Nitro Trailer Axle

[ph411tx]

On Christmas day my trailer for my 2018 Nitro Z19 had a run-in with a post at the gas station (yes, the post jumped in front of the trailer). It bent the step in front of the fender and, worse, it bent the axle. The manufacturer (Trailstar?) tells my mechanic that it will take 4-6 weeks to fabricate an axle. I have my boat stored at a friend's place and I don't want to wear out my welcome. Any suggestions on how to get an axle in a shorter period of time. I'm completely out of my area of expertise on this one.

 

[Joker _114th]

Pretty sure its a dexter axle, should be numbers on it somewhere.....

 

[davelakeside1]

Whether it's a Dexter or any other brand that you can find in stock at a somewhat local dealer for axles or boat place or snowmobile etc dealership
take the numbers off of your current axle so they can match it up. Ale weight, length etc are important info that the axle part number will show. Also talk to your mechanic and ask him if there are any salvageable parts on your axle, such as brakes, hubs etc. If they are all ok, and the axle is just bent, ask your mechanic how much it will cost to swap them over to a new axle. I say this because axles can be bought bald, as in no hubs, bearings etc or fully assembled with hubs bearings etc. There will be a big cost difference between the two. The trick is to make sure the hubs & bearings are the same between the bent axle and the new, If the cost is essentially the same between what the cost is between a fully dressed axle and what the mechanic will charge to swap over the parts from the bent axle then go for the fully dressed axle. Then there is no issue with comparability, and save the old axle for spare parts.
Just food for thought, having been there and done that a few times. Good luck!

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[92 Nitro 190dc Owner]

I've recently replaced my Trailstar axle. I bought the trailer many years ago and the same bearing failed 3 times over the years, even though the bearings were greased regularly. I couldn't find one that met the specs of my old axle, so I had a custom one built locally with a 1 degree axle bend for the camber and electric brakes instead of surge. Took about a week and a little over $700. It's very easy to remove the old axle (If I remember correctly, there were only 4 bolts, 2 per leaf spring). If you haven't yet, call around your city and maybe you'll get lucky and find a business that will build one like I did. I agree on removing parts. If you are replacing with the same axle specs and are mechanically inclined, remove and save all the parts you can from the old one. That will cut down the cost of the new one and if you put the old parts on yourself you'll save on the labor cost.

 

[92 Nitro 190dc Owner]

ph411tx, any update on your axle replacement?

 

[ph411tx]

Thanks for following up. Trailstar, the manufacturer, was slow to respond to the folks at BassPro and quoted a delivery of 4-6 weeks. My car guy checked with some local folks and got one in 3 days. Trailer is fixed (a little "persuading" with the dented fender) and everything is good now.

 

[92 Nitro 190dc Owner]

I too had a run in with a post at a gas station and it also bent the front step and fender, but fortunately didn't bend the axle. The darned post jumped out in front of my trailer too. Good to hear it all worked out for you and hope you have a non-eventful season.