Trailer needs work Move axle back?, new wood deck?

[bogydave]

Single axle trailer with tilt. (Kaufman I think)

Axle was in the center of the bed & it fish tailed if loaded evenly front to back, (learned to load front & leave back empty & drive slow when loaded heavy)
My buddy helped me move the axle back 8", was this enough?

8'X10' trailer, wood deck rotted out.
Planning to replace with 2"X8" treated.
The stuff I got is heavy & all but 2 (of 11) are heavy & wet.
I've had them 2 days & have been laying them on the trailer outside in the sun to
dry them some. (afraid they will warp to the point they become hard to install.
Should I put them on & let them dry on the trailer? Water seal/paint later?
Should I dry them first, coat/paint or water seal before I put them on? All sides?

Was thinking I may put 1/4" plywood on top of the 2Xs.
to protect 2Xs & maybe keep them dryer if I paint the plywood.
(cheaper to replace plywood every few years)

Yeh, I know, diamond plate aluminum would be awesome ($$$$$)

Suggestions Tips

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I'd leave the 2xs unfinished. If you treat them the finish could just as easily hold the water in helping it to rot. Same as with a ply cover... It will hold water in. Since the trailer will be stored outside the deck will dry out naturally. I would probably have used untreated (and probably roughsawn) since air will move around the deck and dry it out. It would also have been lighter weight so you could haul more. As your treated dries out you will get more drainage holes to help keep it dry.

Matt

 

[SolarAndWood]

The axle on my trailer is 37" from the tailgate, the bed is 8' and the trailer is just over 11' from hitch to tailgate. If you load it evenly, there is a lot of weight on the truck but it always tows very well even at highway speeds. With my 1/2 ton, I kept the speeds down when heavily loaded. Some idiot was kind enough to total that truck in front of the office a few years ago and I replaced with a 3/4 ton. Problem solved. Friends with V8 Jeep Cherokees that borrow it report being able to turn their steering wheel with no response.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I always though it would be nice to come across a 3/4 or 1 ton truck that had trouble stopping fast enough. The frame, suspension, bedrails, tailgate and axle would make a pretty nice trailer with light package included.

Matt

 

[gzecc]

Single axle trailer with tilt. (Kaufman I think)

Axle was in the center of the bed & it fish tailed if loaded evenly front to back, (learned to load front & leave back empty & drive slow when loaded heavy)
My buddy helped me move the axle back 8", was this enough?

8'X10' trailer, wood deck rotted out.
Planning to replace with 2"X8" treated.
The stuff I got is heavy & all but 2 (of 11) are heavy & wet.
I've had them 2 days & have been laying them on the trailer outside in the sun to
dry them some. (afraid they will warp to the point they become hard to install.
Should I put them on & let them dry on the trailer? Water seal/paint later?
Should I dry them first, coat/paint or water seal before I put them on? All sides?

Was thinking I may put 1/4" plywood on top of the 2Xs.
to protect 2Xs & maybe keep them dryer if I paint the plywood.
(cheaper to replace plywood every few years)

Yeh, I know, diamond plate aluminum would be awesome ($$$$$)

Suggestions Tips

Only use the 2x pressure treated. If they are wet, butt them up against each other and screw them down. They will dry in place and shrink, leaving a small space between for airflow.

 

[quads]

Single axle trailer with tilt. (Kaufman I think)

Axle was in the center of the bed & it fish tailed if loaded evenly front to back, (learned to load front & leave back empty & drive slow when loaded heavy)
My buddy helped me move the axle back 8", was this enough?

Suggestions Tips

I once had a trailer with the same problem. I measured the toe-in/toe-out of the trailer wheels and discovered they were toed-out. I pulled the axle off of it, turned it around so that it had toe-in instead, and that cured the fishtailing problem.

 

[SolarAndWood]

I always though it would be nice to come across a 3/4 or 1 ton truck that had trouble stopping fast enough. The frame, suspension, bedrails, tailgate and axle would make a pretty nice trailer with light package included.

Matt

A friend of mine did that with an old single axle International dump truck. Works great behind his 85 hp tractor.

 

[Cowboy Billy]

I just got done rebuilding my brothers 5x10 trailer. I broke a spring on it. While I had it apart I moved the axle back. It was 4" forward of the center of the trailer and I moved it 8" behind the center of the bed. The hangers that weld to the trailer are cheep enough that I just bought new ones and welded them on. Actually I got the hangers straps and bolts for 19.95 from http://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Suspension/Redline/APS5.html I thought the old springs I broke were 4500 lb pr so I put 6000 lb pr springs on it and it was a bit too much spring.

