Replacing old trailer A frame

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Hello,I bought an old homemade  tandem trailer for peanuts. It needs some work and I have been enjoying rehabbing it. I am at the point that I want to replace the A frame and coupler. I would appreciate some material advice. It currently has 3x2" tubing that is very thin, less than 1/10".  It has bent up and cracked and needs replacing. I am looking at 2x4" either 1/8 or 1/4" tubing as a replacement. Trailer is 16x6.5 feet with 2 mobile home axles. The most I would ever carry on it would be around 5k lbs. Would the 2x4 1/8" be enough? Any other material suggestions? Thanks!
Reply:2x4x1/4 tube would suffice I'm sure.  My concern would be everything else on there.  If the tongue was terribly undersized,  the frame probably is too.Mobile home axles aren't really meant for long term use.  They're meant to carry one heavy load one time, maybe two, and never be used again. And what about brakes?  Are they present and functional?  Are they rebuildable? Can you get the parts?  Towing 2 1/2 tons without trailer brakes is sketchy to say the least, and probably illegal in every state.This is why I don't touch homemade trailers.  Ive been asked to repair hackjob trailers using hackjob materials, and I flat out said no.  I don't want my name on someone's piece of junk when it kills someone, nor do I trust someone else's once-failed work behind my truck, Because if I had to replace one failed part, there's probably a whole slew of them to follow.  Once it gets the point of having to redo every weld and replace whole sections, you might as Well have built it from scratch.Last edited by anickode; 01-29-2015 at 01:14 PM.You didn't build that.'85 Miller AEAD-200LE
Reply:The rest of the trailer is pretty well built. In fact, it looks like a factory 14' trailer that someone added 2 feet of length to. My plan is to cut off the 2' add on, replace the mobile home axles with 3500lb ones, and have a solid trailer. The only thing I will be hauling for a while will be my 1000lb zero turn and some other small landscape equip. So is 1/8" no good for this application? I appreciate the input!
Reply:3/16" wall tube is thick enough for cross members in my bookJust a couple welders, big hammers, grinders, and torches.Work will free you.Men in dirty jeans built this country, while men in clean suits have destroyed it. Trump/Carson 2016-2024
Reply:I don't like 1/8", especially for the tongue, because I have seen it tear at the welds even with good welds. The wall is just too thin to take the abuse that trailers give. AK has it right, 3/16" is much better. I would actually use a channel for that because it will be less likely to rust out. But as always, without pics of what your doing we're all just guessing. Are you sure that you actually have trailerhouse axles? Just because they have cast spoke wheels does not automatically make them inferior axles, those are still available and sometimes still put on even comercial trailers. The easiest way to tell is if the brake backing plate is welded directly to the axle tube or they don't even have brakes they are trailer house axles. If they have a flange welded to the axle and the brake backing plate is bolted on they are regular duty 5200lb axles and perfectly ok to use.Yeah, I know, but it'll be ok!Lincoln Square wave 255Miller Vintage mig30a spoolgunThermal Dynamics Pacmaster 100xl plasmaSmith mc torchEllis 1600 band saw
Reply:There's trailer house axles, then there's trailer house axlesThe old Dexters had tapered roller bearings, and are suitable for long term use.  Big thing is to keep the tires at the recommended 80psi, otherwise they have a bad tendancy to run hot (Kapow!!), or peel on a tight turn.The new style trailer house axles are bushed, no tapered bearings, and they aren't suitable for long term use."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Originally Posted by farmersammThere's trailer house axles, then there's trailer house axlesThe old Dexters had tapered roller bearings, and are suitable for long term use.  Big thing is to keep the tires at the recommended 80psi, otherwise they have a bad tendancy to run hot (Kapow!!), or peel on a tight turn.The new style trailer house axles are bushed, no tapered bearings, and they aren't suitable for long term use.
Reply:Originally Posted by welderjI've heard the rumor of trailer house axles being bushed before but have never seen one, if anyone has I would like to see pictures. Be interesting to see how they keep bushings from heating at 70 mph for 8 or 10 hour straight. The main differences between the axles other than what I already said is that they have a different spindle that is turned out of lower quality steel and uses a different bearing. You can get all the parts for them or conversion kits which include a flange to weld on so you can replace the brake backer and a 6 bolt hub.
Reply:Any thought on using 4" 3/16 channel for the tongue?
Reply:anyone? Is the C channel a strong enough choice?
Reply:Originally Posted by eldealeroanyone? Is the C channel a strong enough choice?
Reply:Channel makes an excellent tongue material.As my area trailer parts guy told me, " trailer jouse axles are made to make 3 trips, from the maker to the dealer, from the dealer to the buyer and from the buyer back to the dealer when it's repoed".
Reply:Thanks for the advice fellas. They are definitely mobile home axles. One axle has no brakes, the other has them welded on the tube. I will snap a picture tomorrow. Be warned, even though I have done some rehab on it already, it is ugly!