Almost got ugly today.

[Nitrousbird]

If you are putting heat to an axle nut, break out the butane torch...heat gun isn't going to cut it.

[bamabonners]

FYI, it is actually a law here in Alabama that of it is new trailer sold here in Alabama that is has to have brakes on both axles. If brought in from out of state no big deal.

[bamabonners]

I have seen shops have to weld a bar on the nut and beat that with a hammer to break it lose if the edges are damaged.

[Bill_AirJunky]

Managed to get it all apart today. After soaking in PB Blaster all week, and cleaning the threads up a little with a wire brush, the nut practically spun right off.

Damage report isn't too bad. Brake & axle are scarred up, but don't appear (to me) to be unuseable. Outside race & nut are destroyed. Inside race came off with a puller but isn't really damaged. Bearings are non-existant.

I will be going in to Six Roblees this week for replacement parts & have them inspect & press in/out whatever is inside this brake. Hopefully they won't tell me it's garbage.

[D-GOOSE]

Bill you put on a ton of miles each yr and for this to be the only problem you have had shows how great of maintenance you do.

I'm sure you will be doing this but replace all bearing and races as a set. Check brake thickness to see if you need to replace. The rotors can be turned at a local auto parts house or tire shop.

The outer axle flange looks a little chewed but with a little cleaning I'm sure the bearing will fit snug again with no problems.

PS. how do you like those pop up bowls?

[Bill_AirJunky]

HEhe, like that kettle corn in the pop up bowls!

I figured I'd be doing this on both ends of the axle. In hindisght, both these tires have worn on the inside. I had a buddy who suggested it might be a bent axle. This week I put a 6' straight edge on the axle & it's straight as an arrow. So I think the bearings on both sides have been failing for a while.

EVERYONE should be looking at their trailers more often. The lesson I'm learing is to pay attention to tire wear. Maybe it'll give you a heads up before it fails!!

[Lance B. Johnson]

HEhe, like that kettle corn in the pop up bowls!

I figured I'd be doing this on both ends of the axle. In hindisght, both these tires have worn on the inside. I had a buddy who suggested it might be a bent axle. This week I put a 6' straight edge on the axle & it's straight as an arrow. So I think the bearings on both sides have been failing for a while.

EVERYONE should be looking at their trailers more often. The lesson I'm learing is to pay attention to tire wear. Maybe it'll give you a heads up before it fails!!

Thats good advice. I don't tow that much and I service mine (disassemble and repack) every other winter. Even with that I am replacing my bearings no questions asked this winter. Ill keep the old ones as spares. I guess you could say this is one area where I am paranoid and the extra precaution is worth it.

Edited September 24, 2012 by Ruffdog

[jkendallmsce]

Thats good advice. I don't tow that much and I service mine (disassemble and repack) every other winter. Even with that I am replacing my bearings no questions asked this winter. Ill keep the old ones as spares. I guess you could say this is one area where I am paranoid and the extra precaution is worth it.

PPPPPP= Prior Planning/Preventative Measures Prevents Piss Poor Performance

I see your logic, but why put old bearings back on??...when they are soo cheap??? and the time and effort to remove....

Removing and repacking is always a good idea...messy job, but better than having to do along side of the road when it is 105 and there is no shade....I do mine every other year too..dipping the trailer in and out of the water is not good on bearings.

altghough the new boat/trailer has the oil bath hubs, which I have not had to touch in 3 years....but the boat sits on the lift, so the trailer only gets wet 2X/year.

[Lance B. Johnson]

PPPPPP= Prior Planning/Preventative Measures Prevents Piss Poor Performance

I see your logic, but why put old bearings back on??...when they are soo cheap??? and the time and effort to remove....

Removing and repacking is always a good idea...messy job, but better than having to do along side of the road when it is 105 and there is no shade....I do mine every other year too..dipping the trailer in and out of the water is not good on bearings.

altghough the new boat/trailer has the oil bath hubs, which I have not had to touch in 3 years....but the boat sits on the lift, so the trailer only gets wet 2X/year.

I am an automotive teacher/technician....I guess you could say I am confident after I inspect them. However, this year will be different. Like I say they will be replaced no questions asked.

[Bill_AirJunky]

Just got back from Six Robblees. I talked to a guy for a bit, showed him the brake rotor with 2 races inside, plus the race from the axle, and whats left of the axle nut. And showed him the picture of the axle I posted above. He suggested that it would be less of a PITA to just replace the entire axle. Price for the axle, nut to nut, including the bearings & races, U-bolts & leaf spring seats would be about $180. I'd use the old trailer disc brakes on the new axle.

I told him I put a straight edge on it to see if it was bent. He said with the boat off the trailer, it should be bowed upward in the middle. Then with the boat on it, it should flatten out. So it could very well be bent. Just not by a lot.

But I'm a bit shocked thats all it would cost. Seems ridiculously low. I thought for sure it would be a lot more than that. So I'm looking online & sure enough, it doesn't appear a new axle costs much here either.

Anyway, he asked for the length from brake flange to flange. I don't see any spec like that on the Extreme website, other than they come with a 3750 lb axle. So I'll hit it with a tape measure this evening when I get off work.

So it looks like it could be a stupid easy fix. Remove the remaining wheel & disc brake on the opposite side, grind off all four of the U-bolts........ bolt the new axle in place, mount the brakes & mount the wheels. Done?????

