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Torsion axle failure


Ski & Foot 4 Fun

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Hello all, thanks to many for good information and great discounts. I have a new to me '06 RLXi with a SA Boatmate trailer. I know I should have a tandem, but when buying used you can't get everything you want. My concern, I noticed the port side tire was about 1.5" from fender and starboard over 3" from tire to fender. I contacted Boatmate and told old trailers will sag over time and it needs to be reset. They sent the procedure. He did not know why only 1 side would sag, and said that if the axle fails it should drop all way and fender would be on tire. I did the procedure today, after reset the trailer was nice and level. To make sure everything was working I bounced trailer with my body weight on the step in from of the fender. The axle dropped 0.5". It sure seems like I need a new axle, which Boatmate will sell me. I am going to contact UFP on Monday and get there take. Has anyone had this problem?

Thanks again

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Hello all, thanks to many for good information and great discounts. I have a new to me '06 RLXi with a SA Boatmate trailer. I know I should have a tandem, but when buying used you can't get everything you want. My concern, I noticed the port side tire was about 1.5" from fender and starboard over 3" from tire to fender. I contacted Boatmate and told old trailers will sag over time and it needs to be reset. They sent the procedure. He did not know why only 1 side would sag, and said that if the axle fails it should drop all way and fender would be on tire. I did the procedure today, after reset the trailer was nice and level. To make sure everything was working I bounced trailer with my body weight on the step in from of the fender. The axle dropped 0.5". It sure seems like I need a new axle, which Boatmate will sell me. I am going to contact UFP on Monday and get there take. Has anyone had this problem?

Thanks again

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To determine if the axle is failing, do a jack test. By removing the wheel and situating the jack at end of the trailing arm, furthest from the spline on the axle, then jack it up. If the trailer starts to raise, the axle is good. If the trailing arm continues upward without lifting the trailer, the axle has failed. If you have a failure, run your hand along the bottom of the axle beam until you feel the axle tag, usually near the middle of the beam. It is spot welded to the axle and has an individual number for each axle. The number will start with the letter A, followed by 6 numbers. You will need this information along with the VIN # of the trailer. Call UFP @ 1-800-835-9211 ext 16 for replacement.

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Hello all, thanks to many for good information and great discounts. I have a new to me '06 RLXi with a SA Boatmate trailer. I know I should have a tandem, but when buying used you can't get everything you want. My concern, I noticed the port side tire was about 1.5" from fender and starboard over 3" from tire to fender. I contacted Boatmate and told old trailers will sag over time and it needs to be reset. They sent the procedure. He did not know why only 1 side would sag, and said that if the axle fails it should drop all way and fender would be on tire. I did the procedure today, after reset the trailer was nice and level. To make sure everything was working I bounced trailer with my body weight on the step in from of the fender. The axle dropped 0.5". It sure seems like I need a new axle, which Boatmate will sell me. I am going to contact UFP on Monday and get there take. Has anyone had this problem?

Thanks again

Sorry to hear about your trailer issues. I too just had severe torsion axle failure on my D/A Extreme trailer. My trailer dropped all the way down onto the fenders while towing it down I-5 2 days ago. Luckily I noticed it in my mirrors before the lip of the fenders cut to deep into the tire sidewalls. I had to pull over and remove both my fenders in order to make it home. I took the trailer into a local repair shop that specializes in trailer repairs and they gave me the low down on what needs to be replaced. I gave them all my trailer paperwork that came in the packet when I bought my boat and they contacted Extreme and UFP. Both manufacturers responded way quicker than I anticipated (within an hour) and got the ball rolling for the repairs needed to fix the trailer. UFP has agreed to replace both axle beams, axles, spindles and tires. The only bad thing is they don't have any beams available in stock so they have to build them then ship them to Extreme to be painted. It sounds like it'll be about a 10 business day turn around so hopefully we won't miss out on to much lake time. I was dreading that I would have to pull out teeth and hair to get results and get this resolved but it's been an extremely easy process given the severity of the issue. My hats off to both UFP and Extreme for doing whats right and taking care of this. Hopefully you will have a pleasant experience as well. I'm not familiar with Boatmate trailers or their warranty but your UFP axles should still be covered still since they have a 5 year warranty on them.

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Sorry to hear about your trailer issues. I too just had severe torsion axle failure on my D/A Extreme trailer. My trailer dropped all the way down onto the fenders while towing it down I-5 2 days ago. Luckily I noticed it in my mirrors before the lip of the fenders cut to deep into the tire sidewalls. I had to pull over and remove both my fenders in order to make it home. I took the trailer into a local repair shop that specializes in trailer repairs and they gave me the low down on what needs to be replaced. I gave them all my trailer paperwork that came in the packet when I bought my boat and they contacted Extreme and UFP. Both manufacturers responded way quicker than I anticipated (within an hour) and got the ball rolling for the repairs needed to fix the trailer. UFP has agreed to replace both axle beams, axles, spindles and tires. The only bad thing is they don't have any beams available in stock so they have to build them then ship them to Extreme to be painted. It sounds like it'll be about a 10 business day turn around so hopefully we won't miss out on to much lake time. I was dreading that I would have to pull out teeth and hair to get results and get this resolved but it's been an extremely easy process given the severity of the issue. My hats off to both UFP and Extreme for doing whats right and taking care of this. Hopefully you will have a pleasant experience as well. I'm not familiar with Boatmate trailers or their warranty but your UFP axles should still be covered still since they have a 5 year warranty on them.

