Trailer Spring- broke, Advise needed

[samr russell]

Well, it was one of them days. Coming back from the river, on the interstate, I heard a loud noise and saw lots of smoke behind the trailer. Turns out that the leaf spring on the right side broke right at the axil. This caused the rear of the fender to contact the tire and bend the heck out of the fender and its mounting bracket. Jammed things up. Did'nt blow the tire though. After taking the tire off and removing the fender and bending the bracket out of the way, I discovered that the broken spring leaf was jammed in such a manner that I could pull the thing home if I went slow and did'nt hit bumps. NOW... what to do next. The rig is a '03 Pro-Crappie bought in March 03. Dealer went out of business a month after that. Nearest dealer is in Houston... 3 hrs away so taking it there is impossible. Does the Warranty cover this? Gimme an idea as to how to proceed, OK.. tks

sam

 

[Scott Smith]

It's going to be warranty work. So, you'll need an authorized dealer to look at it. Have it towed on a flatbead tow truck to your nearest dealer for warranty repair. If your lucky, Tracker will cover the tow, however I believe that they are not responsible for the tow cost. Perhaps out of the goodness of their hearts and an opportunity for good customer relations they will foot the bill. But based on my own experiences...no way.

 

[TOMMY RICH]

Wow a brand new one? Must be using some of that Chinese SuperSteel!Johnny likes everything else from China...

TEE

 

[Jim B]

Why not call tracker and see if they will send you a new spring. you may need to sand them a photo or something.

 

[Tony Payne]

yeah, but just replacing the spring doesn't repair the fender, or the tire, or the....



I would then question the other spring as well... Bad batch of springs?

 

[samr russell]

See the Picture. Notice that the break seems to be rusted.



Well I tried to call the Houston store and got a "leave your number". Then I called Pineville, LA (100 mi north). Suprise. Nice folks are gonna order me a new spring and fender. I was so suprised I forgot to tell them about the tire. Seems I will have to drive up there an get the stuff in about a week. How I can stand not to fish for a week is my next hurdle. What do ya'll do on days you can't fish????? Life is full of disappointments it seems.

 

[Michael Snow]

Here's a QUESTION.. .I am only asking. Is it possible that you could use a heavy duty "C" clamp to pull that spring back down, and then use a u-bolt to bolt the "new" end of it down to the other two springs? That might make the 100 mile tow possible.

 

[samr russell]

Had'nt though of that. Let me look into it. Perhaps a couple of U bolts or more. Good idea.

 

[David Hunt]

Be aware that the ubolts on suspension systems are not your normal ubolts. It 'might' be ok for a short drive.....and it might not. The threads can get ripped right out due to the loading.



david.....

 

[Tony Payne]

One thought....



If the 100 mile tow is not possible, and the dealer is unwilling/unable to cover the towing charges...



perhaps there is a local trailer/spring shop that can do the repairs, and then present a bill to Tracker, with the proper documentation?

 

[samr russell]

Update



I found a matching spring for $20 and have replaced the broken one. It appears as though the break is old and quite rusted. It may have occured a while ago and just didn't fail till now. Anyway, a new one is on order and a new fender. I beat/bent/pounded the old one till the holes matched and have it on till I can go to the dealer for a real repair and a good inspection of the other spring. Thinking "bad batch" here.



Big deal is that I can go back fishing. I'z really getting worried there for a while. Week to 10 days of downtime could have caused stress and anxiety beyond my coping ability.

 

[JEFF WHITE]

springs break on any type of vehicle.on my 95 ford i had the 3rd leaf in each side on the rear break within months of each other.what breaks a spring quick is no weight on them.the semi break more when they are unloaded than loaded.it may be possible the spring is to heavy for the trailer and are not flexing.

 

[David Hunt]

My experience with spring breakage (not the Toxic party kind of spring break) is when the spring is nicked or damaged. Spring steel can be very susceptible to defects. I saw a failure on a car coil spring that occurred because of a piece of welding slag that had hit it from a welding job that was performed about a year before failure. A torsion bar in a 4x4 can fail after getting chewed up coming down on a rock. And..... sometimes they just plain fail.



david.....