For three years I have had this bunch of pics on my phone, repairs and rebuilds of trailers over the years. I'll get some posted up soon.
Some of the not so fun stuff I've been dealing with. Exposed wiring is not good with the salt and deicer weve been seeing. So I'm building new boxes for the lights to keep the wiring covered and safe from the salt.
This was the original light box. Picked up steel today for the new ones, hope to have more pics monday.
Another one I took some major kinks out of. Something heavy got dropped on the RH rail and bent it badly. Got the kinks out and re-arched the rail.
This is one I built from scratch, a pair of frame rails and a 1944 title around 2004, it was back 2 years ago after being rear ended so I could replace the rear sill. All the years of service prior and it had 4 small cracks in the cross sills for the deck. When the rear sill went on it got a re deck, sand blast and paint.
The 40 foot lead that matches the 24 foot pull above. Look carefully... you might see where I started replacing the entire rusted out front over the 5th wheel plate back. Look behind the second strap winch. I think there was 18 new crossmembers in this one too.
Anybody see a problem here?
Once in a while I have to build some big ones. these are 30 inches wide overall for a tree nursery. They fit down the rows behind a garden tractor. The decks were expanded mesh.
Nice work. A great looking shop too!
Thanks for the compliment. Shop does stay a little messier than I would like. But when you stay busy...
nothing to worry about for at least 48 hours
On the Trucklite connectors, best thing is a tub of Dielectric connection grease, Brush on LIBERALLY do not need too neat in places where can collect crud. do both the lamp sockets and the connector pins. I had some years back started running wiring in Air Brake or any form of Flexible tubing, set to the frame with screws and loop retainers, saves having wiring pulled away with snow or ice even mud. Looks like that Pintle eye had seen enough work load!! That 40' an old Utility?
Dave, I know all about greasing the plugs and terminals, but I don't have much control over things after they leave my shop. Owners/drivers changing out lights at the scales don't seem to worry much about that at the time. Yes, the 40 footer is a Utility... 1971. The kinked (unkinked) red one is a 1970 Comet.
If you look closely at the eye, somebody built it up with weld once before. Big no-no nowadays.
Delivered Tread and sheet steel plate to Comet Spokane in early 1981, another tale to tell with that!! Can always in a pinch with the customers let them know that should they have to buy a lamp at T/S or small garage, find a grease gun and just smear some to the contacts, anything is better than nothing.
Friend of mine down south of here had a bad creek to cross to gain access to his farm. Bought two old late sixties Utility external frame trailers, built a bridge with them!! I do not think time was on their side as to corrosion and stress damage where have since been replaced with a Real Bridge but were Bee's Knees back in the 80s.
BTW, shop's too clean, kinda lot TS Shop, you guys need to bring in the old dirty wagons and play awhile!!
Kinda LIKE not lot, as to you guy's shops!!
Used to haul grain out of a place that had an 80' ? piggyback flatcar for a bridge. It looked plenty wide 'til you got your truck on it. It did have the tire guides if you got too close to the edge.
You gotta remember there was a manure spreader truck in there last week. After all the hammering it left it's mark on the floor. And in the air...
Made some progress on the current project. Got the boxes built and mounted up.
I love it ! Excellent work RZ .
Thanks td, but this is just "Get 'er done" not artwork. Got a couple things a bit out of square (not that it can be seen) and a run in the paint. This trailer will be back in late May or June for a real rebuild with a blast and paint all over. I'll be cutting off unused strap hooks and other junk first. Oh, for Miller... this is an early 70's Utility too.
Also moved the side marker/turn signal up the side rail and boxing in the rear side to seal them up. Made a plasma cutter jig that makes it easy peasy. Have several cutting jigs for different light holes.
@RZucker do you have a pic of your jig for light holes? They look very well done.
Oops i didnt realize that was the jig.
No problem, I make them myself. My plasma cutter has a drag tip with a 3/16" center. I use 3/16" plate and make the hole in the jig 3/16" bigger than the hole I'm cutting. The oval jig above I use a self drilling/tapping screw to hold it in place while I cut, a quick zap with the wirefeed hides the screw hole. If I have a clamp that will reach I don't need the screw.
Another one from last year. Obsolete suspension that need new equalizers. Had to have a new channel formed from 1/2" steel to mount it all up.
Not exactly a trailer, but this is next weeks welding project. Some buildups, crack repairs and other miscellaneous work. Plus it has two friends that will be in soon, too.
baler of some sort ?
Yep. New Holland 340. 3x4 x8 foot bales. They get a lot of abrasion wear inside.
judging from the shiny rollers it has`nt been sitting idle
It was last used in September of last year. the owner keeps them stored inside.
Hi RZucker! It’s my first time on this thread. That hay pup looks familiar, is that Busby?
Equipment under roof is money in the bank .
No, I built the entire trailer from scratch on a set of 1944 Utility frame rails, added 4 feet of I beam to make it a 24 foot pup. Busby did bend the rear sill for me though. I guess I have seen enough of their stuff to have an influence. Mike and his guys do a great job making custom parts for me.
My first super chassis was Busby! That’s why that tall and skinny I beam looking rear sill reminded me of them.
If I ever get down by their shed, I'll get a pic. It's a huge Quonset type tarp building 300 plus feet long and 75 feet or so wide.
There's a lot of their can chassis around here, but I think they are only building the "Bomb Carts" now, those are the Container chassis for the docks that don't need to be licensed. Dang heavy trailers that can handle overloads and abuse you wouldn't believe.
Not a trailer, but close. Big box scraper had a wheel break off. Beast is 19 feet wide.
Today's trailer fix, DOT caught the worn out eye late Friday afternoon. Get a load of the rusty rear end.
Hey RZ, how's that Hitachi grinder holding up? It looks pretty new. I've got a couple myself, one with a couple of years on it and it's been good so I bought a 5inch the other day. Gota 6 yr warranty with it, don't know if that is just an Australian thing but I thought it was pretty good . Not that you need me to tell you but your fabrication skills are pretty bloody good. Best of luck, Brett
I see i did`nt miss my 48 hr. estimate by much
Different hitch. And the dang trailer has been in the shop most of today because of wiring problems. It only had 2 rotten splices in the 7 wire from the front to the back, no grounds, and of course the mystery nick in the insulation that starts the blue powder wiring issue. Oh, I gotta put new mudflaps on it too.
Honestly, I don't have a lot of love for the Hitachi grinders, these were part of a promotional thing from my welding supplier, I think it was 6 of them for 35 bucks a piece. For me a 4.5" grinder is a throwaway item, I don't worry much about warrantees. My favorite grinder is the 5" Dewalt rear handle type. I appreciate the compliment, I do have a few years of practice.
Unfortunately I know 'as I'm sure we all do', more than a few people with a lifetimes experience in their jobs that are still worse than useless. I think you still need to have a bit of ability and a lot of 'want', to perform at an acceptable level. Anyway enough off topic.
Had this show up today. Brand new, very expensive compost spreader. Broken weld on the sprocket shaft. Waiting on a weld procedure and warrantee clearance to fix it.
That's an interesting drag chain setup . Wonder if they will just send you a new sprocket shaft ?
Yeah, I'm scratching my head trying to find a master link. The strange thing is all the drive sprockets, roller chain and all... are welded on. It's one solid unit.
Hard to tell from the picture . Did the sprocket break loose or is the shaft itself breaking ?
I bet they just welded one of the chain links. No master link. Wonder if there's some locking lever, or the floor was frozen, and someone tried to make it turn? It sure doesn't look like its been used. It sure looks like by the crack that they tried to move the floor with something locked or stuck and that was the weak point.
Sprocket weld looks to be mis-aimed. Little light on the sprocket side. Only use it has seen was a little run in time when they hooked up the tractor.
Frozen floor - ice chunks jammed in it. Been that cold by you recently? Looks like snow on the ground.
UHMW floor and walls, I bit of ice aint going to do that. It has never been loaded with any thing. The owner is pist, and again I wont do any work on it 'til the manufacturer approves or replaces the sprocket shaft.
You've shamed me into fixing on one of my own trailers. I got a couple boards for the lowboy at the sawmill, when we picked up the 1" for the rollback trailer. I'm going to have to have him cut that though, he had the 1" on hand. We had to put a steel plate on the lowboy the other day to bring the galion home. I think we'll end up redecking the lowboy too this spring. My rollback is a "paver" edition I think. Its got plenty of stringers, I think that's the only way I got by as long as I did with the bad boards.
