What Axle Do I Have?

[dcyrilc]

Any suggestions on how to mount a brace of some sort in between the two tires to strengthen the fenders? I have a few ideas, but they all become complicated when I try to make the fenders removable.

What about welding a gusset to the inside of the fender?

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I'm back into this project. Summer is waning, so I'm not as busy. No pictures yet (sorry).

I got the jack installed on the tongue. I went ahead and painted the old one rather than getting new. With the money I saved I splurged on LED grommet lights. I welded the brackets on tonight.

What I have left to do...
-Paint and mount the fenders
-Mount the tilt latch(es)
-Wire the trailer lights and brakes
-paint whatever is left (the rest of the tongue, etc.)

Now for a short story. My dad got an RV and asked if he could borrow my equalizer hitch. No problem because I figure it will be the rare instance that I really need it with this trailer I'm refurbishing. I simply went out and bought another 2 5/16" ball for my receiver hitch. The problem is that all the 2 5/16" balls at the local hardware store are 1 1/4" shank, but all the ball mounts are 1" hole diameter (My ball mount at home is a 1" hole). I looked online and I about choked when I saw the price of ball mounts with a 1 1/4" hole (if you can find them).

Maybe I'll be borrowing that equalizer hitch back from my dad.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

...The problem is that all the 2 5/16" balls at the local hardware store are 1 1/4" shank, but all the ball mounts are 1" hole diameter (My ball mount at home is a 1" hole). I looked online and I about choked when I saw the price of ball mounts with a 1 1/4" hole (if you can find them)...

Problem solved. I ordered a 2 5/16" ball from Amazon that has a 1" shank.
Amazon.com: Curt Manufacturing 40005 Hitch Ball, 2 5/16 In X 1 In X 2 1/8 In: Automotive

$9.50

 

[Diamondpilot]

Problem solved. I ordered a 2 5/16" ball from Amazon that has a 1" shank.
Amazon.com: Curt Manufacturing 40005 Hitch Ball, 2 5/16 In X 1 In X 2 1/8 In: Automotive

$9.50

Not so sure. That ball is only rated at 7,500# according to my Curt Catalog and I checked on the site and it says the same. Is that enough capacity for you? I have never seen a 1" shank rated above 7,500#. 1 1/4" are rated all the way upto 25,000#. Big difference in 1" and 1 1/4". Kind of like a 1/2" pipe and a 3/4" pipe. The 3/4" has nearly twice the volume/area.

Also, what is you 1" ball mount rated at? I doubt any of this is up to the task to haul the load you want. I have seen quite a few broken balls and mounts, done it myself and so has my uncle. Every time they were overloaded.

Custom Trailer Hitch Products, Custom Receiver Hitch, Heavy Duty Towing, Curt Manufacturing

Chris

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Not so sure. That ball is only rated at 7,500# according to my Curt Catalog and I checked on the site and it says the same. Is that enough capacity for you? I have never seen a 1" shank rated above 7,500#. 1 1/4" are rated all the way upto 25,000#. Big difference in 1" and 1 1/4". Kind of like a 1/2" pipe and a 3/4" pipe. The 3/4" has nearly twice the volume/area.

Also, what is you 1" ball mount rated at? I doubt any of this is up to the task to haul the load you want. I have seen quite a few broken balls and mounts, done it myself and so has my uncle. Every time they were overloaded.

Custom Trailer Hitch Products, Custom Receiver Hitch, Heavy Duty Towing, Curt Manufacturing

Chris

You're correct that this ball is rated at 7,500 pounds. Keep in mind that this ball is only for pulling the trailer for my normal lighter loads... 5k to 6k GTW. If I am approaching the maximum trailer capacity, I'll probably borrow my equalizer hitch back from my dad anyway. I'll want the extra stability that the equalizer gives me.

Additionally, 7,500 pounds is right at the capacity of this trailer. I have two 3,500 pound axles. As for the ball mount, any markings are long gone, but it has a solid shaft (not a hollow tube). It's very heavy duty. I have no concerns about the ball mount.

 

[Diamondpilot]

You're correct that this ball is rated at 7,500 pounds. Keep in mind that this ball is only for pulling the trailer for my normal lighter loads... 5k to 6k GTW. If I am approaching the maximum trailer capacity, I'll probably borrow my equalizer hitch back from my dad anyway. I'll want the extra stability that the equalizer gives me.

Additionally, 7,500 pounds is right at the capacity of this trailer. I have two 3,500 pound axles. As for the ball mount, any markings are long gone, but it has a solid shaft (not a hollow tube). It's very heavy duty. I have no concerns about the ball mount.

Sorry for the confusion. I though you were putting 5,200# axles on this trailer, not 3,500#.

You will be good to go with both the ball and the draw bar.

Chris

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Sorry for the confusion. I though you were putting 5,200# axles on this trailer, not 3,500#.

You will be good to go with both the ball and the draw bar.

Chris

Thanks for keeping me thinking.

