[Bbfozzy]

I've been working on a utility trailer / raft trailer for my daughter over the last few weeks, here's what I came up with. I owe my inspiration to all of the posts here on the buzz, thanks.

The roller brackets and bushings are from White Water Worthy (Jake suggested to put the bushings in the freezer before installing them into the 3" emt, worked great), the roller can be removed and then each platform can be removed so it can go back to a utility trailer.

 

[Whitewater Worthy Equip]

Nice looking build!!!!

 

[MT4Runner]

Built a new dory trailer. Was an easy load motorboat trailer. Lucked out and it has a decent coupler and the lights worked.

Upgraded to 3500# axle (new beefier bearings), 15” wheels and new tires, wood flat deck, roller, new winch strap and paint.

Trailer $225
Upgraded to 3500# axle $150 (welded it myself...so parts included spindles, hubs, bearings, nut, lugnuts)
Sold the old 2,000# axle -$200
15” wheels - $40 off Marketplace. Sanded and painted
New tires $240
wood flat deck - free from my FIL's neighbor deck replacement
roller - free, made from scrap I had lying around
new winch strap $20
paint - $20

All in $595

 

[MT4Runner]

Not sure if this has been mentioned before, but if it has, it bears repeating:

If you're working on trailers....unless you're doing a full restoration....only do what you can complete in a single day or weekend. It seems that trailer projects more than anything else turn from weeklong projects into yearlong projects. One incompleted task runs into another and now your trailer is completely unuseable.

If you're chipping away at a bunch of small tasks, complete each one before you move to the next. That way your trailer remains useable!! And very often we end up working on trailers outside...so we do it in the summer time..which is also rafting season and you don't want to suddenly take your boat trailer offline for weeks on end during peak use time!

Or is it just me? 'cause I bought this trailer 3 years ago and it took me a long damn time to do a really simple rebuild!!!

 

[MT4Runner]

Just lost my new rear roller somewhere along 58mi of the NF Flathead road. Dammit! Time to rebuild and use more loctite

But we ran the 58mi in 7h:55min!

 

[Bbfozzy]

Just updated my roller, trailer came with 2" steel pipe over 1-3/4" steel pipe, it was very strong, didn't roll all that smoothly and was very loud when driving. The White Water Worthy is such an upgrade.

 

[BenSlaughter]

Just updated my roller, trailer came with 2" steel pipe over 1-3/4" steel pipe, it was very strong, didn't roll all that smoothly and was very loud when driving. The White Water Worthy is such an upgrade. View attachment 78707

Sharp lookin outfit!

 

[MT4Runner]

Just lost my new rear roller somewhere along 58mi of the NF Flathead road. Dammit! Time to rebuild and use more loctite

But we ran the 58mi in 7h:55min!

Got the roller replaced. With locknuts and loctite on both ends!

 

[Shaft]

Got the roller replaced. With locknuts and loctite on both ends!

Chunky loctite?

 

[MNichols]

Hopefully at least red loctite. Since you have a welder, I'd put a tack on the nut / axle just to make sure..

 

[MT4Runner]

Hopefully at least red loctite. Since you have a welder, I'd put a tack on the nut / axle just to make sure..

not a bad idea.

 

[cupido76]

Any tips on how much clearance between the wheels and the fenders that I should have?

Mine is a Torsion axle and I know they behave differently but I'd still like to know I'm not going to blow a tire on a cross member.

My very old Torsion axle rides so much smother than anything I've ever driver with a leaf spring... so maybe it has less deviation built into the design?

Not sure how to test.

 

[Whitewater Worthy Equip]

Axle manufacture says 3” unless something has changed.

 

[MNichols]

It depends on the starting down angle, and the diameter of your tires, so the clearance is generally tied to the bottom of the frame as that never moves. In order for you to realize more clearance under your trailer and the fender, depending on where it's mounted and to what, using torsion axles with down degree angles will give you more clearance.