Wow, that almost doesn't need a deck.
It's a little overkill for what I use it for, but you don't worry about the forklift falling through. Between all the stringers and the double frame for the traveling axles and tilt, its a heavy trailer, you lose a lot of load in the trailer weight. But its sure nice to bring home a dead truck with, or haul the forklifts around. We use it mostly for the forklifts, and customer equipment on jobsites. I'll take that shorter trailer, where the over the road guys can't get with their long wheelbase low bumper trucks.
Is the shaft solid? If so the weld is too small and what material is the shaft? It might be a classic case of using a higher carbon or higher alloy steel and not using the proper welding technique, ie/ preheat and correct size welds. The weld could use a couple more passes. They design the thing and then just slap it together with little thought about proper procedures. That said my Cat backhoe swing mount ripped off because of poor design and lack of proper welding procedures.
Yes, the original weld was too thin. I know that much just looking at it. I got clearance from the manufacturer to grind it out and weld it up. Preheat to 400 deg. and weld with ER70s-6. If the shaft fails in the future it is covered under warranty. That's all I care about.
Good call RZ !
Yep, this is Monday's project.
400 deg's preheat would indicate the shaft or the sprocket is something other than mild steel but ER70S-6 wire would indicate it may be mild steel. T-1 steel for example would require a 110,000 tensile wire. Personally I'd weld it with stick but I think putting 2 or 3 passes should suffice.
Why the preoccupation with stick welding? Only time I use stick anymore is welding pipe in the field. I don't even have a stick machine in the shop. I do have 2 engine drives on the trucks, had to drag leads into the shop to do some hard facing the other day. Other than that kind of stuff, I don't have much use for stick. Even in the field on heavy equipment repairs I run feeders on the engine drives. No rod stubs and no stopping to change rods. We call that efficiency.
Same reason stick is still used on pressure vessels, less chance of failure and/or weld defects.
Right.
I will always prefer stick to wire, saw the test coupon destructive testing at the nuke using both with similar requirements, Wire would snap close to or in the welds, stick would tear the pipe apart to break the coupons.
And the proper wire will do the same. I'm working on a **** spreader, not a nuke plant. I have run a bunch of stick on process piping and do realize the reasoning for stick in the application, but I have also cranked out a ton of 275 PSI irrigation manifolds using wire with no failures. In fact in those cases, I feel the wire is better because you can put in more passes in less time. It all comes down to the guy running the weld.
Probably the the biggest issue for most welders even ones with years in is under cutting and cold lapping. I just saw a hitch on a one year old cultivator that was at my friends machine shop-some of the poorest factory welds. Pretty sad.
Are a few weld shops around here that MY welds would be quality and I am NOT bragging as I know my limitations. Guys using wire Outside in the open in heavy breezes, crank up the gas and wire speed/heat to blow weld at the work instead of doing it right. I wire weld with a old Miller 210, .030 wire, used it a lot on the bed for the GMC as no need for slag cleanup after and all on tin. For pipe work watched machine wire feeds weld 3/4" wide filler welds on schedule 120 and 200 SS pipe, could not get as consistent with stick or as quality finish. I fall back to stick, enjoy the way it works for me as wire and I do not always get along, piece of dirt, slight deformation or piece of corrosion, sputters, fail to achieve good adhesion, my list of poor results is HUGE but better with stick.
I agree with DMiller. I would weld that with stick also. It is a more ductile weld with better elongation than wire feed unless you get into flux - cored wires. Not worth the time to switch wire just stick weld it.
Actually more passes results in a finer grain structure in the weld.
Is that stronger or weaker?
Is there any debate about whether that green sprocket was welded stick or mig? For non professional welders (and regulators apparently) it's easier to weld poorly with mig.
it was machine welded.
Finer grain structure is stronger and less likely to crack.
The welders at the nuke did say if wire welded performing a heat de-stress by bringing the entire area up to heat then allowing to slowly cool would eliminate close proximity cracking and breakage later. Restores ductility across the parent metal and welded region.
In the field I prefer stick as it is less subject to outside factors, wind, cleaning and proper machine set up. But then most of what I do anymore involves making brackets and guards or doing a stitch here and there to hold a piece of loose sheet metal. Two leads are a lot easier to set up than a feeder, gas bottle and hose. In the shops I've worked in we had machines set up for hard wire and dual shield and the welding rod for the most part just sat in the old refer box with the light bulb on. I think if that gear and shaft were coated and embedded in the waste material I would probably stick weld it.
Robot dropped the ball on that weld . RZ will rebuild it , make it better , stronger and faster .
You guys are gonna love this... I got the thing backed into the shop this morning, mind you they dragged it out to me after seeing this anomaly. Got up there with a 5/16" ball cutter on a die grinder and gave it a touch... No crack, its a gouge from a brace behind the shaft. NO CRACK. The owner felt a bit sheepish and so did I for not digging deeper. It was flinging poo this afternoon.
And after all the work to try to get you to stick weld that....What a Bummer. LoL Glad it wasn't a problem though.
Ah heck, I already had the 71M loaded in the machine anyway.
And another ugly one... the rear suspension subframe and cross sills are completely rusted out. DOT let them drive it home. Had a ton of fun with the plasma cutter today.
Nice tires on that trailer. DOT must have had a great day with that one.
Front axle was way out of alignment. It wouldn't even roll out of the shop in a straight line.
Coulda been worse, back in late eighties when was working Independent garage, side work at quarries and still dragging some to the house buddy shows up, 15 yard dump truck with a 10 yard pipe boom Midwest style pup, Look of Panic on his face. Hauling salt for the County Road department and trailer settled to the right side tires rubbing under cross member of bed. Old Trailmobile Reyco slider modified into the trailer some dozen years prior and salt cancer after it. Spent a full day jacking, blocking and digging out rust to weld in a NUMBER of patch panels to get that load off. Spent two weeks building the replacement based on the old pup specs so could just swap the hoist and body from bad to good. Was really hard to find steel to weld to, would strike an arc and blow holes, add more steel to keep equalizer rocker where needed to be.
What kind of trailer is that RZ? Its cost effective to fix it?
And he must have been in a good mood to let it drive away!!
I gave them my quote for a total overhaul, They agreed to it. If it works for them, we're all happy. The rest of the trailer is in very good shape for a 1974 Brown, Built right here in Washington. The matching trailer had the same rebuild done just prior to them purchasing the set.
This guy is one of the good ones. He knew it wasn't going to collapse on the way home, but did issue a correctional notice that I have to sign off when I'm done.
It is amazing how farmers will throw money at totally worn out trucks and trailers. There are so many rotten aluminum grain trailers running around here, but there is a DOT officer now living here in town, he gave a bunch of warnings last year and very few heeded the warnings. Well harvest isn't far off and crying time is almost here. I'm required to keep the company trucks in shape and compliance, John Barley Corn can do the same.
I've seen some of those trailers in ID. One guy told me not to put too much grain on the front slope because some the rivets were missing.
Cannot get away with that here, MoDOT Brown Shirts have no conscience as to shutting one down. A few Counties have their own as well also St Louis City so a Trifecta in most cases if you dodge one you likely will not another when on a quota screening day.
RZ, when did Brown dissolve? Were they bought up as Comet by another company? or By Comet? Utility was big on the Wide frame flatbeds too.
This was the typical style of those days, many now are running wide spreads and steerables: https://www.purplewave.com/auction/150421/item/K3170/1983-Clement-Trailers-Dump_Trailer-Kansas
I saw quite a few pup dumps like this running around Denver metro area and up in Western North Dakota. Here in Michigan, we just shove more axles under them and lengthen the box like this: Usually pulled by a quad axle dump for a total of 11 axles. Max GCWR 164,000 pounds Short Double
I'm not RZ but Brown was built in Spokane and bought by Alloy.
Alloy hmmm Did hauls to Comet in Spokane They were absorbed by Great Dane Still see the Dane emblems but different name there too Not many old names still kicking
Had a outside frame Brown flat... loved that trailer.
That has got to be a tire scrubbing nightmare?
In Washington if it hasn't changed, you could license that to haul 105,500 gross. I am guessing that weighs about 48,000 empty. You could net 28 ton or so. With a 4 axle pup (self steering back axle and 4 axle tractor we could haul 14 ton in both ends and scale out legally. In the PNW bridge law was pretty much brought down the hill by Moses and it's sanctity shall not be questioned without incurring the wrath of someone with a badge and a book of really spendy tickets. However you almost never see a weight limited bridge You guy's add axles. I was always trying to figure out how to build a airweight box out of tin foil and balsa wood frame rails...
