Building a Hobby Farm- from woods to eggs
- Thread starter tony123
- Start date
- Views: 143313
OP
tony123
Platinum Member
Easygo, thanks. That looks helpful. Simple, easy to follow. I'll rearrange the plan based on this.
Just got back inside from wiring that old trailer with lights. Its ready for the inaugeral trip to pick up some compost. I'm going to get a load of leaf compost and a half load of mushroom compost and till it all through the garden soon as things dry up some. Should be dry enough by Saturday.
Just got back inside from wiring that old trailer with lights. Its ready for the inaugeral trip to pick up some compost. I'm going to get a load of leaf compost and a half load of mushroom compost and till it all through the garden soon as things dry up some. Should be dry enough by Saturday.
OP
tony123
Platinum Member
Hey, I'm open to some fruit. Didn't even think of Raspberry.
Thanks for the suggestion.
Took the trailer off today for its first trip with a load. Went about 10 miles at 35 mph with about a thousand pounds of compost! It did fine but for two things. One, my receiver hitch has some slop in it that allows the trailer to slap the receiver around as the weight shifts. It's all of an eigth of an inch, but its enough to make a bunch of noice, and doesn't inspire confidence. Although, I don't think its any true concern. Secondly, the bearing very likely do need to be replaced. I could hear the spinning from inside my truck. But this brings up a question. Is the axle actually using the gears inside the differential? seems like it is, because when I had it up on jack stands, turning one wheel would cause the other to spin. So, does this mean I should change out the oil in the differential? does it still use bearings out at the wheel? Sorry, but I'm very green at most mechanical stuff. SC? you reading this?
Mushroom compost was $50 a scoop, and leaf compost was $20 per scoop. I ended up paying for a half scoop of each. The skid load operator was pretty friendly though, and I ended up with a whole scoop of mushroom and the half of leaf. Everyone likes to feel like they got a little laniape and I do. Basically, most of a truck bed of mushroom compost, when they sell the stuff for $5 a bag at the box stores. So this old trailer has paid for itself with its first trip!!!
It ain't pretty, but everyone enjoys photos, so.... here's the load and my boy Owen wondering where all the stink is coming from. You can also see the new lights on the trailer. Plan to have it spread and tilled in over the weekend. Stay tuned for photos.
Thanks for the suggestion.Took the trailer off today for its first trip with a load. Went about 10 miles at 35 mph with about a thousand pounds of compost!
It did fine but for two things. One, my receiver hitch has some slop in it that allows the trailer to slap the receiver around as the weight shifts. It's all of an eigth of an inch, but its enough to make a bunch of noice, and doesn't inspire confidence. Although, I don't think its any true concern. Secondly, the bearing very likely do need to be replaced. I could hear the spinning from inside my truck. But this brings up a question. Is the axle actually using the gears inside the differential? seems like it is, because when I had it up on jack stands, turning one wheel would cause the other to spin. So, does this mean I should change out the oil in the differential? does it still use bearings out at the wheel? Sorry, but I'm very green at most mechanical stuff. SC? you reading this? Mushroom compost was $50 a scoop, and leaf compost was $20 per scoop. I ended up paying for a half scoop of each. The skid load operator was pretty friendly though, and I ended up with a whole scoop of mushroom and the half of leaf.
Everyone likes to feel like they got a little laniape and I do. Basically, most of a truck bed of mushroom compost, when they sell the stuff for $5 a bag at the box stores. So this old trailer has paid for itself with its first trip!!! It ain't pretty, but everyone enjoys photos, so.... here's the load and my boy Owen wondering where all the stink is coming from.
You can also see the new lights on the trailer. Plan to have it spread and tilled in over the weekend. Stay tuned for photos.
scgargoyle
Gold Member
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2007
- Messages
- 364
Yeah, the gears are still in there. Shouldn't make a lot of noise going in a straight line, but it will always be noisier than plain bearings. It wouldn't surprise me if there were no diff oil in it at all- have you checked? There are also outboard axle bearings. They usual rumble when they're going bad. You could drive it around for a few miles, then feel to see if anything is getting warm- the bearings are just inboard of the brake backing plates. Rear axle bearings are a pain, at least on Fords. Ford has a retainer, and once you un-bolt that, you can slide the axle out. The retainer will be behind most of the brake stuff (remove the hub and shoes, etc., if they're still in there. The retainer has 4 bolts. The hard part is removing the old bearing, and pressing on the new one. I had to cut mine off w/ an abrasive cut-off wheel, then I found a pipe that just fit over the axle to pound the new one on. You don't want to pound on the outer race of the bearing! Also, don't forget to put the retainer on before the bearing- you don't want to know how I know that one! I would start with diff oil, and see if the bearings are getting warm before I got into all that. For the limited mileage (and speed) you're going to put on it, you might be fine. BTW- was it noticeably louder with a load? That would indicate bearing problems.
