cracked trailer frame....

[MrPete]

Thanks for your post case485guy. My trailer is fairly low to the ground and that is how I load my tractor. It sounds like I better build some jacks for mine also. I love it when I learn from other peoples mistakes. God knows I have made plenty of them on my own!

 

[sandman2234]

It would seem to me, that if the frame is cracking right BEHIND the tongue, that it isn't from loading, but from bouncing down the road while being loaded. If it were to be from loading, most likely it would either bend the frame into an arch, or crack where the welds are on the tongue at the front of the trailer. The rear of the tongue area is in compression while being loaded, so most likely isn't the area that would be cracked while loading. I would suggest strengthening the tongue back to at least the center-line of the front axle of the trailer, to absorb the bouncing while driving loaded. Just my $.02, David from jax

 

[Case485Guy]

It would seem to me, that if the frame is cracking right BEHIND the tongue, that it isn't from loading, but from bouncing down the road while being loaded. If it were to be from loading, most likely it would either bend the frame into an arch, or crack where the welds are on the tongue at the front of the trailer. The rear of the tongue area is in compression while being loaded, so most likely isn't the area that would be cracked while loading. I would suggest strengthening the tongue back to at least the center-line of the front axle of the trailer, to absorb the bouncing while driving loaded. Just my $.02, David from jax

David, think of it as a teeer totter if you will. When I load the tractor the back of the trailer hits the ground, the back of pickup is lifted, the point at where my tongue ends is the weakest point and thats where it cracked. The only way to extend the tongue is to remove the axles, weld in new channel then remount axles. That would raise the trailer a good 8" or more. Instead of doing that I added bracing on the inside. Once I get my boards back in I will lose abot 6" to a point. With the boards back in there will be about a 1-1/2" difference from board height to square tube height. So that really should not effect alot of what I haul. I have crossmembers every 12" and once i get done I will have everything tied back in together, so it should be stronger than before. If I have any more problems I will rob the axles out of this and build a new one.

 

[sandman2234]

The trailer I got with my last truck purchase had a similar problem, and flatbar was welded down the bottom edge of the frame to strengthen it, it worked, but lowered the amount of clearance. I understand teeter toter, but think when the truck is being lifted, it would try to rip the welds at the front of the tongue and compress the rear of the tongue welds which would not likely crack them. David from jax

 

[sandman2234]

Got any pictures of the trailer and where it cracked? David from jax

 

[Case485Guy]

Got any pictures of the trailer and where it cracked? David from jax

Post #16 has a pic. Not the best but has arrow where it cracked.

 

[lostcause]

i'm a fan of the pads on fold up ramps. just make the pads so they don't touch ground by a few inches. then when on uneven ground the ramps will still go down. it just takes a couple chunks of a 2x underneath to get it close enough to do the trick. in the v-nose of my trailer i put a piece of expanded metal to make a basket and i always have a few chunks of 2x blocking for jacking up or blocking the wheels. this assumes that you would want fold up ramps of course. when i built mine i made it so the ramps slid back and forth on a rod for each side for width adjustment. on the occasions where i've had awkward loads i just pull one or both ramps as needed and either toss them in the truck body or strap them to the trailer.

 

[hawkeye08]

My trailer has the jacks at the back corners (just like a crank down tongue jack that folds up horizontal when not in use). I when loading I just swing them down, crank until they are on the ground, then good to go. Crank back up, pivot them horizontal and off I go. Note, they are great for changing a flat tire also since the will lift the trailer. We were moving one of our daughters and had a flat on the freeway, to less than 15 minutes to change (most of time was digging spare and lug wrench out of back of pickup). Having the flat fixed at tire shop took longer... Farm supply stores sell these as well as Harbor Freight for $20-$30, some bolt on, some weld on, get the ones that work for you. Mine are factory welded on and have a flat plate on the bottom (some of the ones for sale have wheels instead of the plate).. Good luck.

