Axle-joining [Archive] - World Sea Fishing Forums

glasgowdan

26-01-2006, 18:14

The bit that attaches our axle to the main shaft of the trailer seems to be in poor condition and Im wondering whats the easiest way to secure it strongly.

Is it sufficient to buy one of those steel plates with 4 holes, and use 4 u-bolts to bolt it to each shaft respectively?

Or not?

Boat is a 16ft fastliner so quite light

Cheers

D

scottonjayne

26-01-2006, 18:34

you will probally find that either the axle or the frame has a location pin in it,you are better reparing by welding on new brackets,that way you can be sure the axle wont TRAMP

glasgowdan

26-01-2006, 18:43

what sort of brackets do yu mean?

harpo

26-01-2006, 20:25

glasgowdan

26-01-2006, 23:40

Nos4r2

26-01-2006, 23:48

Still not really clear Dan-I think the only way to do it will be to post pix of your trailer-where you've circled on that trailer isn't joined to the main centre bar as it's a sprung rather than indespension type trailer-but:-

if you're saying that your main axle beam is bolted on to your main longitudinal beam and your axle beam has indespension units on it then yes, U-bolts and plates will be fine. Using angle iron rather than flat plates will be stronger though-it doesn't bend as easily so the u-bolts won't slacken off.

Does that make sense?

harpo

27-01-2006, 10:10

Ill not be able to get pics for a while, but have got a picture to show exactly where the join I have to make is... I will take it to assumer there are simply two bars at right angles to each other and have to be joined very strongly... whats the best way?

if the joint was welded i personaly would grind weld off make sure the metal around the joints are stong enough to take welding if their ok weld back up and also weld some strengthners in if your not happy with joint.if the joint section has gone thin then if you know what your doing you can cut and renew with box new section other than that keep your old trailor as patern buy all the metal you need to make a like trailor and swap all the rollers and other things over. you havend said its bolted at the joint if it is take off u bolts and still make sure the metal is in good condition and get new plate and u bolts (myself i put a spot of weld on where the cross section is to stop axle moving but thats just me personally)

ChrisP

27-01-2006, 10:30

I am not clear on what you are trying to do so I can't help unles you clarify it. With it being safety related I don't want to tell you the wrong thing.

On the subject of welding box section steel on a galvanised trailer. Please have good ventillation as the zinc fumes will give you a stonking headache if you breath them in. Also the zinc gets burned off internally so you need to get some paint in there to stop the box rotting from the inside out. Better, if you can, to use "U" Bolts though I realise in certain circumstances welding is unavoidable.

If you can clariy with a couple of photos and a clearer description of the problem it would help

steve t

27-01-2006, 20:43

zinc fumes will also give you stomach cramps, muscle spasms and uncontrollable shaking, nasty stuff,
cheers steve

zbigron

09-02-2006, 02:48

yep i know what you mean connecting the two crossing parts of the trailor. I have two threaded U-bolts connecting mine. A steel plate must be welded to bottom one (one with the wheels) so that you can bolt it on :) can be a bugger to get hold of them though, i got galvanised ones from a plumbing m8.

http://www.championtrailers.com/GAL_BOLTS.htm <<<<<like that :)

old thread but thought id add my 2p worth:thumbs:

stucol

09-02-2006, 23:44

Dan, if you are welding Galvy steel make sure you grind back the galvy 1st.

If you still get fumes, drink some milk afterwards, stops you getting Galvy Heed.

Sounds like a wind up but it is not.

If you use a plate under the main beam make sure it is at least 4mm thick and has two outer edges rolled down so at to prevent it distorting under load.

You also want to ensure that there is some form of diagonal brace(s) to stop the axle skewing relative to the main beam.

Otherwise it will steer itself into Loch Lomond on the way to Etive !!

glasgowdan

10-02-2006, 00:55

Ok I have attempted to create a masterpiece since I cannot get to ayr to get pictures of the thing itself. The picture shows the current connections at the joint. The flat plate on the axle has corroded and is bending at the holes/edges and looks unsafe. The top main bar and the "Top Hat" look in good condition.

Can we remove the flate plate on the axle, file it down so the bar is smooth again and just weld a new one on? And where do I get flat plates like that, galvanised with holes in them?