Yes. The lead 3 axles on the pup are on a turntable, but you still burn a lot of rubber. With the short double, you can almost haul as much as a B-train, but it's easier to back into tighter spaces with it. There are upsides to both set ups , depending on what and where you are hauling.
Take that lead trailer, pack that two axle Joe Dog under it, put that behind a Three Drive axle Mack DM series with a 18 yard body on it in 1978 and you had the set that Gateway Ready Mix in Maryland Heights MO had. Only had to be legal by axle weight for City roads often grossing 167,000 coming out of Westlake Quarry or Weber Quarry or St.Charles Sand in the River Bottom there. How do I know, I ended up putting the MASSIVE drive shaft they had custom built for it in the truck as the driver tootsie rolled the third OE shaft on Creve Coeur Lake Rd hill loaded. Total longest run distance 12 miles, average three loads a week Rock, two sand and another two river stone. Truck never saw 45mph between stops.
Its interesting that the Comet trailer I worked over was very similar to the Utility that I rebuilt. A few minor differences, but one was mostly a copy of the other.
They followed similar design strengths as I recall. Utility has changed little I can see other than spreading out the structural members to lighten them up. Is the old Comet Factory still operating producing Danes?
Actually damn near every trailer manufacture copies other manufactures designs.
Couple pics from last week, put a mud flap bar and DOT bumper on an old Pines brand trailer with a sliding tandem. Also rewired front to rear.
Some 'Spensive steel you used there RZ! Must be a Real keeper trailer!
Actually it's an old Consolidated Freightways 40 footer. It's been sitting in a field for 14 years so the wheel seals are rotted out otherwise it doesn't seem to have many miles on it, wheel bearings look like new. It's going to a tree and shrub nursery for deliveries and they want it to look nice. I put the mudflaps on the slider so they can run it all the way forward and the bumper had been ripped off. Oh, had to clean out the entire air system thanks to the bugs that moved into the glad hands. I always put screen type gaskets in any trailer that doesn't get used much. This one might only get used 4-5 times per year but it will take the load off their 2 straight trucks.
A lot of my old clients used leftover freight line equipment, I am almost certain one still has a Cambell 66 Camel Painted stainless ribside on his yard but not very much good gonna come of it anymore. Good to know some still make old new again.
It helps that they got the trailer for free.
That bumper looks nice How long of mud flaps you gonna hang on it??? I only ask because I see hundreds of them laying about on our jobs... they get ripped off when the truck drivers back em' into wheel stops... then keep going since the wheel stops are ~6 inches tall(most of em'... I have seen bigger ones but they aren't too common around here) if the flap gets pinched between the rubber and the stop off it comes Don't know if there is a dot requirement on how close to the ground they have to be... but if not then I'd put them at least 7 inches above ground... loaded.
I set the flaps(Longest available) on my little grain wagon pretty low, actually added a six inch steel sheet spacer to drop them below bed floor. Still 6" off grade EMPTY but MO Inspection requirements make it that way.
Beat you to the punch. These are 8" off the ground empty. Never heard a word from the DOT yet. IIRC DOT says they have to reach the center of the axle unless that has changed. (?)
yeah, the only thing I remember was center of axle but you never know when it comes to changing laws
7" to 8" is just right, besides you have spring ride, deflated air ride is what gets those flaps. Please don't hang those cheesy NAPA flaps on it, Damn I hate those. NAPA stands for National ******* Protection Association.
It helps to move the hangers away from the tires too. Learned a lot from farm field trucks backing up in soft ground.
Looked up my old Missouri inspection requirements, Max 8" off ground to underside of bed structure and cover full width of tires. Many around here are not even close, dump trucks usually punch holes and rehang torn away flaps high enough to not get snagged backing into stock piles or drop chutes.
It's really funny that most spring hangers for trucks leave 1.5" of tire showing outside the flap.
Oops. In my defense, they were on the crane when I bought it. They are the heavy rubber type ones, not the plastic ones, I didn't think they were too bad of mudflaps. They did have the napa logo turned towards the tires, and I thought that looked really stupid, so I turned them around. I guess I'll have to spring for a set of nice mack ones with the chrome girly on them? In other mud flap news, the f450 flatbed truck I just got, is even more hillbillied. They took one mudflap and cut it in half and hung half of it on each side - crosswise. Is that worse than NAPA ones? The crooked utility knife cut looks extra special.
They didn't even get 2 fer one. Oh, wait... they got scraps from Ronsii.
Well..... I do collect them when I feel like it I am not kidding when I say there are hundreds laying along fence lines... and that's just on one job site!!! I use them for all sorts of things.... weld shields when I am doing repairs right next to a wall with fresh paint on it, battery matts when installing new batts, plastic hinges for things.... anything I can think of gets some a free endless supply of plastic, rubber sheet,etc... what more could you ask for!!!
We use the Napa flaps on the floor for wheel protectors when changing tires. We pay 11.65 for 24X30 black plastic flaps. You can always tell something about the truck in front of you when a company is so cheap they can't afford decent flaps. Or they by those cheap thin rubber ones that look like a dishrag in the wind at 65.
I had a set of trailers come in a while back that had 3/4" thick stall mat for mud flaps, they don't sail, but it almost takes 2 guys to put them on. Really heavy stuff.
Have to admit, bought the rubber cheapies for my little grain truck but hey, its a CHEAPIE grain truck!!
26" wide 3/8 thick conveyor belt makes the best flaps of all
Its kind of funny i had to lower my flaps on a single wheel flatbed pickup so it would pass inspection.I was glade he made me lower them becauce the way i did it i liked the way it looked better. There are alot of flatbeds with out flaps and alot of pickups from the factory that should have flaps. Why do tall pickups with reguler beds not need flaps they have just as much tire showing as a flatbed ?
not considered commercial
Saw this lowboy and screen going through auburn this morning, his flaps would not have a problem with backing over wheel stops.... unless they were a foot tall
Then a bit later I saw the Scarcella bros. bucket truck, I think it has about just right flap length maybe a tad high....
Most LEOs do not get the tape out Unless tires are throwing rocks Flap length is one of those less than pressed regs unless you **** them off
Funny story about mudflaps, I had picked up a 9' wide lowboy in Portland Oregon once and realized I had no overwide permit when I got to the Plymouth scales in Wa. So I stopped half a mile before the POE scale and hacked off the LH mudflap with my trusty Buck knife. When I went across the scale I got a warning for the flap and not a single question about how wide I was.
I knew there was a reason I should have been a weigh cop. Buck knife sabotage.
And another rough one comes in the door. This was going to be a re-deck but when the deck came off it revealed some really ugly iron. So all the crossmembers over the subframe are getting replaced plus a new rear sill.
Already got a start on the front cross sill for the subframe. Has to go in in 2 pieces, then I can cut the rest of the junk out.
Looks like she'll be a bit beefier when done
Wish I had taken pictures of that Pipe Tongue Pup Dump we rebuilt in my side yard. Makes your project look a Breeze!! Almost did not have enough rust to weld to for getting the load off with more patch plates/replacement steel than the original parts!! Ended up scrap with a replacement van trailer suspension subframe install and new tongue pipe.
Sadly, my shops not big enough to work on a trailer, so ended up going with the yard flip, almost 20 years old, upgrading to new oil bath hydraulic disc brake axles.
While it was topside down, went to work, removed all the lights and wiring, replaced with new LED's and a 7 wire junction box. So easy to do wiring when its on the floor instead of overhead. New hydraulic lines run for the brakes. Only tough part was the axles, the mfg uses one frame with different spacing for all the trailers. This was a single wheel tandem axle. Custom width axles would cost a mint so just took the standard axles, added 6 inches to the middle and moved the spring perches outboard to gain 10 inches total on the frame width.
Made some progress today. Front sill is in and most of the junk is gutted out.
Nice, looks cleaner already Man... I thought I was cheap!!!! but you're one of the few guys I've seen trying to keep a tire legal by deepening the tread with a grinder...
Do you do anything to stave off rust or do you find its pretty pointless? I give mine a couple coats of gemplers rust converter after a shot with a needle gun and wire wheel, then just some euipment black over the top, whatever tractor supply has on sale.
