Hi,

First off, I'm totally new to ATV's but have decided that the family needed to get up to some outdoor fun stuff. Just finalized the deal on a Can-Am 450 DPS Max, a 570XT Max and a Yamaha Grizzly 90 for the kids.

I bought a 2008 Triton ATV88 trailer I found locally and while everything aluminum looked great, I didn't think to look at the axle, (as I said, totally new to this stuff), but once I got it home I gave it a really good once over and discovered a really rusty axle. I've since spoke to the owner and he states its surface rust but the axle seems slightly bowed and the amount of rust concerns me being that I'm going to be loading 25k of brand new quads to full carrying capacity this trailers rated for, 1520Lbs. The axle and axle brackets bear the entire weight which makes me a little worried about my investments.

Hoping those that are wiser than me can let me know if it's indeed surface rust, or something worth getting validated by a mechanic or if it plain ol' needs a new axle.

Thanks!

 

More concerned with those small tires/wheels. If I am seeing those correctly they should have a max wt marked on the tire and my guess would be less than 900lbs dor each tire. That would be around 1800lbs less the weight of the trailer. I am just guessing that your max load cap is more like 1200 lbs....if those tires are new! If they are old, then that drops a bunch along with....repacking/replacing wheel bearings and how good is that suspension system? Many axles have a curve in them that can straighten under max axle weight. Looks to me like that trailer needs some TLC before taking it on the highway. Tires especially will control the load capacity on any trailer, if your gonna max it out, better have real good tires!

 

I'll check the rated weight when I get home but now I'm really starting to regret this purchase. So if I got new tires and had the suspension and bearings serviced, you're thinking the visible rust isn't a concern or still could be requiring a new torsion axle on top of it all?

 

Seems odd that the axle is so rusted yet the wood floor of the trailer looks good. This trailer is designed to haul 2 full size atvs so a 1500 lb rating sounds about right. That would basically be 2 of my King Quads with a full tank of gas each. I have a smaller 54"x96" Aluma trailer and its rated to haul 1600 lbs, though one atv is all that will fit. I could remove the rear ramp and fit a 50" utv like a Rzr or Wildcat Trail and either of those would still be well within its rated hauling capacity as the wet weight of either of those is about 1100 lbs. I would simply unbolt the ramp and still use it as the length of either of those wouldn't allow me to close it. I would haul the ramp in the bed of my truck(ramp weighs maybe 30 lbs) and slide the bolts in to use the ramp to load and unload the utv. The thing I like about the Aluma is everything is aluminum, even the axle and wheels. Nothing will ever rust. Biggest drawback to the Aluma trailers is cost especially the bigger ones. I think I paid about $1200 for mine and it was 2 years old though in like new condition when I bought it back in 2017.

 

A good workout with a wire brush and some sandblasting would answer that question. Torsion axles can wear prematurly due to the rubber inside. Looks to me like the trailer was used on salted roads in the winter. When you get weight on the trailer look at the suspension and see if it holds up or collapses. Wt rating on axle and tires will determine how much to load on that trailer.

 

In the worst case scenario, I may just have to bite the bullet and replace the whole system. Wheels and axle. By the time that's done, I could have bought a new trailer for the same cost, I'm sure.

You live, you learn.

 

We have all been there, just get excited in getting a new toy and dont take the time to look things over like you should. Just be sure everything is good before hitting the highway!

 

Ya, I’m feeling pretty crappy about it, but hopefully I can turn it around. I have an appointment with a mechanic tomorrow morning to get the axle inspected for integrity but I’m glad I asked here as I didn’t realize the tires would be the weak link.

They are rated at 935lbs @ 50PSI.

By my calculations, the trailers limit is directly related to those ratings. 935x2 = 1870

The trailers spec sheet says the AUW is 360. Take away 10lbs for the actual tire weight and your left with 350. 1870-350 = 1520, which is the exact number the specs list as max capacity.

I figure if if I get the ok by the mechanic on suspension and axle and buy a new set of tires, I’ll be good and it should work out as intended.

 

Must be an aluminum trailer if it is that light, I was figuring a steel trailer due to rust in pics, my steel trailer weighed in just under 500lbs. You can get those small tires with a slightly higher capacity, mine were rated at 1050lb, so if they need replaced you might consider some with a higher rating...just hate to push limits when doing 75 down the highway!

 

Correct! Aluminum and exactly why I'm in this mess. Everything visible looked great so it didn't occur to me to look under the trailer at the axle. In fact, the main reason I looked under the trailer was to see exactly what the structure was like that the boards were sitting on. I have a lot to learn, obviously, lol.

I tried finding tires with more than 935lb rating and haven't been successful. Do you know a specific brand thats offers these? I was looking at Carlisle.