I also replaced the deck with 2x8 treated lumber. And I am up and hauling again and the trailer pulls great with just over a cord on it.

Billy

 

[Dune]

There are two reasons a trailer can sway side to side (death wobble).

The first, as noted by Quads above, is lack of toe in. Axels can easily be installed backwards, especialy by those unaware of the difference.

The second, possibly more dangerous condition is that of an unbalanced load, specificaly one caused by having a trailer axel mounted too far ahead. This configuration can give one the illusion of safty when being towed unloaded, yet be violently surprising when overloaded.

Summary:
Trailer axels MUST always toe in. (the front of the wheels are closer together than the back of the wheels). Easy enough to check with just a tape measure.

The axel or center of the axels MUST always be aft of the center of the LOAD.

The tongue of a tagalong trailer shoud weigh at least ten percent of the loaded trailer. (easy to determine with a scale in many cases.

Most trailers tow better when hicthed up in such a way that the front of the trailer is at least slightly higher than the stern.
Since we are on the subject of trailer safety, Always cross your safety chains, for both legal and safety reasons.

 

[mayhem]

I always though it would be nice to come across a 3/4 or 1 ton truck that had trouble stopping fast enough. The frame, suspension, bedrails, tailgate and axle would make a pretty nice trailer with light package included.

Matt

Even better, a dump body on a 2wd DRW truck frame with an electrohydraulic dump ram. Cut the frame where it gets bent, make an A-frame with a nice heavy hitch on it and hook up the hydraulics to the trailer wire and run a switch to the cab or use a remote. Nice heavy dump body, strong frame and super hevay duty rear axle and tires. Just came up with this highly unoriginal idea yesterday.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I wonder how much it would cost to buy a totaled truck from an insurance company. I'm sure you would have to know the agent in order for them to sell it, but the junkyards can't pay much for them.

Matt

 

[bogydave]

Single axle trailer with tilt. (Kaufman I think)

Axle was in the center of the bed & it fish tailed if loaded evenly front to back, (learned to load front & leave back empty & drive slow when loaded heavy)
My buddy helped me move the axle back 8", was this enough?

Suggestions Tips

I once had a trailer with the same problem. I measured the toe-in/toe-out of the trailer wheels and discovered they were toed-out. I pulled the axle off of it, turned it around so that it had toe-in instead, and that cured the fishtailing problem.

Never thought to check that. Good catch. I'll check it today before I deck it.
We did measure from the ball to the axle hubs on each side to make sure it was mounted square..

 

[bogydave]

I just got done rebuilding my brothers 5x10 trailer. I broke a spring on it. While I had it apart I moved the axle back. It was 4" forward of the center of the trailer and I moved it 8" behind the center of the bed. The hangers that weld to the trailer are cheep enough that I just bought new ones and welded them on. Actually I got the hangers straps and bolts for 19.95 from http://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Suspension/Redline/APS5.html I thought the old springs I broke were 4500 lb pr so I put 6000 lb pr springs on it and it was a bit too much spring.

I also replaced the deck with 2x8 treated lumber. And I am up and hauling again and the trailer pulls great with just over a cord on it.

Billy

My springs bottom out when hauling a cord of green birch. I just drive slow when loaded heavy. (I notice the axle bows a little when loaded heavy)
I think single axle trailers are rated for 3500 lbs, so overloading when hauling Horse M or fire wood is easy.
Was thinking of putting on a heavier spring. May look into it. Six robblies has about anything for small trailers.
We broke a tail light when flipping it upside down to move the axle, so headed there today to get 2 new ones with side lights.

 

[bogydave]

There are two reasons a trailer can sway side to side (death wobble).

.

The second, possibly more dangerous condition is that of an unbalanced load, specificaly one caused by having a trailer axel mounted too far ahead. This configuration can give one the illusion of safty when being towed unloaded, yet be violently surprising when overloaded.

.

