Posted 2020-11-02 9:11 PM (#173335) Subject: DIY- How to - frame repair on aluminum trailer
New User
Posts: 1
Hello all. New member and poster here a hopefully this might become a public service thread to help those with frame damage.
For starters, I AM NOT AN EXPERT. I am simply a guy who isn't afraid to tackle a project, especially in this scenario as I was already "stuck with it". I'll give you the TL:DR version. Bought a 1998 4 horse slant load horse trailer that was damaged. If the deal is too good to be true, it probably is. I didn't go out looking to buy a damaged trailer, I just got that lucky :/.
I don't own horses, I own dairy goats that we show competitively. An older steel with wood floor 2 horse gooseneck had served us well for a few years, but my children interested in showing outgrew the small living quarters. So, we started a search for an affordable larger trailer. A 2-3 horse is all the "space" we need, it was the living quarters I lacked the space for. So when an aluminum Featherlite showed up cheap, I jumped at the chance to look. While the LQ was small, I had already searched the webs enough for how to expand into the stock area and make something work. My test drive/haul showed a potentially damaged axle (thought the torsion tube was shot), but the price was cheap enough I could replace them both and still be solid. Until I got it home and pulled the wheels and found the hidden damage. Suffice to say, I got screwed. Caveat emptor.
So here 12 months later and Covid-19 has nixed most shows, I'm working from home, I sold the old 2 horse steel trailer so now I am in trouble if "normal" comes back next year and I don't have a way to haul around people/goats.
Step one, know your limitations. I have a welder, a tractor, thousands of $ in tools, and some pretty good mechanical know how. I am NOT an expert welder, so I have hired that portion of this job out. IF you can get to the where I am, you can easily load the frame in the bed of the truck/flat bed trailer etc and take it to an expert or find a mobile one to come to you (my choice). Pick someone that welds on heavy equipment, they know the importance of structural welding and not necessarily making it look pretty.
Step two, this is easier than it looks, sounds/seems scarier than it should be. In my case, I have a 22 foot long (not including the gooseneck area) by 7ft wide ALMOST all aluminum trailer. It just so happens that the dexter torsion axles are bolted to a square/rectangle steel C and box tube frame (I call it the cradle). This frame/cradle is attached to the horse trailer box by 4 aluminum rivets at each "corner" of the box. It nests up under the floor. In my case, best i can gather is some prior owner at highway speed went off the road/hit something and essentially cracked the steel frame on the passenger/right side of the. There was some floor deformation in the interior of the trailer, but nothing that looked bonkers to my untrained eye. Oh well. Over time, the cracks became breaks and shoddy repairs were done. It only hid Father Time's prolonged damage. Enter my stewardship.
Step three, you don't need a lot of fancy tools. I divorced the frame from the trailer with a grinder (using a cutting wheel) and an air chisel to drive out the rivets. A good sawzall or short hacksaw would also suffice as well as a hammer and point object to drive out the rivets. A bottle jack or trolley jack is need to lift the trailer to block it as well as to aid in removal of the wheels and then cradle.
So how to do it. Get some wood blocks, cinder blocks, etc and make sure you have enough to block up all four corners of the trailer. Don't rely on the trailer jack to hold the front and give adequate stability. Get a nice level spot to park things and get to blocking. I first leveled out the trailer. Then I jacked the front end up with the trailer jack. Stuck the block up under the front corners and lowered it back down by the trailer jacks until it was on the blocks. Next, clear your wiring. My axle brakes and a couple side marker lights had to be cut. Take photos or write a diagram of the color coding. Then, I went and cut off all 16 rivets and drove them out. This was pretty quick, just a little tricky lying on your back trying to not shoot sparks in your face or inhale massive amounts of aluminum dust. Wear your safety glasses, gloves ear protection and a mask for your PPE. Once the rivets are gone, you will have 3/8 to 1/2 size holes that you can go back with grade 8 bolts to re-attach everything, no worries. Now go to the rear and start lifting in each corner, blocking the rear high enough that you start to get some separation from the frame/cradle and aluminum box. Don't go crazy high, just enough so you know they are separated. Once you verify this, it helps to have some scrap cardboard, metal sheets, plastic barrel lids, etc to have to place the hubs on. I went ahead and lifted the cradle back up a couple inches into it's nesting spot under the aluminum box in order to remove the wheels. That way I lost the height of the tires and was able to slide the axles/cradle out sideways (utilizing a winch on the side x side, but a car, truck, come along would work fine). The scrap metal, cardboard, barrel lids, etc make for good sliders for the hubs to sit on and get better movement on rough ground or not scratch up the driveway. I dropped the frame/cradle all the way down now and it slid right out the side with some mechanical help. It is now free and clear to repair/work on. The aluminum box is rock solid and has no flex. I'm shocked out how light it actually is over all.
I am in the middle of the repair process, and at this point I think the plan is to replace the both passenger and drive side C channels. The front and rear boxes look fine other than some broken mounting bracket plates. The leading axle, I am not sure if it can be saved. I'll keep this thread posted. Feel free to ask questions. I just know that when I started researching/game-planning this late last year, I got discouraged because I never found any info. Hopefully this can help someone. Overall, I am in the trailer cheap enough I can buy both axles and spend $1500 on frame work and still be solidly less invested than its overall value. I figure this trailer is probably at the low end worth $9k and maybe as high as $12k depending on the market.
DIY- How to - frame repair on aluminum trailer
