Holsclaw trailer axle replacement

Two years ago, after our September beach trip, I parked my trailer at my house and didn't touch it until the following year when it was time to leave again. As I hooked it up I noticed this:



Yes, that is daylight. I honestly had never considered this sort of failure, and am eternally grateful that it failed in the yard and not five miles down the road. Needless to say the boat didn't make it to the beach that year but I did order a replacement axle for this year. The trailer has a 50" spring center which greatly limited my choices but I found a nearly perfect match at Eastern Marine (aka Trailer Parts Superstore).

When I jacked up the broken side of the trailer the other side gave way:



The corrosion at the ends was unbelievable. I have had this trailer since 1991 and it looks like the axle was made from plain painted steel 2" box, possibly without treating the welds where the spindles were attached. The center still had intact blue paint, but the areas under the clamps was gone. The new axle is smaller, galvanized, and has spray galv on the welds. It is about 1" longer than the original at each end, but the wheels are still within the fenders.




I had to change from 1" bearings to 1-1/16" bearings which turned out to be a good thing, as the outer races were in poor shape. So with new bearings and seals I assembled the complete axle:



and slid it under the trailer with new hardware.



It feels SO good to know that this is now solid. If I ever have enough free time I may replace the leaf springs - they could be a bit softer next time - and clean up the hubs, and replace the crossbeams on the trailer since both have been welded... but I still think I will end up with a Getaway so the trailer situation may change anyway.

So... inspect your trailers regularly!!

_________________
'00 H16 #104691
'78 H16 #32692 ex-rental [gone]
Old Holsclaw trailer
My Hobie 16 pages

I realize this is a very old post and the images no longer appear here (at least for me) but I wanted to clarify and correct something for anyone reading it in the future. I found the original images when doing a search on Google.

Basically what I want to clarify is that the title of this thread - "Holsclaw trailer axle replacement" is crap. That is NOT a Holsclaw axle or suspension, and although I couldn't find any photos of the full trailer, it seems there's a good chance the trailer itself isn't a Holsclaw at all.

In AntonLargiader's other post about this trailer - https://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=55592 - he stated, "The crossbars I have wanted to replace for some time since they have been repaired (or spliced) since before I owned the trailer. The tongue got bent. All are galvanized box steel."

So... His so-called "Holsclaw" trailer was obviously butchered by some idiot before he bought it. (If it even is actually a Holsclaw, which seems debatable. Maybe someone slapped a Holsclaw sticker and/or fenders on it to fool the rubes when selling it?) The crossbars were modified and the original axle and coil spring suspension was replaced with leaf springs and a garbage axle that probably came from Harbor Freight. It actually looks a lot like the axle of a used Harbor Freight trailer I bought a while back for $200. (See the photos on Google. Use "holsclaw axle failure hobie" as the search term and then hit "images" to view them. And compare them against the photos of actual Holsclaw trailers that will also show up.)

Holsclaw trailers were a good little trailer back when they were being made, and are still quite popular, in particular for the soft ride provided by their coil spring and shock absorber suspension. Denigrating the Holsclaw name by calling whatever garbage Frankenstein trailer this thing is a Holsclaw is doing a disservice to anyone reading the post who knows little enough to believe it. Anton's trailer is definitely NOT a standard Holsclaw. (Or maybe even a Holsclaw at all.) And that junk axle and leaf spring were NOT Holsclaw either.

Rant over. Carry on.