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trailer bunk weld broke.......


mackie12

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Morning folks,

 

looking for opinions here.......the front bunks on my trailer (Tandem), one of the brackets that is welded to the frame has broke thru the actual frame, the other one is cracked about 50% the way around, these would be the two outside bunks/runners if you can picture it. Obviously I need to fix this but my question is do I pull the boat/trailer to the cabin so I can get the boat off the trailer (7 hour drive) or pay the local dealer ($$$) to lift the boat off the trailer and store at their facility while I fix it at my shop? basically the four load points mid-ship of the trailer is now down to two......sound safe?

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11 minutes ago, mackie12 said:

Morning folks,

 

looking for opinions here.......the front bunks on my trailer (Tandem), one of the brackets that is welded to the frame has broke thru the actual frame, the other one is cracked about 50% the way around, these would be the two outside bunks/runners if you can picture it. Obviously I need to fix this but my question is do I pull the boat/trailer to the cabin so I can get the boat off the trailer (7 hour drive) or pay the local dealer ($$$) to lift the boat off the trailer and store at their facility while I fix it at my shop? basically the four load points mid-ship of the trailer is now down to two......sound safe?

I'd want the boat off the trailer if I was doing the repair, since to properly repair it the area will need to be ground and possibly gusseted.   When you say that it broke through the frame, do you mean that you now have a hole in tube where the weld was?   I'd check carefully how much rust is inside the frame.  I've patched a couple of issues on my inlaws 04 Boatmate, but the rust is going to get it before too long. 

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@oldjeep I agree, I want the boat off the trailer before I make any repairs, and yes there is a hole the size of the bracket and weld now. it has been broken for about a week now and has been raining everyday since so I would assume there is water/moisture in the actual tubing now. I am a welder by trade so I have no concern fixing it myself or how to do it, just more curious if the others will hold for a 7 hour drive......

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47 minutes ago, mackie12 said:

@oldjeep I agree, I want the boat off the trailer before I make any repairs, and yes there is a hole the size of the bracket and weld now. it has been broken for about a week now and has been raining everyday since so I would assume there is water/moisture in the actual tubing now. I am a welder by trade so I have no concern fixing it myself or how to do it, just more curious if the others will hold for a 7 hour drive......

The rain from the last week won't be the issue.


The easy solution is to drop the family off at a local lake for a pleasant day while you drag the trailer home and fix it ;)

Edited by oldjeep
  • Like 3
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You could cut some blocks to fit between the frame & the bunks and notch the blocks to straddle the frame as temporary support for the ride home.  I did just that with my old VLX trailer when the front brackets broke as yours have.  I'm not sure how effective it was but I made it home (350 miles) without incident. 

Dave

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I welded my trailer with the boat still on it.  You could tape a piece of cardboard to the hull to guard against damage if you want to, but I didn't bother.

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19 hours ago, mackie12 said:

 one of the brackets that is welded to the frame has broke thru the actual frame, the other one is cracked about 50% the way around,

Sounds like the first one broke, which caused the other one to start cracking.

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If you have access to flat bar, make another angle longer to hang down past the frame & use U bolts to bolt to the frame.

Could make another flat plate & just use straight bolts as well to save tracking or making U bolts.

i would be more concerned with the original one tearing off, a lot of load at that point or the frame is rusted from the inside out.

If you have those amber lights cut into the front frame before the winch post, pop one out to see how much steel is left as mine rusted from the inside reducing 1/8" wall down to less than half the thickness.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just to close this out, I had to boat lifted off and re-welded everything, the base tubing was alot thicker then I had anticipated, expected it to be thin wall stuff but it wasn't so that was nice!

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