Posted by RDavis on Friday, November 10, 2000 at 19:04:32:
In Reply to: towing/ used mobile home axles posted by mike on Thursday, November 09, 2000 at 12:42:28:
Glad to hear no one was hurt Mike and I share your disappointment that it happened with the use of economical mobile home axles.
Many average guys simply can't afford a trailer with what is considered the "proper" type axles and must use mobile home axles.I personally built my car hauling type trailer with two mobile home axles with electric brakes.I tore my axles down to the spindles and inspected them for cracks and wear before I used them so I new my axles were safe before I used them.
Mobile home axles are legal to haul large extremely heavy MHs on the roadways at the speed limit alongside everyone else for hundreds of miles at times and from time to time you will see a sidelaned MH that had axle or tire trouble.On the the same note I have seen many more commercial trailers broke down over the years.
I have wanted to do as I've seen another guy do,make an adapter plate with lug bolts to use 15-16" wheels because I do see the wheel mounting method as less desirable and safe.
To sum up my thoughts,properly inspected and maintained MH axles are plenty safe for intermediate use even for a long haul.To use them for commercial or heavy everyday use is not wise.Even "proper" axles will fail if not properly maintained or over loaded.The part of the story you did not mention and I have been curious about is what size tow vehicle you were using? If the tow vehicle is on the light side it doesn't really matter how good a trailer it is,any simular type axle failure would over power the lighter tow vehicle.I have foolishly hauled loads with and in jackleg trailers and cirumstances in years past but I always tried to use caution with frequent stops and checks on the load and setup but no matter how cautious you are,sometimes bad things just happen even to safe careful people.