I'll have to try the grinder trick. My old heated tire groover is getting a bit harder on my back as I age.....
RZ, got to ask, that ANOTHER old Utility?
My own Gooseneck is single wheel, did all the measuring and thinking and postulating where cannot tweak enough to get duals under it. My best bet is to trade up or sell outright buy a used tandem dually.
Well, you can do it! but its a little bit involved. One of the big vendors, I think it was southwest wheel had an axle package deal, 3k for a pair of 12k disc brake axles, springs, equalizers and everything to the door. Someone else up north had a killer deal on tires and wheels. Spring perches moved out 2 inches Space made for a spacer Spacers made from DOM tubing turned to be an exact match for wall thickness Stretch installed, I held the tubes square with 8 clamps on 2 pieces of 4x4 I beam clamped on either side, root pass of 6010 and a little hot, 7018 built up over that for 3 passes. Not the prettiest welds I've done but decent. Preheat was done with a big propane weed burner to keep the warping under control. When I finished there was a small deflection in the axle, that was fixed with one more weld.
I had a c channel straight edge, cut off one spring perch and clean it all up, measure from the existing one, clamp the c channel to both, square it up and presto, weld in place. Lots of measuring as it was my first time doing such a precise project.
Very nice work. Thanks for the how-to! I can't help but notice your air hose though!!!
its still hanging on, I keep shortening it, maybe santa will bring me a new one? Its a great trailer with super singles.
When you welded it, did you rotate the axle or work your way from bottom to top?
I do my best, but on a 40 year old trailer the rebuilt parts will probably last longer than me or the rest of the trailer. This will get a sandblast job and then be soaked with Rustoleum primer before a couple coats of Rustoleum black. I've experimented with 2 part primers and paints and IMO they aren't any better for old hay wagons. Some intersecting joint that will have only 2 welds and 2 open sides will get a weld through primer or even get sealed with cheap clear silicone if the metal isn't very heavy.
Preparation H will fix that hose.
Not sure, no builder plates to be found, Has a Washington assigned vin tag. The owners keep copies of the trailer registration on the truck book. I'm thinking maybe an early 80's Alloy or Great Dane. Really deep side rails. I'll add a pic to this in a bit.
Nice stretch job!!! So I noticed you didn't ground the welder to one of those nice new shiny bare lug nuts....
Early Sinner or Marques maybe ?
Maybe, It did come from an orchard company in the Sunnyside/Grandview area.
That's a clean shop!
Oh goodness no, mostly my truck bed!
Hah, I wish. On the other side of the trailer by the hay grapple project is my welding bench... it's about 3 layers deep right now with parts for different projects.
its called regrooving
I think using a grinder would be a stinky, sticky mess.
I do like my regroover tool, give it a 20 minute head start and warm the tire up with a salamander heater while its on the axle, roll it around to warm it up and start cutting, I like the six knife head for cutting sipes on plowing tires.
yep more than a little tough to do with a grinder
Pretty much what I do also except use a steer axle position as they roll around easy. Don't really regroove too often any longer however. When rags were common, used to do it a lot.
Brother in Law works for STL Transit company, METRO, they still regroove tires, still have a Brake Shoe/Dum match cutting machine as well bought one for re-milling discs on the newer buses. Have all but completely eliminated their old DD engine machines where believe are six still used, most are now Cummins powered with a few Benz(Trial) engines. Have had CNG Cummins, and a few Electric only battery powered units for testing.
I remember those days..... Relining, fitting/grinding shoes to fit the curvature of drums, grinding hard spots from drums..... Never did work on heavy disc brakes on buses and trucks myself. Prior to Metro, and when the buses were all green and many without air conditioning, the St. Louis bus company "rented" their tires and did virtually no maintenance with them. Most I remember were DD powered. I used to frequent the Mack shop down on Jefferson and the bus barn downtown often when I was a kid. Knew lot's of mechanics to keep that equipment "humming".
BIL works at Brentwood currently, only worked Main Shop for two years, worked Debaliviere Shop for a LONG time before it closed. I worked STL Mack 1977, the old Feld Truck Rental at 7th and Russell as well Hogan 14th and Cole over the years. Did a stint with Continental or also known as Carrie Avenue Rebuilders for a short time(division of Feld became GELCO). BIL graduated Ranken 1977 or 78.
Been far too long for me to remember any names but if you mechanic'd in 77 you may have worked on my truck. It was a former Monsanto unit and was routinely serviced there in the 60's through the 70's. I told grandpa I wanted a B model and he gave me this one for Christmas 1978. Don't know if he pulled it out of the pool or purchased outright, but he was in position to do either. You can barely see the orange "M" and black "onsanto" logo that was painted on the doors. It was always white with black fenders as long as I've known it but was built red in color. I long ago did away with the box and installed a welding bed using it for years in that capacity.
Ahhh.... I remember hauling hogs from Irving down to St. Louis in the mid 70's with my Uncle and cousins... does that count?
You likely dealt with my Foreman Short little Wiry guy named Herb Talley Used to go around the corner to the south for beer after work with him, chew never left his jaw! Believe that old bar is long gone on Jefferson
I was a bit narrower back in the day This is about as close to then as possible.
Thank you for your service! I hope you're gettin' a long weekend out of it!
Retired now.
I remember Herb since you mentioned the "chew" that was always with him. Nice guy and didn't mind answering questions no matter how stupid. I think it was him whom showed me how to adjust a Kysor shutterstat to get my shutters to operate correctly now thinking about it. All of my TS-442 manuals come from there too including my 1965 edition which is quite hard to come by these days. Used when gifted to me of course as I was five when it came out. Grandpa always called Herb's chew his "cud" as I remember. You're right as he always had it..... I grew up a few blocks from Bevo Mill and used to ride the city busses all over god's creation in those days. Volunteered at "Grant's Farm" taking care of animals, and the zoo doing the same. Had two uncles and cousins whom were brewers at Busch but all retired now. Cardinal tickets, and Busch Gardens were always free too.....
Still remember riding bus from East Alton to Kingshighway and Page to shop for school clothes, 1960s. Can relate. First ballgame for me was last year of Sportsman's park.
1965 at Sportsman IIRC. 1966 they moved over to the new Busch stadium. All replaced now with the catostrophy, (my thoughts) of the new stadium complex. Used to ride the bus downtown to watch them build on the Arch and remember well, (still having the Post-Dispatch cutouts) the "Link-Belt" crane riding the rising sides. The riverfront inn with it's revolving restaurant at the top was a big deal then too.
Yeah not liking the new stadium. Is growing on me just not fond.
Nope. New stadium doesn't do anything for me. Far too heavily commercialized just like auto racing. Our son lives in Chicagoland and it's much more entertaining to watch a ballgame at Wrigley than Busch. Of course with the Cubs don't matter if they win or not, Chicago still loves them. I like both. St. Louis because of home. Chicago because of the atmosphere. I live equidistant from both so it balances out I suppose.....
Sorry for a Thread Steal RZ!!
He's as guilty as I when it comes to thread stealing.....
Yeah, guilty as charged...
I'd like to see a thread on that... With lots of pictures!
Regrooving tools were popular for many years. I've never cut sipes but mine has three different knives and a selection of different styles for grooving. Pretty easy if the tire and iron are hot but can be a real pain in the backside with cold tires if the rubber is hard.
Well not too many pictures, but the tires were cold so set up the salamander heater, blowing from about 3' away, let the rubber warm and then start cutting sipes. It improved the break away torque on the slippery stuff about 200%
Well, got some pics of progress today, got another project or 2 started yesterday too. The Hyster is getting a new 13HP Honda and a major hydraulic system cleanout. The brakes and wiring are pretty sketchy too.
Nice work first unit Second having hydraulic issue? See the tank out Had to rebuild build up rocker spring wear pads on a suspension as that one has 78 Trailking folding nose tri axle. Converted it from oiled to packed wheel bearings as had too many issues leaking. Always hard crowding the trailer in the dirt sideways on job sites, stressed the crap out of bearings.
Yep, the tank is out because all the mounts rusted off the frame, the old Honda is junk, so far no signs of hub seals leaking, but we will get deeper in that after the other fixes.
