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Trailer Porn

352766 Views 526 Replies 149 Participants Last post by  MT4Runner, 
yesimapirate
3
And so it begins!

Mine's a custom job. An old bass boat trailer stripped down, rebuilt with angle iron, treated 1x4's in the floor, and boat deck built on top with two 2x10's(not treated and need to replace). New 2500'b axle with 15in tires. No clue on weight, but pulls smoothly at up to 80-85mph. Boat deck is just high enough to slide coolers, dry box, and tubs underneath; but not too tall that I have wind drag on the top. Each deck board has rollers on the back, but they haven't been as useful as I thought.

And yes, those are trucker mudflaps. They help keep the muck out of the gear on the trailer, and prevent the rocks from ricocheting back into the car(shattered a rear window on good ole Trough Rd).

Enjoy.

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C
Yes I know those wheels are too small but I only really drive about 60 to 65 mph with a trailer anyway with my 4 cyl hybrid so I'm not super worried about that.
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tBatt
cupido76 said:
Tell me more about your roller system?
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20 poly rollers on a steel axle bough from a buzz ad.
Two bigger metal rollers behind those
A smaller diameter full width roller across the back.

They work well.
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MT4Runner
That looks good Cupido. You've been busy this spring!
I really like the ammo can and the weatherproof electrical box.
I can see a lot of thought went into it.

I highly recommend a roller next.

cupido76 said:
Probably not "porn" compared to a lot of people's trailers, but despite some setbacks and spending way more than I intended, I'm excited to be able to trailer my boat inflated again!

It's a 6x8 deck which is borderline, but the wheels are set back and it has a long tongue so the boat hangs off the ends.

I blew a bearing getting it home and paid more than the value of the trailer to tow it and get it fixed... but it has 2 new bearings and I added bearing buddies so it "should" be good to go. And the professionally made raft trailers I know about would cost a fortune to pick up and drive back to Canada. So that's out for me.

2000 pound (guessing?) Torsion axle. I had pocket stakes welded on. Redid the wiring, and added an upper deck.

The lower deck compartments will hold a set of 3 oars on each side (up to 10 footers, without the blades), and the 2 center compartments will hold my table and my homemade sleeping pad that doesn't like to get folded. View attachment 78103 View attachment 78104 View attachment 78105 View attachment 78106
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C
MT4Runner said:
That looks good Cupido. You've been busy this spring!
I really like the ammo can and the weatherproof electrical box.
I can see a lot of thought went into it.

I highly recommend a roller next.
Click to expand...
Thanks!

The wiring goes through the side tubes that have some self tapping screws poking in to possible abrade the wires... so I ran some old rubber hose through there to protect the wires and the junction box is there to make a rewire easier, if needed, by breaking the run up into sections.

The ammo can has a few tools specific to this trailer... the right sized sockets, replacement dust caps, and I'll probably buy a replacement bearing set and grease it and leave it in there too.

A roller is on the list!
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MT4Runner
If you have room, have an entire spare hub loaded with bearings and grease. Way less mess to dink with if you have to do a roadside repair.

And buy an extra spindle nut, washer, and cotter pin...seems that bearing and hub sets don't always include them, and that's the part you lose first if you lose a wheel.
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C
MT4Runner said:
If you have room, have an entire spare hub loaded with bearings and grease. Way less mess to dink with if you have to do a roadside repair.

And buy an extra spindle nut, washer, and cotter pin...seems that bearing and hub sets don't always include them, and that's the part you lose first if you lose a wheel.
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Thanks for the tips... I'll look into that.

But I suspect a spare hub might not be as trivial a think to find with a Torsion axle?
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MT4Runner
Actually, hubs should be easy to find. It's the spindle inward to the suspension that is specific to your torsion axle.

The hub, bearings, seals, spindle nut, etc should be the same whether it's a 2,000# sprung axle or 2,000# torsion axle. Check the bearing and seal part numbers:
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MT4Runner
Cabelas down here has full replacement hub kits:

It wouldn't surprise me if Canadian Tire had similar.
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C
MT4Runner said:
Actually, hubs should be easy to find. It's the spindle inward to the suspension that is specific to your torsion axle.

The hub, bearings, seals, spindle nut, etc should be the same whether it's a 2,000# sprung axle or 2,000# torsion axle. Check the bearing and seal part numbers:
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Ok thanks for that... looking into it now.

