People buy and sell used trailers all the time. Craigslist and other sites have a lot of them. The question: How good is the used trailer you are looking at? Oh, and what are the sneaky little details you might not notice?
These photos came to me the other day with a question about the tongue. After a quick, and limited look (limited because the photos don’t show the many details), it is not the tongue that gives me concern. The real question for me on this used trailer is about the axles. Look at the photos above and below. Do you know why?
Hopefully you will get it. But, if I did not tell you to focus on the axles, would you see the issue?
A Real Life Used Trailer Example
We should really start at the beginning of this story. This is the note with the question that started the discussion.
“Hi, I saw your article about trailer strength, and was wondering if you could look at the attached pictures and tell me if you ever saw a trailer tongue design like this? It seems odd (to me) that the trailer tongue is lower than the main load support beams. Does this seem like a dangerous design to you?”
Honestly, at first glance the trailer looks pretty good. It is big, yet probably will not hold as much weight as you might be tempted to put on it. However, for what it is, overall the trailer looks nice.
When shopping, it is always a good idea to notice things that are not like you expect. This goes for all parts of the trailer. My answer about the tongue is this:
“The tongue attachment is not out of the ordinary. It is not such a pretty way to do it, but it works. If the welds are good and the beams are sufficient for the load, then it will work great.”
I then responded about the axles. (I will paraphrase below rather than quoting.)
The thing that concerns me more is the mobile home axles, wheels, and tires. Trailers like this are usually cut from an old scrap mobile home. The frame is not bad, and getting materials from the scrap mobile home is a good thing. Reuse, then recycle! – is a good motto. The concern is how much to keep from the old mobile home.
In this case, are they are keeping a little too much?
Should You Buy A Used Trailer?
The real underlying question here is “Should I buy THIS used Trailer?” Well, I can’t really give an answer for that. From what little I can see, it looks like the trailer is great. You really need to look it over carefully, and decide if the axles are a show-stopper for you. Please read “What’s Wrong With This Picture?” to see some things we found in a similar trailer.
Also, look for clues that indicate they knew what they were really doing when building it. – Or should I say Converting it? – The spare tire, for instance, right out in the sun makes a convenient access, but it will likely dry rot quickly, so hopefully you will not ever need it. Read this post for more on trailer spare tires.
So, if I were shopping for a used trailer? If this was the perfect size and I did not mind the high bed, the price would have to be low enough to justify ripping out the old axles and replacing them.
I had a trailer with a mobile home axle. At one point I thought they were genius, but experience (some mine and some from others) have taught me different. Honestly, if it were me looking at something like this, I would probably pass and keep looking. – But that is me, and I do not know how this customer is planning to use the trailer.
Cautions With Old Mobile Home Axles
Frequently, when creating utility trailers from scrap mobile homes, builders will keep the old mobile home axles, wheels and tires. I don’t blame them, the axles are strong and they are right there waiting to use. However, they have special wheels that are terrible if not impossible to balance. The tires are for high load, but they are usually hard as rocks and not really meant for highway travel. It might not work as the best utility trailer.
One service manager says mobile home axles are for one time use. Furthermore, the tires are hard to get, and can be obnoxiously expensive. And, many places will not deal with them because of the open rim.
If the wheels and tires have a factory mount and balance, they will be fine (for a while), OR maybe not. (These do not balance well, so most are not.) My bet, if you tow it up to freeway speeds, you will find a significant vibration somewhere between 40 and 60 mph. I could be wrong, but that is typical for a trailer like this. One of the big hiccups with these axles comes when you need to replace the tires.
One Time Use Axles
Then, the Axles. They look good, I will give you that. And, they are usually very strong. But, what is the axle load rating? If it is not printed on the axle (rarely is), then you do not know, and there is no way to verify the real capacity. So, how much weight can you put on it? Best to know the trailer capacity before loading it.
As mentioned above, the mobile home axles are often considered one time use. That is the intent. Build the house, then transport it to the site. Most mobile homes will never move again.
So, I cannot speak to it definitively, but as I understand, the bearings and internals are not to the capacity or the standards of an axle design for a long working life. That makes sense, and this info comes from multiple credible sources, so I believe it. Anyway, it is something for you to consider, and to check on if you are thinking of buying a used trailer with the old mobile home axles.
Put some “regular” axles under this one instead and you might have a great trailer. BUT, add some material near the axle mounting points as mentioned in this post. Something to think about. Also, for more info, check out the article Trailer Axles 101 which talks a lot more about trailer axle features and functions.
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