Trailer needs some work, or maybe replace?

alk

alk

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Towed my boat home from the marina today, and again painfully obvious that my 20 year old trailer is on its last legs. I go thru bearings way too fast, I assume because the spindles are pretty scored up, so every time the trailer goes in, the hubs fill with salt water. The leaf springs are so rusted I'm surprised they are still hanging. And every u-bolt, bolt, and nut is rusted almost to the point of being gone.

So trying to decide if I do a major rebuild over the winter, or go shopping in the spring.

The trailer is a load rite galvanized with dual axles. So if I rebuild, i would need to replace both axles and springs for each. Wondering how hard that is to do, to get the new ones aligned, anything else hard about this job? Will probably cost me about a grand in parts to rebuild this one, 4K or so to replace it. Wish I could find a shop to do the work, but that may take the cost close to a new trailer?

I think I asked this same question last year, and ended up replacing two hubs during the season, and the other two this morning before driving home. One of the in season replacements was in the marina parking lot, wasn't so lucky with the other.

Would like to be able to get around a little more next year. Anybody been down this path?
 
Check the whole frame including cross members before putting any money into it. I have replace the axle and springs on a single axle and it can be tough to get it apart but other than that, not a bad job. Add up all the parts cost first....
 
Does it take any work to position or align the tandem axles, or like an old truck/ jeep do they only fit on in one spot?

The frame looks fine, or course I can’t see the inside.
 
Speedi Sleeve's https://trailerparts.com/wear-ring-...MInYX5mqCd3gIVEVYMCh1emgXrEAQYASABEgJBQ_D_BwE
Use High temp RTV on the very clean axle spindle, acetone clean, then install the speedi sleeve. On the hub use a QUALITY Double lipped seal. Torque the axle nut to the recommended lbs/ft while rotating the hub/drum. Stop rotating the hub, back off the spindle nut then tighten it finger tight. Use a bearing buddy and then put RTV around the hub/bearing buddy joint. Should be salt water tight after this. Dexter Axles/hubs have a web page explaining the correct "LOAD" adjustments.
Good Luck
 
I`ve done springs,axels, fenders, and cradels front and rear. spindels can be sleeved to oem specs and reused.are your axels solid or hollow? Are the cradels solid with no rust thru`s?
springs are mostly a self aligning bolt on process
The trailers used for weekly trips should be done at the end of season or the beginning of season
Pull hubs, inspect , replace rear seals, clean,repack,reinstall
 
If you're doing this yourself, get a good electric re-chargeable impact gun, I actually wore out a Craftsman 1/2" drive ratchet about 10 years ago when I rebuilt my '94 Load Rite (new axle, springs, brakes, longer roller bars, longer tongue etc). Still in good shape now. Spray all the nuts/bolts with Kano Kroil, PB Blaser or Freeze Off a few days before going at it.
 
I've replaced the axle on my trailer, much smaller than yours. It only fit in one spot, so I wasn't worried about alignment.

For the u-bolts, a sawz-all or grinder with cutting wheel will be faster than dealing with rusty nuts.

Before you begin, I would hit every six inches of the frame with a hammer to make sure it's not rusting through from the inside.

Good luck! Shouldn't be too difficult.
 
I have sleeves on the axles now, but did not seal them with anything. Still not lasting through the year, and I can't get the spindles anywhere near clean. I guess I've run too far after the bearings burnt out, and scored them up very nicely.

If I tear it apart, plan on cutting off all the bolts and u-bolts. I do have a 20v cordless 1/2" impact, which I can say without any hesitation is my favorite tool I own - but these are too far gone, they need to be cut off. The plow hardware on my 40 year old jeep was cleaner than the trailer botls - and not one of those came loose without the cutting wheel.

Leaning towards buying a new trailer next spring, would like to give torsion axles a try, and a lighter aluminum trailer. But still toying with the idea of a rebuild.
 
Back at it with this trailer. I pulled the axles and leaf springs - the springs, bushing, and bolts, are pretty much gone. And I need to replace the axles too.

Has anyone converted their leaf spring suspension to torsion axles? I really like the idea of replaceable bolt on spindles, and not having to deal with rusty leaf springs. Have seen a few videos that make it look easy, and price is comparable to what new axles, springs and hardware will cost. Wondering if there are any downsides.
 
Replacing spindles are a simple weld job. Also, go to disc brakes. Cost is the same as replacing your drum brakes...and easier to keep clean.

I've had square tube frames rust out and fall apart with the boat still on. I rebuit the frame with bunks on the rear and rollers just on the bow section. The rollers catch the boat retrieving and cradle the boat nicely. Best of both worlds.

Aligning is already there with the spring brackets, but I guess you already know from the disassembly you've already done. If single axle brakes, go on front axle. May have to change master cylinder for disc brakes.

Good luck, It's not that hard of a job
 
Check out etrailer.com for parts.
They’re usually much cheaper than local sources and you can call them on the phone if you have questions about what to order.
 
Eastern Marine trailer 'superstore' is a few minutes from my house. They have very good prices, and knowledgeable old guys on the floor to hep with parts selection. He talked me out of torsion conversion, little under 900 for axles, hubs, springs and all of the bolts, bushings and plates to hang everything.
 
If the frame is good then 900 and some sweat equity sounds like a good deal.
 
The manufacturer needs to do some work on their quality control. One of the hubs they gave me had the wrong size hub in the package. And one of the axles has a nice burr right in the spindle where the rear seal sits. Guess I’m heading back down there.. Otherwise looking good, all four springs are hung, and the rear axle and hubs are on.

I hope the frame is good, hard to know what the inside looks like, but exterior looks fine.
 
It's done - and trailer made it just fine down to the marina in Jersey last weekend ( only 100 miles). Have to admit, the whole drive down I was running through my head trying to remember what bolt(s) I forgot to torque, or what else I missed. But made it with no issues. Not too thrilled about dipping my new axles and leaf springs into the salt water every weekend - but the last ones made it 20 years, so suppose I need to relax.

I probably need to replace some of the rollers. Expect this thread to live on as long as I do.
 
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