Short wides on 15” brakes were really hard on seals and bearings, spun too fast on interstate and side loaded too severe off road brakes held heat way too long. Had those six lug three wedge dayton hubs
Found my notes, LOAD King not trailking. Folding neck POS was always dealing with that end as well. Pivots, Cylinder seals so on. Until grease packed the hubs with a purple color I am thinking was Organic Grease(Stank like rotted Turnips) spent many evening splitting cooked on races OFF to file dress axle stubs. Still cannot remember where we got that lube grease but was a Godsend, do not believe was the current Royal Purple, only came in 5Gal buckets. Similar to this monster but for Schuman Paving.
I used to have a three axle Load King folder, but it was mechanical neck. Never really had problems with the trailer but it sure was hard on tires..... It had those three flange "Webb" wheels also. My old drop deck does too..... Business end of the pulling unit which I still have:
Schuman hauled Slip Form pavers on theirs, would side ramp dirt to the trailer then have to drag it away from the ramp sideways to get away from it. Always hard twisting the suspension. Ate tires, ate brakes, ate hub seals. Theirs also had a slight beavertail to it so could either rear dirt ramp load or run off the nose with loaders or other machines as the Water Trucks, final grade tractors. Had a 5HP Briggs Hor. Shaft Electric Start running the hydraulics between the axles, always buried, always loaded up with mud or gravel or both, PITA to keep running or to service, most common times would not start was with a machine sitting ON It in East Geesus well away from anybody to work on it.
I always straight loaded and did not have a beavertail. I did weld eyes for flip up ramps but never built the ramps to load over the rear. My trailer came from Baxmeyer in Waterloo, IL. The truck in this photo is also my RL-755LST when it was their "poster child".
Geez I got to hate those folding Hysters. If kept “in their lane” as it were and used them on highway... they were OK till they started wearing. I had them that would advance one side a few inches then the other. It seemed that no matter how grease you slathered it with it was eventually going to bind up. I had a early one that had landing gear “feet” behind the hinge. Wasn’t a problem till you landed on soft real estate and the feet disappeared into the mud. Then you were blocking the rail 4 inches at a time till you could get a block under the feet. They were absolute “clubs” out in the woods. If you were going any where that required leaving road less developed than Weyerhaeuser mainline it was going to be an adventure. If you high centered the only way to buy a couple extra inches out of it was to fire it up, lower it like you were to drop the truck out and remove the goose neck transport pins run the neck down till the link opened up enough to lay the pins between the deck and the pin boss. You would raise the trailer back up to limit of the cylinder travel. That would buy you a few inches. Then of course, perversely it seemed every time you had something on the trailer that made accessing the pony motor cover nearly impossible, unless you were a side show contortionist. It would run out of gas, foul a plug or the battery would be DOA on some landing 17 miles off highway in God knows where. I really hated those trailers...
I seen the guys with the power folding necks and some of the problems; especially in the winter using onboard hydraulics and older trailers. Didn't want any of that so stayed with the mechanical neck as had the winch readily available and if the truck would start, the trailer was going to work. If I ever high centered I don't remember it. Did drag a few times, (who doesn't) but never got stuck. At times kinda wish I'd kept it around but wasn't doing that type of work any longer so really didn't have need. Here is a video of a mechanical folding neck trailer:
MD, TA, those were the days weren't they!! Memories of fighting these trailers are hard set. When the walking beams would wear the ride going down two lane road was always a bit hairy as well, line crossing shoulder grabbing dart and weave and that on straight stretches with a good deal of Crown! As noted Schuman's old trailer had to have those beams rebuilt on the slide saddles to stop some of that, bushings helped some too but never got it all out. The neck, had that little swing valve to direct oil to one or the other cylinder, nearly always froze in center so good luck getting a level or even lift/lower. Carried cribbing for when the driver got to soft stuff, would crib under the sand shoes and try to keep it where would at least TRY to lift for a reconnect. Preferred the drop neck lowboys as they became a thing, even those were problematic. Oldest drop deck equipment trailer I ever worked was Glosier Construction, 1950s Phelan 35' tandem axle rear dovetail no ramps with those same three lands 15" Webb Hub lowbed axles Full front Fenders. I am betting that old iron monster is still working somewhere.
This one is just about out the door now, some paint and a new deck and it will be hauling hay again.
You and me both-I use to pull a folding three axle with booster, ok I guess loading unloading on asphalt/concrete. But anywhere else was no fun. Plus you had to throw a mat down to keep the dirt/gravel from sticking to king pin/bolster plate. If the trailer was not on real level ground the neck would bind up. The only people I know that really liked them were paving companies/easy to load a paver on.
I pulled one in the mid 80's, the neck was so worn out that on my truck with a 48" fifth wheel it would show sparks at night when the truck bounced. I hated that thing.
I would open a truck/ trailer shop in my area if I could get RZ, Truck Shop and Fast to move here and help me out. Its nice watching the pros take pride in there work. always interesting.
Thirty five years ago was second shift Working foreman, had two mechanics and most days overwhelmed with jobs. Shop had but six drive thru bays so was difficult with long duration work taking holes to get daily stuff thru without working outside. Boss/owner decided I needed MORE help to clear the building for the next day shifts load and hired a guy was recommended by a 'Friend'. First day shows up all his tools fit in a tote box, not a road box, not a work box but a tote box, asks where the company tools were kept and was disappointed when told we all had our own. Explained was a better electrician than mechanic so first job a regular customer's 900 flap fendered Dodge tandem with a 38' frame style dump behind it, trailer side marker lights out. Check on him in a hour and has cab wiring all opened up, ask if checked the seven way for power, Nope, so had him reassemble the first mess, show him how to use a test light and check the cord, all is good, even had Tail and rear markers just not side markers, tell him to check for broken wires. Back still in half hour this time, has all the trailer wiring from back end to front cut out laying on ground, said thought he found it, one half twist single wrap of electrical tape junction, and from what I could see at the spot he started removal. Had him stop, load his tool tote and go home, FIRED. took a little over an hour for me to reconnect everything and get lights working, double checked cab re-install had to redo that mess. Long story longer and more boring come in next day truck is back, DOT snagged for a Broken light that afternoon(High lift tagged it) low and behold newbie is BACK, charmed his way BACK into the bosses eye, and was working day shift. Finished job, customer was waiting and left with it to return a short time later marker lights quit again, boss sent Newbie out to check, broken wire, just happened to be on the light he just installed, so he repaired and boss had me go look, reason it broke was HE wired UNDER the trailer frame as was easier than fishing it back thru the tube it had been run thru Then I raised the dump tore the wire in half with him standing there. He looked perplexed, said did not know that was how that bed worked. Boss was right behind him and fired him on the spot. I got to fix it AGAIN, the guy was only charged parts, when I rang up ticket night before only charged a flat hour, could not justify more. Short ending, In today's market with all the high tech stuff I would HATE to try to open or even buy out a existing shop and keep it running efficiently.
By the same token, it is really nice to have 4-5 guys that know their stuff and work well together. I worked in a shop like that in the late 80's as the lead guy and we actually had fun at work... Drove the management nuts due to the lack of complaints. I ran into one of the guys a year or so ago and he said that bunch appreciated the fact I wouldn't ask them to do something I wouldn't do myself, and would usually go after the nasty stuff before asking them.
Completely relate Would not ask anyone working with me to do anytging I would not do Really aggravating when told no thanks or wanted something better
In the shop I know what Gayle is going to do before he does it and vise verse. We know where we are headed from the git go. We give each other a hard time all the time, makes time go by. If you can't cuss and joke in the shop----your working in the Dead Zone.
Sounds like you guys are speaking of work and I have to ask "*** is that"???
Yeah Gave that up too for a living!!
I think this thread is called Trailer rebuild/repair thread, and I believe not too sure, you have work to rebuild or repair.
I'll have to retrain myself to believing staring at a computer monitor watching a trailer being rebuilt is work and should be compensated for. I promise to work hard at it too. But for now, the term "Work" is "Greek" to me.
I have a few more years to go before I have that l have that option. But when I do... I think I'm going to wear the tires off the motorhome first seeing some country, then decide what I really want to do.
I understand that fully. Been thinking about doing near the same. There is a whole lot to see in this county without ever leaving it.
Computer monitor has nothing to do with it, and I don't think anything was mentioned about money. Work is American to me.
