PSG-1
Well-known member
Sorry if this comes across like a rant, but I really HATE sub-standard procedures and workmanship.
A lot of PWC trailers, particularly the Triton brand, are being sold with axles made by Reliable Axle company. Well, let me tell you, they are NOT reliable. If you have such a trailer, check to see if this is who made the axle, if so, you should consider replacing that POS with something better.
Why? OK, here's my story. My girlfriend has a Yamaha VX110 jet ski, when we bought it brand new in 2008, we also bought a brand new aluminum frame trailer, made by Triton mfg. The ski only has about 75 hours on it, and the longest run the trailer has ever been on was from here to North Myrtle Beach, going up Hwy 31 at 65 MPH, that's only about 40 miles each way. We're always religious about rinsing the trailer every time it's used.
Nevertheless, there was an issue. She was going across the highway to the river, and she heard something fall off the trailer, going down the road. When I started looking, I saw that one of the spring leaves had rusted and snapped off.
OK, so it needs new springs. I ordered a set, along with U-bolts and tie plates.
Well, my springs got here, and I proceeded to dismantle the old springs. Once I had the axle pulled, I inspected it, and noticed heavy rusting in the area where the U-bolts were. I beat it with the chipping hammer, and busted a hole right through! Well, crap, now I gotta make a new axle. No problem, I'll just take the torch, remove the spindles out of the old one, get a new piece of sch 40 pipe, and make a new axle.
The instant I tried to cut through the axle, there was a grease fire. I've never seen this happen before. Dang axle was full of grease. ??? :?: Also, I noticed that the material they used to make the axle was paper thin, about like a shower curtain rod.
But worse than that....when I tried to save the old spindles....I realized there was yet ANOTHER problem. Most spindles have something called a 'stud' which is an extension of the spindle, that is supposed to fit about 3-4 inches into the axle tube. This helps increase strength. Well, apparently, the college-educated idiot designers at Reliable Axle company didn't think they needed to waste extra material by using spindles with studs....they were just butt-welded to the ends of the axle pipe!!! WTF?! I have NEVER seen something like that before.
Then I noticed something else.....the wheel bearings were completely dry. How can this be? The end of the spindles have zerk fittings, and I've been greasing them on a regular basis!!
Well, upon further examination, I had my answer. Seems that the educated idiots didn't do much studying about how to build spindles. I've seen a lot of spindles where they install the zerk fitting in the end, then they cross-drill the spindle, where the hole is between the sets of bearings, so grease will flow into them. I don't like that method very much, as the cross drill is a stress riser, and I have actually seen spindles snap cleanly in two at this point.
But these mental midgets didn't even have that much sense! Wanna take a guess what they did? Instead of the cross-drill, they drilled the hole all the way through the spindle. So, in other words, you can sit there and waste a dozen large tubes of grease in a grease gun, fill the entire axle tube full of grease, and none of it EVER makes its way to the bearings, it's just filling the axle tube.
What a brilliant design! I bet the dumb SOB that thought of this probably went to college for 12 years, with a degree in engineering. In other words, an educated idiot.
Well, I guess when you're a large company, you've got lawyers, so, you're not too worried about being sued when someone's trailer wheel falls off, goes through someone's windshield and kills them.
But as for me, I have never, and would never design such a POS, and I sure wouldn't let it roll out of my shop. I always love it when people want a price to build a trailer, then I tell them, and they gripe and complain "but I can buy a trailer for such-and-such amount at wherever"
My response is always: "Uh-huh. And do you know WHY it's cheaper than my trailer? Because it's assembled with substandard materials, and even more lousy procedures. But if you want to go buy a cheap POS trailer, that's up to you. When it breaks, bring it down here, I'll fix it."
Just like the utility trailers that use 3/4"x 16 ga expanded metal, and I use 3/4"x 11 or even 9 ga. Same thing with axles. You get what you pay for.
Sorry for the rant.
A lot of PWC trailers, particularly the Triton brand, are being sold with axles made by Reliable Axle company. Well, let me tell you, they are NOT reliable. If you have such a trailer, check to see if this is who made the axle, if so, you should consider replacing that POS with something better.
Why? OK, here's my story. My girlfriend has a Yamaha VX110 jet ski, when we bought it brand new in 2008, we also bought a brand new aluminum frame trailer, made by Triton mfg. The ski only has about 75 hours on it, and the longest run the trailer has ever been on was from here to North Myrtle Beach, going up Hwy 31 at 65 MPH, that's only about 40 miles each way. We're always religious about rinsing the trailer every time it's used.
Nevertheless, there was an issue. She was going across the highway to the river, and she heard something fall off the trailer, going down the road. When I started looking, I saw that one of the spring leaves had rusted and snapped off.
OK, so it needs new springs. I ordered a set, along with U-bolts and tie plates.
Well, my springs got here, and I proceeded to dismantle the old springs. Once I had the axle pulled, I inspected it, and noticed heavy rusting in the area where the U-bolts were. I beat it with the chipping hammer, and busted a hole right through! Well, crap, now I gotta make a new axle. No problem, I'll just take the torch, remove the spindles out of the old one, get a new piece of sch 40 pipe, and make a new axle.
The instant I tried to cut through the axle, there was a grease fire. I've never seen this happen before. Dang axle was full of grease. ??? :?: Also, I noticed that the material they used to make the axle was paper thin, about like a shower curtain rod.
But worse than that....when I tried to save the old spindles....I realized there was yet ANOTHER problem. Most spindles have something called a 'stud' which is an extension of the spindle, that is supposed to fit about 3-4 inches into the axle tube. This helps increase strength. Well, apparently, the college-educated idiot designers at Reliable Axle company didn't think they needed to waste extra material by using spindles with studs....they were just butt-welded to the ends of the axle pipe!!! WTF?! I have NEVER seen something like that before.
Then I noticed something else.....the wheel bearings were completely dry. How can this be? The end of the spindles have zerk fittings, and I've been greasing them on a regular basis!!
Well, upon further examination, I had my answer. Seems that the educated idiots didn't do much studying about how to build spindles. I've seen a lot of spindles where they install the zerk fitting in the end, then they cross-drill the spindle, where the hole is between the sets of bearings, so grease will flow into them. I don't like that method very much, as the cross drill is a stress riser, and I have actually seen spindles snap cleanly in two at this point.
But these mental midgets didn't even have that much sense! Wanna take a guess what they did? Instead of the cross-drill, they drilled the hole all the way through the spindle. So, in other words, you can sit there and waste a dozen large tubes of grease in a grease gun, fill the entire axle tube full of grease, and none of it EVER makes its way to the bearings, it's just filling the axle tube.
What a brilliant design! I bet the dumb SOB that thought of this probably went to college for 12 years, with a degree in engineering. In other words, an educated idiot.
Well, I guess when you're a large company, you've got lawyers, so, you're not too worried about being sued when someone's trailer wheel falls off, goes through someone's windshield and kills them.
But as for me, I have never, and would never design such a POS, and I sure wouldn't let it roll out of my shop. I always love it when people want a price to build a trailer, then I tell them, and they gripe and complain "but I can buy a trailer for such-and-such amount at wherever"
My response is always: "Uh-huh. And do you know WHY it's cheaper than my trailer? Because it's assembled with substandard materials, and even more lousy procedures. But if you want to go buy a cheap POS trailer, that's up to you. When it breaks, bring it down here, I'll fix it."
Just like the utility trailers that use 3/4"x 16 ga expanded metal, and I use 3/4"x 11 or even 9 ga. Same thing with axles. You get what you pay for.
Sorry for the rant.