On a system that has a 10 degree up axle, the center line of the spindle to the bottom of the trailer frame is approximately .96 inches. That is based on a newer system. If you have an older system on your trailer that measurement may be much less. For a 10 degree down you would have a difference of 2.08 inches. For 22.5 degree down, the difference would be about 3-1/3 inches, and for a 45 degree down torsion axle, the difference could be 5.28 inches. It's really a crap shoot with older axles as the standards were being developed and everyone was doing something different. Compression clearance will differ with the load rating too, so the heavier load the more compression.
You should realize that raising the trailer for more clearance will introduce more trailer sway by raising the center of gravity.

 

[cupido76]

^^^ I don't know what my angle is supposed to be as it's a used trailer... but is it safe to assume that as the axle ages it will sag a little?

 

[Whitewater Worthy Equip]

That is safe assumption with humans but not with anything mechanical (if it moves or spins). Inspecting and repairing worn out parts is part of the beauty of owning things. If you don’t know don’t go.
There is nothing quite as exciting as having your wheel pass you no the freeway! If your really lucky, you could even start a 🔥👎

 

[cupido76]

That is safe assumption with humans but not with anything mechanical (if it moves or spins). Inspecting and repairing worn out parts is part of the beauty of owning things. If you don’t know don’t go.
There is nothing quite as exciting as having your wheel pass you no the freeway! If your really lucky, you could even start a

Well I don't think I feel the need to know everything about everything I do... but I try to know as much as I can and then continue to learn more.

 

[MNichols]

That is safe assumption with humans

I resemble that remark..

As far as Cupido76 learning more, here's a short primer

Torsional suspension axles are basically a steel square, with a smaller steel square inside, and the spaces between the square's occupied with rubber rods Dexter calls shock cords.

According to Dexter “Dexter would consider any Torflex arm that has moved more than ten degrees from the original build angle as weak or losing suspension”. But how would you know if your axle has sagged 10° or more when you don’t know what the start angle was?

The first test is to jack up each side of the trailer and watch to see if the wheel moves down as weight is removed from that side, if on either side the wheel does not drop at least 1½” the axle needs replacing. ALWAYS, in all instances, jack the trailer by the frame, NOT the axle as it's very likely you can bend it doing so.

Second, measure the diameter of your tire (as an example ST175/80D13 trailer tires have a diameter of 24″) and divide this number by 2 (in this case 12″). Now with the trailer sitting on level ground measure the distance from the ground to the top of the axle tube, either just ahead or behind the axle mounting brackets. Take the tire radius and subtract the frame to ground measurement, if the result is greater than 2½” your axle needs replacing (the above calculations are based on a fully loaded axle with an initial start angle of 0° to 10° up angle).

I posted the measurements for the other axle angles in an earlier post.

As an example: your trailer has ST175/80D13 tires which have a diameter of 24″, dividing the diameter by 2 gives you the radius of 12″.

The distance measured from the ground to the top of the axle measures 7″

12″-7″=5″ The axle arm has dropped more than 2″ and should be replaced

Here's a handy diagram

Here's a link to the Dexter site if you're interested

Home | Dexter Axle Co

From 600 lbs. to 12,000 lbs., Dexter offers a full line of torsion axle options featuring the Dexter TORFLEX and Eliminator series.

www.dexteraxle.com

 

[cupido76]

So my old trailer turned out to have too many issues outside of my comfort level to fix.

Moving on... Live and learn.

Ok my new trailer I'm attaching 2x6 lumber to the steel frame with carriage bolts but I'm sure wondering if anyone has any solutions for sealing up the holes I've made for the bolts and the compression of the bolt head in the wood?

I've spent a lot of time and effort to seal the wood and now I've compromised it with a bunch of holes and surface weak points.

 

[yesimapirate]

I, too, have carriage bolts mounting my deck boards to angle iron. My current round of boards are treated 2x12's. I honestly hadn't thought about the drilled holes as a weak spot to the weather, but perhaps I should. I have 2 thoughts. Seal over the carriage bolt. Or pop the bolt out after a dry fitting, and seal inside drilled hole with your sealant of choice.