Work has always fascinated me. You, as I, believe it the same. I made a living watching it be performed; keeping those performing a task delivering my expectations yielding the product or service desired. If you fly, you benefit from many of my contributions that get you from point A to B safely. Computers, software, hardware, and integration were a very large player for a lot of years. It all qualified as "Work". Ask a millennial what their definition of "Work" is, or how they perform the task, and I'd wager a computer enters the fray. I'm afraid our definition is outmoded by time and technology. The task Mr. Zucker is performing on a trailer? Doubt it's from the goodness of his heart and there are a few good American Greenbacks involved for the task, or "Work". This is just my opinion however and subject to individual interpretation. Now with all I've been through, I'm like a career professional public aid recipient where I don't want no stinking job, I got the government supporting me. However, I earned that right over the course and am comfortable in retirement for staying that course. Thanks,
I still perform Hand Work, enjoy the fruits of my own labors and the achievement results of a job well performed even if just on my own old junk. I am on SS as well my own pension, limited to that $17800 MAX income restriction before they start hacking at my Paid For SSI benefit. Will most likely not ever bend a wrench on any but my own projects or for a Friend here and there ever again in trade for non-financial compensations but is enough. Being able to pick and choose, take my own sweet time and not worry as to putting food on the table has a certain draw to it these days.
I'm about the same but 59 and also draw SS and pension. I have no medical problems, (they're all mental) but one of the civil service benefits is the SS supplement with 56 years of age and 30 years of credible service. In essence I qualify just as I were 62. I did work 2.5 years longer than eligibility but was involved in several projects that were both beneficial to the flying public, and personally rewarding. I therefore stayed at it till completions were attained. The reigns were then handed over to the next generation and haven't looked back. Easy to "massage" that $17,800 figure in your favor if you like as it's a "net" figure. I still do quite a bit of work and happen to like equipment. Capitalization, amortization, depreciation, expenses, etc. are all figured into the equation. I make purchase of something, it's recorded to net against income. Remember, and as my grandpa used to say: "It's not what you make, "It's" what you keep" when related to money. I always followed his advice and it's not wronged me yet.
Another redeck job, twin to the trailer in post 82. Typical no protection for the light wiring. Built some boxes, the panels were in ok condition. They will get sealed with a bead of silicone. A few cracks to repair and start decking. In the last pic I added some driver proofing to prevent broken gladhands when they hit them with the loader
All this protection and prevention.... it's just not fair to the poor guys trying to 'use' these things to their full extent
I'm not sure if these guys see many bollards... they cant back up.
LOL, Oh... where there's a will there's a way Fixed this one this morning, they got it from the side.... and it looks like they tried dozens of times before actually succeeding. Am surprised it lasted as long as it did for how deep it was installed Then put in a couple(needs more if you ask me) to protect this kitty cat.
That poor genset needs some 24" casing set at 20' with concrete fill... On 48" centers.
That might work.... you never know with some of the drivers they got around here
Ronsii, you need to cut the roots loose from generator and let it free float inside full body cage....think Australian clearing dozer protection https://images.app.goo.gl/ApCAU1MypRoTvkub8 get you some springs from a cushion dozer blade and put on the building side. That way your kitty can push back a little think of it as educating other.
Looking good!
I'm sure you've seen the trailer with a fire hydrant that was ripped off and jammed between the axles.
Unless that genset in post 216 has a double-walled fuel tank underneath it, shouldn't it be classed as "fuel storage" and be required to have a bunded area around it for spill containment..? That might be your get-out to put a reinforced concrete wall right round it. Just a thought.
Ha, I remember that one.
It seems like everybody is putting in these gensets in the last few years... I have only seen a few with fuel containment system in place and some of them were indoor telcom units for ATT, most of the outside units are in manufacturing companies and I would say 95 percent of them do not have adequate protection... I think the office worker that is in charge of 'ordering bollard protection' thinks in one dimension and figures a vehicle will only come at the unit from the front... and at a square angle so basically nobody has any common sense anymore
Just tell 'em they are looking at a potential 1000+gallon spill if some bonehead punctures that fuel tank. The cost of the fuel alone ought to be enough to get their attention, the fact that it might attract the attention of OSHA maybe not so much.
I'm amazed any trailer dating back more than 20 years is even fixable let alone still on the road, around here with all the salt on the roads or worse yet, that liquid salt[acid as we call it] even sitting they rust into a heap in no time. The aluminum trailers seem to corrode even worse than the steel one's rust. Have you guys seen many of the hot dipped galvanized trailers in your areas, I was wondering how they have held up, I'm told a few state's now require anything the state buys to be hot dipped galvanized.
Even galvanized disintegrates over time, the more galvanic action occurs the faster the galvanizing depletes, the Zinc is a sacrificial component and depletes over time. Has been many attempts to combat Salt Cancer properties, most failed over time and all we can do is work to control it. Fruehauf had gooey never really dried zinc based paint as has Ford, some companies used zinc chromate primers or paint additives but once the corrosion begins nothing survived or survives. We used to set Zinc blocks in the hulls of river towboats, placed new ones around every two to three months as the old ones disappeared(Thus the sacrificial part), boats still rusted just not as fast and I am not certain with National Zinc closed up where these guys get those 25#-50# blocks from. Lead based paint were the Cats Meow until figured it was detrimental to humans. If check those aluminum trailers there will be steel to aluminum interfaces, most have a insulator between but even as much as have bolts to the aluminum will begin electrolytic corrosion(Dissimilar metals form a crude battery, salt or saline, lime dust, even grains dusts among other things becomes the electrolyte).
It continues to amaze me that my own employer continues to buy stainless steel salt spreaders with zinc or chrome plated hardware. It's hard for the boss to understand the concept of dissimilar materials .
Stainless in contact to Carbon steel will rust just like the Carbon steel, will derive properties of the carbon just being in contact. Saw it in the Nuke in out building systems when they tried patch ups carbon to stainless pipe or elbows(Not Q Work)
Its not just where the two different metals touch, but aluminum itself corrodes over time and flakes off in chunks. The fad the last few decades has been to buy aluminum grain trailers in the area, any aluminum surface corrodes where it touches salt and the elements, lately the new fad has been, run them a few years and trade it off for new before it falls into a heap of corroded aluminum. I'm not sure what's in this new liquid spray garbage the state and counties spray on every hard road surface constantly, but it seems nothing survives that stuff, not even the trucks that spray it on can seem to live more than a few years. I also have no idea why they seem to spray it on every day, you'd think once the roads were clear they'd quit doing it till just before the next storm hits. Not sure what was wrong with sanding the roads either, that seems to be a thing of the past around here unless there's an ice storm or something severe. Here the sand is practically free coming out from the river dredging and the only major cost is hauling it.
We too have the Saline Solution spreaders here, are fast swapping to Beet Juice(Purple color) but the longevity on surface applications is only a few days where HAS to be reapplied and in heavier snow has zero effect, is less corrosive on the steel in bridge supports or joints. People here do Not know how to drive in slick, whether wet or oily(Really hot asphalt) or frozen they are still rolling 90 to nothing and slamming whatever is in their way.
BTW, someone overheard some other buddy that Cornbinder was gonna offer Midwest States a First Run of all Plastic Trucks just for state highway duty, Salt Cancer Proof where if hit by the Idjit texter running 80 in a cone zone can be unfolded to like new status in just moments. Are partnering wIth another giant in plastics and lightweight components use Benz/Freightliner for components that will vibrate bad enough to lose all the bolts out in short order maintaining tire and windshield shops in new bidnes!!
So what's worse, thinking the bolts will rattle loose in a plastic frame or those same bolts being tight in a frame that's rusted out?? I'll take my chances with the plastic frame because I know how well it works firsthand when the frame is rusted out and things fall off that way. Was in the local repair shop last winter and a neighbor's pickup was inside being welded on, asked what was wrong and the fix it guy rolled out from under it and said and I quote, "GM forgot to put the frame under this one" as he tossed out what was left of it, a whole chunk was rusted completely out and the pickup broke in half on that side, not bad, less than 10 years old and under 70k miles. I think GM is onto something here, with another 100 years, they'll sell you a photo of your new truck so you can show everyone what you bought, can't actually drive it because its life expectancy is minutes by then, not years or decades, but we'll call it progress just the same.
Used to laugh in the 70's that one could hear the Corn Queen and GM trucks rusting on the lots!!! Used some real quality recycle b*****d steels in them back then!!
Dmiller, its called progress, now today instead of hearing them rust, you can actually watch them rust, LOL. As for the recycled metals being the culprit, I'm not so sure about that, might just be me, but my thoughts are all the companies know how to build vehicles to survive the elements, its just more profitable if they chose not to, so your forced to buy new more often is how I view it.
