Anyone heard of "Foreman" trailer axles?

[Adiredneck]

I am not having much luck tracking down parts for the "Foreman Industries" Axles. My pads are quite worn, and I have one bad electromagnet. The electromagnet is a round disk that goes around the spindle, about 8" in diameter (looks expensive).

I'm guessing that I will be better off replacing both axles with 5200# ones. Current axles are 5 lug on 5 1/2: and 14.5" tires. If I go with nex axles, I'll need all new wheels & tires too.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I have been around lots of trailer stuff and never heard of them. That does not mean anything but I have worked on 100's of trailers and never seen or heard of them. Any idea how old they are?

Chris

 

[Adiredneck]

Hi Chris.

No idea on the age of the axles. They're on a homeade trailer that was built in 2003.

It's a tough call, the axles are much larger than normal 3500# axles. Here's where it get weird. The bolt pattern is 5 on 5 1/2, and the tires are 14.5" like mobile home tires.

The brake assembly (backing plate) bolts onto a ring on the axles. I am wondering if a 5200# assembly will bolt to the ring. My neighbor has a dump trailer with that type of axles, so I may go over and take some measurements. I have attached some pictures. Don't mind the messy wiring, I am going to run a conduit down both sides of the trailer to neaten everything up.

 

[Adiredneck]

The plate on the drums where the electromagnet meets is really bizzare. It is on spring loaded cams that advance towards the magnet when it is activated. When the brakes are not being activated, it springs back close to the drum.

 

[427ricky]

They are trailer house axles I just got one to junk out and it has the same axles. Good luck finding brake parts. Let me know if you find any I'm sure we will needs some parts for the ones we have. Might try Dexter that is a nother type of axle used on trailer houses and they run the same kind of brakes. Check with your local moble home dealer they might have some axles with good brakes cheap. The axles you have a chevy six bolt wheel should fit so you could go to a 15 inch tire if you have the room and it should be a 6000LB rating.
Rick

 

[BruceWard]

I can get mobile home axles with brakes in good condition for $60 to $75 each. For me it was faster and cheaper to replace the axles than to rebuild the brakes.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I have never messed with MH axles. They are illegal to re-use here and is a common "get in trouble item". I mainly deal with factory built utility trailers and boat trailers.

If it were mine I would order new axles and be done with it. Having stuff that is hard to get parts for is no fun. If that was too much money I would look into converting them to normal type brakes. It may take some welding but as long as the bearings and races are the same as 6K brakes you will be ok. My guess is its not going to be but worth a try.

Either way its going to cost.

Chris

 

[crbr]

http://www.kmtparts.com/store.asp?pid=7194&catid=19666

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[Adiredneck]

Thanks guys. I now have to figure out what to do next.

1) Chance buying new pads for the front axle. I have found the pads ($30.00 per wheel). The electromagnet on one of the rears is disconnected, previous owner said it was bad.

2) Buy two new 5200# axles with brakes. Probably around $700.00 with shipping. Then either new wheels & tires or try to find a set of 1/2 ton chevy wheels that have a wide enough center. If I have to buy new tires & wheels, this option will be 1/2 of the cost of a new trailer.

3) Try to sell the trailer for $500.00 (what I paid for it in 2005), and buy new. It has certainly paid for itself already. I bought it a year before I bought my tractor because I knew I would need it.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Thanks guys. I now have to figure out what to do next.

1) Chance buying new pads for the front axle. I have found the pads ($30.00 per wheel). The electromagnet on one of the rears is disconnected, previous owner said it was bad.

2) Buy two new 5200# axles with brakes. Probably around $700.00 with shipping. Then either new wheels & tires or try to find a set of 1/2 ton chevy wheels that have a wide enough center. If I have to buy new tires & wheels, this option will be 1/2 of the cost of a new trailer.

3) Try to sell the trailer for $500.00 (what I paid for it in 2005), and buy new. It has certainly paid for itself already. I bought it a year before I bought my tractor because I knew I would need it.

My choice would be option 3. I bet you could sell it for $1000 easy. Not knocking your trailer but it may be a money pit and its time to walk then get something newer with standard axles, ect.

Chris