Gentlemen: Grease Your Equalizers!

[Sharphooks]

Wish I'd known what an equalizer was when I bought my first tandem trailer.

Now I know, and I also know why there's a zirc fitting in the unit

Pictures tell the story:







the way they’re supposed to look out of the box:



I thought I could do the change-out with a 4 1/2" disc grinder---No Way!




After a HUGE amount of wasted time (and waiting for a disc blow to up and put out an eye or worse, cut a brake line) a neighbor finally felt sorry for me and brought over a Sawzall--- that turned the job into one of minutes rather then hours:



I did all this during the freeze: too cold to fish so it was a good feeling to finally button her up and feel like I can now tow my boat around SAFELY:




What I learned: take huge precautions to block every part of the trailer that can move before you start cutting: the "U" bolts are under HUGE tension: they explode when you put a disc on them: that axle has to be blocked and the frame fully supported before you start ripping and tearing

 

[bigbruce]

Yikes - that looked like an ugly project - one I'm looking at doing as well. Where did you get your parts?

 

[Sharphooks]

It was an ugly project---every bolt and nut rusted ---might as well have been welded. The equalizers: frozen/rusted---the bolt rusted to the brass collar insert so it just spun and spun---PB Blaster---no help

I have a Shoreland'r so I was FORCED to get the parts from Mid West Industries ---the only place you'll get the proper springs to match the hanging brackets on the trailer

Complete incompetence from the parts guys and gals : sent me enough parts to do a 4 axle trailer, insisted the parts list was correct, left out important stuff, over-shipped stuff I didn't need---

I was quoted $ 1,000 to install them. Ya, sure, you betcha--- I invested $ 60 for a DeWalt disc grinder and $ 20 for steel cutting discs. That tool worked to cut the bolts off and get the "U" bolts off the axles--- the equalizers---definitely a sawzall job because of the access (tight spot)---maybe a super-sized grinder would do it but I probably would have nicked a brake line ---sawzall much more precise (and not as dangerous---those discs are a barrel of laughs when chips break off and hit you in the face.

good luck and per above, block the hell out of the trailer before you start cutting--- I had to remove the trailer wheels---all the more reason to block the axles before starting to grind off hardware

 

[Gunsmith]

Those discs tend to explode if not used properly and the shrapnel can kill you or in the least blind you.

 

[Sir Reel]

I see in your pictures that the new ones have grease nipples. Did the old ones have them?