Bent Axles & Spring???

[Buffalo]

I have a friend that has just purchased a new 20' enclosed car hauler for use as a storage trailer since he & his wife are going to be full-time RV'ers. The trailer is rated at 7000lbs. with 2-3500lb. axles.



He grossly under-estimated the weight of his valuables & the springs were bent in the opposite direction of their original design.



If you look under the trailer, when unloaded, the middle of the axles are "bowed" so that the middle is higher than the outside of the axles.



He has jacked-up the entire trailer & it is sitting on 4 heavy-duty jackstands. The wheels are off the ground, now. The springs have returned to their original shape but, the axles still have a slight "negative" bend, to them.



He is trying to get rid of some of his valuables to get the trailer weight to where it should be & what it was designed for.



Does anyone have any experience with problems like this. Are the springs permanently damaged? Can the axles, somehow, be bent back to their original shape or are they permanently damaged?



We looked into upgrading the trailer to a 12,000lb. rating. Springs, axles & 16", 8 hole wheels with load range E tires. Would cost $1500-1700 for this upgrade but, the frame is still rated for 7000lbs. So, this is not a good option.



We would appreciate any suggestions from those with experience with a problem like this.



Thanks.



Joe F. (Buffalo)

 

[NIsaacs]

The bow in the axles are part of the original factory alignment. It allows for the weight of your load to overcome part of this "bow" and put the axles in normal alignment. Springs will forgive quite a bit of abuse, if they did not break, they are probably ok.





"NICK"

 

[Buffalo]

Hi Nick,



Thanks for your reply.



After re-reading my original post, I think i did not explain what has happened to the axles. properly.

Unloaded: They have a bend, or curve in them. The centers are higher than the outsides.



Loaded: They now have a bend or curve that is opposite of the unloaded condition. The center of the axles is now lower than the outsides. It was really bad with all the weight on them. Bad enough that when you looked at the wheels/tires from the front or the back, the tops of the tires were leaning inwards, by quite a bit.

Now, with the weight off the axles, springs & tires, the tires are in a vertical, upright position but, the axles still have a small amount of a negative bend in them. The centers are just a little lower than the outsides of the axles.



I'm thinking the axles may have been permanently damaged. I was just wondering if the proper (center-higher) bend can be put back into the axles, so as not to have to buy new axles.



Any suggestions from those with experience with this kind of a problem would be appreciated.



Thanks.



Joe F. (Buffalo)

 

[Blu-meanie]

I would weigh the trailer before changing anything. I went to 5200 lb springs and axels on my TT. It weighed in right around the maximum of 7,000 lbs. Yes, it will run around $1800. 00 with new tires and wheels.

 

[Partyat33]

The centers of the axles are higher than the outsides. when I first saw it on my trailer I was sure they were 'bent'. But thats how they are !

 

[NIsaacs]

Hi Joe, sorry I misunderstood a little bit. Yes, the axles can be re-bent, a large travel trailer sales & repair company can do this for you. However the cost might outweigh the price of new axles. The little 3500 lb'ers are cheap. You can use your brakes and hubs over. If all your friend is going to use the trailer for, is storage and not pull it much, maybe just leave it alone. When and if he decides to start pulling it, he can fix it at that time.





"NICK"

 

[TowPro]

It sounds like the axles were over loaded, now they are bent the wrong way. Bend them once its hard, bend then again and its eaiser. Sounds like they need heaver duty axles. But what about the springs, spring mounts, tires, frame, etc, etc. What's the next weak link once you put heaver axles on?

 

[Buffalo]

TowPro,



I know what you mean. That's why I mentioned that he is getting rid of some of the weight to bring it into compliance with what the trailer was designed to carry.



I was just wondering if he could re-arch the axles, if they are truely bent, and if this would allow him not to have to purchase new axles.



We thought about a heavier suspension but, the rest of the trailer is engineered as a 7000 lb. trailer, also.

His frame isn't bending with all the weight but, if you hit a bump or a dip in the road, you could have a "catostrophic event" occur with the frame, etc.



Thanks for your suggestions.



Joe F. (Buffalo)

 

[Blu-meanie]

If it all needs to be replaced, it costs about the same to go to the next weight class axels.

You won't have to worry about that part anymore.