Replacement 3500lb Axle for 1992 Classic Bass Boat Trailer

Updated 09/04/2014 | Published 09/01/2014

Question:

Hello, I am looking at purchasing item #: 35545I-EZ-89. Its an 89inch axle with hubs/bearings. I am replacing an axle on my boat trailer and I have a few questions. My boat trailer is a Classic model year 1992. Not sure if that helps. I need a 3,500 lbs axle/leaf spring set up. Minimum weight of bass boat, motor, full tanks of gas, and gear is 2,400 lbs. My axle measures 89inch hub face to hub face. But my problem is the center of the spring hub to the other center or the spring hub measures 70-1/2inch verified before I took off the axle and again once off the trailer. On your product it is at 74inch which wont work. Do you have the same axle kit above but with the center hubs at 70-1/2? Also my leaf springs 4-leaf measured 26-1/2inch eye hole to eye hole. All I seen was 26inch leaf springs and 27inch leaf springs. Which is recommended? I am replacing all the mounting hardware u-bolts, nuts, shackle straps, and mounting bolts/nuts. Thanks you for your help with this!

asked by: William D

Expert Reply:

I'm afraid you're going to need a custom axle. Many boat trailers use what's called a V-camber axle, where the center of the axle is bent into a V shape, in order for the keel of the boat to pass over it. If that's the type of axle you currently have, that's the type of replacement you'll need to get.

If your axle is more or less straight, without a v-shaped bend in it, we do not offer an axle with the spring seats in the correct place (as you've seen). My first thought was that you could simply weld a new spring seat into the proper position, but that wouldn't work because the existing spring seat would prevent getting the new one located properly. The next thought would be that you could simply use an angle grinder to cut the welds off the existing spring seat, then grind the axle tube smooth, but doing so would affect the strength of the axle tube.

If you could reply and tell me where you're located (city, state, zip), I'd be happy to find a local distributor that could order an axle for you.

Leaf springs tend to flatten out as they wear. You should measure the length of the spring, center eye to center eye when the suspension has no weight on it. The best bet to find this on a boat trailer would be to jack one side up so the wheel is off the ground. I'm not sure which leaf spring you're speaking of, as we don't offer any 26 inch long leaf spring for a 3500 lb axle. If you click the provided link, you can see the 3500 lb axles we offer.

expert reply by: Mike L