Tony,
You should be able to get rid of the knocking of the receiver if you put more of the weight forward in the trailer thus creating more pressure on the tongue. I believe in general they suggest to have about 10% of the load weight rest on the tongue. It will get rid of issues such as a trailer wanting to fish-tail and will not produce the knocking either. I know that because I almost managed to pull one of those with about 1500lbs of dirt in my trailer. Wasn't fun.
I'm not an expert on the axles and bearings, but in your case it should be fine just to grease the wheel bearings. My guess is that there is no load on that old differential so it is probably fine with (or without) the 30 year old oil. I repeat! This is a guess!!!
Easygo
You should be able to get rid of the knocking of the receiver if you put more of the weight forward in the trailer thus creating more pressure on the tongue. I believe in general they suggest to have about 10% of the load weight rest on the tongue. It will get rid of issues such as a trailer wanting to fish-tail and will not produce the knocking either. I know that because I almost managed to pull one of those with about 1500lbs of dirt in my trailer. Wasn't fun.
I'm not an expert on the axles and bearings, but in your case it should be fine just to grease the wheel bearings. My guess is that there is no load on that old differential so it is probably fine with (or without) the 30 year old oil. I repeat! This is a guess!!!
Easygo
scgargoyle
Gold Member
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2007
- Messages
- 364
It came to me (in the middle of the night) that any noise the axle makes is going to much louder than normal, since it is welded directly to the truck bed, which serves as a big sound board. The springs would normally insulate the noise/vibration. Also- some hitches are adjustable- there will be a locknut underneath if it is. Good advice on the tongue weight- very important.
OP
tony123
Platinum Member
SC, I really hope it doesn't come to replacing the outboard bearings, you make it sound like fun.
I agree that it may not have oil at all, and that the sound is amplified with no suspension. It's not a bad sound, just amplified bearing and gear noise.
I'm going to change (or put in ) gear oil, and then just keep an eye on the temperature at the bearings.
Like you said, for my uses, failing bearings may last me years.
I, too, had thought the receiver slapping would improve with some tongue weight, but the compost didn't help any. I thought it looked front loaded, but maybe it was balanced over the axle. That may be a weakness of the design on this thing. It is light on the tongue.
Yesterday, on the drive home with the compost, I was going about 30mph in a 45 and had somone pull out right in front of me! I hit the breaks and missed her by about 3-4 feet. Her eyes were big as saucers. This old trailer saved her butt. If I had a new trailer I would have been going the speed limit and never stopped in time. geezzz. She was looking right in my eyes when she pulled out too.
The ball itself is a good snug fit, the slapping is my receiver in the hitch. Maybe I'll just hammer in a wooden wedge.
I agree that it may not have oil at all, and that the sound is amplified with no suspension. It's not a bad sound, just amplified bearing and gear noise.
I'm going to change (or put in
) gear oil, and then just keep an eye on the temperature at the bearings.Like you said, for my uses, failing bearings may last me years.
I, too, had thought the receiver slapping would improve with some tongue weight, but the compost didn't help any. I thought it looked front loaded, but maybe it was balanced over the axle. That may be a weakness of the design on this thing. It is light on the tongue.
Yesterday, on the drive home with the compost, I was going about 30mph in a 45 and had somone pull out right in front of me!
I hit the breaks and missed her by about 3-4 feet. Her eyes were big as saucers. This old trailer saved her butt. If I had a new trailer I would have been going the speed limit and never stopped in time. geezzz. She was looking right in my eyes when she pulled out too.The ball itself is a good snug fit, the slapping is my receiver in the hitch. Maybe I'll just hammer in a wooden wedge.
The way I check tongue weight is I try to pick up the tongue off the receiver (it is locked of course) If I can reproduce the rattling sound it is too light. I figure I can pick up 50-70 lbs without risk of injury and that is very light for a trailer tongue. You should had had about 120-130lbs of pressure on the receiver with half a ton of compost. I sometimes tow a boat that weighs 2200lbs plus trailer and gear weight. I figure it totals up to slightly over 3k lbs. Tha
The way I check tongue weight is I try to pick up the tongue off the receiver (it is locked of course) If I can reproduce the rattling sound it is too light. I figure I can pick up 50-70 lbs without risk of injury and that is very light for a trailer tongue. You should had had about 120-130lbs of pressure on the receiver with half a ton of compost. I sometimes tow a boat that weighs 2200lbs plus trailer and gear weight. I figure it totals up to slightly over 3k lbs. The back of my tow vehicle/trailer tongue is LOADED heavily. (Edit) No rattling of any kind with that one. That setup tows much nicer than if I improperly load 500lbs into my little utility trailer.