Maybe bleed the brakes? BTW, the old disc & pads are still in pretty descent shape. Other than the one disc is discolored like it got pretty hot. Guess I'll try & get the old races out of it tonite.

Edited September 25, 2012 by Bill_AirJunky

[Bill_AirJunky]

Just wrapping this one up. In the end I found out that the axle I had on the Extreme trailer was a UFP with a 4.5" drop..... about an $800 axle. So I found a local shop that was able to cut the old spindle off, weld on a new one, install & pack all the bearings, races & seals, along with a set of Bearing Buddies.... cost me $265 out the door. I got the axle reinstalled, bled the brakes & was able to pull the boat out of the lake this weekend.

Felt like I got pretty lucky on this one. The fact that this axle didn't have Bearing Buddies on it probably contributed. Now I can keep an eye on them better.

[MalibuTime]

Just wrapping this one up. In the end I found out that the axle I had on the Extreme trailer was a UFP with a 4.5" drop..... about an $800 axle. So I found a local shop that was able to cut the old spindle off, weld on a new one, install & pack all the bearings, races & seals, along with a set of Bearing Buddies.... cost me $265 out the door. I got the axle reinstalled, bled the brakes & was able to pull the boat out of the lake this weekend.

Felt like I got pretty lucky on this one. The fact that this axle didn't have Bearing Buddies on it probably contributed. Now I can keep an eye on them better.

Wow. What a deal. He basically is working for free. Must make all of his money on the parts.

[Bill_AirJunky]

One last thing on this to wrap it up. I replaced the tire that was on this side of the axle. The trailer has been running Pirelli Pzero Nero M+S 235x45x17 performance tires on it since I bought the boat in 2007. The tire on this spindle got smoked pretty good rubbing on the trailer frame as I came to a stop (smoked, no fire, rubbed some paint off the frame). The other side is still in descent shape, although a bit worn on the inside. I chose to replace just the one tire. Instead of using the Pirelli rated for 168 mph, 1600 lbs & costing almost $300 each, I chose to go with a Falken Ziex that was under $150 OTD. It's still a performance tire on a trailer, rated for 1400 lbs & only 115 mph & 40,000 miles. Seems like it should hold up just fine, and still looks good.

I always find it interesting to see how these performance tires do compared to the trailer tires some of you are running. When I bought the boat, I was prepared to replace them when they started failing. But the Pirellis have done multiple trips to Shasta, Hells Canyon, & Banks Lake, not to mention that I load/unload on a soft sandy beach all the time (no pavement). Had it not been for this spindle, I'm sure this tire would still be going strong.

[Malibudude]

I've got Toyo Proxes on my trailer..they handle sooo much better than standard trailer tires and have many miles on them as well. The drive down to Hirz with those is actually fun...lol. the one complaint though is the little rocks get stuck in the narrow tread, so I do pic those out but it kinda futile....lol

[pennery]

Boatmate uses Nexen Tires on their 18" Upgrades. The low profile tires handle and tow much nicer than the 14" standard tires... The larger sidewall tires seem to bounce quite a bit more and I noticed that they sway quite a bit compared to the low profiles...

[itznowonder]

One of the things I worry about having the newer torsion bars on my tandem axle trailer...Not sure, but do they go with the torsion on the single axles too??

I have single axle trailer with the Torsion and one side broke. I cant limp it home. I might can limp it to a boat ramp and get the boat off. Boat mate sent me links to parts but i have a big machine owner fixing it.. said it was no big deal compared to replacing what boat mate suggested I buy. I am not a fan of boatmate right now. the parts guy won't even talk to you on the phone, you have to correspond via email. I'm new to all of this boat stuff so talking to a person comes in handy when trying to understand parts.

[Bawshogg]

If anyone, I mean anyone ever has a torsion arm fail, all you have to do is tack weld the spndle arm to the axle tube. I have done a few and its a reliable fix short term or long. You can usually find a shop anywhere with a welder versus a new torsion axle. Thats exactly what I would do if I had one fail.

[Boatman]

The torsion axle on my boatmate trailer failed also. I had to buy a whole new axle. They come bare metal . I had to prime and paint it before paying a mechanic to install it for me. It was quite an ordeal and a real pain in the but. Luckily I was at the ramp when it happened and I was able to unload my boat before taking it to the shop.

I am wondering if this is a reoccurring problem?

[Bawshogg]

It seems to be real common to the UFP torsion axles from 2007-2008 for some reason. It also seems to go with all brands of trailers, Boatmate, Extreme, CTW, basically anyone who used UFP axles.

I am unsure as to what the "actual" cause for the failures was, but UFP has been real generous in getting new axle assemblies out to those owners that have had issues. Most times, just pay the shipping and they will get you new axles. Yes they have to painted and installed, but free parts on a 5-6 year old trailer is still nice.

[wakeboarder3780]

In addition to checking your tires for uneven wear / chopping as an indication of problems, another thing I do is touch the hubs to feel for an overheated bearing. I try to do this every time I get to my destination and verify the hubs are not overly hot and the temp feel is consistent on all hubs. My hope is that I'll be able to tell when a bearing is failing before it becomes a catastrophic failure.

Glad all went well. I had a blowout and it slightly bent the fender, other than that no damage. I am very thankful.