Extreme trailer

[mrothwell]

I have an extreme tandem axle trailer. I noticed that the front tires were wearing unevenly, one tire was wearing more on the inside, the other on the outside. I figured the trailer needed to go in for an alignment. The other day I had the boat moored offshore at the lake we were camping at and I took a long look at the trailer without the boat on it. I found that one of the shackles is upside down. I have no idea how it got that way, but pretty sure it was that way when I bought the boat used. I was going to jack up the traler and pull a bolt out to flip it back where it belonged. Then I noticed that all bolts and nuts on that trailer have been spot welded, no fear of a bolt falling out, that's for sure.

2 questions:

1. How did it get turned upside down?

2. How do I get it turned right again?

[Fly]

Not sure how or why it would be like that. Can you compare it to another Extreme where you are or at the dealer. Once you determine exactly how it should be any trailer shop in your area should be able to rectify it.

[BBeakley]

I've seen that happen to a utility trailer. I think it was under a pretty heavy load and it was being turned pretty sharp. Basically the shackle flips over and one tire is up in the air more than the other one.

I tried to look up on the web the fix for this but couldn't find it. I searched under flipped trailer axle and got a bunch of stuff about lifting your RV trailer, grrr. My brother in law corrected it on the trailer I saw. I think they jacked it up and pryed on something but it's been a while (and lots of beer) since then.

Sorry I couldn't be more help.

[chathamsolutions]

I would be A LOT of help... If I knew what a shackle was

[Faceplant409]

I would be A LOT of help... If I knew what a shackle was

You don't need to know. You have a torsion axle trailer. A shackle is the thingy that attaches a leaf spring to the trailer attachment point. (you don't have leaf springs-BICBW...)

Pat

[tgaugh]

This just happened to us!

This was horrible. While getting our trailer weighed (thx TX ) we had to trailer empty. The bouncing around flipped over the shackles for both front tires. I didn't realize it until I got the boat on. *Note to self, inspect trailer after trailering empty before applying boat/weight* I pulled off the ramp to wipe down and while driving I noticed the front wheels not spinning at the right speed and after a bit not spinning at all. I was shocked to see them airborne!

We thought about jacking it up and unbolting the shackles and spinning them over, in the end forcing them to flip seemed like the best plan. Largely due to the boat still being on it. Two floor jacks, one jack stand and a couple beers and it was done. We jacked up the back of the trailer (with boat on) and then jacked up the front of the upside down shackle. Placing a jack stand under the back, rear axle, and letting down on the shackle jack. After a few adjustments we got the stand and front jack right. When it was right it was LOUD! BAM! and she flipped over. It was tough to hear and not think we didn't break anything. Moved over to the other side and repeated it. All's well now.

The other alternative (service shop recommendation) was to pull the boat at the lake, stand at launch and pry the shackle over with a long pry bar. This would be easy to do and quick, I didn't because by the time I got the recommendation it was too late to turn around. Hope that helps.

Edited July 11, 2006 by tgaugh

[mrothwell]

This just happened to us!

This was horrible. While getting our trailer weighed (thx TX ) we had to trailer empty. The bouncing around flipped over the shackles for both front tires. I didn't realize it until I got the boat on. *Note to self, inspect trailer after trailering empty before applying boat/weight* I pulled off the ramp to wipe down and while driving I noticed the front wheels not spinning at the right speed and after a bit not spinning at all. I was shocked to see them airborne!

We thought about jacking it up and unbolting the shackles and spinning them over, in the end forcing them to flip seemed like the best plan. Largely due to the boat still being on it. Two floor jacks, one jack stand and a couple beers and it was done. We jacked up the back of the trailer (with boat on) and then jacked up the front of the upside down shackle. Placing a jack stand under the back, rear axle, and letting down on the shackle jack. After a few adjustments we got the stand and front jack right. When it was right it was LOUD! BAM! and she flipped over. It was tough to hear and not think we didn't break anything. Moved over to the other side and repeated it. All's well now.

The other alternative (service shop recommendation) was to pull the boat at the lake, stand at launch and pry the shackle over with a long pry bar. This would be easy to do and quick, I didn't because by the time I got the recommendation it was too late to turn around. Hope that helps.

Well, it's good to know that it's not just mine that has done this. I'm not quite sure that I follow how you had the jacks/jack stand setup, but I'll look into it.

[tgaugh]

Well, it's good to know that it's not just mine that has done this. I'm not quite sure that I follow how you had the jacks/jack stand setup, but I'll look into it.

What you want to do is jack the back up, get the weight off the axles, but not too high. Then place another jack in front the shackle that's flipped. Then place the jack stande behind it and slowly let down on the front jack. This will place all the weight on the stand which will pop the shackle right-side up. It's alot easier to see that to type. Your basically trying to force the weight down on the shackle and use the stand to flip it. It's extremely loud and it sounds like your breaking the springs when it slams over. Just FYI, the sound scared me!

If it is single axle, I am sure I could do it with one stand and one jack. I needed two as the rear shackles on the tandem were fine.

Note: This may not matter, but mine is a Dorsey and not an extreme.