15' boat trailer suspension and axle question

[AmateurAndrew]

A friend and I have just bought a little 15' boat on a trailer. We have taken the boat off the trailer to do a bit of welding (one of the cross pieces is rusted away).

Looking at the axle, it looks like there is a wishbone underneatht he frame to which the wheels are attached. The whole thing is mounted by a single bolt in the middle and the wishbone is twisted within the frame.

I am assumign the axle shouldn't be twisted like this, so my question is this: Are we missing U-bolts or plates of some sort along the length of the axle to keep it central? The frame has holes either side of the centre linethat look like somethign used to be in there.

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[madsonp]

That's gotta be the worst designed trailer I've ever seen, I sure as hell wouldn't want to pull a boat on it. I can't really help you with any of your questions, but if it were me, I'd either get a new trailer or beef the one you have up with a proper axle and suspension. That's a cute little boat though.

 

[AmateurAndrew]

Thanks for the advice, when you say "worst deisgned trailer", ar you talking about the entire trailer, or mainly the axle/suspension bit?
Thanks!

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... The Whole thing,......

Looks to be home made by somebody that never saw a real boat trailer before,......

 

[Silvertip]

As it sits there, one small bolt is all that absorbs any pot hole, speed bump or dead animal on the road and the entire axle (use the term loosely) and twist and come out from under the boat. As the pictures also show, the leaf spring is not centered in the "C" channel so the trailer obviously dog-tracks when towed. The holes in the "C" channel were obviously for "U-bolts" to fulfill that function. But I agree, it is a home made unit and not road worthy by any stretch. With no boat installed you can see the frame has a downward bow in it. Sorry to say, this trailer is worth more as scrap steel than it is as a trailer.

 

[madsonp]

Thanks for the advice, when you say "worst deisgned trailer", ar you talking about the entire trailer, or mainly the axle/suspension bit?
Thanks!

Pretty much the entire trailer, the frame looks like it could easily twist which I would think could cause severe stability issues, and then there's what you call the axle, you can already obviously see the issues with it twisting, plus being held on with one bolt is a disaster waiting to happen. Personally I don't see any part of the trailer being salvageable without basically rebuilding the whole thing properly which would take much more work than it's worth, hence my opinion of just getting a new one. I agree with the others that it's a home made piece of crap obviously built by someone who had absolutely no idea what they're doing

 

[ahicks]

How important is the really old/antique status of this trailer to you? Are you more interested in restoring it to original, or are you wanting something you can safely tow/retrieve/launch the boat with? To do it right, I bet you're talking about the same amount of money.

 

[MTboatguy]

That is a really bad looking trailer, way to flexible and just not designed well, I would be looking for something else to put your boat on that has a real axle and is actually designed to carry a boat.

 

[robert graham]

A lot would depend on the speed and distance you need to tow that boat.....a 1/2 mile from house to ramp twice a year then maybe....but I wouldn't recommend it for interstate/high speed, etc....love that neat boat!