Rolls of recycled steel sheet left Laclede Steel in the 70s at Alton IL to go to STL GM Truck plant sheet metal forming line. Granite City Steel same events to Ford Chrysler and GM shops. Cousins worked both plants had knowledge of where the sheet rolls were headed even back then. Ford and Chrysler have left STL, GM set up a later van/pickup line in Wentzville years back, uncertain where the steel if not prefabbed body parts are coming out of now.
'Rust never sleeps' d.d.
Wentzville still gets coils of steel they also get some prefab parts I haul parts in there and see the coils being unloaded not sure where they are coming from though
Got a new project, new axles for an old Hyster.
Pivot arm anchor pocket looks good, usually bad bushings allow the shaft to eat on this.
It's an old trailer, but all the bushings were newer urethane and still in excellent shape. They just got tired of re-lining the old 12x5-1/2" brakes every year, plus the 15" tube type tires. The new rubber is going to be 17.5" tubeless. The expense seems crazy for a nearly 60 year old trailer, but they like the way it's set up for hauling their hay loader around.
Got the axles and plumbing finished yesterday... Won't have the new tires and wheels 'til late Monday afternoon. Tire shop dropped the ball. Grrr.
Parts for these trailers got to be getting scarce.
Luckily the walking beams and bushings are in really good shape, hopefully that stuff will outlast me. I should check a suspension catalog or two, but I bet most of it is still available. The rest of it I can fab up.
Looky what the DOT sent me today! All 4 drums and 8 shoes are total junk, oddly the cams and bushings are good. It's an old farm bellydump that needs some structural welding too.
post us some welding pictures too
Boy, aren't you lucky inboard drums. Buy the amount of crap/oil dirt hanging inside that drum she was due for seals anyway. Typical farm equipment.
Have not seen many that bad Ever!!
That truck was probably over here a while back, it would explain how this kind of thing happens.... no brakes!!! I gotta say this is the most cracked up base I have ever seen.... and I've seen a few
It's funny, these guys run topnotch trucks and road trailers but they just ignore an old roach like this one. "Oh it's only a couple of loads a year". Then they loan it out...
Lots like they got all their money out of those parts.
Some big zip ties will fix the cracking.
I bought a 5 ton truck that was inspected and told it had all new brakes. Right side rear drum was 120% past worn and split in two but brake pads were brand new! Only thing holding it together was the center hub. At the pre-trail in front of a judge the owner of the inspection shop almost had his eyes fall out when I took it out of the "mystery" box sitting on the floor. I got $1800 back of the $2200 I spent for the brake job and new bearings etc. Probably would have got it all back at trial and possibly the shop would have lost their commercial vehicle inspection license. The owner of the brake shop was a friend and more than willing to testify. His shop was also licensed to do school bus inspections. Funny thing was the truck wasn't actually heavy enough to require an inspection but was sold as an inspected truck with a sticker on the window. Brake shop said you never take someone's word for anything when doing an inspection. He said the groove inside the outer bevel on the drum was a clear giveaway the drum was worn and you always pull at least one wheel off. Seller and inspection shop both paid damages.
Have any of you ever experienced or seen where a drum exploded while driving?? I never have and have always wondered what was left if it would happen, not that I'd want to experience it firsthand or anything, for me a rim exploding was enough excitement for one lifetime. Do they grenade into pieces and create flying shrapnel or just blow apart and fly around and tear everything within reach or what?
Had two show up in my days years ago, only had the hub ring left, Driver said "Did not hear anything" in BOTH cases yet the indications of explosive damage rims and frame were pretty obvious was LOUD if not Visual. One of these had massive flat spots on the tires. Hey RZ, maybe one of the Clients can buy you this one to work on!! https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/601085030651657/
I've seen two drums that were on the same axle that were discolored and had spider cracks. Both looks like some kind of jig saw puzzles. That was years ago and have never seen it again.
I've seen quite a few drums that have blued and been spider cracked, looked like a windshield that was broken but still intact. I'm thinking someone got them really hot maybe more than once.
I suspect that a lot of drivers and operators nowadays don't hear unusual noises in any vehicle or equipment is due to them wearing headphones or earbuds while listening to their mobile devices and zoning out. just like people who walk into you on the sidewalk because they are busy texting. it drives me nuts.
In my younger days I was running an old KW water truck and had a drum lose a big chunk and wedge the shoe against the wheel, I little jogging reverse freed it up. I figured I would get some new brakes out that... Nope, they pulled the wheels and cut the drum and dropped the shoes. I was warned to be careful, the part that sucked the most was that was the one decent brake on the truck. Needless to say, I was looking for alternate employment shortly after.
I've started trailer builds with worse, that one would need a 4' stretch, a kingpin plate, and hubs for disc wheels. Turntables seem to make those short trailers tippy with a load of hay and a short hinged tongue.
Belonged to an old Pre Cast company, know this trailer, saw it when relatively new delivering Manhole Segments and storm drain bell and spigot concrete pipe. 20' was LONG for them as weight was significant to dimensional materials. And NO, I am NOT interested in it!!
I get all the fun jobs.
I was just getting going after turning left from a stop sign on a gravel road. Then heard a loud bang. Didn't know if I blew a tire or what was going on. Looked around but didn't see anything obvious. Drove slow and noticed the brake pedal pulsating bad when applied. Lucky I was driving on mostly back roads but limped the loaded truck to the dump site. Unloaded the sand which improved things a little and then took the truck directly to the brake shop.
I figured with the invention of automatic slack adjusters, for any driver to actually ever look at the brakes was a thing of the past, you know, that's somebody else's responsibility and problem, I'm only hired to sit behind the wheel and if something does go wrong, its their fault for telling me to pull or drive this POS not mine for never looking to find out what's needed or if its safe to drive. Years ago now, maybe 10 or so, I was shown a set of three axles off a trailer that had no brake canisters, s cams left on it, the driver had torn them off somehow and never knew it till the rig got back home, none of the parts were ever found either. When the s cams were torn off it even took some of the pads out of the drums and tore chunks out of the drums as well. I stood there and asked HOW. Had it not been for the fact of who was doing the repairs and I knew him and also the fact I saw the trailer with the old torn up axles still under it, I'd have never believed it possible to even be done. The guy doing the repairs called the driver an "overachiever". I know we've blown brake canisters apart before, usually from being rusted and they eventually weaken and blow, but the base is still on the axle only the s cam is hooked to nothing. After seeing a few of those rocket out of from under a trailer, it makes you very careful when you go to adjust brakes to make sure to check the condition of the chamber first before laying under it and having someone else apply the brakes so you can do the measuring.
Last time I had to escort a driver in to take a test, it was emphasized that the driver was the responsible person who would take a fall legally should there be an accident and the truck was deemed unsafe to drive. I know in a lawsuit that the big pockets are the ones going to pay for it, but the driver is going to be named as the proximate cause of the accident.
My story about shooting air cans is a bit different, I was resurrecting an old Wolverine brand fertilizer spreader for a company to use as a weed sprayer, this is one of those big 3 wheeler rigs. It had 2 aluminum spring cylinders that used a short cable to pull the slack adjuster tight when you set the park brake. Of course these were corroded beyond belief and would not retract when air was applied. So I cleared a path behind the machine and cut the cable with a torch. That was quite exciting... as soon as the cable was cut the shock/impact of the retracting spring blew the cylinders and springs off to the weeds 100 yards away. Thought about catching them in a loader bucket but I wasn't sure where they would ricochet to.
I HATED rear hanging spring cans on old dump trucks, the aluminum ones were THE Worst for corrosion and grind thru. Could almost see the spring inside where we would set up a set of Pallets covered with plywood, roll UNDER on a creeper with a gas axe and cut the retainer clamp bolt. Seldom needed a nudge and BANG Gone. The big top Wagner style were the Bees Knees when replaced. Do not know who makes the heavier cans now and aren't the newer ones sealed no bolts on spring can side?
Yeah, no bolts on the spring side. just a crimp. Gotta protect the idiots from themselves, back in the day I caged many a spring brake and replaced the diaphragms in them. If you knew what you were doing...