Cheers

Dan

zbigron

10-02-2006, 02:15

yes!! can you not just remove the old fitting and grind flat. Then buy the u-bolt and clamping plate they come together, a google will get you a good online price :), weld the clamping plate to the lower axle then use the u-bolts to secure the upper part of the trailer.

a couple ive seen having a quick look :)

http://www.trailerpartswarehouse.co.uk/trailer_parts/u-bolts_prices_92.html
http://www.trailertek.com/acatalog/U-bolts.html

harpo

10-02-2006, 08:50

Can we remove the flate plate on the axle, file it down so the bar is smooth again and just weld a new one on? And where do I get flat plates like that, galvanised with holes in them?

you could grind it off and renew, if all your worried about is the plate bending at the holes get a plate from any metal fabrication firm get one 1/2 inch thick ask them to drill holes in it ,first make a template of the old one and mark holes on it give it to them they will do the rest, paint it you might need longer u bolts and just bolt it over the top of old one. job done strengthnd the original.no dobt someone will find something wrong with this but it dose the job and you can renew it easily

zbigron

10-02-2006, 20:05

sounds good to me :) :g:

stucol

11-02-2006, 00:37

Dan, if you weld on a new plate you will have to have it galvanised afterwards.

This will mean galvanising the whole length of the main beam. In practice, double galvanising the majority of the beam.

Scottish Galvanisers in the Gorbals will do this for you. I priced it last year when i intended building a trailer from scratch.

Will cost you about £80.

You can buy cold galvanising "paint". If you want to take that route, P.M. me and i will ask my mate where he got his from. May just be from a builders merchant but i am not sure.

glasgowdan

20-02-2006, 01:27

Got the boat almost ready to go

Final things to do include this damned trailer still but I have a plan and wonder if it would be ok...

Get a bit of flat plate wider than the top hat on the top bar. Grind or file off the old plate from the axle bar as its shoddy, and clamp this new one on with 4 u-bolts, leaving the middle area free to take 4 holes for the top hat from the top bar, simply bolt it on.

This would work surely???

Also, anyone got an old vhf or vhf antenna they would let go for a couple of quid?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/glasgowdan/small1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/glasgowdan/small2.jpg

As you can see the steering cable isnt perfectly routed but we arent fussed, and we still have to connect the electronics to the battery but should all be easy enough. The engine is manual start anyway so nothing to worry about there.

I notice the power cables for the gps and the fish finder are connected - why is this? Do they connect to the battery as one or individually? Sorry for all the simple questions!

glasgowdan

04-03-2006, 23:23

well we had a trip out on her today at Dunure and learned a few things:

1. Engine starts with choke halfway but not fully open
2. Retrieving with a large swell bouncing boat up and down onto trailer is hard!
3. We know how to use GPS, its actually quite easy eh?
4. There is no footing to walk to the bow round the cuddy - must go through hatch
5. Fraser's farts vibrate through the whole boat!

We got a couple of pictures...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/glasgowdan/fastliner/dunuresmall.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/glasgowdan/fastliner/dunure1small.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v242/glasgowdan/fastliner/dunure2small.jpg

Got some lovely weather and a beautiful roll of surf coming onto the rocks, great scenery and nice for photos.

Norrie

05-03-2006, 00:43

Dan, Hiya, Love your boat !!! but, get some fenders mate......:) or there wont be much of it left soon.....

Simon F

05-03-2006, 11:41

You main engine looks very high is it in the normal running position in those pics?

( could be just me though ).

glasgowdan

05-03-2006, 11:44

Yes it is, though we are going to tilt it down slightly next time. Bear in mind it will be a couple inches lower with a couple of people sitting in the boat. Its fitted flush with the transom anyway and a long shaft

Ticketty Boo

05-03-2006, 15:12

Ditto on the fenders Dan. The anti-cavitation plate should sit about an inch below the keel.

Any fish? What did you get at full throttle?

Had Ticketty Boo! out from Balloch and even then was still quite choppy in open water. Managed 5,200 revs (still 300 short) and 28knots with three on board into the wind. Trying a different angled propellor next. Am rubbing down undersides for anti-foul today if you've nothing to do and fancy giving me a hand ????????????????

glasgowdan

05-03-2006, 15:34

the pictures dont really show the engine position properly... it does seem to sit right when on the driveway. Didnt run the boat at full throttle due to the chop on the water etc. We have a couple of buoys we can use as fenders if the boats going to be in a harbour any time but we tied her up yesterday away from the wall so no problems there. Still, if anyone has some old fenders kicking about we would use them Im sure!

Been spending enough £ as it is just now, starting to feel the pinch.

And gordon im, err, washing my hair today sorry!

zbigron

08-03-2006, 00:22

did u catch anything at dunure???

glasgowdan

08-03-2006, 00:28

nope only fished ten mins, just pottered about really, almost panicked when we couldnt start the main engine again as we were drifting towards rocks, so put the brakes on and played about until we realised the choke has to be only halfway out.

Sea was rather choppy but it was a nice day all the same.

glasgowdan

07-04-2006, 17:47

Another question here - the plate that the main bar is going to be bolted to... how thick should it be? I am getting some steel later. is 4mm ok? 5mm? it will be about 8 inches by 12 inches and u-bolted to both the main bar and the axle bar.