Darned New Trailer Has Trouble With Lawnmower Decks Scraping

[jaxs]

How about details on hinge and how you prevent it bending/breaking.

 

[drizler]

I蛟､l see if i have a pic of the hinge. It逞ｴ pretty darned simplistic being a piece of old 3/4 or 1/2 water pipe with a long pin shoved through them . I forget which it was but just a nice loose fit. I laid both pieces upside down on saw horses. Then slid all the pipe sections on clamped it in places and tacked them. The hard part is not welding the wrong hinge to the wrong piece Tack first and check.
I just put the pin in to keep it aligned and drilled one end of the pin for a cotter and welded a ring on the other for easy removal. It hinges up onto itself so the pieces press together for strength I知 going to toss those safety cables on sometime as soon as everything gets caught up. All in all it works out great.

 

[drizler]

I tried to stick on safety cables today to secure those springs, :thumbdown: No way they are going on there fully through to full extension and be left on there. Way too much slack with the gate up and spring slack about 3 feet . Plenty to get into things undesired even onto the wheel itself.
Am I correct on my assumption that these springs almost always break at the end, that color band area indicating it痴 strength. I知 thinking of making a short loop from the ramps eye going up a foot or so and back. Not sure how that would affect the coils when it was relaxed on that cable over time but it would keep everything together if that end snaps . Brilliant ideas anyone??

 

[aczlan]

View attachment 606384I tried to stick on safety cables today to secure those springs, :thumbdown: No way they are going on there fully through to full extension and be left on there. Way too much slack with the gate up and spring slack about 3 feet . Plenty to get into things undesired even onto the wheel itself.
Am I correct on my assumption that these springs almost always break at the end, that color band area indicating it痴 strength. I知 thinking of making a short loop from the ramps eye going up a foot or so and back. Not sure how that would affect the coils when it was relaxed on that cable over time but it would keep everything together if that end snaps . Brilliant ideas anyone??

It looks like some pull apart in the middle:
Source: Replace Garage Door Extension Springs with These Tips

Aaron Z

 

[civilian]

It looks like some pull apart in the middle:
Source: Replace Garage Door Extension Springs with These Tips

Aaron Z

Can OP run single cable thru spring and tie off at each end? Jon

 

[aczlan]

Can OP run single cable thru spring and tie off at each end? Jon

The problem is that the spring extends by about 3 feet as the tailgate goes down. As such if a cable goes through the spring when the tailgate is up there is 3 ft of extra cable hanging loose.
That is why the commercial ones set a little bit further up and run inside a piece of pipe. although on this one, it might be possible to just put a piece of gray PVC conduit over the spring and that would contains the majority of it in case the spring suddenly breaks.

Aaron Z

 

[drizler]

I had thought of that pipe idea before myself. Just not sure how to pull it off Perhaps sleeving 2 sizes one inside the other.
I’d planned on putting this off a while but for running into a colleague who retired a few years ahead of me. She told me that not long ago that she and her husband had been doing something to their garage door when a cable broke? It sailed right by her nose and caught him in the eye. No more eye just that quick so it does happen. I did have one break right over my head once in the mid 60s. I couldn’t have been more than 12 but hit the deck like a seasoned grunt. I thought it was a nuke it was so stunningly loud..
I do notice from that web page that the condition of that spring is beyond horrible. I’d like to think that they are safe until they show signs like that but would bet my life on it. I think the first line of defense is staying out of the line of Fire by putting a nice set of handles in the middle of the gate. Operating it from the center should alleviate most of the concerned . Someone mentioned using gray pipe. Which one would you suggest? Wouldn’t pvc bevup to the task?

 

[aczlan]

I had thought of that pipe idea before myself. Just not sure how to pull it off Perhaps sleeving 2 sizes one inside the other.
I’d planned on putting this off a while but for running into a colleague who retired a few years ahead of me. She told me that not long ago that she and her husband had been doing something to their garage door when a cable broke? It sailed right by her nose and caught him in the eye. No more eye just that quick so it does happen. I did have one break right over my head once in the mid 60s. I couldn’t have been more than 12 but hit the deck like a seasoned grunt. I thought it was a nuke it was so stunningly loud..
I do notice from that web page that the condition of that spring is beyond horrible. I’d like to think that they are safe until they show signs like that but would bet my life on it. I think the first line of defense is staying out of the line of Fire by putting a nice set of handles in the middle of the gate. Operating it from the center should alleviate most of the concerned . Someone mentioned using gray pipe. Which one would you suggest? Wouldn’t pvc bevup to the task?

White PVC is not UV stabilized and will turn brittle in sunlight, grey PVC conduit is UV stabilized and has no problems with being in the sunlight.
2 pipes sleeved with a bolt through each end that goes through the loop on the end of the spring should work.

Aaron Z

 

[drizler]

White PVC is not UV stabilized and will turn brittle in sunlight, grey PVC conduit is UV stabilized and has no problems with being in the sunlight.
2 pipes sleeved with a bolt through each end that goes through the loop on the end of the spring should work.

Aaron Z

Sounds like a plan thanks:thumbsup:

 

[ultrarunner]

About every 10 years I run into a busted garage cantilever spring... I have seen old style punch through 1/2" roof sheathing and nearly puncture a trunk deck on a car... lots of power there.

When the roll up door springs break they have always been contained by the center shaft...