 

[flyerdan]

...going to use a spindle so I can mount bearing hub and all for spare to have in case I burn bearings up on the road.
View attachment 298186

I was going to suggest using a spare hub as a tire mount for just that reason. Cheap insurance, if you're prepared for a bearing failure chances are you'll never need it.

 

[5picker]

Originally Posted by Case485Guy
"...going to use a spindle so I can mount bearing hub and all for spare to have in case I burn bearings up on the road"

I was going to suggest using a spare hub as a tire mount for just that reason. Cheap insurance, if you're prepared for a bearing failure chances are you'll never need it.

I missed this until flyerdan pointed it out.
THAT is a really great idea! I'm surprised major trailer manufacturers don't offer this as an option.
Yes, if you maintain your hubs chances are you'll likely never have a problem but you know what they say about Murphy.
Luckily I've not had hub/bearing problems on any of my trailers but I have been riding along with two different guys on long trips where having a spare hub would have been a Godsend.
Thanks for the tip Case485Guy

 

[RoMad]

I don't have stands built into my ramps. When I made my ramps I was trying to keep the weight of my trailer under 2000 lbs to be able to keep it registered as homemade with no serial number. Most of the time when I haul my tractor I am leaving the trailer too so I unhook from the vehicle, move the tow vehicle and back off slowly in low range. The trailer then becomes a "tilt" trailer.

 

[Case485Guy]

Originally Posted by Case485Guy
"...going to use a spindle so I can mount bearing hub and all for spare to have in case I burn bearings up on the road"



I missed this until flyerdan pointed it out.
THAT is a really great idea! I'm surprised major trailer manufacturers don't offer this as an option.
Yes, if you maintain your hubs chances are you'll likely never have a problem but you know what they say about Murphy.
Luckily I've not had hub/bearing problems on any of my trailers but I have been riding along with two different guys on long trips where having a spare hub would have been a Godsend.
Thanks for the tip Case485Guy

Thank you, I started doing that on my goosenecks when I was hotshotting. About 12-15 yrs ago I had a oil seal go out one night on I-10 in La. Caught it too late and burned the bearings up on a weekend. I took the tires off and chained the axle up on that side and was able to get to town. Had to wait to Monday to get new parts. I made a mount on top the necks of my trailers and did the bearing/hub/spare thing. I also started going through the suspension, mounts and changed hub oil every January(easy for me to remember). I do the same on this trailer every January. Not having the spare hub and bearings always kind of bugged me, so I am adding that now while I have it torn apart and modifying.

 

[sandman2234]

That spare spindle with bearings is a really great idea! Haven't seen it or heard of that till now, and I definitely like that idea!
I stopped to help a broken down p/u pulling a trailer that had a burnt out bearing on Sunday afternoon a few years ago. (He had a killer Mustang in the trailer) We managed to find a bearing, but no lug-nuts. We wandered into town and kept looking, to no avail. Spotted a camper trailer place (closed) that had lug-nuts to fit on one of their campers near the street, so he removed a few, and got going on down the road. I called the place the next day to advise them of the missing lug-nuts and offered to pay for them, but they just told me to keep them in mind if I ever needed to purchase any campers. Really nice people, no doubt. One of my few "larceny moments", though I really wasn't the one removing the lug-nuts.
David from jax

 

[sandman2234]

This is the trailer I was referring to, with the adding 3" flat-bar below the tongue to the front wheels area. That flat-bar added quite a bit of strength to the trailer. It isn't real easy to see, just look for the different shade of rust under the front of the trailer and that should make it clear as mud.


