Now I've gone and done it...

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Sea TR;

send me your phone number and location to davecondon@mindspring.com and I will call to discusss your trailer with you. Keep the information that RGranger mentioned on the axle supplier.

RGranger;

Plan to start building hopefully next month near Iron Gate to be completed in May of next year.. Better get ready to put up with me sir. It will be good to come home and see many great friends.

crazy dave condon

 

[rgranger]

...r.. Better get ready to put up with me sir. It will be good to come home and see many great friends.

crazy dave condon

Bring it..... I added a Hobie 16 to my fleet since the last time we emailed. We can throw some grub in a cooler and lunch on one of the islands.

r

 

[SeaTR]

Chief, thanks for your input and perspective. The more I look into the 'new trailer' idea, and balancing out the existing 1981 Magic Tilt trailer's overall status, the more I'm convinced that axle and leaf spring replacement is the right way to go. The pitting that you see under the paint is associated only with axle. Glad to hear you had a (seeminglly) good time in Bodega Bay (10 days).

Apex, thanks for your assessment (..."(trailer) look(s) to be in GREAT SHAPE"...)as well ! Maybe I've now gotten over the initial shock of the event.

It's all about the threshold for taking on risk, I suppose... E.g., I received additional quotes from some of the 5 manufacturers. They were in the $4,000 - $7,000 range, including delivery for a 3000#, single axle, galvanized, bunk, with surge brakes. It's surprising the difference is prices (keeping in mind that some of the higher prices were due to delivery from the factory, as opposed to having the trailer shipped to a 'local' dealer and not paying delivery fees directly).

rgranger, nop, I want to stick to a single axle...for now, unless there are compelling reasons for the dual axle for my 2600# 1981 Hunter 22' swing keel boat.

Dave, check your email...

All Ya'll,
Thanks for taking the time to chime in !! Each of your inputs are helpful to me in response to this 'event'. I had a heck of a time TRYING to get someone lined up to SAFELY load both trailer and boat onto their flatbed tow truck...and STILL haven't had it moved from its breakdown site yet !

 

[tricyclerob]

The bad news is, you can't see inside the axle to identify any rust problems. The good news is, you can identify any rust problems on the frame as it's c-channel and it's all visible.

From what I can see, the frame looks fine, but to make sure, I woulld examine every inch.

If the frame is ok, a set of springs,u-bolts and an axle with hubs is probably less expensive than you think and installation is pretty straight forward.
Probably well under $500 for everything.

On the other hand, a decent trailer, $2500, 3000?. And then there's the work to get it set up for your boat, which can be a pia. I'd rather replace the axle than set up a new trailer.

I got a aluminum trailer, [1969] with my O'Day, and was thinking it was scrap metal. Then I started pricing trailers, and the same aluminum trailer is $3000-3500 today.

I replaced axle, springs, u-bolts, all the rollers, jack, winch and the padded boards for less than $1000. Including the new taller winch support to hold the mast.
The math seemed pretty easy to me.
[sorry, shots are "after" then "before"]
robj

 

[tricyclerob]

I forgot to add, as far as getting your boat home, if it is a very short distance, Harbor Freight sells "car dollies" pretty reasonable.

http://www.harborfreight.com/2-piece-vehicle-dollies-67511.html

You could probably jack it up, put one under the wheel, or maybe with a block spacer, to the frame then strap it all together, and move it verrry carefully, with someone watching the wheel the whole time.
A driveway lip could present a challange, depending on how it's set up.
Just a thought.
robj

 

[azguy]

It's easy, rebuild the trailer, it will be half or less than the cost of a new one. I had a friend in a similar situation last year and he brought it to a place out here that builds and restores trailers. They sand blasted the whole trailer, replaced the axel and rebuilt the leaf springs, added all new lights and wiring and re-painted the entire trailer for $1,500

 

[SeaTR]

OK, guys and gals..I'm sold on the idea of repair vs replace ! I admit I was a little ovherwhelmed when the axle failed. It's finally starting to "wear off", in part, thanks to your many insights and suggestions. I'm going the route of replacing the axle, leaf springs, u-bolts, ...with wheel hubs, brakes, and tires under consideration as well. (It is a 1981 OEM Magic tilt, after all)

THANK YOU, Y'ALL !

This weekend is my target to get it towed by an outfit that says they're experienced in towing sailboats ON trailers. A 73 year young fella runs the outfit and is the only one, so far, that I'm confident in to do the job right.

As this is the largest boat that I've owned to date, I was initially a little gun shy of how to approach the situation. I've been mostly a dinghy sailor until I picked up this 1981 Hunter 22 salvage boat ~5 yrs ago...yes, it has been a 'project boat', er, I mean a labor of love.

tricyclerob, yes thanks, I had already looked into the car 'dolly' idea, but there are too many uneven road surfaces between the breakdown site and the home / repair sites.

Thanks again everybody.

 

[SeaTR]

Well the axle, U-bolts, leaf springs and both wheel cylinders have been replaced. The boat now rides a bit higher (~10") than previous...which I like. It's good to get boat and trailer back home again.

Thanks again to all for your input. Merry Christmas and hoping you have a great sailing year in 2014!

 

[rgranger]

... and you are now the resident trailer expert on the forum

 

[SeaTR]

... and you are now the resident trailer expert on the forum

Ha !! I guess so....maybe? ...Naaaa!
Well maybe, I refurbrished this trailer when bought with new wheel cylinders, bearings, brake lines, surge brake unit, and wiring & lights 6 yrs ago when I bought her. I suppose I should probably get some sort of official looking 'diploma' or something ?

 

[SeaTR]

H22 trailer dimensions pix

Somebody (offline) had asked for dimensions on my existing trailer. So here goes.

Attached is a .pdf converted from a Power Point I created 'before' the new axle / springs installation. The only thing that's changed to the 'after' installation is essentially the height off of the ground; everything else is the same as indicated on the .pdf.