hey look, another off-road trailer build!

[jayson44]

ok, so everyone else seems to be building their trailers lately, so why not me?

I picked this trailer up for Father's Day last year. it was sitting in a yard on my way to work, not moving ever, so I knocked on the front door and asked what he wanted for it. $300 was his price, so I paid the man.

outside of air in the tires, the trailer is in pretty good shape. mostly surface rust, but I think half of this thing is homemade, so the angle-iron "frame" needs to be replaced at some point. also, the axle is some sort of old Ford drop steering axle that they welded the drag link to the axle itself to keep the tires straight...but hey, 5x4.5 bolt pattern, so it matches the Jeep! also, it's a drop axle, so if I ever want just a little more ground clearance, I can flip it. the wiring was probably ok, but the Jeep was blowing fuses, so I thought it was the trailer (when now i know something is wrong on the Jeep side...) so I ripped it all out.

so here I am to this point: new wiring and taillights, cleaned up the box a bit, and have been trying to get the lugs off the driver-side wheel to no avail. they're crazy rusted on there. the passenger side still had the old hubcap on, so the nuts came off no problem. I had broken 2 studs on the DS wheel, so I have spent the last 2 months PB Blasting the crap out of the other 3 in hopes of getting them loose.

here's the trailer when I picked it up:



and after a little clean up and the new wiring & lights:







J.

[jayson44]

yesterday, I got to go out and spend some time on the driver-side wheel lugs. I decided that they weren't coming off, so I got out the impact and broke the other 3 off. I proceeded to remove the wheel and check out how to get the hub/brake drum off. pounded the little metal cap off the end of the spindle and was very surprised to find a castle nut that looked almost new!



even the grease looked new-ish:



removed the nut and washers and pulled the brake drum off. the whole spindle looks new as well...



anyways...that's good news, but the bad news is that the lug studs seem to be a part of the actual drum, not pounded into the back of it. so I have no idea how to get these replaced. maybe just take them somewhere to drill them out & install new ones?



but the drum looked like it had been painted recently as well...the brown paint wasn't as worn as I thought it should be. again, maybe someone rebuild these not too long ago.

so I decided that no more progress would be made on that side until the lugs can be figured out. I moved to the passenger side and started working on removing the homemade fenders. little to report, they were simply bolted to the tub.



I may cut off the extensions and use the main part again if it will cover the tires when it's all said and done. there was black paint underneath so part of the tub has it on there as well.

I had purchased a set of 1 1/2" spacers to push the wheels out further since it needed it. I installed the spacer and then one of my wheels.



the spacers were just about perfect:



I went with used BFG KM2s since they matched the Jeep & 33x10.5r15s since I figured 35's were overkill for a trailer. I'm thinking I might need to trade down for 31s once it's all finished. not sure yet. then I got the other side jack stand to the same-ish height so I could see what the trailer would look like at ride height. I'm loving where it's headed!



so now I just gotta get some studs put into the other drum and then I'll be back in business! I have lots of plans for a RTT and other stuff. I'll be painting it next spring & eventually rebuilding a frame from scratch for it. but for now, this is a good start.

J.

[Jim]

Nice.

I'd double-think those studs. They look push-out to me. Have you tried to hit them out (perhaps place a large socket around the head as support)?

[jayson44]

I banged on them pretty good with a hammer, and it didn't seem to budge them. I was thinking of trying to take my grinder to the back of the studs where the flanges are and see if I can cut the flanges off and try again. but when I look really close at the studs, it almost appears as if the metal of the screw goes right into the metal of the mounting plate...not 100% sure though. wish I knew what kind of axle this was so i could see about just getting a replacement drum off fleabay or something...

J.

[The StRanger]

Blow out one of the old studs and stop off at NAPA.
They should be able to match up some studs !

[jayson44]

is a BFH the best way to do that? I don't have an air hammer...

J.

[TTBGuy]

I'd soak them really good with PB blaster. Just hit em every day for a week. Then take a MAPP gas torch and get it real hot. Now is the time to get out the brass/steel drift and pound them out. Lots of parts stores around here have presses in the back to do rotors for people so if you find someone with a press that might be the way to go if you can't budge them yourself.

If you have access to a cutting torch you could probably burn out the centers and use a hammer and chisel from there, just be careful not to dig into the drum.

[94ToyBear]

whatcha doing with the wire wheels now?

[94ToyBear]

http://www.macsautoparts.com/ford_mo...bly-front.html check out what I found ! that drum looks like a ford years 1928-1931. but ! chaaaaching ! I think I have the same axle on my rat rod, but mine came with a disk break set up when I got it. look in to possibly a disk break conversion and use just the hub and bearing it might be cheaper that way, ill look at mine to see if there's any info that's is of Couse if you cant press the original studs out.

[CS79bronco]

Those studs will come out. You may need at least a 3 lb hammer. Support the drum solidly on wood blocks on concrete, use a big punch with someone holding it with long pliers, smack with both hands on the hammer. And wear safety glasses. You will find out on the first one how hard to hit to make it move, the rest will be easier. And considering the age of the studs I would replace all of them on both sides, and nuts too. The spacers will add a bit to the stress on the studs which could break the old ones. That way you should be able to match the nuts to your tow vehicle as well.

[jayson44]

94ToyBear previously posted:

[jayson44]

94ToyBear previously posted:

[carpenle]

A press is prob. the best way to get them out.

[Hypoid]

I have a press, here in Golden.

[jayson44]

I looked closer, and the brake drum says Centrifuse LTD for the company, and 05447 stamped on the other side. Centrifuse makes lots of drum brakes but mostly for big truck and trailer applications. so I doubt I could find another one like it.

I've got the studs soaking in PB. I'll see what I can do about getting them out first. if that fails, take it to a shop. if that fails, I'll look for a new axle.

J.

[94ToyBear]

jayson44 previously posted:

[Java]

Great trailer, so much potential!! I like the shape of the bed, it's similar to the military themed ones but still unique, I don't think I've seen one like it. Who makes it?

[jayson44]

great question, Paul. I thought it was one of the canadian M104s or whatever, or perhaps a Bantam because of the red paint that is under all the blue and the tie-down hooks. but really, with the axle being from an old ford or mercury sedan, the frame having no VIN or markings on it whatsoever, and the homemade fenders, I really have no idea.

all I know, is I got it for WAY less than the other trailers on CL, and it looks the part.

J.

[CS79bronco]

Jay, after looking at the broken off studs again, you should be able to pound them out without having to use a punch. Just smack em good with at least a 3 pounder. I knocked the studs out of the drums on my RV axle, D70 dually, with a 4 lb. They were in there since '77. Not easy, but they came out with a few whacks. Solid, even support is necessary, if the drum can move it is harder to knock them out.

[jayson44]

aaaaand their out!



a lot of PB and some good ol' pounding and they all are out. just as I suspected, the hub is separate from the drum, and was held together with the studs. here's the last of the broken studs out:



now to find some new studs...

J.