Repairable?

[vincechig1975]

How can I fix this problem? Cut and weld a piece in it's place, or try to bend it back in place? I was doing a walk around taking some pics and came across this one..... This is located on the right side just to the rear of the shackle mount, and after seeing this I thought .......... and walked away after calling it some colorful metaphores and then decided to go back out after a bit and look into it a bit further. All input needed on this one .......and suggestions.

 

[chumstain]

Re: Repairable?

if it was mine i would bend it back lay a stick of 3x3x3/8 angle on it seal weld it and paint it
ive had alot worse than that

 

[vincechig1975]

Re: Repairable?

Thanks I was thinking about bending it back to be honest. How well did it hold up?

 

[chumstain]

Re: Repairable?

is still holding great (2 yrs) the 3/8 angle iron i used is way heavier than the trailer but its the scrap i had at the time so i used it
cant even tell its there unless you know where to look since the trailer is galvanized and i used the z r c paint on the welds

 

[DBreskin]

Re: Repairable?

With a bend like that I'd be looking for other weak areas on the trailer. Better to reinforce them BEFORE they bend or break.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Repairable?

It all depends on why it bent in the first place if its from rust out weakness then replacing is the way to go, if its from stress a huge bumb or some thing like that then you can heat and bend back and renforce, my sugestion is to look at it very carfully and then make a choice. personaly I would scrap the trailer and replace it.

 

[chumstain]

Re: Repairable?

n h hawker is right if its rusted then get rid of it there are lots of trailers on craigslist from 250 on up in good condition

 

[PS94]

Re: Repairable?

Umm...it looks like the beam in question has rust through holes....I think that answers any of your questions....

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Repairable?

that trailer is long past the point of safely using it on the road... It isn't bent, it's half decomposed.... find a good buy on a used trailer and scrap that one.... they rust from the inside out and you only see about 1% of the rust damage... it's a goner sorry

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Repairable?

We had a trailer rust and bend down like that; it was a roller/tilt trailer and only that last 3' or so went in the water; axle never went in. We cut off and welded on a new piece, and got a few more years out of the trailer.

But.

If your trailer is one that is dunked, you can figure the whole thing is bad; junk it.

Also.

We didn't use our trailer on the road, just at the ramp, except an occasional 5 miles on a country road to the shop.

If you are going to "fix" it be sure to do both sides. I wouldn't if it's a road trailer or a dunker.

 

[zopperman]

Re: Repairable?

that trailer is long past the point of safely using it on the road... It isn't bent, it's half decomposed.... find a good buy on a used trailer and scrap that one.... they rust from the inside out and you only see about 1% of the rust damage... it's a goner sorry

This.

 

[sutor623]

Re: Repairable?

Are those holes that have rusted through the bottom of the beam?

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Repairable?

Vince, it looks like the frame is rusted through in a couple spots towards the right of the picture, is this accurate? If so then your decision is made for you, the trailer is gone, without completely replacing the mains and probably the cross beams I wouldn't trust it, in other words your looking at a complete rebuild and you will most likely spend more time and money then it would cost to purchase a brand new trailer.

I would take this trailer to the steel recycle facility and get what you can out of it and look for a replacement.

 

[bonz_d]

Re: Repairable?

Can't tell very well by the pictures but it looks like a rust thru to me also. If so I'd saws-all it and save the axle, it's worth a few bucks anyways.

 

[vincechig1975]

Re: Repairable?

I was looking at it over the past few days and not only did I see the holes you were looking at on the right of the pic, but I found some more as well, guess this one's headdin for the yard, after I take the axle off.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Repairable?

Yep, needs fixing with a new trailer in my opinion. Remember that there will be a whole lot of corrosion that you can't see as well.

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: Repairable?

as soon as I saw the photo I said outloud "Toast".

 

[5150abf]

Re: Repairable?

Vince, keep in mind you are resposible for your load so if the trailer is rusted and unsafe you will be responsable for all the damage if the trailer breaks and the boat goes carrening down the road and hits something and you just know that will be right as you are passing a Mercedes dealership and the boat will take out the entire front row.