trailer axle

[Will]

i was driving home last friday evening on 35e, pulling mt atv on my single place trailer, when i heard a loud noise then a horrible grinding sound. i looked in the rearview and my wheeler was swishing back and forth like wiper blades. i pulled to the side of the freeway, and a lady pulls over with me. she told me that she saw the axle come off the trailer and bounce over the median into oncoming traffic! thankfully it missed everyone! i took pics and sent them to the manufacturer, their first reaction was that my two year old trailer was out of warranty. i reminded them that warranty has nothing to do with liability or shoddy construction.(there is no cross-bracing, the axle was welded to the turned under aluminum lip)! i don't know what or if they will do anything for me, any suggestions?

by the way, the trailer was rated for 1200lbs. my wheeler goes 660lbs.

i have never even heard of this happening before.

[Gus]

Very scary story. Glad nobody got hurt.

I might think about calling the DOT and see what they have to say. There certainly seems to be an element of public safety to think about here. Maybe they can put some serious questions down on the manufacturer?

Again, glad nobody was hurt.

[SomethingFishy*]

Curious what brand trailer this was?

[Will]

i don't think i should say right now, but i beleive that they are manufactured out of hill city, mn

[wplatehunter]

I would also like to know what brand it was.

[Will]

after i hear back from them, i give out the make, model and company.

[Sandmannd]

That's pretty scary for sure. Have kicked an axle with a 22 foot trailer weighint 20k lbs before and it scares the daylights out of ya. I'm glad everythings OK and I hope you make some progress with the company.

[bowhunter54]

I brought up something similar to this a couple years ago with an aluminum snowmobile trailer. (Which I purchased new) When jacking up the trailer to change tires the axle stayed on the ground. Found out that the bolts that attached the axel to the frame were about two sizes smaller than the hole that was drilled in the frame. What the manufacturer did was place a large fender washer to prevent the bolt from pulling through the hole. After about 6 years of use this fender washer wore out and the bolt head which was the same size as the hole was the only thing holding the bed in place. When ever I see a trailer manufactured by the same company I try to let the owner know to inspect the axel / frame connection.