David from jax

 

[Case485Guy]

That spare spindle with bearings is a really great idea! Haven't seen it or heard of that till now, and I definitely like that idea!
I stopped to help a broken down p/u pulling a trailer that had a burnt out bearing on Sunday afternoon a few years ago. (He had a killer Mustang in the trailer) We managed to find a bearing, but no lug-nuts. We wandered into town and kept looking, to no avail. Spotted a camper trailer place (closed) that had lug-nuts to fit on one of their campers near the street, so he removed a few, and got going on down the road. I called the place the next day to advise them of the missing lug-nuts and offered to pay for them, but they just told me to keep them in mind if I ever needed to purchase any campers. Really nice people, no doubt. One of my few "larceny moments", though I really wasn't the one removing the lug-nuts.
David from jax

The only other time to date i have had bearings issue's was on my pop-up camper. This was around 1996, we were going to Rifle falls Co. on Family Vacation. I had the bearings packed at a local shop and had him look the trailer over. We load up and leave Friday night when I get in from job. We were with in 2 miles of the campground and my wife who is now driving wakes me up....there is a noise she says. I get out and look, burned the bearings and hub flopping around. I drag it into camp, we get setup. Between different activities with the kids I get everything taken apart. Hub is shot, the spindle is pretty much shot, gouged out in several places. Monday I go to the RV shop, and for 2500.00 I can have a new axle, 1 week delivery...not gonna happen, Co was going to get a new camper before I did that. I got them order in 1 hub, 4 bearings and 4 seals. I got some brake cleaner/JB Weld and Emory cloth. In between camping stuff, I clean the spindle, aply the JB weld and sand, sand, sand got it smoothed out as good as I could.Go to put the bearing/hub back together and the back seal is wrong. back to shop....thats the only one they make. Apparently I had some type of axle was that different on the back seal and non were made for it?? So I ended up packing the bearings and on the back of the back bearing I just put a light coat of grease and a light coated of grease on the spindle where the seal would have road. The inside of the hub where the seal mounted I kept dry and clean. Got it all buttoned up and ready to go, I took a tube of the black silicon and ran a bead in where the back seal should be, Packed it in with my finger as I inserted the silicone. Let is set for the day. Next day I gently turn the wheel and the silicon did not tear, and rotated like a seal would. We finished our vacation and headed home. Made it back to S.TX without incident, ran it like a c couple more years before i sold it. Got lucky on that one. Seems when I have the parts to repair on the road I dont have the need for them...I do like having th parts though.

 

[Case485Guy]

This is the trailer I was referring to, with the adding 3" flat-bar below the tongue to the front wheels area. That flat-bar added quite a bit of strength to the trailer. It isn't real easy to see, just look for the different shade of rust under the front of the trailer and that should make it clear as mud.


David from jax

Is where the black arrow is or the red arrow? Or am I in right area? Kind of hard to see

 

[Diamondpilot]

Originally Posted by Case485Guy
"...going to use a spindle so I can mount bearing hub and all for spare to have in case I burn bearings up on the road"

I missed this until flyerdan pointed it out.
THAT is a really great idea! I'm surprised major trailer manufacturers don't offer this as an option.
Yes, if you maintain your hubs chances are you'll likely never have a problem but you know what they say about Murphy.
Luckily I've not had hub/bearing problems on any of my trailers but I have been riding along with two different guys on long trips where having a spare hub would have been a Godsend.
Thanks for the tip Case485Guy

Almost all boat trailer manufactures do.


I carry a extra hub, bearings, seals, grease, tools, ect for each of my three trailers for stories just like the pop up camper story.

Chris

 

[Egon]

Yea but that's cause they back into salt water with them.

 

[Soundguy]

hmm.. a spare spindle... interesting.. might think about that if I make any real long trips.

on a side note.. my f250 had an alt let go yesterday.. found out at the post office. glad we had a parted f250 at work we were stripping the front end off of.. made it easy..

 

[Case485Guy]

hmm.. a spare spindle... interesting.. might think about that if I make any real long trips.

Flange the end of the axle tubes/spindle..bolt on spindle..shark tank time!!!
Got all the bracing welded in today, its stout like a 6" channel box with a 6" full wrap tongue trailer stout! Whole lot stouter than when I got it..
SG,, good the hear on the Alt., hard to beat cheap fix!