Thoughts on axle/frame replacement on ‘82 Burro

[Theycallmesb]

Hi y’all. I’m a new owner to a 1982 13ft Burro (5days!) and I just discovered a few soft areas on the underside, which led me to inspecting further on the axle and frame. I have no idea what I’m looking for, but thought some of you seasoned owners could put some eyes on the axle and frame. Is this something I need replaced? Any concerns? I do see an area on the right front side of the wheel well where there is a rusted area… maybe 5 inches or so. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[Mark in Vancouver]

I've recently spent quite a bit of time under my trailer. What I see in your pictures is some superficial surface rust. I see a couple of soft spots on the trailer where it looks like someone has filled some cracks with some compound or tried to seal some damage from water ingress. Not a big deal. Just get a sanding disk for your drill or grinder and get it clean, then repair with a little fiberglass and resin, sand it and and paint it. It's sometimes hard to tell when a frame is rusted internally. I have a small hammer that I tapped all over the frame. If the frame is almost rusted through, you can often hear a difference in pitch. If you do, take a screw driver and try and push it into the frame. You can sometimes find rot that way (my car in high school didn't like Canadian winters and salt and I could poke holes in my fame). I used a wire wheel on a grinder and went over the whole trailer frame a few weeks ago. I wasn't about to do a frame off restoration like some of the ambitious people do! No issues and it looked far worse than yours when I started. From what you've posted, I think yours is probably fine, although I don't know this particular trailer, but have had a few different ones over the years. Good luck and enjoy your new baby! You guys don't need brakes on those trailers I guess. I had to put them on mine. You might want to get some of that split plastic wire loom and put it over the wires and strap them to the frame where you can. Better than having them slap around in the wind and break or short....I did that when I re-wired mine.

[FRED SMAILES]

Originally Posted by Mark in Vancouver

I've recently spent quite a bit of time under my trailer. What I see in your pictures is some superficial surface rust. I see a couple of soft spots on the trailer where it looks like someone has filled some cracks with some compound or tried to seal some damage from water ingress. Not a big deal. Just get a sanding disk for your drill or grinder and get it clean, then repair with a little fiberglass and resin, sand it and and paint it. It's sometimes hard to tell when a frame is rusted internally. I have a small hammer that I tapped all over the frame. If the frame is almost rusted through, you can often hear a difference in pitch. If you do, take a screw driver and try and push it into the frame. You can sometimes find rot that way (my car in high school didn't like Canadian winters and salt and I could poke holes in my fame). I used a wire wheel on a grinder and went over the whole trailer frame a few weeks ago. I wasn't about to do a frame off restoration like some of the ambitious people do! No issues and it looked far worse than yours when I started. From what you've posted, I think yours is probably fine, although I don't know this particular trailer, but have had a few different ones over the years. Good luck and enjoy your new baby! You guys don't need brakes on those trailers I guess. I had to put them on mine. You might want to get some of that split plastic wire loom and put it over the wires and strap them to the frame where you can. Better than having them slap around in the wind and break or short....I did that when I re-wired mine.

I agree!
I think quite a few frames get trashed before their time.
Find someone with welding and fabrication experience to look at the frame. Dont expect it for free and ask them to explain any opinions.
Good luck with your decision.
Fred

[ThomasE]

In your picture 5 and 6 the bottom edge of the fiberglass is crushed against the frame. Mine was like that too, but only on the passenger side, when I bought my trailer back in '09, but it hasn't changed at all the whole time I've owned it. Poke around the area both underneath and above to make sure your flooring is solid and to rule out a soft floor as the cause. I think when the trailer was built the part of the fiberglass that wraps around the floor was really thick and that got crushed until the floor met the frame, then it stopped.