I chuckled today as I returned the oversize shank ball back to the store I got it from. The ball with a 1 1/4" shank has a rating of 6,000 pounds whereas the ball I'm getting with a 1" shank is rated for 7,500. Go figure.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Pictures!!

From left to right below...
1) The newly painted jack (I covered over the label with tape when I painted the jack).
2) The light mounting bracket I fabbed and attached last night.
3) The LED grommet light attached to the light bracket (My lights are probably worth more than the rest of the trailer.)
4) The fender that I mounted tonight. Once I get the holes all drilled, etc. on both fenders, I'm going to take them back off for prep and paint.

 

[dstig1]

Those wheels look like 6 lug. I thought that was the main sign they were 5200 lb axles???

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Those wheels look like 6 lug. I thought that was the main sign they were 5200 lb axles???

I custom ordered the axles. I had 6 lug wheels, but I didn't need the heavier axles (my truck is a half ton) and I didn't want to pay the extra money for the heavier axles.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

More small steps. I got the front marker lights mounted (Pic 1) and began the wiring process (Pic 2). My wife helped me last night to do the wiring. The extra set of hands really helped. Right now she's chasing parts (mounting loops) while I post pictures on TBN.

I didn't make any progress today because I spent the day on a trail ride up Conant Creek with my Dad and brother, my daughter, and an old high school buddy and his family. Well worth putting off completeing the trailer. The last two pics are some scenery from the trail ride.

Hopefully I can get more done tonight.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I have all the lights installed and tested. I tested the brakes, too, by spinning the wheel by hand and applying voltage with a battery charger. Everything works great!! I still need to wire the actual plug, but I'd rather do that in the daylight.

One question for the gurus out there...How many holes should a typical tap cut? I've been clipping the wires to the trailer frame with brackets. I hold the brackets on with a 10-24 bolt into a hole that I've drilled and tapped. All was well until I tried to tap holes in the metal on the tongue. I busted two taps. Same tap; same drill bit. The tongue is new metal from a steel yard, so it's not crazy stuff like bed rails or anything.

What has me baffled is that the tap worked great on the trailer frame.

After this I need to paint and install the fenders, install the wiring plug, and install the tilt latch. I need to get this trailer done soon because I have 7 ton of hay to bring home.

 

[Diamondpilot]

If you did any welding near the area you are trying to tap it will eat them up in a hurry.

Chris

 

[Iplayfarmer]

If you did any welding near the area you are trying to tap it will eat them up in a hurry.

Chris

I've welded within about 6 inches of the holes I drilled. Maybe that's it. At any rate, I've given up on tapping the tongue for wire brackets. I'm going to drill holes and use the trusty zip tie method.

Now on to a chain question. I went to buy chain for my safety chains, and the highest test chain I could find at my local hardware store was 3600 lb. The 3600 lb. test chain was bigger than anything I've ever seen on a trailer, and my trailer is not one of the bigger ones.

According to the link I found in this thread the chain needs to "withstand [Maximum Gross Trailer Weight] without breaking". That means my chain needs to withstand 7,500 pounds.

Based on my observations of more reasonably sized chains on trailers, I'm wondering if there's a difference between the chain test weight and the load it will withstand without breaking. For instance a hitch ball has to withstand 3X the load to be rated at a certain weight. If chains were rated the same way, a chain rated a 1/3 the trailer weight would be within the limits of the requirement.

Any thoughts?

 

[Diamondpilot]

]

Any thoughts?

Yes, put regular old safety chains on it. Don't over think this one.:thumbsup:

Chris

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Yes, put regular old safety chains on it. Don't over think this one.:thumbsup:

Chris

Are there different grades and ratings of safety chains? I looked on etrailer.com and 5,000 pound chain was the best they had.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Are there different grades and ratings of safety chains? I looked on etrailer.com and 5,000 pound chain was the best they had.

I am sure there are but I am also sure this is one of the most overlooked areas. All my trailers have chains or cables but I could not tell you what any are rated at.

Chris

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I am sure there are but I am also sure this is one of the most overlooked areas. All my trailers have chains or cables but I could not tell you what any are rated at.

Chris

I ended up ordering a set of 5,000 pound chains from Amazon. I may replace them later with higher test chains. I'm surprised that higher test chains are not easier to find.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

The plug is wired, and I got the latch pieces welded on. I think one more night of work and I'll be done enough to use it.

I had a minor setback tonight. I test fitted the equalizer hitch and found that I had the jack right where the bracket for the equalizer needed to be. I had to cut the jack off and move it back further.

I need to mount the second fender, install my safety chains when the come, and check all my bolts. After that I think I'm ready to roll.

Edit: I'll paint the fenders later. For now I have to get this trailer rolling so I can pick up hay.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Nice to see it come to a end. It always ends up being a big project when you tear into something to fix a minor issue.

Glad you go it about finished up.

As a side note, I would Rhino Line the fenders. You can buy spray cans or really good kits on EBAY. We are getting ready to do a 3500 Dmax with a kit from EBAY. None of that cheap Auto parts store crap, a real Kit. $150 for a full size 1 ton truck.

Chris