I guess I just need to remove the hub to measure the spindle diameter to make sure I have the right hub?
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BenSlaughter
I'm likely more frivolous with my prep than Mr4, but I think carrying an entire spare hub is a bit of overkill. With a basic amount of preventative maintenance, and an occasional wellness check(I try to give my hubs a temp test- with the back of my hand after driving far enough for them to have heated up) you should be able to see a problem coming from far enough away to deal with bad bearings at home, between trips.
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C
BenSlaughter said:
I'm likely more frivolous with my prep than Mr4, but I think carrying an entire spare hub is a bit of overkill. With a basic amount of preventative maintenance, and an occasional wellness check(I try to give my hubs a temp test- with the back of my hand after driving far enough for them to have heated up) you should be able to see a problem coming from far enough away to deal with bad bearings at home, between trips.
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I hear you and you're probably right most of the time but I had literally zero warning before this trailer blew a bearing. I had even pulled over a couple of times to check the torque on the lugs and see if the hubs were heating up and all was fine until it locked right up.

I contacted the previous owner when it blew up and he said it was odd because he serviced the bindings the previous summer. Could have been lying or could have used the wrong grease.... who knows?

I've done everything I can think of to avoid a repeat but just want to be prepared.
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MT4Runner
cupido76 said:
I guess I just need to remove the hub to measure the spindle diameter to make sure I have the right hub?
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Gotta remove the hub to know what seal/bearing size you have as well.
You can use the seal #, spindle diameters, and bearing ID to figure out the hub and bearing size. (don't do as I once did and destroy a $12 seal trying to get the p/n on a $7 bearing!)
Feel free to post up here, I'm happy to help.

BenSlaughter said:
I'm likely more frivolous with my prep than Mr4, but I think carrying an entire spare hub is a bit of overkill. With a basic amount of preventative maintenance, and an occasional wellness check(I try to give my hubs a temp test- with the back of my hand after driving far enough for them to have heated up) you should be able to see a problem coming from far enough away to deal with bad bearings at home, between trips.
Click to expand...
I do agree that it's unlikely to need a spare if you do maintenance and checkups (I too check for hub temp)...but I also think of the consequences of a blown hub when I'm headed in to Boundary, or a shuttle driver is pulling my trailer from Corn to Vinegar...or even when I take a weekend trip down the Lochsa and am 1.5hrs out of cell coverage. Having spare bearings means you find rocks or sticks to pound out the old seal or bearings and fix it next to the road, but you can do it in 45min-hour. Or a spare hub means I wipe the old grease out, hope the threads aren't too bunged up, and drop a new hub on. 20min.

Or have no parts and spend 5hr driving back and forth to the nearest town hoping they have parts and then coming back to fix a rig.

Having a $90 loaded hub is CHEAP insurance compared to the hassle of not having parts--and my wife's resultant furor sitting next to the highway for 5 hours!!

I'm also changing over my two small boat trailers to 3,500# axles so all 3 of my trailers use the exact same hub, bearings, and seals and I can carry a single spare for all of them.
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BenSlaughter
How dare you use that kindof logic on me!!

Ok, I'll see about buying a new hub. 🤬🤬 😄

'course, I won't need it until I get a new transmission in my pickup... 😖
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MT4Runner
She already sat next to the road last weekend when my alternator went out. I'm not going to tempt fate any further!!
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BenSlaughter
Oh yeah, that reminds me...I need an alternator, too. 🙄
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MT4Runner
When I bought my van, the speedo was out. So the van wasn't telling the trans when to shift, only when the hydraulic pressure got high enough. bang!
So I bought a $50 junkyard cluster with a working speedo and then headed to the Lochsa.
Turns out it wasn't charging. Batt was good, so got a new alternator.
Wheel Automotive parking light Automotive side marker light Tire Cloud

New alt delivered in STYLE.

But then it wasn't charging. Turns out the cluster's charge light/circuit tells the exciter in the Alt to make juice. And my new cluster had the wrong pinout.
So we went back to my buddy's shop and repinned the cluster so it charged.

And I probably have a factory alternator that still works..want it? haha
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BenSlaughter
Aaaaahh...the joy of driving old rigs! 😝
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MNichols
BenSlaughter said:
Aaaaahh...the joy of driving old rigs! 😝
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The joy of driving fords! 😂🤣
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BenSlaughter
MNichols said:
The joy of driving fords! 😂🤣
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Microphone Font Eyewear Eyelash Event
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MNichols
BenSlaughter said:
View attachment 78195
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I can feel the love 🥰
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