If you take a look on all spring brake air chambers on the spring brake side, there are small holes in that can, those are touch holes for a torch. If you are worried about a spring brake flying apart. You can cut the springs through those holes, no more problem. Plus a driver can not adjust or work on any part of a brake system without a brake inspector card on his person signed by a brake school instructor after completing a brake training course from a tech school or brake component manufacture. Or hold a ASAE credit for air brake schooling. If a rig is pulled over and the DOT officer finds brakes out of adjustment even if the owner is driving it, said person cannot adjust his own brakes without a brake inspector card-a shop mechanic will have to do it for him if it has manual slacks or auto slacks. Fact. But it's a DOT rule that is not enforced much if at all. But it is enforced in Oregon. RZ-Did you ever know a guy/trucker that lived in Vantage that owned a 67 Pete-Reggie Edwards? You couldn't miss him if you saw him once or ever forget him- he had a plate in the front of his forehead that was installed after he survived a park brake can that exploded.
The name is familiar, Really familiar.
In my state according to all the DOT seminars I've ever gone to anyone can adjust the brakes and its the drivers responsibility to make sure before the truck and or trailer is moved and taken out onto any public road, the pretrip inspection was done, if not, the drivers fines start adding up fast. The driver doesn't need to be a certified tech to know when the brakes are shot, drums are shot, tires are worn to unsafe limits, wheel hardware is loose or missing, same for spring hardware or there are rust holes in the frame or suspension parts, the drivers supposed to know the wear limits and note them, if not within those limits the truck/trailer is not supposed to be driven. Now with the invention of automatic slack adjusters brake adjustment was no longer supposed to be an issue.......... There are two sides to this theory, if the truck and trailer are driven all the time, auto adjusters might work fine, if it sits more than it runs, like is the case for many trailers, we've found they either set up with rust/crud or whatever and either don't adjust at all, or never stop adjusting and lock the wheel assembly up tight, as in, smoke it off and/or light it on fire type affair and end up doing all new seals, bearings, drums, pads, you know the whole assembly and new tires. We run auto adjusters on the trucks and all trailers still have manual adjusters on them, we gave up trying to keep automatic adjusters working on trailers and also got tired of putting new everything on the wheel assemblies that had slacks adjust up tight as we drove. Thanks for the heads up about Oregon, didn't plan to ever go there with a truck or trailer but now I know.
Just read up on 49CFR 396.25, as I read that then nearly every driver out there is in violation of Pre Trip inspection reports. That is part of the inspection when driving to check your own brakes. Newly revised rule from 2008 and essentially stupid as then most of the drivers out there are performing illegal tasks.
Interesting. Could it be argued (in a legal sense) that a driver is not an "inspector" as defined by the requirements of 49 CFR § 396.25..? Also interesting. When I Googled 49 CFR § 396.25 most of the paid links on the page that I selected were to law companies that I would classify as "ambulance chasers". Coincidence..?
Yes 396.25-I knew that if I said drivers can't adjust their brakes someone would jump on it. If a driver is to adjust his own brakes it has to be done under the supervision of a person certified as a brake inspector. The company has to assume the liability. FMCSA
So redundant and stupid. HAVE to be qualified for Air Brakes to get your Class A license, so why such a redundancy, have to do pre and post trip inspections? Stupid, and as with Nige sets up the Ambulance chasers for lawsuit heaven.
And what of Mechanics? I never received any secondary cert for Air Brakes even as was trained on them, never had to 'Carry a Card', was based upon my Class A.
My lesson on air brakes was twenty minutes under a truck adjusting them under the eye of a growly old curmudgeon who was too fat to crawl under said trucks anymore. I suppose if someone could prove that something I did caused a wreck, I should be held responsible. On the other hand I have to wonder how many "air brake instructors" have actually crawled under a truck and adjusted a manual slack adjuster.
Do as I say, not do as I do...?
But there is another side to this that everyone on here bitches about and that is the quality of driver on the road these days. 90% of the drivers wouldn't know what their looking at or have the ability to properly do the job. So which would you rather have? Rigs running around with work performed by people that have Zero mechanical experience and have junk running down the highway. Or some silly *** regulations that are loosely enforced. And I carry the card. Take your pick.
As for the pretrip and post trip inspections being stupid, they might be, but part of the reason for them is two fold, the first one for the DOT is revenue generation in the form of fines for both the company that owns the trucks and trailers and also the driver if they are not done, second is revenue when an inspection occurs and the brakes are found either out of adjustment or worse yet, too bad of shape the rig should have never been taken out on the road in the first place, as in cracked drums, missing pads completely, drums worn too thin, air chambers dangling by the air hoses or gone altogether and the lines capped, tires that are bald, cracked rims and a host of other issues that are routinely found at road side inspection, not to mention missing or undone paperwork. The driver isn't actually required to be a brake expert or fix or even adjust anything per say, its a way to force the companies to either fix the stuff or hire someone willing to at least look at the truck and trailer before they hop and hit the key, also it opens up being able to double fine for the same offense, the driver and also the company, twice the revenue with the same effort is basically what it gets down to. With the new points system the DOT has put out, for each inspection done the company gets points awarded to it, when they hit a certain score as in low enough of one, any time that companies trucks are seen on the road they get automatically pulled over and can no longer be charged with harassment or singling out any company, its based on safety violations, when their score and inspections are bad enough, their DOT number is revoked and their entire fleet can sit permanently. Its already making a difference in my area, some of the worst companies are being forced to finally do something, one bought a whole new fleet of not exactly new, but newer road worthy trucks and trailers, another was shut down till its entire fleet of trucks and trailers could each individual truck and trailer passed inspection, which took months to achieve working on them 7 days a week while parked [do you think they had issues]? So maybe not perfect, its a start for some of worst companies out there.
What's interesting with my exploded drum was they weren't air brakes and the truck wasn't heavy enough to require a yearly commercial vehicle inspection or even a special drivers license. The seller (Fred) knew the inspection company from his work. He thought having a fresh inspection (sticker) would make it easier to sell at the price he wanted. In hindsight he made a huge mistake. Now the inspection company is even more to blame. I suspect if I would have pressed the issue, after talking to the head of the gov't. branch that licenses shops to do inspections, this shop could have lost their inspection license. When I first talked to the inspecting shop about the exploded drum, the owner's response was we've known Fred for a few years so "We took Fred's word for it"(the bakes were done), then added "the rest of the truck was in really good shape wasn't it?" What? The brakes are the most important safety requirement on a vehicle. One of the main reasons heavy trucks require inspections. The brake shop I knew that did the work said they always pull at least one wheel when doing an inspection and the inspection report also requires that any items that may need attention be listed on the report. Fred's high priced lawyer tried to argue that there's no way to say how many miles I drove the truck and brakes wear out. Fair enough but then how can you have 120% worn drums and 99.9% new brake pads? (The repair shop re-used the pads because there was no measurable wear on them) The repair shop was more than willing to testify in court. The shop that did the inspection thought that Fred's brother in law was a H.D. mechanic and that would explain how there could be brand new brake pads but worn out drums and wheel bearings. Even without the inspection I still had a very strong case of gross misrepresentation as to the condition of the vehicle. I went online to see what is involved to go to court and the example was worn out brakes on a car represented as in excellent condition. The bogus inspection made it pretty much a slam dunk. They did not want to go to court.
The fact is If you were to set in a {truck stop-rest area} where trucks congregate. Just how many drivers do you think your going to see doing an inspection after their 10 or 34. Maybe 30% actually do a daily VIR the rest just type A-OK on the E-log and off they go. And by some of the brake work I've sen done by shops, the DOT could generate more revenue by giving a random IQ test to a high percentage of mechanics employed in shops. It's ugly on both sides of the road.
Funny thing on way to the Forum, had a MO State Inspection license EONS ago, still holds true today that as soon as a machine left our inspection place, had as little as a Mile behind them the Inspection was valid but any consideration as to a Fine or failure causing us legal battle was NIL. State gave that one to the mechanics so they would do the inspections and not walk away from this. Now a Failed ball joint or some other mechanism OBVIOUSLY failing prior to the inspection would garner extra oversight but no legal woes. DOT Inspections were different, You put YOUR Name on the form and the decal, YOU were responsible for whatever failed on that machine for a select period of time which seemed to be up to the DOT Brown Shirts here. Had a Brake failure come back to haunt ME after three months, drum disintegrated but shoes were good, all else was Good but DOT came to ask questions and that 26 years ago. Cannot imagine these days, I did perform PTI on the rig I was driving last year, Got tagged by Mo DOT as well STL DOT inspections, all passed good where was ignored the rest of the year.