts that were needed to meet the cost & design constraints.
Using a borrowed DC stick weder I replaced the axle tubes. The new tubes are 2x3 x1/4 thick at a cost of $80.00. This is stronger than the original 2x 2 3/4 x 3/16 thick ones and signicantly stonger than the 3500 lb axles on the market using 2x2x 3/16 thick steel. I used a jig to hold the axles straight that consisted of 2 3 1/2 x 1/4 angle iron secttions and 2 wheels that I verified were running true. I extended the axle plates towards the wheels to add more weld sufaces and made multiple passes on all pieces. Care was taken not to produce too much heat by alternating welds and preventing excessive warpage. I also took some comfort in the fact that if some minor warpage did occur that I could mount the axle with the tow-in towards the front and avoid erradic handling.
I was able to purchase new mail order springs, & shackle hardware from Stengle Bros
The job turned out pretty well by my standards. The cost was much lower also much lower than a new trailer. Planning the job did take some time but that's all part of game.
I have attached some pics of the old and new for those interested.
I was able to get the trailer home by tying the broken axle up & running on 3 wheels as no parts were readily available. Luckily it was not the brake axle that had broken.
The springs were worn and allowed the trailer to bottom out on the articulating ( and Rusty ) axles more freely when going over bumps & pot holes. This in turn placed a very large load on the front axle as it tried to raise the trailer. The rear : where most of the weight is produced a leveraged force that was too much for the old rusty axles.
As I researched replacement parts it became apparent I did not have standard parts. If the axles were to be replaced with new ones the hubs and brakes would have to go as well. The centers on the springs were closer to the center of the trailer than newer trailer (presumably as it is a roller trailer) which in turn meant that 3500 lb axles would not be covered under warranty and were not really rated for the job at hand. Going to heavier axles meant replacing all the parts mentioned above and the 13 inch wheels would have to go as well. The 3 inch drop was also a rare find.
So it was time to buy a new trailer or fabricate some parts. Being a die hard do it your selfer I chose to weld / fabricate the parts that were needed to meet the cost & design constraints.
Using a borrowed DC stick weder I replaced the axle tubes. The new tubes are 2x3 x1/4 thick at a cost of $80.00. This is stronger than the original 2x 2 3/4 x 3/16 thick ones and signicantly stonger than the 3500 lb axles on the market using 2x2x 3/16 thick steel. I used a jig to hold the axles straight that consisted of 2 3 1/2 x 1/4 angle iron secttions and 2 wheels that I verified were running true. I extended the axle plates towards the wheels to add more weld sufaces and made multiple passes on all pieces. Care was taken not to produce too much heat by alternating welds and preventing excessive warpage. I also took some comfort in the fact that if some minor warpage did occur that I could mount the axle with the tow-in towards the front and avoid erradic handling.
I was able to purchase new mail order springs, & shackle hardware from Stengle Bros
The job turned out pretty well by my standards. The cost was much lower also much lower than a new trailer. Planning the job did take some time but that's all part of game.
I have attached some pics of the old and new for those interested.
