So far through the
renovation process the only thing that has really given me any concern has been the frame. I knew it seemed to be okay and I knew that the
axle was definitely going to need replacing but I also knew that I really wanted to pull the frame out, see things in the cold
light of day and deal with whatever needed dealing with. I've read lots of posts here and various blogs and seen some Youtube videos on frame removal so I sort of knew how I was going to attack this part of the project but I also knew that until I got started I wasn't sure how things were going to go.
I knew - scratch that - was pretty sure that I had all the screws removed that held the shell to the frame so started by lifting the rear of the trailer to get the wheels off the ground and doing the same on the front. So far so good. It turns out that I needed a lot more blocks for the jack stands than I had initially thought but thank goodness my pal Norm came along with a bunch more blocks and Fred had some kicking around the shop.
Norm also brought in his motorcycle jack and that turned out to be an awesome addition. We used an auto floor jack on the front floor and took the
weight off the front jack stands. Next, with a couple of 12 x 12's on the motorcycle jack and a chunk of plywood and a little extra jacking of the rear floor of the shell, we pulled the rear jack stands. A couple of judicious thumps on the rear of the frame and the the frame released.
Once the frame was released we ran some 4x4s across the shell and reset the jack stands on the front and rear so that once we pulled trailer wheels off the frame just rolled right out. Wow! Turns out it was a lot less stressful than I thought it would be.
And once the frame was out and we made sure the shell was stable.
A quick inspection of the frame showed us that it was in pretty darn good shape. I'll know for sure once I get the wire wheel out but I think it's going to be fine for the immediate future. I'll definitely add some structural strengthening.
That axle though.... Some weird kind of modification went on there. I think to provide more clearance because the torsion suspension was shot. I'm pretty sure it would have been easier to just replace the axle
but that will be done now.
I'm now all measured up for the new flexiride axle and assuming everything stays on schedule should see it in about a week.
So what can I say about this part of Lita's restoration?
1. Removing the frame was a lot less scary than I thought it would be.
2. Make sure you've got more blocking than you think you'll need and some
extra jack stands are good too.
3. Take it slow and breathe
4. It helps to have some assistance when you're doing this