torsion axles problem

[phatdaddy]

launched the boat saturday, went out for 3-4 hours, came back to ramp and loaded boat. while pulling up i heard some scraping. first thought a wheel bearing had cut loose. got out and had wife pull forward while i walked by trailer. it was the fenders hitting the tires. limped home & pulled the fenders off. found the brackets that hold the axles had rotted off on on both sides.
i guess for 30-40 launches a year for 12 years in salt, not too bad.


http://i377.photobucket.com/albums/oo214/gls216/imagejpg1_zps8b15b9e7.jpg (http://s377.photobucket.com/user/gls216/media/imagejpg1_zps8b15b9e7.jpg.html)




http://i377.photobucket.com/albums/oo214/gls216/imagejpg2_zps2db7bb58.jpg (http://s377.photobucket.com/user/gls216/media/imagejpg2_zps2db7bb58.jpg.html)
i love boating, but hate trailers

[Destroyer]

Ugh. Ugly for sure, but like you said...12 years isn't all that bad.

[bradford]

Damn Phat, I'm surprised they look as good as they do.

Put new axles on mine a couple years ago, they were about 11 years old. The weld holding the spindle in the axle rotted away and my wheel and tire just fell out. Thankfully not while riding down the road. My trailer guy built new ones for $150 each.

[phatdaddy]

bradford, is that a straight axle for $150. if it's a torsion , that is a smoking deal. this is the second set on this trailer. the first set lasted 6 years ( i bought the trailer in '96) and cost $550 a set. these are going to be $700 a set. life span for springs is about 3 years. but they only cost about $200 to replace.

side note, what do you guys think about painting them with some kind of lining system, rino, gator ,etc. the trailer guy said the galvanizing is not as good as it was in the past.

[bradford]

Mine are regular axles with springs. He's done two trailers for me so far, about to take him another one as soon as I can get the Chaparral off it. Yes, I have to replace the springs more often. I take my wheels off and hit everything with a wire brush then spray everything down with grease once or twice a year. Seems to help some, could just be in my head. Plus I throughly hose everything off with freshwater when I get home from the ramp. I've heard of people cool sealing them before. Sometimes I wonder if putting extra coating on top might seal in moisture when the get dunked. Kinda like those rubber coated anchor chains they sell at walmart. Spraying them with the zinc in a can galv cote stuff can't hurt any I would think.

[Starzofchaos]

I recently did new springs and hardware on my trailer,well more like two years now. I used a coat of marine primer(zinc chromate) and a heavy coat of the cold galvanizing spray. So far no rust, and I like that spray to do touch ups on hardware, even on stainless steel.

[reelapeelin]

The arms and hubs look pretty good...any way to just replace the axles?...I wonder if a good welding shop could do that?...Once the welder's done, paint
them like mentioned above...that stuff actually works pretty good...

[phatdaddy]

reel, there are rubber bushings on the interior of the axles that any welding would melt. those hubs are about 6 years old. i will probably pull them off the axels and keep for back ups if we ever go tothe keys again.

[macojoe]

Idid mine last two with a zinc paint, first one was older and it helped some, next was a new trailer never in the water and after 10 years now my friend that has it said i screwed him cause he has had it for 7 years now and it is starting to show rust now lol

[reelapeelin]

reel, there are rubber bushings on the interior of the axles that any welding would melt. those hubs are about 6 years old. i will probably pull them off the axels and keep for back ups if we ever go tothe keys again.

How are the axles attached to the arms?...pressed on?

[spareparts]

make new brackets, bolt new brackets to the axles with u-bolts. win:sun:

[phatdaddy]

reel, they are pressed in. from what i understand its a square tube inside another square tube with round pieces of rubber in the corners. hard to explain

spare, they are pretty rotten, pics don't show it well

i picked up a can of the cold galvanized, axles supposed to be in tomorrow

[phatdaddy]

http://i377.photobucket.com/albums/oo214/gls216/imagejpg1_zpsee99c706.jpg (http://s377.photobucket.com/user/gls216/media/imagejpg1_zpsee99c706.jpg.html)

out with the old, in with the new

this is my new "gutter' system. split a piece of 4' PVC and use it to channel water away from the axles once i pull it out of the water. 4" is barely wide enough, i will have to pick up a piece of 6". this prevents the salt water from continuing to drip on the axles after i use my flush system. probably does no good, but makes me feel better.


http://i377.photobucket.com/albums/oo214/gls216/imagejpg2_zpsb1575d95.jpg (http://s377.photobucket.com/user/gls216/media/imagejpg2_zpsb1575d95.jpg.html)

[bigshrimpin]

pd - looks great! were those a standard size? or did you have to get them custom made? I need a set for an old 1971 floaton trailer.

[phatdaddy]

bs, they are a standard size. the brand is dexter. don't know much about them, i bought them from a local trailer builder ( hi-tech). i believe the measurement they go by is the frame width. mine was 71". i have never had hubs like these before, guy said they are star shaped to allow access the brake bolts on the brake flange. these also have the accu-lube spindles, this allows the grease to pass through the axle and come out just inside of the seal and pass through both sets of bearings before coming out end around the castle nut. i've had that on this trailer since 96, never had a hub failure. i can repack the bearings and never pull the hubs. i just alternate the color of the grease every time i repack to tell when all the old is out.

i know the float on's set low and used the small wide tires, don't know if that 's going to be a problem. i know you can get the angle of the arm in different degrees.

[bradford]

Phatdaddy those gutters certainly can't hurt anything and are cheap insurance. Those new axles sure are pretty. Good job putting a gasket between the mounting bolts and trailer frame.

[phatdaddy]

thanks b, i launched it last weekend and walked back to see how the gutters were doing. they worked great. water was dripping out of the carpet, but none on the axles.

when i pulled the old axles, there was some pitting on the frame. i wire brushed it, painted with zinc chromate & petite trailer coat, then sprayed with the cold galvanizing can stuff. i asked the guy at the trailer shop what they put between the brackets & frame. he said a piece of duct tape. are you kidding, thats it. i had some old starboard so i thought why not. i'll keep an eye on it to see if it cracks

[bradford]

I used gasket material between the dis-similiar metals on mine.