Had that happen last summer, with a load of wet Horse Manure. trailer swung off the side of the road, broke the bead on the rights side tire, HM went everywhere. trailer in ditch. no damage to truck or trailer luckily. But if I had been going fast I may have wrecked everything. I think the HM guy overloaded the trailer by twice it's rating.
Tires looked almost flat. Dumb move on my part to try to haul it. Lesson learned.
Was close to home so got tire off & fixed & drove what was left in the trailer home very slow.
Thats when I started thinking I need to move the axle.

 

[bogydave]

Single axle trailer with tilt. (Kaufman I think)

Axle was in the center of the bed & it fish tailed if loaded evenly front to back, (learned to load front & leave back empty & drive slow when loaded heavy)
My buddy helped me move the axle back 8", was this enough?

Suggestions Tips

I once had a trailer with the same problem. I measured the toe-in/toe-out of the trailer wheels and discovered they were toed-out. I pulled the axle off of it, turned it around so that it had toe-in instead, and that cured the fishtailing problem.

Never thought to check that. Good catch. I'll check it today before I deck it.
We did measure from the ball to the axle hubs on each side to make sure it was mounted square..

Toe in seemed OK. about 1/8 - 3/16" toe in (front tire tread to back tire tread)

Trailer shop (6 robblees) says since it's over 80" wide I should have to have 3 lights on the middle rear of the railer.
It's a tilt trailer & the lights would hit the ground when tipped so not going to put them on.
As long as I don't P O the police, I don't think they'd ticket me for not having them.

 

[quads]

Single axle trailer with tilt. (Kaufman I think)

Axle was in the center of the bed & it fish tailed if loaded evenly front to back, (learned to load front & leave back empty & drive slow when loaded heavy)
My buddy helped me move the axle back 8", was this enough?

Suggestions Tips

I once had a trailer with the same problem. I measured the toe-in/toe-out of the trailer wheels and discovered they were toed-out. I pulled the axle off of it, turned it around so that it had toe-in instead, and that cured the fishtailing problem.

Never thought to check that. Good catch. I'll check it today before I deck it.
We did measure from the ball to the axle hubs on each side to make sure it was mounted square..

Toe in seemed OK. about 1/8 - 3/16" toe in (front tire tread to back tire tread)

Trailer shop (6 robblees) says since it's over 80" wide I should have to have 3 lights on the middle rear of the railer.
It's a tilt trailer & the lights would hit the ground when tipped so not going to put them on.
As long as I don't P O the police, I don't think they'd ticket me for not having them.

As long as it wasn't toed-out.

 

[SolarAndWood]

If you are overloading your trailer, you should take a look at your tires too. I went from LR Cs to LR Es after a similar incident to your HM. On mine, the sidewall blew out.

 

[bogydave]

If you are overloading your trailer, you should take a look at your tires too. I went from LR Cs to LR Es after a similar incident to your HM. On mine, the sidewall blew out.

I just upgraded to load range "C". Maybe I should've gone even stronger. We'll see this year. Were regular truck ties before.

New wood
New lights' & they work! LOL
Even greased the bearings. (needed snugged one cotter pin hole too)
Drilled & tapped the stake pockets 1/4" & put in 1" long bolts to hold the stakes in, (one side almost bounced out when on a bumpy road empty). It also stopped some of the rattle noise from the sides when empty.
I'm ready, now to find some wood to cut. (well after hunting season)

 

[firefighterjake]

Seems like shorter trailers can often give some problems . . . my brother-in-law's 8 x 10 snowmobile trailer (well you would most likely know it as a snowmachine trailer) had a wicked wobble in it . . . and once it got going back and forth it would just start fishtailing worse and worse until you could get it under control . . . I hated hauling that trailer as I kept picturing the sleds being pitched off the trailer on I-95.

My new trailer built by my cousin tracks like a dream . . . it's only a couple of feet longer, but it has the wheels located back further (something that is more difficult to do with a tilting sled trailer since you kind of want the trailer to pivot at the halfway point for easier loading and unloading). I think you'll find going back just a few inches like you did may make a difference.

As for the wood . . . I have PT plywood n the deck . . . I'm 6 years in and there's no sign of rot even though I leave it outside exposed to the elements, haul wood, manure, etc. with it . . . once in a blue moon when I think of it I'll coat it with some water sealant . . . but even then it's not a regular annual thing I remember to do. The one thing I should have done though is use Never Seize since my cousin had to cut the wheels off when he modified my trailer a year ago (added more height to allow me to load more wood without having the tires rub on the plywood deck) . . . I have since remedied this potential problem by using Never Seize.