SWMO
Southwest Missouri
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T bone I probably didn't word that as I intended. My reason for using the "might" was because its always possible that the welder was inexperienced. I didn't mean to imply that the process itself was bad.
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wa8yxm
Wherever I happen to park
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You said it was heavily loaded
If I had money to bet.. I'd bet it you were kind of "Way over the max GVW" for that trailer. and thus the manufacturer will not (nor should they) pay anything.
On the other hand. Have the weld shop take a good close look at the break. One hopes they know what a "Clean fresh break" looks like (That would be overload) and what "Manufacturer Defect" looks like... I mean.. I do, and I'm NOT an expert.
Nothin adds excitment like something that is none of your business
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Deen
Vancouver, WA
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T_Bone wrote:Hi TDI,
I'm a 28yr AWS CWI (certified weld inspector), neuclar grade, AWS certified weldor with 33 different certs, ASHREA Engineer for 25yrs, and most of what's been posted in this thread is just the wrong info. I've certified thoudands of AL weldments at full tensil yield.
Post some pictures and I'll give you my best "net" guess as too why.
 Sounds like my son, even down to the nuclear grade and inspector/trainer! Only he's not old enough yet to have that much exp. He learned a lot in the Navy.
Deen - Vancouver, WA
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TDInewguy
Minneapolis, MN
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Ok, here are a few photos of the break.
Thoughts??
SSSStefan
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CHV_FRK
Black Jack, MO
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I would bet that you were overloaded on the tounge, probably over many times and the stress finally took it's toll. If you can't weight the tounge weight use your truck as a guide. 10% of your trailers GVWR is the max you want. Add that weight with someone and/or some stuff that you can add on the on the tailgate. Measure how far the truck drops and just make sure that when you load the truck up you don't exceed that drop. Good luck with getting it fixed.
Dana and Natalie
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CJW8
Arizona
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Thoughts? Yes
1. What was the tongue weight when it broke?
2. What is the Trailer GVWR?
3. What was the trailer GVW at the time of the break?
I am not an engineer but that just looks kinda light weight for a trailer tongue. That looks adequate for a snowmobile or small boat trailer with no more than 150 lb tongue weight.
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RJsfishin
Winston Or.
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I think Aluma should be ashamed of using 2x3 instead of 3x3 tube. Trailer couplers come in 2 1/2 and 3 inch. I have never seen a 2 inch coupler. What did they do, put shims to get down to 2 inch. How cheap could they get ? My little 16 ft boat trailer has 3 inch tube. Most all trailers of any larger size have at least 3 inch.
But, just as long as you know that the trailer had too much hitch weight, sometime in its lifetime,...if not when it broke.
Rich
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TDInewguy
Minneapolis, MN
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There were 4 tubes inside of the of the 2x3 tongue to strengthen it, if you look really close you can see remnants of it, again they broke too.
As for weights, I'm calculating that now - I know exactly what I put in the trailer, and will be adding it up to get an answer of the weight.
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SWMO
Southwest Missouri
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I think you have to suspect an overload, not necessarily on the axles, but on the tongue.
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CJW8
Arizona
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Yes, I can now see the inner tubes. They don't add as much strength as it seems depending on how they are bonded (welded) to the outer tube.
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