Sifting thru some pics online and came across this...

I think I'll spend this afternoon rechecking my trailer suspension.

Was it a ranger boat if so I know that guy messed up his tourny he spent four hours trying to fix his axle with no tools his name is shane

I had the u-bolts(that attack the axle to the leaf springs) on one axle break on me in a boat ramp parking lot. The tire/axle rotated under the trailer frame without damage. We had already launched the boat so the trailer was empty. I drove to a Northern Tool Store and purchased new u-bolts then drove to my son's house picked up a floor jack and hand tools to make repairs. This is a tandem axle trailer made by Dri-Dock and these bolts were the origonal bolts.

I do not recall hitting anything on the road that should have caused this type of damage. The bolts actually separated when my son(45 years old) drove across a speed bump in the parking lot. Thank God it happened as it did. The possibilities that could have happened are endless and frightening. Needless to say I have replaced the u-bolts on the other axle as well and they looked damage free. I also inspect the trailer on a routine basis.........Al

just added one more thing to my to do list this winter... U bolts.

Sure gives me something to think about. I doubt, since my rig is only two years old and only seen fresh water that the bolts should be bad. But they sure might have worked loose.

Should have recalled my days of being involved with a racing team. It should be "nut and bolted" at least once a season. And that means every nut and bolt that holds anything on. Even a couple of times a year, or more, wouldn't involve much time or labor. Cheap insurance.

Sifting thru some pics online and came across this...

I think I'll spend this afternoon rechecking my trailer suspension.

File name for that jpeg was "Ouch". That just about sums it up.

It's hard to tell if the whole axle is gone though.

Rhino is right about nuts and bolts. I've been involved with something that could have turned out just as bad. A friend of mine had the aluminum lug nuts loosen up on him. By the time we got pulled over to the side of the road, only one bolt had not been sheared off and the tire was NOT aligned with the hub. Fortunately for us, we were still within the city limits where speed was kept down. A guy could save a lot of time and money by using a checklist that covered things to look out for daily, weekly, monthly, and so on.

Come to think of it, I did have some bolts come loose only trailer last year. During a routine wipedown, I noticed the vertical tubing that the winch and bow roller are attached to (it extends up from the frame and is attached with two U-bolts) had slid aft about three inches. After some more investigation I noticed the U-bolts were loose. I moved everything back into place and retightened everything using locktight on the threads.

This topic seems like it is something that not a lot of people think about very often, and is very catastrophic when it breaks. It kinda sneaks up on you.