Car Axles used for Utility Trailers

[andyfletcher]

I was wondering if anyone ever built a utility trailer, either double axle or single, and what make vehicle axle did you use and what capacity.

Thanks

 

[BigAl]

My old utility trailer was a Datsun pickup cut in half . Still had the rear end it came with . It worked fine for me and I still see it around town being towed by the new owner . My new utility trailer is still a late model Nissan pickup bed but has a straight axle so it weighs less .
Big Al

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Three quarter and one ton rearends can be used if they're floaters. That's axles where the bearings stay in place if the axle breaks.

I've made motorcycle trailers from Eldorado rear axles and I'm sure other front wheel drive car rear axles will work.

The best thing to do is use regular trailer axles. The last set of seven thousand pounders with brakes, springs, etc only cost about five to six hundred dollars for the pair. They're not that expensive and you get BRAKES!

 

[Nasty135]

Andy, I made a small one from a boat trailer ,does that count?
I was at a yard sale and this fella was selling it for $40 so I put it in the back of my truck and carried it home, bought a little angle and some pressure treat and voila... /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

It works great for around the house

 

[CTyler]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Three quarter and one ton rearends can be used if they're floaters. )</font>

What would be the difference? I mean between using the rearend on a trailer vs it being on the back end of the pick up? Could you explain...Thanks

 

[jrlichina]

What he means is not to use a "semi-floating" rear end which is normaly found in 1/2 ton pickup trucks. These rear ends have the weight of the vehicle supported by the drive axle itself so if it breaks the wheel will fall off(a bad thing). Full floating axles have the weight of the vehicle supported by the axle housing itself so it can carry more weight and its not affected by axle failure(wheel will not fall off). The drive axle is a separtate component. But like he says you would be better off just buying standard trailer axles with brakes. These are indeed relatively cheap, lighter, and easy to install.

 

[Richard]

I once bought a heavy duty trailer to transport my dirtbike. The trailer was made for 3 bikes with some kind of "U" shaped channels all the way up for the wheels to ride in. Doubt it was 1/4" steel U channels, but it was close to it and was VERY stout.


What struck me as odd about the trailer (single axle as I recall) is the leaf springs did not go "forward/backward" but instead they went from one wheel to the OTHER wheel.

When I bought it, I was told that the axle used for this trailer came from a Corvette and THAT is why the leaf springs went from one wheel to the other, rather than from front to rear.

The trailer weighed a ton (figuratively speaking) always drove nicely behind my station wagon.

Richard

 

[Joe1]

There was a post here a few months ago where someone built a trailer using the rear axles off a front drive Chrysler mini van. Seemed to work fine. I don't believe he had any spring suspension on his.

Buying dedicated trailer axles with brakes would seem to be the easiest in the long run.

 

[andyfletcher]

That sounds oK. Most factory made axles are built for 2000 lbs. A few are under this for smaller loads and are sold as sheet steel boxed kits. I'm assuming your boat is an aluminum with maybe an OB and equipment on board. That should do it. If your into a glass boat with extra weight. maybe a 3500 lb single axle would be less ware and tear on the bearings.

What I see scares me is some people are using "K" car
slung under axles for trailers, which is OK to 2000 lbs. What they do next is attach spring mounts to the "U" channel axle
which mechanicaly is prone to failure. This is because an impact imparts pressure at center of the spindle. This causes the axle to twist at the spring mounts like a swing on a tree. It may result in snapped spring brackets.

What needs to be done is to seperate the spindle plate from the spindle by cutting it away from the axle assembly. Then a straight axle needs to be welded in instead. This places the load directly in line with the spindle. Of course this is OK for someone who already has a K running gear. Better off just using a factory direct. Neat thing about K axles (or Carvan) is they come with hydraulic brakes and sometimes at the scrape yard you can get one just scrapped with new brakes. They are also rated for safety stresses, so added to the designed carrying weight calculation is momentary shock stress where the stress on the spindle is twice the load.

Anyway, I'm wandering off your post. But yeah, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( The best thing to do is use regular trailer axles. The last set of seven thousand pounders with brakes, springs, etc only cost about five to six hundred dollars for the pair. They're not that expensive and you get BRAKES! )</font>

I had a 5th wheel travel trailer that had too light a suspension for the way I had it equipped, so I went to the manufacturer of the trailer in Indiana and a guy there suggested I contact a particular person at Dexter Axle in Elkhart to decide what would be best. Quite an experience for me. We sat down with his catalogs, decided on which axle tubes I wanted, which spindles (type and method of lubrication), what size brakes I wanted, which hubs, which springs, etc. He said the best thing was to just cusom build exactly what I wanted. It was about noon when we got it all worked out and I asked him how long it would take to get them, expecting a week or so, but he looked at the clock and apologetically said, "I won't be able to have them for you before noon tomorrow." /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif I went back picked them up about 1 p.m. the next day. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif He said they made about 1500 axles a day there. And while I don't remember now exactly what it cost, it was a lot less than I was expecting. The trailer came with 3500 pound axles and I went to 5200 pound axles, but used the heavier axle tube that they use on the 7000 pound axles, went from 10" diameter, 2" wide brakes to 12" diameter 2.5" wide brakes (that sure made a difference).