Interesting item I found in trailer parts catalog

It is called an "axle slider". Maybe someone can correct me if wrong, but all it looks like is a section of angle iron with spring hangers welded on it. This seems like it would be handy when building a trailer to "slide the assemply with the frame upside down to the exact spot where the centerline of the axle is the same distance from the tongue on both sides, then weld the angle.

I am just throwing out questions trying to learn. I may or may not build this thing anytime soon but I wonder since this is a critical weld area if I could get a pieve of angle, say 2x2x3/16, have an experiecned welder weld the bracks to the angle after I have tacked them in the proper position, then, once the "sliders" are in the right place, drilling and taping theangle through the bottom part of the frame tubing, bolting it, then also welding around the angle?

Just thinking out loud here. Is there any advantage to using one of these "sliders"?

Reply to
stryped
Loading thread data ...

Sliders are commonly used on boat trailers where there is need to adjust axle to match the center of gravity of the boat/trailer combination. It also adds a bit of extra material at the spring perches, distributes the stress concentrations somewhat.

Many 18 wheeler trailers have user adjustable rear bogies. Tell tell sign is a row of 2" diameter holes in the frame above the rear bogies. Pull the locking pins, set the trailer brakes, drive the tractor forward or backward. Lets the driver adjust the weight on the trailer tires and tractor tires to meet the 18,000 pounds per axle max.

stryped wrote:

Reply to
RoyJ

Think it is a good idea for a utility trailer? Would threading the

3/16 frame tubing and installing a grade 8 bolt be strong enough? (One on each end of the angle?
Reply to
stryped

A slider assembly is not a good idea on a plain utility trailer - if you have the trailer loaded full of firewood and the tongue is too light, you simply shift some of the wood forward, problem solved. If you have a small tractor in it and the tongue is too heavy you either shift it forward or back and adjust the tiedowns, or back the tractor onto the trailer to put the engine block at the other end.

Sliders are used on boat trailers where the exact CG isn't known before building the trailer and loading the boat, and the load can not be adjusted - so you have to adjust the trailer instead.

The EZ-Slide axles on trucks are because some states have different maximum wheelbase rules, and other states say they have to be farther apart to carry more load. (Spread it out over a wider chunk of road.)

And we already covered through-bolting on a tubing frame... You /have/ to weld a tubing sleeve in the hole, or you collapse the tubing and seriously weaken the frame.

-->--

Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

I was not talkign of bolting through the whole tube, I was talking of going through only one side of the tube by threadding the metal and also welding.

Reply to
stryped

Bad idea. Not enough thread engagement, too much stress concentration.

Reply to
Don Foreman

If the "slider" is a channel, you COULD make it adjustable (fasten the "slider" to the frame with clevis pins) so you could adjust the axle position to balance different loads.

** Posted from
formatting link
**
Reply to
clare at snyder dot ontario do

The boat trailer sliders I've seen use U-bolts to clamp the slider to the frame channels, and when they have it in the right position they tighten the clamps and make a couple of tack-welds between each end of the slide and the frame, so it doesn't move on it's own.

If they make changes to the boat and move the CG, you grind off the tack-welds, loosen the U-bolts, and slide the axle as needed. They are not meant to be easily field adjustable every time you reload.

-->--

Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

That's how my utility trailer is build. When I bought it the axles were too far forward. I moved them back and life is good. Mine has a series of bolt holes so it only takes a few minutes to move it.

Reply to
Dan

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.