• Welcome to The Farming Forum!

    As part of this update, we have made a change to the login and registration process. If you are experiences any problems, please email [email protected] with the details so we can resolve any issues.

What Axle

Andrew

Never Forgotten
Honorary Member
Location
Huntingdon, UK
Got to build a boat launching trailer for the local sailing club. The trailer goes 100yrds max in a straight line 2-8 times per week every week, and sits in water for up to 20 minutes at a time.

The current trailer has some heavy walled round tube as an axle, and some more heavy walled round tube rotating around the axle, welded to the wheel rims to make a very crude bearing. The trailer is rotten and the axle tubes have worn paper thin.
Some of the other trailers use indespension axles but bearings give up regularly.
Due to the nature of the place routine maintenance has to be avoided.

So which would be the better option - a proper axle with bearings or the 2 bits of tube. Can you get properly sealed axles designed to be submerged for long periods?
Needs to carry about 3t and be single axle.
 

Shovelhands

Member
Location
Sunny Essex
Got to build a boat launching trailer for the local sailing club. The trailer goes 100yrds max in a straight line 2-8 times per week every week, and sits in water for up to 20 minutes at a time.

The current trailer has some heavy walled round tube as an axle, and some more heavy walled round tube rotating around the axle, welded to the wheel rims to make a very crude bearing. The trailer is rotten and the axle tubes have worn paper thin.
Some of the other trailers use indespension axles but bearings give up regularly.
Due to the nature of the place routine maintenance has to be avoided.

So which would be the better option - a proper axle with bearings or the 2 bits of tube. Can you get properly sealed axles designed to be submerged for long periods?
Needs to carry about 3t and be single axle.

A big bronze bush should do the trick I'd think ? But a bit of grease now n then would be nice:)
If you did that, could you fit long grease tubes, with the nipples high enough not to be in the water, so they are not rusty every time you want to grease it?

Another thought would be some nice big nylon bushes?
 

Mur Huwcun

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
North West Wales
A big bronze bush should do the trick I'd think ? But a bit of grease now n then would be nice:)
If you did that, could you fit long grease tubes, with the nipples high enough not to be in the water, so they are not rusty every time you want to grease it?

Another thought would be some nice big nylon bushes?

On the subject of nylon bushes I build a tandem bale trailer years ago. Used a 70mm piston from an excavator dipper ram as a pin and was planning on using nylon bushes intill I noticed one day while cutting new PTO shafts to length that the guard tubes were exactly the right dimensions to act as bushes!! They're still there as good as new aswell!!!
 

Tim G

Member
Livestock Farmer
One of my colleagues does quite a bit of sailing and had problems with wheel bearings on his boat trailer. Apparently cured it by using a special type of grease (may have been hydroscopic grease?)
 

joe soapy

Member
Location
devon
steel on steel is very under rated for this sort of application, with a bit of use it soon gets a mirror smooth surface with very little friction.
main thing is to have the tube as close to the centre of force as possible, to avoid any weight induced camber,
we had numerus stub axle and iron bosses from old wagons and carts at one time, the wheel boss was often fitted with a handle to use as a post tamper
 

atlas

Member
Location
shropshire
How big is the boat I have a ex life boat launching trailer here for sale I think it has built for a large rib to launch off a beach galvanised chassis .
 

joe soapy

Member
Location
devon
vintage-wooden-wagon-wheel-13837995.jpg
 

Andrew

Never Forgotten
Honorary Member
Location
Huntingdon, UK
A big bronze bush should do the trick I'd think ? But a bit of grease now n then would be nice:)
If you did that, could you fit long grease tubes, with the nipples high enough not to be in the water, so they are not rusty every time you want to grease it?

Another thought would be some nice big nylon bushes?

Think that’s definitely the way forward, why didn’t I think of that?

steel on steel is very under rated for this sort of application, with a bit of use it soon gets a mirror smooth surface with very little friction.
main thing is to have the tube as close to the centre of force as possible, to avoid any weight induced camber,
we had numerus stub axle and iron bosses from old wagons and carts at one time, the wheel boss was often fitted with a handle to use as a post tamper

The wheels are in the middle of pipe at the moment, so no sideways force at all, they have lasted the life of the trailer which is painted box. Next one is going to be galvanised open section so would like them to last a bit longer.

How big is the boat I have a ex life boat launching trailer here for sale I think it has built for a large rib to launch off a beach galvanised chassis .

Its about 20ft x 8ft and weighs 2t. Often moved with lots of kit and people in it so going for 3t. Fibreglass mid engine displacement boat though so quite fragile - has to have all the supports just so.
 

ACEngineering

Member
Trade
Location
Oxon
One of my colleagues does quite a bit of sailing and had problems with wheel bearings on his boat trailer. Apparently cured it by using a special type of grease (may have been hydroscopic grease?)

Yes there is a special grease i have some. Its green and i use it on landlords atv trailer that has rubbish seals on the axle stubs.
 

Morph

Member
Location
Devon
Plenty of greases available, could use stainless bearings about 2x the price of normal. If using 'nylon' bushes make sure to get the correct material as a lot of them swell when wet. Most boats use Delrin as underwater bush material.
 

How is your SFI 24 application progressing?

  • havn't been invited to apply

    Votes: 28 35.9%
  • have been invited to apply

    Votes: 14 17.9%
  • applied but not yet accepted

    Votes: 28 35.9%
  • agreement up and running

    Votes: 8 10.3%

Webinar: Expanded Sustainable Farming Incentive offer 2024 -26th Sept

  • 2,430
  • 50
On Thursday 26th September, we’re holding a webinar for farmers to go through the guidance, actions and detail for the expanded Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offer. This was planned for end of May, but had to be delayed due to the general election. We apologise about that.

Farming and Countryside Programme Director, Janet Hughes will be joined by policy leads working on SFI, and colleagues from the Rural Payment Agency and Catchment Sensitive Farming.

This webinar will be...
Back
Top