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Random Quote: Nothing is impossible, unless you have to do it yourself!
My tandem axle trailer wears out tires around 5,000 miles. It has torsion axles. I was going to see about having the alignment checked. <br><br>the shop I contacted said they wanted the trailer without the boat on it. I would think that you would need the weight on the trailer to check it as the torsion arm moves with weight and might not be a parallel movement when weight is applied. <br>Anybody ever have this done?<br>
do you do alot of tight turns. that could have something to do with it. And depending on how heavy your trailer is rated for compared to whats on it and if all the tires are the same.
__________________ 2008 2530 Parker w/twin 225 Yamis - Sold
2006 38 TE Fountain Triple 275 Verados - Sold
2004 32 Sea Vee Twin 250xs
It is unlikely that a car alignment shop would have the vertical clearance for a boat on a trailer.
The torsion alignment is not supposed to change w/ load, unless the axle is bent.
Where is the wear?
A truck shop should be able to check the trailer alignment w/ the boat.
It was a heavy truck shop with a frame rack and the tire wear is different from tire to tire but is always a inside or outside edge and even
Quote:
Originally Posted by bradv
do you do alot of tight turns. that could have something to do with it. And depending on how heavy your trailer is rated for compared to whats on it and if all the tires are the same.
the trailer is rated for 7,00lb. never weighed the boat but around 5,000lb loaded the tires are good year marathons 14"
I think your first step would be to take the boat and trailer to a scale adn get it weighed. Which tires have what kind of wear? Inside is indicitive of an over load
I'll never have another torsion axle. My work trailer had one, and the slop in the rubber bushings was intolerable. Once the bushings fail, it's time for a new axle.
I just had may trailer aligned (tire wear) at a place where they do trucks and RV's. In my case, they had to bend the axles with specialized equipment and they did it with the boat on the trailer. Look for a more specialized place.
If your axles are attached to the frame with U bolts (most torsion axles are), there's a good chance that one or more attachment points have moved. You can check and fix this yourself. Measure from the point where the axle is bolted to the frame to a cross member. Do this at each end of the axle. If the measurements are not the same, loosen the bolts and move the axle until they are the same distance from the cross member. Then adjust the second axle to be parallel to the first.
Take your trailer to a shop that specializes in trailer alignments. Your axles should be aligned from the tow point to make sure your trailers tracks correctly. A car alignment and most heavy truck alignment shops are not equipped to properly align your trailer. Rwidman your assuming the cross members are perpendicular to the track of the trailer, while they should be I wouldnt take it for granted. You can double check by finding a single point on the coupler on the center line and measuring from that point (triangulating) to each side of the axle (or a cross member so you can use it to measure off of) the measurement should be exactly the same. A trailer shop that does alignments will check it this way. Just to put the axles in line with each other will not fix your issues. If your trailer is pulling off center it will cause tire wear issues and cause wear to the tow vehicle by causing the suspension to load unevenly. Picture a water skier pulling way out to one side of the boat and how it will pull on the boat. I know its not noticable on bigger boats but the force is still there, your trailer does the same thing to your tow vehicle.
I found a bent axle stub on my old trailer by doing a redneck toe in/out alignment myself with a laser level. I just shot it parallel across the wheels on one side of the trailer where I didn't have a wear problem. I set the laser on blocks so it shot me a line 1/2" from the tires, when I went to the side with the problem, I found the front wheel was toe'd in 1/2"... Took some measurements then from the frame to the line and again from the rims and found the problem. Swapped out my spare stub (on my sprae tire carrier), and the old stub holds the spare tire now. I think I musta really whacked a curb with it at one time
Afishinado is using an updated version of the old racing alignments with parallel strings. Extremely accurate, better than many "alignment" machines, especially for toe settings.
I use a three foot piece of angle iron to check alignment when I'm building axles. I drill 2 holes in it and bolt it onto the hub in place of a rim. I leave the same amount sticking out on each side of the hub. With the angle iron horizontal this works great for toe in alignment as it exagerates any misalignments. As long as your frame is square you just make sure the front measurement (to the frame) is 1/8 less than the rear measurement and your toe-in is good. Then you swing the angle iron to the vertical position and with a level make sure it's pitching 1/8 inch out at the top for camber. I only do one piece axles and I just make a slot in the tube with a cutoff wheel to bend the spindle ino alignment and reweld. I don't know how you change alignment with the torsion setup as it's bolted solidly to the frame.
__________________ Ed Panzella
"BAITS MOTEL"
2450 MAYCRAFT PILOTHOUSE
Higganum, Ct
Do I need the boat on the trailer as the torsion arm moves with weight and might not be a parallel movement when weight is applied? My axles are bolted to the frame with 3/4" bolts.
