My good friend was backing her trailer to park- thankfully after she had unloaded the horse- and the rear axle broke off the frame on one side, starting to twist off the other side!  It is an older trailer with steel frame/alum. skin. 

Can this be fixed?  Where/how?  It appears to have snapped from  the frame- can it be welded back on or held on with brackets?  This is a smaller, 2 horse bumper pull.  Any advice appreciated!

Advice.. We got ... answers ... maybe

Sounds like a relatively easy repair.  But hard to guess an answer of damage.

Take the tires off the broken axle. Put them in the back of the trailer.  Wire or secure the broken end to the frame.  She can then tow the empty trailer on one axle to the repair shop... Make sure the repair shop aligns the tires of the repaired axle. Otherwise, the tires will wear poorly.

This can be repaired. Both axles will have to be taken off the trailer and there will have to be new L channel welded back underneath her trailer. It depends on the trailer brand and if they use a box for their axles. The cost of the axle will depend on the size of it and how it is ordered. You can order just the axle or the complete axle with hub and brake assemblies. You can reuse the brakes assemblies and hub assemblies on most axles depending on how old the trailer is.

Thank you

Rider

If the trailer has a steel frame it can be repaired by a good fabricator. The most critical aspect is getting the axle mounting points absolutely located. A good welder can repair the damaged area by adding more material.

It sounds as if the frame is badly rusted and if the rest is as badly damaged, it might not be economically feasible to repair the trailer. To properly remanufacture large areas of the frame would include removing the body from the frame. The welder will not be able to rebuild a steel frame rail by welding against the aluminum skin. The heat would destroy the aluminum.

The restoration can only be accomplished by a quality welder who is proficient in the repairs of both steel and aluminum. This is not a project for a "back yard" mechanic, when you consider the dangers a poor repair would cause to your most prized family members. It is fortunate that the trailer failed where it did. If it were to fall apart at highway speeds, the outcome could have been horrific.

I would carefully weigh the replacement costs of replacing the trailer with the costs of a proper restoration. A good survey of the rest of the trailer should be manditory and included with the costs of the repairs. You may have just seen the tip of the iceberg with this failure.

BOL  Gard

Several yrs. ago I had a sundowner trailer.  the day before a ride my husband had the wheels off and was repacking the bearings and saw some suspicious looking cracks on  3 of the blocks attached to the axels.   I was pissed for missing the ride but glad he found the cracks.  the trailer was about 3 yrs old w/ a lot of miles on it.  I don't remember if it was under waruntee still but I called the dealer in FL  who said to call Sundowner.  the guy I spoke w/ at Sundowner was very nice and told me the'd pay for repairs at a cert. welding shop.   Axels were manufacured by Dexter who I guess subconstracts to trailer companies?   A month later the same man called back and said he didn't feel confortable w/ rewelded parts and was shipping whole new axels, since the heat of welding may have damaged the (torsion part??) inside the axel.  you know that cost them some $$ but I was really impressed with their service and concern.