New "old" trailer- tri axle

[Gale Hawkins]

There are probably thousands of narrowed MH axels in use today with no problems.Might be a difference of manufs. but I have had the MH axels narrowed for my use and never a problem

Crusty most everyone including brokenot knows what he is saying is not functionally true. Read his last line in his last post. I think he may have taken an "honest" pill and may be about to come clean with us as to why his "troll" activity on the web.

Watch for him to post he is not trying to confuse readers and that he is only out to save them from themselves.:laughing:

Let us see if he is about to come clean about his $$$$ reasons behind his post after post or post some concrete cases that support his posts other than the soft stuff like manufactures' "recommendations".

We make stuff and we have "recommendations" to potential customers too.

 

[Kaliburz]

Crusty most everyone including brokenot knows what he is saying is not functionally true. Read his last line in his last post. I think he may have taken an "honest" pill and may be about to come clean with us as to why his "troll" activity on the web.

Watch for him to post he is not trying to confuse readers and that he is only out to save them from themselves.:laughing:

Let us see if he is about to come clean about his $$$$ reasons behind his post after post or post some concrete cases that support his posts other than the soft stuff like manufactures' "recommendations".

We make stuff and we have "recommendations" to potential customers too.

Uh oh.... so I've got a troll posting to my post. Dang.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

BillaVista's Trailer and Mobile Home Axle tech

Pictures and details of parts and the process of servicing/replacing brakes and bearing parts on equipment trailers built using mobile home axles.

His write up and updates are very detailed so if you need to replace parts or service you trailer with MH axles you may enjoy this site. As far as that goes the basis info is good for many brands/lines of axles.

In his case the wheel bearings turned out to be identical to some wheel bearings by the Big 3 auto makers and are not "trailer" specific.

To keep Dexter and brokenot happy you should buy non MH axle using trailers by all means. If you are one of the happy millions using heavy equipment trailers built on MH axles you may find this Canadian's experience and story of interest.

 

[crazyal]

Gale. I think your link is going to 'muddy up' the waters further. If you look at some of the picks the leaf springs have multiple leafs. Brokenot's Dexter comment said most use a single main leaf. Those axles could be some of the few that didn't (however I've only seen the single main spring style myself) or the builder of the trailer could have swapped them out. Or it's possible that Dexter isn't the only company making this type of axle.

I have several friends who have trailers built with MH axles and have used them for decades with no problems. I have talked to MH dealers and from what they tell me they pump up the tires far past the rated pressure and put far more weight on them than they are rated for. The only issue he ever has is either a tire blows or while making sharp turns the leading or trailing tires debead because of the sideways torque.

Now back to topic. I have a 79 General trailer with those same axles. The differences I can see are my trailer has wood decking in the middle and steel diamond plate on the outside edge. The I beam runs the full length before being angled in to form the tongue. The front plate has three holes for the pintle hitch and the trailer has a large semi style (6" square ish) jack. The trailer is rated for 22,500 lbs.

The things I would look for is play in the leaf spring bushings.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Crazyal that was a good catch. From my research springs can vary and the deciding factor between a retail and MH axle has to be does the back plate have a flange to bolt to or is the back plate just welded on. It does not change the function of the axle and it lowers the cost slightly.

After pulling my old trailer 110 miles empty to get it home at 60 mph and the bearing cap/hub staying cool to touch the whole time I think we are go to go since we may do 100 miles per year at 45-50 MPH max.

In looking at Utah's law the number of axles does not even refer to weight but the number is based on how long the trailer is but width (weight) does not matter. That supports what you were told about them running seriously overloaded. We know these bearings are standard off the shelf automotive bearing and if they can run seriously over loaded for 500-1000+ miles at interstate speeds and NOT fail they are an over kill for 90%+ of heavy equipment trailers based on the way they get used in real life moving equipment from job to job or like in our case to take equipment in for service.

I though the guy knocked himself out on going into detail and with great pictures when servicing his MH trailer axles.

 

[brokenot]

Crusty most everyone including brokenot knows what he is saying is not functionally true. Read his last line in his last post. I think he may have taken an "honest" pill and may be about to come clean with us as to why his "troll" activity on the web.

Gale, I guess the last line in my post went waaaaaay over your head. Let's try it again. I repair things for a living, and have been doing so for 25+ years now. My comment meant that LOTS of what I repair daily, is the result of the end-user taking the advice of someone else that "has always done it that way and never had a problem". In other words, recommendations from the manufacturer on capacity, recommended duty-cycle, maintenance procedures, etc. were ignored and instead replaced by the probably-well-meaning-and-yet-just-plain-wrong advice from others.

And once again, your "research" has muddied the waters. You searched out yet another example of an individual that happened across a trailer with a set of *non-typical* mobile home axles and are posting it up as an example. Do they exist? Yes they do, nobody is disputing that. But good grief man, go to a local dealer that sells used mobile home axles and see what they have for sale. They'll have the much more common and inferior typical mobile home axles. I guarantee it. And those much more common and inferior axles are the ones that can be had for next to nothing....which is why people think they're "worth it" to begin with.

Choose NOT to call an actual axle manufacturer, or visit the website of an actual axle manufacturer if you wish. There are plenty of more Bill Vista and Pirate 4 X 4 type sites out there to visit to support your opinion. It's kind of amusing actually. Everything you've posted up has been the experience of someone that has, well.....no other experience. That's funny enough on its own, but ignoring information from actual manufacturers really illustrates your lack of understanding about the subject and/or shows the lengths you're willing to go to to NOT admit something you don't want to admit.

