Need to do some work on trailer and fix a few things, PO moved the axles under springs for lift by welding on square tabs with hole for leaf pin but now alignment is off eating one tire. Will be placing axles back over and wanted to add shocks at same time.

One thing you have to be aware of. A normal axle is not flat, in other words there is some camber calculated into them, if the axle is not installed correctly (parallel to the ground) the built in camber becomes toe... Thus, smokes the tires unevenly, not to mention tows like crap.

So question is on duel axle do I  add to both axles or is one axle all you need, thinking of S10 shocks to stay cheap.

Two trains of thought.
1. If you shock one axle, the springs are connected via a link, the problem is, if the axles are not of the exact same weight, it wont work. An example would be if the rear axles had surge brakes the heavier axle will have more "unsprung weight" and they will fight like third graders over a cupcake.

2. If you shock both axles, the trailer will track better and be extremely smooth and easy on the boat, the only issue becomes articulation, the shocks, if too "stiff" can limit the articulation of the center link and do some e weird shit going over large bumps at speed. As one axle is loading, the other will completely unload... causing a brief chatter.

I will also be changing from a flat equalizer to a "T" style for a little lift over the flat and may move fenders up if I need tire clearance

The tee needs to be the right dimension to keep the axles parallel to the ground as previously mentioned.

I used mid 70's Ford Pinto shock absorbers for the rear of a hatchback. They are stupid light and cheap, I think I spent less than $20 for the set. You can use a flat piece of stock for the top and a flat bracket can be made for the bottom mount plate of the spring carrier. Just remember to cut the stud off the bottom after installing the jamb nuts.

You will also want to balance the tires, this seems stupid, but the shocks will really accentuate an out of balance tire. I can remember towing the race boat trailer across Idaho at over 100 MPH and it was like it was never there.... We were not very smart back then, but it did have VR rated Good Year Eagles on it     .... 

I am not sure if I have any pictures of that trailer, but I know I can get some in the next few days of my current trailer....

Just for reference, the trailer axles need to have close to the rated load on them before the camber comes in, so a 1900 pound boat on a 7,000 pound trailer will be funky.

Typically, a 2"X2" axle is good for 2000 pounds, a 2"X3" 3500 pounds and both will have a bend in the middle to provide a positive camber. Many people do not know this.

Good luck. Sounds like a worth while project.

GT

Ok here are some pics you can see the pads that were welded to the axle so when they put the leafs over they didn't need to drill for the center pin, on the tire that wore the pad looked to be at slight angle and off center.
I also have straight equalizers, thought about replacing with standard triangle shaped same distance eye to eye hoping to get a little clearance between tire and fenders when I reverse the axles as I'm sure they did the mod for tire fender clearance. Just a guess but if it works at all like off-road shackles 2in extra length will get you 1in lift? So going to order 4in rise and hope it works.
The bad tire pic was removed after about 700 miles you can see it wore bad on inside with some cupping and tread started to separate, that's probaly when I felt it was going bad, still held air. The spare is hard to tell about wear as it was a crappy tire but it got me home about 200 miles more.
I did pull the boat through Yosemite so there were many miles of tight windy road and had some extras in boat so weight weight was higher than I will normally pull 300-400lbs (30 gal gas left  a 12ft aluminum john boat&5hp motor and bunch of gramps old tools)

i have the same competitive trailer, same axles, same straight equalizer and i dont have any of the problems you're experiencing...





id imagine maybe when the axles were moved around and flipped that they're out of alignment?  or maybe one of the springs is sagging causing that one tire to wear unevenly?  im planning on getting a new set up of springs, equalizers, etc with greasable bolts on everything and its not very expensive and will probably last another 30 years.

do you know if hadco has these same axles at their location?  im looking to add a third and ive had VERY minimal success with dealing with them on the phone/email.

You need new axles... Or at least one, the welds on that axle likely caused the alignment problem.

You cannot (and more importantly don't need to) weld on a solid axle. They are tempered. By welding on the axle, it annealed the area of the weld and likely weakened it to a point where it is now tweaked.

A long straight edge will confirm this by putting it along the wheels edges, you may need to let the air out of the tires to get a good "read".

There is no way in heck that that crooked block is causing the problem.... 

GT

if that is the case i would buy your other axle from you assuming the size/specs are the same... if hadco doesnt have a matching axle (im in the same boat, i need 1 axle) you'll need 2, i could buy your old one...  haha.

That's some funny stuff right there. 


BTW, the brakes go on the rear axle, not the front. 


Not sure why, but every manufacturer for a long time did it wrong. 

GT

I will check the axles I think I have a long enough framing square, so if I understand correctly check from the face of the rims?

Yes, and not for even, but parallel, or "straight line" in relation to each other.

I hope that's not the case but if it is then the interior will have to wait 1 more season and the trailer will get axles.

 

I will be swapping the axles back to original over the leafs, so should I put the break axle in the rear at the same time?

Up to you, but they do work better on the rear, on a tandem, everybody thought that weight transfers forward, fair enough, but look at how the springs will wrap and what direction the axle will move, the front axle during braking actually raises, which take the effectiveness out of the brakes, the rear axle will push downward under braking, putting more weight on the tow vehicle and improving brake actions on both counts.

I doubt seriously I will be challenged on this. 

If I do end up needing axles Ka0tyk I will keep you in mind

LOL

GT

Just got home from a trip over to Hadco. Good news and bad...  Good news is They confirmed I have the 2R hubs and spindles and sold me a the Z-rings, o-rings and grease seals for 1 axle for $10 out the door and talking with the guys in back about my axle and issue, and showing them pictures I was advised to put the axes back to stock and double check the equalizer and hangers for wear at the through bolts. They say those axles are solid and the drop was bent into them and spindle machined all 1 piece and the welding should not have caused any issue.   So the bad news is they no longer make that axle, or any bent drop axles so no new replacements. The cost is way to high, and they are mainly a big-rig and military supplier now. So next I go move some axles around and see what happens

hey guys idk if any you guys have ever heard of red neck trailer supply but good place a lot of info n a lot of parts very reasonable on parts we ues them at the shop I work at n also bought stuff for my boat trailer at way cheaper pricese than anywhere else ive found look it up theyer in Fontana I beleave if not Fontana its riverside .but check em out

So got into the axles today, found bunch of issues. I put a angle finder on the axles behind the hub and axle with bad wear was tilted at 8deg from the bad spring perch welded on, that is also my break axle and I think that wheel may have had the breaks little to tight( that was on me never did electric trailer brakes before). The other side of same axle the hangers were realy tight and had some metal to metal wear and sings they had been binding.  All the spring hangers are welded to a peice of angle then bolted to the trailer frame, one of the bolts was missing and the ange was about 3/16 from the frame..   So now axles are over the leafs again as it left the factory, shackles are all lubed and correctly tightened, Missing frame bolts replaced, cleaned breaks and replaced grease seals and adjusted brakes and even put a nice coat of rustoleum black on the axles and leafs. I was very busy, and can't believe it pulled as nice as it did and didn't fall apart. Totally forgot about pics, may get some tomorrow. May need to cut the fenders and weld in a small insert to raise them, looks like the tires may rub if trailer hits big bump, sure that's why PO did the lift. I did have some paint mixed to be a close match to the current trailer color and plan to spray it after the fender work.  Will rember to take before and after pics