Glad to hear you had no damage to trailer or boat. I am third owner so no warranty. The first reply was from UFP warranty rep. Nice he replied and offered to help. I am getting new axle at cost from UFP, but I have to get it painted and install myself. Boatmate had an axle and would paint but more expensive, and would take longer. FYI, I was told UFP changed there design and the problem I had could not happen again. I am not sure when the change was made but looks like you have a '08 so not fixed then. Did you get any info on design change?

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Glad to hear you had no damage to trailer or boat. I am third owner so no warranty. The first reply was from UFP warranty rep. Nice he replied and offered to help. I am getting new axle at cost from UFP, but I have to get it painted and install myself. Boatmate had an axle and would paint but more expensive, and would take longer. FYI, I was told UFP changed there design and the problem I had could not happen again. I am not sure when the change was made but looks like you have a '08 so not fixed then. Did you get any info on design change?

They didn't say wether or not it was a design issue, just that they've had a handful of issues with axle failuers. They said the torsion axles are not rebuildable due to the process they use for bonding the bushing to the spindle. Apparently they press the spindle into the bushing and then dip it into liquid nitrogen to compress and bond the bushing to the spindle. Once that is complete the spindle and bushing assembly is then pressed into the axle beam. I know there's alot of trailers out there with a lot of miles on their torsion axles that have not failed yet so I'm quite sure it's just a quality of material issue and not a design problem.

BTW, I just noticed you live in Rio Rancho. I'm flying out there today for about 3 weeks to do some work at Intel. Where's the closest lake for you guys in the ABQ region?

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They didn't say wether or not it was a design issue, just that they've had a handful of issues with axle failuers. They said the torsion axles are not rebuildable due to the process they use for bonding the bushing to the spindle. Apparently they press the spindle into the bushing and then dip it into liquid nitrogen to compress and bond the bushing to the spindle. Once that is complete the spindle and bushing assembly is then pressed into the axle beam. I know there's alot of trailers out there with a lot of miles on their torsion axles that have not failed yet so I'm quite sure it's just a quality of material issue and not a design problem.

BTW, I just noticed you live in Rio Rancho. I'm flying out there today for about 3 weeks to do some work at Intel. Where's the closest lake for you guys in the ABQ region?

Gee, guess where I work? Yep at Intel. Give me a call 794-8008 when you get a minute, I work Mon - Fri 7 - 4. My new axle arrived today, off to paint shop tomorrow, if things go well maybe get it put back together this weekend.

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Gee, guess where I work? Yep at Intel. Give me a call 794-8008 when you get a minute, I work Mon - Fri 7 - 4. My new axle arrived today, off to paint shop tomorrow, if things go well maybe get it put back together this weekend.

Lol, small world. I got to ABQ on Tuesday and had to leave Thursday to go back to D1D for a tool issue there. I'll be back though on the 15th and i'll look you up then. Hope you're able to get your trailer back on the road and your boat back in the water where it belongs. Take care.

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  • 4 years later...

Sorry to hear about your trailer issues. I too just had severe torsion axle failure on my D/A Extreme trailer. My trailer dropped all the way down onto the fenders while towing it down I-5 2 days ago. Luckily I noticed it in my mirrors before the lip of the fenders cut to deep into the tire sidewalls. I had to pull over and remove both my fenders in order to make it home. I took the trailer into a local repair shop that specializes in trailer repairs and they gave me the low down on what needs to be replaced. I gave them all my trailer paperwork that came in the packet when I bought my boat and they contacted Extreme and UFP. Both manufacturers responded way quicker than I anticipated (within an hour) and got the ball rolling for the repairs needed to fix the trailer. UFP has agreed to replace both axle beams, axles, spindles and tires. The only bad thing is they don't have any beams available in stock so they have to build them then ship them to Extreme to be painted. It sounds like it'll be about a 10 business day turn around so hopefully we won't miss out on to much lake time. I was dreading that I would have to pull out teeth and hair to get results and get this resolved but it's been an extremely easy process given the severity of the issue. My hats off to both UFP and Extreme for doing whats right and taking care of this. Hopefully you will have a pleasant experience as well. I'm not familiar with Boatmate trailers or their warranty but your UFP axles should still be covered still since they have a 5 year warranty on them.

Because of you and another post, I found that UDF provided the torsion axles for Extreme trailers. I researched UDF and Torsion axle failures and found that UDF will replace my broken axles for free.

I have a 2003 Malibu Sunsetter 23 XTI with an Extreme brand trailer. I noticed last year that the left side trailer fender was lower than normal but just chalked it up to that was the side of the boat that I climb in and out of the boat on and because it also had damage. In the off season, I totally restored this boat inside and out, I had the trailer repainted and put on new fenders. On Monday, I picked up my boat and when I was just getting on the highway, I saw black marks on the trailer fender and some smoke coming off the left tires. Bottomline was that the torsion axle broke on the front left axle!! I pryed the fender off the tire, lowered the air and limped the trailer to a trailer shop about 15 miles away. By the time I got there the back left axle was toast as well.

Cost to replace both axles was going to be $1800 out the door. I went home and began to do research and that was when I found your post as well as a few others regarding problems with Extreme trailer torsion axles and that UDF was the company that made them. I called UDF warranty line at 800-835-9211 ex 16 and left them a message. In less than two hours, a guy named Dennis called me, said he will take care of me and asked for my trailer VIN and axle numbers. I gather this for him (VIN from my registration and numbers from the bottom of the axle bar) and called him back. He said that they are not covered by warranty but as a courtesy they will replace both axles and all I needed to do was send him a picture of the collapsed axle on the trailer. He said they will send it directly to the shop in about 10 to 14 days. I asked what the cost will be and he said "NO COST". He said that the axles between 2001 and 2003 had some problems and the right thing is to fix them when they fail.

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