Car axle used on a trailer?

[bnew17]

Ive got a small utility trailer im wanting to beef up to put a bbq smoker on. Im looking for a 3500 pound axle but having trouble locating a used on. I did have a fellow offer me a plymouth minivan axle with tires for 60 bucks. Would this work? what would this axle be rated for?

 

[2458n]

Well it would seem to be rated for half the weight of a fully loaded mini at least.

 

[bnew17]

Well it would seem to be rated for half the weight of a fully loaded mini at least.

Which is?

 

[Case485Guy]

If its a 5 lug I would think the rating would be close to/ in the 3500 lb range. Find out the year of the van it came out of and look up curb weight and towing capacity, that should give you an idea

 

[bnew17]

If its a 5 lug I would think the rating would be close to/ in the 3500 lb range. Find out the year of the van it came out of and look up curb weight and towing capacity, that should give you an idea

Case. I believe it is a 5 lug. Is $60 a fair price on it?

 

[Case485Guy]

If its complete with bearing,hubs,drums I would think it is. If I remember right the last 3500 lb bare trailer axle I bought was around 100.00 plus bearing hubs etc

 

[2458n]

The curb weight is 3670. Some were rated at 7 passengers. Really need to look at the door sticker on vehicle.

 

[bnew17]

The curb weight is 3670. Some were rated at 7 passengers. Really need to look at the door sticker on vehicle.

I wish I could but I believe the guy bought it from the owner of the van so there is no way to know for sure unless the new owner remembers the year and model of the van. I do remember he said it was a plymouth van

 

[bnew17]

The curb weight is 3670. Some were rated at 7 passengers. Really need to look at the door sticker on vehicle.

Would it be rated for half that?

 

[Iplayfarmer]

The curb weight is 3670. Some were rated at 7 passengers. Really need to look at the door sticker on vehicle.

If you figure 150 pounds per person (conservative), that's another 1050 pounds. Figure another 150 pounds for fuel and a couple hundred for luggage, etc. and you're over 5K for the entire vehicle. 2500 lbs sounds like a very safe estimate for the capacity of this axle. I'd figure it as a 3K pound axle if I were doing the build.

 

[Stihlrunner]

I think I would stay away from automobile axles. Spring perches, brakes, etc will all be headaches.

Trailer axles are relatively inexpensive new and usually can be found very cheap on craigslist. In my area you can find a complete axle with springs and electric brakes for $150-200, usually with tires.

 

[Travelover]

I think I would stay away from automobile axles. Spring perches, brakes, etc will all be headaches.

Trailer axles are relatively inexpensive new and usually can be found very cheap on craigslist. In my area you can find a complete axle with springs and electric brakes for $150-200, usually with tires.

+1 I've seen bare axles at TSC - surprisingly cheap.

 

[pat32rf]

If this smoker is gonna need a 3000lb axle, then you are definitely going to need trailer brakes...
Magic Wagon/Caravan axles are great for light duty stuff, where you don't need a lot of ground clearance, but I'd keep the loads under a ton, because of the lack of brakes.

 

[aczlan]

One benefit to a minivan axle is you could use a surge brake actuator with the existing brakes if you want surge brakes, or you could use the brake cables from the ebrake and make parking brakes.

Aaron Z

 

[Whatswrong]

I would just build it because unless you plan to have 4 sides of beef and a couple pigs on the BBQ at the same time you will have way more axle than load and it would no longer be a small utility trailer .

 

[bnew17]

If this smoker is gonna need a 3000lb axle, then you are definitely going to need trailer brakes...
Magic Wagon/Caravan axles are great for light duty stuff, where you don't need a lot of ground clearance, but I'd keep the loads under a ton, because of the lack of brakes.

Im guessing the ballpark weight of this smoker to be around 1000 pounds.

 

[bnew17]

I would just build it because unless you plan to have 4 sides of beef and a couple pigs on the BBQ at the same time you will have way more axle than load and it would no longer be a small utility trailer .

Since i already have this trailer i mise well use it. I dont have the money to go out and buy another trailer, plus i figure i can beef it up to what it needs to be for much less than building an entire trailer.

 

[bnew17]

+1 I've seen bare axles at TSC - surprisingly cheap.

I checked with tsc the other day, their bare axles are $250+

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Since i already have this trailer i mise well use it. I dont have the money to go out and buy another trailer, plus i figure i can beef it up to what it needs to be for much less than building an entire trailer.

I agree with you. This sounds like a dedicated trailer that you're not going to be overloading with metal scraps or something crazy like that. You have the trailer, you have the axle, and it sounds like you have the skills needed to modify it.

Do the modification and enjoy taking your smoker wherever you want.

 

[Travelover]

I checked with tsc the other day, their bare axles are $250+

Ouch! The ones I saw were in the $150 range.