Bent axle help!!

[hairball]

I went online and could not find a TR21 that is sold with a single axel trailer,all have tandem axels. Did you buy this new from a dealer , or second hand. I would think the boat and motor would exceed the load rating of the trailer. Good luck and maybe you'll get lucky.

I bought it used in 2005 and it's a 1998 model with the original trailer. I just found out that the trailer manufacturer is now out of business. Maybe this is part of the reason why. The GVW of the trailer (at least according to the sticker) is just north of 3500. Hull weight is around 1800, 225 Merc EFI around 600, plus 4 batteries and the ridiculous amount of tackle I usually have in it and the trailer with tires and a spare.....if it wasn't overloaded, it was probably pushing it pretty hard. Maybe the old girl just finally decided she'd had enough after 17 years.

[Shellkat]

Just slap a new axle under it. That way you get a straight one, new bearings and everything. Depending on tow vechile one might add brakes. There is a place at the intersection of 127 and Bluegrass parkway called Trailer Parts. I've bought complete axles from them, good prices and will install. Get a 3500 lb axle or bigger. They will come with bigger bearings. Just put one under a tracker v bottom with same problem and it was a factory trailer

[Johnny K]

I had the same problem. Sounds like the "bow" in you axel is gone, causing the wheels to flare out too much with the weight of the boat, thus riding on the edges. I took it to Lexington Hitch & Trailer and they "rebowed" it. It seemed to help, but after awhile and several tires wearing out I went ahead and got a new axel.

[hairball]

This whole ordeal wound up costing me a little over $1300. Turns out one of the spindles was bent, possibly both. They wouldn't even consider straightening the spindle as that would have meant heating it up, thereby causing it to lose it's temper. I looked into putting a heavier axle under it but that would have meant buying new wheels - apparently anything rated over 3700 GVW requires 15" wheels.

Things got really interesting when I started looking for tires. I was planning on replacing the old ones with the same exact Goodyear Marathons. I had never read or heard anything bad about the Marathons, but when I started looking for 14" tires with a D rating, I found out that a lot of folks have been having problems with Marathons since they started making them in China.

Kumho makes a 14 with a D rating, but they're hard to find and the price I was quoted was ridiculous. A couple of shops I went to tried to sell me "Goodroad" tires. It was all I could do to keep from laughing at that name! That has got to be the most flagrant ripoff of an established brand name that I have ever heard of. They could have given me those tires and they would have never gotten anywhere close to my trailer.

After spending the better part of two days doing research on the Internet, I found what I was looking for. As I understand it from what I read, some years ago U-Haul contracted with Goodyear to be the sole supplier of tires for their trailers. They wanted something really robust that would stand up to the abuse from folks without a lot of towing experience. What they came up with was the HMG 2020. I don't know how long they've been making this tire, but they were just made available to the public last year. In fact, the sidewalls on the ones I bought say "PROPERTY OF U-HAUL" and "NOT FOR SALE". I was told that they are only made in this one size - ST205/75D14. They have an eight ply rating and a max load of 2040 pounds at 65 PSI. All this for right around $100 per tire. And they're made in Canada! When I went to the local Goodyear dealer and told him what I was looking for, he looked at me like I had two heads. A few minutes and a couple phone calls later, he had three of them on the way for me. Now I'm faced with the arduous task of fishing as much as possible to see if they live up to the high expectations I have for them.

[tracy]

Just slap a new axle under it. That way you get a straight one, new bearings and everything. Depending on tow vechile one might add brakes. There is a place at the intersection of 127 and Bluegrass parkway called Trailer Parts. I've bought complete axles from them, good prices and will install. Get a 3500 lb axle or bigger. They will come with bigger bearings. Just put one under a tracker v bottom with same problem and it was a factory trailer

They replaced the axle on the procraft I had. New axle, springs, hubs & bearings installed was less than $200.

[bassfishing1974]

I talked to the owner and he has repair a lot axles and even built new trailers for boats
All Out Performance and Repair LLC
4648 Jennings Ln Ste A
Louisville Ky 40218
(502)966-3920