Was the cracking issue on one manufacturer of wheel or several? If only one manufacturer then I would definitely say it was a wheel problem. If more than one manufacturer of wheel then it's a trailer or load issue.
Was the cracking issue on one manufacturer of wheel or several? If only one manufacturer then I would definitely say it was a wheel problem. If more than one manufacturer of wheel then it's a trailer or load issue.
I would find out what the trailer actually weighs. There is a lot of speculation, and knowing the weight of the trailer would end much of that. It could also make your life much easier if you ever had to run it across the scales and find out that you have plates on it that are rated lower than your true weight.
Go weigh that trailer.
Goosenecks in that size typically weigh 7200# or more empty, without all the reinforcing you added.
You've only got 5000# worth of axles. You are seriously overloaded. Even with zero cargo.
SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:You've only got 5000# worth of axles. You are seriously overloaded. Even with zero cargo.
I think mdshaw has been saying "axle" when he meant "wheel".
I do agree though that the first step should be to actually weigh it and verify the ratings on axles and wheels.
SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:Go weigh that trailer.
Goosenecks in that size typically weigh 7200# or more empty, without all the reinforcing you added.
You've only got 5000# worth of axles. You are seriously overloaded. Even with zero cargo.
I think he said it's four 2500 lb torsion stubs, not two 2500 lb torsion axles, so 10k.
In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :
I agree he has probably misspoken.
But a 6 lug axle can be rated for anywhere from 3500 -6000 lbs. Even in the best case scenario, that trailer exceeds 12,000 lbs with 2 cars on it.
It needs to be weighed.
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:Go weigh that trailer.
Goosenecks in that size typically weigh 7200# or more empty, without all the reinforcing you added.
You've only got 5000# worth of axles. You are seriously overloaded. Even with zero cargo.
I think he said it's four 2500 lb torsion stubs, not two 2500 lb torsion axles, so 10k.
Still overloaded.
My bet is that the trailer weighs 8K, and the 2 cars weighed 5500 lbs.
SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:Go weigh that trailer.
Goosenecks in that size typically weigh 7200# or more empty, without all the reinforcing you added.
You've only got 5000# worth of axles. You are seriously overloaded. Even with zero cargo.
I think he said it's four 2500 lb torsion stubs, not two 2500 lb torsion axles, so 10k.
Still overloaded.
If the trailer is as heavy as your estimate, yes. It doesn't look that heavy to me, but we can't really guess from pictures.
I will echo what some others have said. The weight distribution/pin height is no bueno. With two torsion axles, that deck needs to be dead nuts parallel to the road when towing. At least in the pictures you've shown, the front is high. Measure from the tires to the fenders. (assuming the fenders are straight) For every 1" difference you have in tire/wheel height, you have thousands of pounds difference in axle loads.
If you look closely at the pictures, it's a converted 5th wheel travel trailer frame. If the trailer alone weighed 8000, it would have been 16,000 with the coach box on it, and that doesn't seem logical. I towed a 32' naked TT frame not too unlike that one and it was 2200 lbs with no deck, just frame and lights.
He doesn't have a beefy gooseneck equipment hauler, he has a naked 5th wheel camper.
Let's start a pool.... I'm guessing that trailer alone is just under 4000. Winner gets nothing.
car weights are easy to estimate with the googles. CVCC curb weight shows 1841 lbs. MR2 SW20 comes in around 2700 depending on options. That's 4500. Anything else he had in the cars, I can't say.
mdshaw said:I'm assuming it's a heat/cooling issue because it never happened until towing for 12-16 hours & it's fine but then sitting & cooling off over night they crack. When it rained, it didn't do it.
The cracks are hard to explain but it's on the inside of the wheel where it's radiused & then about 3" in from that the center piece is welded. It's always on that radius.
If all four wheels cracked in the same place, I'm inclined to think that it is a manufacturer issue more than trailer design and loading. The way the trailer is loaded and constructed may contribute to it cracking, but I'd be buying from a different supplier.
I assume you don't have any pictures of the cracks? If so I'd love to see them. Were the cracks at the same orientation every time? For example, were they always at 6 o'clock? Where were they in relation to the other features of the wheel, such as the valve? Same length of crack?
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:Let's start a pool.... I'm guessing that trailer alone is just under 4000. Winner gets nothing.
I guess 4250.
Cracked wheel photos? Obviously over loaded.
That set up is pretty ballsy with the cantilevered Camaro hanging off the back of that overloaded trailer.
Fatigue cracks in that trailer are in your future if you keep doing it.
Random thought. Perhaps the wheels are not rated to hold the pressures you may be running.
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:Let's start a pool.... I'm guessing that trailer alone is just under 4000. Winner gets nothing.
The OP seems to have been a bit short on the curb weights. Not knowing the exact year of each the ballpark is:
Mr2 2800 CVCC 1600
Total 4400
And likely more because there may be stuff in them for moving
L5wolvesf said:Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:Let's start a pool.... I'm guessing that trailer alone is just under 4000. Winner gets nothing.
The OP seems to have been a bit short on the curb weights. Not knowing the exact year of each the ballpark is:
Mr2 2800 CVCC 1600
Total 4400
And likely more because there may be stuff in them for moving
Yeah, I estimated 4500 for the cars.
You're right. It's a camper frame, not a hauler frame.
But he also said he used a ton of 3/8" reinforcing, and added 1" plate floor.
I'm in the pool for 6750.
I'm still saying the wheels cracked because they were overloaded. The flexi frame, plus the added weight, plus the unlevel deck, plus the 3000 lb car fully behind the axle. Only the rear wheels broke. They were overloaded.
In reply to SVreX (Forum Supporter) :
I'll agree on the cracked wheels/weight. Regardless of whether or not the whole trailer was overloaded, the tilt toward the back probably overloaded the rears. Even if that trailer had 8000 total above the springs, with the deck tilted like that it might have had 6000 on the back tires and 2000 on the front.
first off, nice looking build!
I would want to know the weight but not just the total scale weight. It would be interesting to put all 4 wheels on racing scales (with the truck on 2x4's to keep it all level) and see what the difference is from front to rear axle.
I bet that trailer isn't too awful heavy 4500 lbs is my picture guess.
second if I was hanging a car on the back of that frame I would want to consider some kind of structural member that had something in tension instead of cantilevered bending moment. Kind of like a car trailer you would see in Europe or a truss that had more thickness.
1 inch plate weights 40.8 lbs per square foot. If its 35 feet long and 7 feet wide that comes out to 10,004 lbs.
if 6 foot wide its 8575 lbs. That is plate alone if its 1"thick as stated. Add the rest of the trailer and the cars its probably 18,000 lbs.
In reply to jharry3 :
Corrugated decking is stamped sheet metal not plate. It also may well be aluminum as that is frequently used in commercial trailers to keep the weights down.
I think 1" is total the height including corregations with the actual metal much thinner. Picture the walls/ceiling of a shipping container.
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