Replacing leaf springs

[Gerry]

Hi all. A friend of mine is going to be replacing his bearings, and hubs on his boat trailer. He is also thinking about doing the leaf springs. Do you think that the boat would have to be off of the trailer in order to do that? His trailer fits his 17 foot boat. Thanks for any advice.

 

[Foxsea]

Doing the bearings with the boat on is regular practice. Replacing the leaf springs is a different matter though. I did the springs and axle on my old Caulkins trailer several years ago. Buy all the parts ahead of time. I blocked the boat up, pulled the trailer out and then flipped it over to make the job pretty straight forward. Have a grinder handy to cut off the old bolts.

 

[Dave S]

Yes, boat off is way easier. Moor it or anchor it somewhere and work on the trailer sans boat. Make sure you have new hardware as well. Likely have to cut off the old rusted stuff. Paint the axle while your at it.

my 2 cents

 

[Gerry]

Thanks for the advice guys, much appreciated.

 

[fish stalker]

Cory out at West Shore Spring& 4x4 is a good guy if your in Vic

 

[gungadin]

I just replaced my axle and springs without removing the boat. Fairly simple. I jacked up the trailer and used axle stands under the frame at each end. I used the tongue jack as the front support. I ordered my axle c/w hubs. Made sure I had all the necessary hardware before starting.I first removed the tyres and wheels, then I using a disc grinder cut through the spring U bolts, and removed the axle as an assembly. Grinding the spring through bolts heads off, then punching out bolts was next. There was some rust build up so it took a while. The springs came with new bushings, and hangers, no issues installing either the springs or axle. Took about 6hrs, start to finish.

 

[GDW]

I replaced my axle and springs a couple of years ago and we did it with the boat on without a problem. We jacked up the trailer, took the tires off, then used blocks to keep the trailer off the ground. Boat off would be easyier but sometimes it's a pain finding a place to launch and moore the boat while you work.

 

[Hoochiebob]

This is something I will need to do this year as well-What kind of price tag are you looking at for an axle/leaf spring assembly replacement, parts only?(ball park)

 

[gungadin]

My axle complete with hubs and bearing buddies was around 400$. It was a 3500lb galvanised square tube. The springs were about 40$ per side, All the attaching hardware was another 50$. Measurements are quite critical if you need the axle built.

 

[fshnfnatic]

The axle price would depend on your trailer rating. I'm just in the process of replacing my axle on a 2200 lb rated
Karavan. The axle comes complete with hubs for $240.00. It's just standard hubs,though,with no brake drums.