New "old" trailer- tri axle

[Gale Hawkins]

New 12x2 Mobile Home Axle Trailer Brake Shoes 1-wheel: eBay Motors (item 350223382403 end time Jun-02-10 16:27:09 PDT)

This couple seems to have several parts for MH axles per what they state. I am guessing their prices like most of Ebay are not the cheapest source. We know the bearings and grease are just off the shelf parts.

 

[crazyal]

New 12x2 Mobile Home Axle Trailer Brake Shoes 1-wheel: eBay Motors (item 350223382403 end time Jun-02-10 16:27:09 PDT)

This couple seems to have several parts for MH axles per what they state. I am guessing their prices like most of Ebay are not the cheapest source. We know the bearings and grease are just off the shelf parts.

It would be cheaper to just buy an axle. Most MH dealers around here sell the tires for $25 and the axles for $75 to $100. Even at $100 you get two sets of pads, they are selling one set for $50 with shipping. But by buying an axle you get two spare magnets, bearings, and drums.

 

[crazyal]

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.....

Bearings are usually rated at max load for a number of revolutions. If you decide you want to build a two axle car hauling trailer and expect that the trailer will weight 2000lbs and the largest car you haul will be 4000lbs you would most likely buy a set of 3500 lbs axles. This would put you at 1000lbs less than the rated load for the bearings extending the expected life of the bearings.

Now if you decide to use two 6000 lb trailer axles you would have 6000lbs to spare. That's going to buy you a lot of extra bearing life. To figure how much you would need to know the size and brand of bearings and then get the charts for that bearing. But there are lots of extra thoughts that go through bearing engineers minds. For example they think of things like if a bearing is not rotating the pressure on the roller(s) taking the weight will flatten out. Clearly a MH axle could see full loading for extended periods of time (if the house is not lifted off of the axles while waiting to be sold). Another thought is the amount of wear before the grease gets up to operating temps.

I would expect Dexter's engineers to have figured all that in plus the extra radial torque that a multiple axle trailer will see under load. Remember Dexter is going to assume max weight with the max number of axles (I've seen 8 axle MH trailers). They will also use the max distance (revolutions) that the axles will travel then build in a safety factor, say 3x into the design. After all what good would it be if only 3 out of 4 axles would survive the average trip.

So it could be likely that the average move of a MH may use 10% of the bearing's life. But if underloaded for the rest of their life, that 90% left could last a very long time. How long and how close am I, I don't know. But what I would say is if my plans were to always be near the rated weight of the axles I don't think I would want MH axles under that trailer.

 

[dcyrilc]

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

Here are a couple of pix of mine.

 

[crazyal]

Here are a couple of pix of mine.
View attachment 166973 View attachment 166974 View attachment 166975

When you said 3 rows of 2x4s I was a little unsure of what you were talking about. That picture makes it clear as day. Is it a homemade? What did you use for decking? Mine has all but rotted away. I was thinking of replacing it with rough cut white oak or something but it's not at the top of the list of todo items.

 

[dcyrilc]

When you said 3 rows of 2x4s I was a little unsure of what you were talking about. That picture makes it clear as day. Is it a homemade? What did you use for decking? Mine has all but rotted away. I was thinking of replacing it with rough cut white oak or something but it's not at the top of the list of todo items.

No not homemade. It's a commercially sold trailer for moving medium sized bulldozers. It doesn't squat even under a 12K load.

As for the decking, I had a bunch of 2x6 tounge&grouve pressure treated car decking sitting around that I had no other use for.

The trailer actually belongs to my old boss. It was used for transporting their Case 589 backhoe from job to job. With the newer DOT regs they can't use it anymore due to length (too short to chain down both buckets) so it just sits at my place. I rebuilt the deck and rewired it so that I could use it to bring my tractor home.

 

[crazyal]

With three axles it shouldn't squat, lol. I'm sure yours is rated about the same as mine, around 20k. How long is it? Mine is a 16' Beavertail with the last 4' angled down with flip up ramps. To get my backhoe on it I end up with the front bucket over the tongue (there's lots of room) and I can lower the rear bucket onto the back of the trailer. There's not a lot of room to spare but it's secure. It would be nice to have another 4 feet, it wouldn't even be that hard to do since the I-beam frame wouldn't need to be cut but like most it's a project for another day.

 

[dcyrilc]

With three axles it shouldn't squat, lol. I'm sure yours is rated about the same as mine, around 20k. How long is it? Mine is a 16' Beavertail with the last 4' angled down with flip up ramps. To get my backhoe on it I end up with the front bucket over the tongue (there's lots of room) and I can lower the rear bucket onto the back of the trailer. There's not a lot of room to spare but it's secure. It would be nice to have another 4 feet, it wouldn't even be that hard to do since the I-beam frame wouldn't need to be cut but like most it's a project for another day.

I've never measured it, but I would guess it to be about the same. When we towed it with the dump truck, we had to leave the front bucket in the air to clear the truck when turning.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Could backing it on have made it DOT legal perhaps?

At least it is nice you have a company trailer for personal use.

 

[dcyrilc]

Could backing it on have made it DOT legal perhaps?

At least it is nice you have a company trailer for personal use.

No, here in Washington, and I assume elsewhere, both front and rear buckets must be chained to the deck. The trailer is too short for that with the backhoe.