Flat bed trailer

[nwngunner]

So i have an older trailer built back in 70s that has a dual axles. Well today i was hauling some equipment home and either i over loaded the trailer or i had a bearing go bad and screwed up my spindle.
Either way my axle is shot.

Right now, the trailer is running on ford 15inch 5bolt rims. The rear axle had electric drum breaks.

The deck is 5/16 plate steel the out side lip of the trailer is 3/8 plate. Trailer is built on 3 or 4inch square tube min 1/4inch side wall. Tongue is 5inch ibeam. So i know the frame and the deck of the trailer is more then strong enough for me to haul lets say 6 ton. So what i am looking at doing is getting some thick walled pipe and building my own trailer axles and welding new hubs on to it. Buy a new set of electric breaks.

What is every ones suggestions on building your own axles. I have found that a 3 1/2 inch round pipe 1/4inch wall is used for 8000pound axles. I know i need 4 7500pound spindle's to make my target for weight, as the spindles are rated at 7500pounds per set.

Also i need to find out can i use 5bolt electric brakes on this much weight or do i need to go to eight bolt and change out to 15inch 8bolt rims. I feel that will be a lot safer and those rims should be easy to find.

Looking at upgrading my springs as well. While i am going to have the trailer tore all the way down i might as well do it right. Looking 4sets of 6leaf 3500pound springs.

I am going off of if the trailer weights 4000pounds, i want to be able to haul 10,000.

 

[BruceWard]

With the 5 bolt rims my guess is that the trailer has mobile home axles. Others would strongly disagree and you will not make your weight goal but in my area 6,000 pound mobile home axles with brakes sell for $75 to $100. The brakes are a 12" diameter 2" wide design.

 

[nwngunner]

Well that is most likely what is on there, so what i am thinking is go to an 8 bolt hub and have plenty of strength. I found some full brake kits 12inch x 2inch drums. Will a 12inch drum even work with a 15inch rim?

 

[rdln]

"trailer is running on ford 15inch 5bolt rims"

that tells me that the he has ford 15 inch 5 bolt rims.

if he had 14.5 inch rims that would tell me he had MH axles.

hard to believe somebody used 3 or 4 inch square tube frame members but even if so, I do not beleive sectional properties will support 6 ton on anything over a 14ft trailer.

go to trailerpart.com or similar websites and figure individual components required to piece together new axles and you will forget about cobbling up your own axles.

used 15 inch 8 bolt rims will be very difficult to find. what are you thinking? 16, 16.5 yes

 

[nwngunner]

i just bought all new tires for the trailer less then 6months ago. So i want to try and keep the 15inch rims, also if i go taller tires i have to cut my fenders off.

 

[mullins87]

I seriously doubt you'll be able to use those 15" tires on this trailer. Most tires of that size are rated less than 2,000 lbs per tire, I'm thinking they are in the 1,800 lb range. That only gives you 7,200 lbs of capacity on the two axles. By the time you add in the tongue weight of a properly loaded trailer you're maxed out at nearly 8,000 lbs. You'll probably have to upgrade to a minimum of 16" 8 bolts wheels, or maybe larger 10 bolt wheels to get 3,500 lb tires.

If you're justing wanting to build your own axles, then go for it. If it were me, I'd buy them already made. Getting those spindles welded in perfectly is of absolute importance. Also, factory made axles usually have a bow built into them that helps them to handle maximum loads and to track better. How many home-built trailers have you seen going down the road with the tires leaning in? Also, from my own experience building things, lots of times you can buy something for not much more than what it cost to build it.

 

[meanmerc]

This is only my 2 cents but I read in a trailer article here that mobile home trailer axles can no longer be used for anything else but the purpose they were designed for, something about there strenght.......I guess they were designed for somewhat short distances I guess....but can't remember exactly, sorry. But I would say if ya can get a set for cheap then would probably beat building your own. Anyhow good luck with your project!

 

[BruceWard]

"trailer is running on ford 15inch 5bolt rims"

that tells me that the he has ford 15 inch 5 bolt rims.

if he had 14.5 inch rims that would tell me he had MH axles.

The mobile home axle bolt pattern is the same as some older 5 bolt Ford rims. It was a common conversion years ago.

 

[Taylortractornut]

A company called hill built trailers with trailer like Dayton spoke hubs and axles. I had a small deck over tag along tri axle and a 35 foot triaxle deck over gooseneck. I sold them a few years ago and wished I had kept them both. They ran a rim that was labled Low boy. THe rimm was wider than a house trailer rim and had alot more plys. THe spindles and hubs were identicle to the same ones of the newer mobile homes. I had been pulled over by MDOT a few times and had to explain many times about the differences in the rims and tires and the trailer had been grandfathered in. At one point I made a set of moon hub caps to fit my hubs and didnt have any more problems being stopped.

 

[BruceWard]

Will a 12inch drum even work with a 15inch rim?

12 inch drums are used with 14.5" mobile home wheels so they should be fine with 15 rims.

What are your existing 15" tires rated for? The highest rated 15" trailer tire that I found in a quick search was 2540 pounds Goodyear Marathon Radial. 14.5" tires come rated up to 3840 while 16" is up to 3759 and 17.5 is up to 6005. Trailer Parts Superstore - Heavy-Duty LT Truck/Trailer Tires