And I'm a troll.

Funny.

Lastly, during your "research" on the subject, have you stumbled upon any posts from folks that had gone the mobile home axle route and say they wouldn't if they were doing it all over again? And if you have, were those people written-off as trolls with some hidden agenda as well?

 

[crazyal]

As far as a MH axle breaking or a bearing burning up and needing replacing using a MH axle would actually prove to be cheaper in the long run. Where as with most axles you'll need to bring parts to a dealer to identify them unless you can find the ID tag on the axle then go through the work of ordering parts if a MH axle breaks you could simply buy another axle for about the same cost and now you have a whole axle with two hubs.

But I've never seen one break. I'm sure Dexter doesn't put the time or effort into them like they would other axles but it's not like the loads they carry are light or the stresses they will see are mild. Sure the brake pads may not be as thick or the bearings as large (but as long as they are kept greased they will last just as long as any other bearing). I'm also sure Dexter doesn't want the liability or the loss of business of having people use MH axles instead of buying the ones Dexter would like to sell you. Probably the biggest issue you may have with MH axles is the hubs may not be true and you'll wear tires down much faster.

But go to any small race track and I bet half the trailers there are homemade with the axles off mom's MH. Since a pair of them are rated for 6 tons plus a 3000 lb car and 1500 lbs of steel trailer are not going to put much stress on them.

brokenot I understand your point, buyer beware. But if you buy a used homemade trailer there are lots of issues than just the axles to think about. Things like did the guy who made it know how to weld correctly? Did he get the deck flat, did he get the axles true, etc.? Is the rest or the trailer strong enough or is it a 7000lb 2 axle car trailer with 12000 lbs worth of springs under it that'll give the false hope that it can be loaded with too much because the springs aren't sagging?

 

[brokenot]

Believe me, I understand what MH axle proponents are saying also....and I can see the attraction to saving some cash.

Buyer beware indeed though. The thing is, a buyer can't truly "beware" unless they're aware of the facts. What would there be to "beware of" if the components we're discussing are comparable? Simply stated, Dexter would have no liability issues or longevity issues to be concerned about, if the MH axles were suited for the uses other than what they were originally designed for. They didn't tool up their factory and start churning out MH axles, just to caution against their use and sell something for more money. They tooled up to build them because there was a market for a lower-cost alternative to traditional axles. Where did the cost savings come from? And what makes the MH axles' intended use different from the intended use of the other products they sell?

As for the bearings lasting as long as any other bearings as long as they're kept greased, well....not exactly. That's partially why the limited use designation exists. Larger bearings can support greater loads. And larger bearings can support any load for a longer period of time because that load is spread out over a larger area. Either the standard 6K axle's weight recommendation in relation to its bearing dimensions is very conservative, or....a MH axle's recommended capacity is optimistic. It could be both of course, but since they say "6K rated" and "limited use" at the same time for the MH axle, well.....

None of this has been intended to poo-poo anyone's decision about what they've already used in the construction of their trailer. It has very much been intended to ensure anyone making a decision about an axle choice does so with their eyes wide open.

The information is out there. Just don't ask the guy that has experience with one trailer, and has just finished up his first such project. There are plenty of people with experience over the long run with both types.

:thumbsup:

 

[dcyrilc]

Now back to topic. I have a 79 General trailer with those same axles. The differences I can see are my trailer has wood decking in the middle and steel diamond plate on the outside edge. The I beam runs the full length before being angled in to form the tongue. The front plate has three holes for the pintle hitch and the trailer has a large semi style (6" square ish) jack. The trailer is rated for 22,500 lbs.

Sounds a lot like my trailer, but mine uses three rows of 2x4 square tubing rather than I-beam. Just redecked mine last fall.

 

[Kaliburz]

Man, if this topic of UTG type axles and mobile home axles generates this much activity.... I wonder how things were when people tried to research axles BEFORE the internet!!! LOL.

I searched my state website to see if using mobile home axles in a 'new build' is illegal. No such luck yet. Aside from calling them and asking.... just to know. LOL.


If they say mobile home axles are "limited use" axles (ie one time use only), I'm sure that's not how they are being used. But, as I said before, if people are building "trash" trailers or some other type of trailer that they use less then five times a year (short trips, under 100 miles), I'd say those axles would work, since they are being used in a limited fashion.


There are tons of examples that people do things where they shouldn't. The trailer I borrowed prior to buying this one, it was a custom built car type hauler (flat bed). It was a two axle trailer that was built with multi use in mind. It also had 'racks" tall enough to keep cattle in it. Yes, I said cattle. It would haul about 8-10 cattle to the sale. Not sure if it was rated at 10,000lbs or what, but they used it. It has 15" 6 lug (or 5 lug tires). But most trailers I see advertised as car haulers or similar use channel or angle frames. This was built using 3/16" or 1/4" wall tubing. They meant it to stay together. I think it weighs 2500 empty or just shy of 3000. We've loaded a tractor on it that I KNOW is at least 5000lbs.

I've seen tons of trailers running around with out the dust cap too. People don't seem to care, they just hook it up and pull and pull.... especially if it's their trash trailer. The said trailer above has a missing cap and who knows the last time the bearings were repacked with grease.