Square Trailer Axles And Override Brakes.

[101RRS]

I am upgrading the lodd capacity of my box trailer and will replace the round axle with a square one.

I have taken the round one out and where it sat on the springs it has small plates welded with holes where the bolt that holds the spring leaves together sits in the hole and stabilises the axle.

Now the square axle has no plates welded on it and has no holes for the spring bolt to fit in.

So my simple question is - do I need to weld on some plates thick enough to allow the protruding end of the spring bolt to fit into or can I just drill a hole in the square axle that is just deep enough to take the end of the spring bolt. Will this weaken the axle?

Thanks

Garry

[Graeme]

You must weld plates with locating holes similar to your old axle.

[Blknight.aus]

some axles have a locator welded onto the axle itself.

in most cases you need to have a square plate large enough to accept the locating bolt and either weld it to the axle OR make it large enough that you can drill 4 holes in it to accept the ubolts And have the centering bolt

Its easy to find trailer that have this configuration, over time the axles walk sideways and eventually the wheels rub on the bodywork/chassis

[101RRS]

Thanks for the advice - found a couple of the pads as Supercheap and welded on - fit fine.

I also welded on the mounting plates that the brake backing plates bolt too - highlights another issue I now have.

As the GVM of this trailer is only going to be 1000kg I have gone for override brakes. The brakes are marked Right and Left but when I put the right backing plate on the right had side and the left on the left hand side the actuating lever for the brakes that the wire will connect too is at the bottom not at the top as I expected. I checked my camper van and its handbrake activating lever is at the top as I would expect.

If I mount the brakes as they are marked the brake wire will hang dangerously low and can caught on stuff. If I mount the brake backing plates right to left and left to right so the actuating lever is at the top where the wire is protected the leading shoe is not at the rear.

I am a bit confused how they should be mounted and after a bit of advice.

Thanks

Garry

[Tank]

Garry I was going to suggest "if" you weld plates onto your axle to weld only on the long side of the axle and not across the axle, welds top or bottom can create stress risers. Regards Frank.

[Graeme]

The plates should be mounted with the adjuster at the bottom for access. The shoes need to be fitted correctly for the normal direction of rotation. IIRC the leading shoe needs to have the long gap at the top but I can't remember which way the trailing shoe is fitted. Copying what was provided should be OK but you can't guarantee that the shoes were fitted correctly.

[101RRS]

The plates should be mounted with the adjuster at the bottom for access. The shoes need to be fitted correctly for the normal direction of rotation. IIRC the leading shoe needs to have the long gap at the top but I can't remember which way the trailing shoe is fitted. Copying what was provided should be OK but you can't guarantee that the shoes were fitted correctly.

Yes - exactly - with the adjuster at the bottom the activating lever moves rear (trailing) brake shoe not the leading shoe :confused:.

I bought these online and just rang the seller, a trailer parts seller in Qld, and of course they are all asian and cannot quite understand my issue so are going to get someone to call me back :(.

Garry

[Graeme]

I think you'll find that the lever only moves 1 shoe which then pushes the other shoe via the adjuster, which is probably why I'm fuzzy on the location of the short lining end of the 2nd shoe. (edit: can only be fitted correctly due to the different seat top vs bottom).

Edit: I was considering electric brakes where only the leading shoe is moved which then pushes the trailing shoe whereas the park brake moves both shoes because it can't tell which direction the wheel might try to move.

[101RRS]

Well the axle and brakes are on the trailer. The left and right brakes are set up when you are at the front of the trailer looking back at it so the left brake goes on the right side and the right goes on the left side :confused:.

One minor issue is that the VE Commodore wheels have too much negative offset to run the cable direct to the brakes. Normally the cable just runs through welded on chain links that act as guides and as the cable does not change direction a lot friction wear on the cable is not such an issue.

However with the large negative offset of the wheels the cable will need to make a substantial change of direction so it really needs to run through a pulley on either side welded to the underside of the trailer - friction guides will wear the cable too quickly.

I assume that trailer places sell suitable little pulleys.

Garry

[Blknight.aus]

put a piec of tube with a wahser on either side onto a bolt and weld the bolt in place. Use that as your "pully" it also helps to sleeve the cable with an antifriction tube.

[101RRS]

put a piec of tube with a wahser on either side onto a bolt and weld the bolt in place. Use that as your "pully" it also helps to sleeve the cable with an antifriction tube.

Thanks Dave but I am not sure I follow :(.

[Graeme]

The left and right brakes are set up when you are at the front of the trailer looking back at it so the left brake goes on the right side and the right goes on the left side :confused:.That's another way to say that the stickers are on the wrong backing plates!

[Blknight.aus]

Thanks Dave but I am not sure I follow :(.

ok...

find a long bolt.
find 2 flat washers that fit it properly
find a piece of steel tube that fits over the bolt but has a thin enough side wall that the washers have an OD that larger than the OD of the bolt.

put a washer on the bolt, slide the tube on, slide the next washer on.

put a nut on the bolt so that it holds it all together .


youve just made a basic guide roller.

[Graeme]

Leave the nut loose enough to allow the tube to spin on the bolt.

[101RRS]

youve just made a basic guide roller.

Got ya now - thanks - what I had in mind before was something completely different :(.

Cheers

Garry

[101RRS]

As it turned out the caravan shop had the specific pulleys I needed for the exorbitant sum of $4.50 each - work a treat.

Thanks for all the comments.

Garry

[Blknight.aus]

for murphies sake, dont keep that a secret..

what where who and how.....


do they have an online cattledog?

my local place wants $15 a piece for em.

we cant name and shame but someone doing the right thing deserves a little online lovin

[101RRS]

Resort Trailers in Queanbeyan - Lloyds caravans in Fyshwick had the same for just a little extra. These were just a pulley with a hole at one end that a bolt could go through. I just welded a bolt to the bottom of the trailer inboard of the spring and mounted the pulley to it with a nyloc - the pully can swing if needed.

$15 got you the pulley, adjuster arrangement that goes on the handbrake lever to equalise the load on each brake.

These seemed to be standard items that would be carried by any trailer/caravan place - noting special.

Garry