If you put a straight edge on the tires in a horizontal plane there is no direction that you can move the axle that would correct it. something will need to be bent.
Am i thinking correctly that you need weight on the spindle to check
Do I need the boat on the trailer as the torsion arm moves with weight and might not be a parallel movement when weight is applied? My axles are bolted to the frame with 3/4" bolts.
If you put a straight edge on the tires in a horizontal plane there is no direction that you can move the axle that would correct it. something will need to be bent.
Am i thinking correctly that you need weight on the spindle to check
Your looking at two seperate issues. The alignment can be done without the boat on the trailer. The second issue is wether the plane of movement of the torsion lever is parallel to the track of the trailer. Problems with that will most likely be from something bent.Using a string or laser to check the alignment on a trailer isnt the best way to do it if thats all your doing. By not aligning the axles by triangulating off of the hitch you may miss something else being out of whack such as a bent axle or a bent spindle. After measuring off of the coupler and aligning the axles, then you can double check your wheel alignment with a string or laser the if something doesnt line up you'll know you have another issue.Epanzella, are you building straight axles with no camber or drop or do you build anything?
Epanzella, are you building straight axles with no camber or drop or do you build anything?
Nauti,
I may have given you the wrong impression. I don't build axles for a living but I've built a half dozen trailers for myself. When it comes to the axles, I just purchase the spindles and the appropriate tubing and weld them together. This allows me to control width, spring perch spacing and strength (I use thicker wall tubing than factory axles of the same rating) . All but one axle were dropped as I try to get the boat as low as possible. The drop is in the forged spindle so dropped or straignt makes no difference as far as assembly goes. I use angle iron to align the spindles in the tubing when welding them in. I also use the angle iron for for alignment when straightening a bent axle. It's not hard but gets a little tedious getting the axles aligned with the coupler, then aligned to each other, and finally building in the toe in. I think it's worth it in the end as your boat is as low as it can be and the trailer is easy on tires.
__________________ Ed Panzella
"BAITS MOTEL"
2450 MAYCRAFT PILOTHOUSE
Higganum, Ct
Nauti,
I may have given you the wrong impression. I don't build axles for a living but I've built a half dozen trailers for myself. When it comes to the axles, I just purchase the spindles and the appropriate tubing and weld them together. This allows me to control width, spring perch spacing and strength (I use thicker wall tubing than factory axles of the same rating) . All but one axle were dropped as I try to get the boat as low as possible. The drop is in the forged spindle so dropped or straignt makes no difference as far as assembly goes. I use angle iron to align the spindles in the tubing when welding them in. I also use the angle iron for for alignment when straightening a bent axle. It's not hard but gets a little tedious getting the axles aligned with the coupler, then aligned to each other, and finally building in the toe in. I think it's worth it in the end as your boat is as low as it can be and the trailer is easy on tires.
Hope that didnt come off sounding assinine, I meant it to say, will you build anything?I thought maybe you did custom work professionally. I have built several smaller trailers 8'-22', and I am currently working on a triple axle 36' flatbed. I havent yet made an axle and I was curious if there was anything special you did to camber the axles. I have a hyd pipe/tube bender and had thought about giving it a try. If you dont camber your axles do you just camber the top of the wheel out a little?
Nautiduck, I agree with epan..we have "strung" race cars for decades. It is far more accurate than any other method. Triangulation is only the first rough step. Sophisticated Formula cars are aligned for toe, caster, camber and bump steer with simple strings, a "Smart gauge", and a flat piece of plywood.
One of the most over-valued factors is wheelbase. I've seen 1/2" wheelbase variations on my formula vee, but since it was aligned along the centerline of the vehicle, wheelbase variation made no difference. A friend did his with the triangulation theory, and dog tracked down the track.
Nautiduck, I agree with epan..we have "strung" race cars for decades. It is far more accurate than any other method. Triangulation is only the first rough step. Sophisticated Formula cars are aligned for toe, caster, camber and bump steer with simple strings, a "Smart gauge", and a flat piece of plywood.
When I worked at an auto repair shop, I had the alignment guy check ALL alignments with a tape measure. The fantastic alignment machine was always wrong.
One of the most over-valued factors is wheelbase. I've seen 1/2" wheelbase variations on my formula vee, but since it was aligned along the centerline of the vehicle, wheelbase variation made no difference. A friend did his with the triangulation theory, and dog tracked down the track.
Afishinado is using an updated version of the old racing alignments with parallel strings. Extremely accurate, better than many "alignment" machines, especially for toe settings.
Exactly! I used a string before too... I had a dune buggy back in the 70's and used to bend the VW tie-rods on it a couple times a day!
BTW; Haven't forgotten the beer yet...
Axle Alignment 
