Trailer Parts??

[Dean1]

Hi Im currently in the proccess of replacing the undercariage on my alloy Cat trailer. The main frame is aluminium ( thank god) and it has a steel undercariage under this which is rusted out, this is to bolt the Alko axles to.

The U bolts that are currently on there which clamp the alloy to the steel are 16mm and have 16mm plate steel clamped under this.

Ive called several shops etc and they seem to think this thickness is overkill and cant supply the parts.

Im usung 5 mil thick box steel which should cut it i hope as this the thickest steel suppliers stock. It will all be getting Gal dipped.

Would 1/2 inch U bolts & plate be thick enough?

Anybody else know what they have?

This trailer was custom built by Kevlacat in 1997 and no longer make them so they cant help me.

I want to do this properly and once so dont mind doing what I have to do to get it right.

Appreciate any advice,

thanks Dean.

[shano]

yep 16mm is over kill! 1/2 ich or 12mm would be fine! both plates and u bolts, and 5mm "box" is plenty big enough.
are you doing all this yourself?

[Dean1]

yep 16mm is over kill! 1/2 ich or 12mm would be fine! both plates and u bolts, and 5mm "box" is plenty big enough.
are you doing all this yourself?G'day mate, I am cutting and drilling the steel myself but getting it welded by an engineering shop. About the only thing the old man didnt teach me how to do is weld steel!

I can oxy weld steel but obviously will need it all miged up.

I'll bolt them into place once finished.

Cheers and thanks..

[shano]

no probs...........

[Noelm]

Just as an add on to this, there is now a full alloy suspension system available, it is similar to the Duratorque setup, but all components are aluminium, I woule reckon they would be pretty dear, but I guess over a period of years, it would work out cheap.

[ALOGT]

How many U bolts are holding the frame on with your existing set up? 4? If you have any doughts just add another set of 1/2" u bolts.

[Dean1]

How many U bolts are holding the frame on with your existing set up? 4? If you have any doughts just add another set of 1/2" u bolts. Yeah mate theres 2 on each side.

I finally found someone ( qld fasteners) that sell U bolts long enough.

They only sell 1/2 but i bought them ( tho need galvanizing) and took your'e advice thanks for that, but they only had 4 so ive ordered another 2.

I cut up all the steel to length this arv, drill everything tommorow arv then down to the engineering shop.

Cheers.

[cormorant]

truck trailers use that size ubolts and fish plates to hold trays to trucks . Call local truck supplies or tray builder or truck wrecker. http://www.fireflex.com.au/UBolts.html

Use poly or tefelon between ally and steel

Getting threaded stuff galvanised can be problematic so don't make stuff too tighter fit


Doesn't have to be u bolts as can use 2 fish plates and tensile bolts between them , just tension them properly and locknuts..

[indy]

Dean my mate is a very good welder and has just opened a shed down at paisley drive (Brian Mcgrath) you may no him if you like give him a call on 0437606594 he has just finished a trailer for a bob cat and your undercariage would not be a problem for him to do, he has many years of experience in all fabraction work and can weld everything and anything

cheers pete...

[wrxhoon]

Dean ,
Don't bother with gal U bolts mate , just buy S/Steel by the time you pay to get them Gal its the same price.

[Dean1]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I have to get 16mm U bolts custom made, nobody can supply them off the shelf. But they still need to be galvanized.

So its either get custom made, bolt together with 2 plates and bolts, get stainless, or get the existing ones regaled.

What to do..

[lippa]

http://www.willex.com.au/catalogue.php?page=41 ask if they gal
http://www.marshall-eng.com.au/index.htm
http://www.probar.net.au/products.php

[Noelm]

if you are really stuck for the U bolts, I reckon I could find them and send them to you if you get really desperate. There is a few specialist places around the do Truck spring repairs and I am positve they would have them, threaded rod is also an option I guess and make your own, not too sure about stainless U bolts being OK though

[Flex]

Dont get stainless
It binds up like a bastard. Making it impossible to undo from my experience.

You can buy already gal'd U bolts from various places, But what length are you after?

Give actice Fab a call 07) 3807-6666, they are the cheapest place in Australia to buy trailer parts. And stock almost everything. They do a 5/8 Offroad U-bolt and various fish plates. they also do Galvanised U-bolts up to 3/4 inch, though not sure of the max length they do

But IMO half inch bolts are plenty strong, not sure of the sheer strength but If your worried just whack in 2 more each side.

I carry a 1.6tonne trailer up cape york across some of the nastiest creek crossings you ever saw,Often the trailer gets airborne, bounces all over the place for hours on end and my whole under carnage is U-bolted with 1/2 bolts(granted there are 6 on each side) And they get punished 10 times harder than any road trailer and never had the whole carriage move a mm.

I've even smashed a bolt that was hanging down across a rock at 40km/h, Bending it back about 10mm. The 1/2 inch bolt lasted the whole trip back and had 0 cracking when we eventually got it off.

So the 1/2 in bolts are plenty strong

[cormorant]

The truck guys will do it out of the right steel rod to start with and bend and put a thread on it. Stainless - very few people will spec it as few people actually know the tensile strength of the stuff they are getting but with more USA ally and stainless engineered trailers it will be more common. When you start dealing with bigger weights on trailers and larger than standard stuff the original manufacturer probably used it for a reason ( be that reason that it was the only stuff avaliable.)

I have always had 3 or 4 u bolts ( usually 2 double fish plates/ u bolts and a single between the axels) on dual axel trailers that had any weight and never right near the ends of the angle iron suspension is mounted to as you create a stress point with the flex in the chassis frame. Yep all overkill when I look at lighter weight trailers but never had a problem.

Some of the chineese or cheap stuff should not be used in any structural fabrications as it can be such poor quality especially in a corrosive environment.

[Dean1]

Ok i should have stated that length is the problem here..

I need at least 215mm long ( the girls are getting fussy nowadays ha ha )

I have 100mm Alloy then 50mm steel then 13mm plate then 2 nuts that add to about 200mm..

I have found a mob at carole park that do a 16mm u bolt thats 230mm long off the shelf :grin:

Active fab and about 9 other companies can only supply 150-180mm off the shelf.

I am going to get these 230mm ones and get them galled.

The Alloy C Channel that my trailer is made of has two plates welded inside the c channel to accomadate the u bolts.

So this is the final decision.

A drive to carole park and i have everything i need..

Then to get out for a fish well thats another story.

I think i might start working weekends and have mid week off coz mid week is when the fans not blowing!! :undecided: :cry: