Typical car axle ratings?

[fields_mj]

Anyone have any idea what the typical axle rating is for a compact car? I'm looking at a small home made trailer with a car axle on it, and was wondering about what it would be rated for.

Thanks
Mark

 

[SparkandFire]

I probably wouldn't feel comfortable putting more than 800 lbs in there, to be honest.

Compact cars are not known for their load carrying capabilities. A friend of mine in high school had a hatchback dodge colt (early eighties version) that really struggled with 3 or 4 of us big boys in there. We ended up snapping the rear axle spring pad going over a speed bump in a Target parking lot with 3 of us in there (probably about 700 lbs of dude, plus the weight of the car) Then drove the car 20 miles home with the rear axle smashed up against the rear subframe.

 

[fields_mj]

I don't plan on putting a lot of weight in it, and I don't think the trailer has any suspension to speak of. I think it just has the axle welded to the frame. The trailer is a 4x8, so I can only assume that the axle is out of a compact car, but maybe not. I'd mainly be hooking it up to the quad and pulling it around the woods. Maybe, hook it to the truck to haul the quad around in. A 1500 lb axle would be plenty.

 

[jam0o0]

as a trailer for a quad i'd say it's good. to put a quad on i'd say it's fine. but that's the limit. those car axles are really small.

 

[Dieselcrawler]

find a solid rear axle out of an old areostar van. leaf sprung, and it is i-beam style.

 

[subway]

i did something similar when i built my 4x8 trailer. i used the spindles and hubs off an old dodge aries station wagon i had for a parts car in the mid 90's. i was 15 then and i scrounged some unknown springs from a farmers scrap pile i knew.

the frame was 3" channel that was actaully a 4x8 sized rack a company threw out that used to hold multi ton rolls of paper. added spring purches, springs, axle, sides and hitch and i had a trailer for the cost of welding supplies and the lights and wiring.

getting back to the axle, i used 3" sch40 pipe to connect between the spindles with a short piece of angle iron welded to each end to drop the center of the axle below the spindles and give a nice flat surface for the spindles to bolt to.

i have hauled well over a ton on this trailer and still use it to this day with no problems hauling anything i can fit on it but mostly firewood lately. one time i even hoisted a car carcass up and dropped it back down on my trailer to haul to the scrap yard with no issues. i do check it and i have never had any problems with the bearings or any stress cracks anywhere.

the picture is the trailer loaded up with wet hickory and oak

 

[iverger]

If you know what the axle is our of, look up the specs for the curb weight of the car online. Divide by 2 (roughly) and add a few hundred pounds for fuel and humans. That should be pretty close to factory rating.

 

[fields_mj]

I have no idea what it is out of. I had thought of that already. I figured if I knew what it was out of, it would be pretty easy to find the information. Either way, I think it will be plenty for my needs. If I put more than 1K on it, I'll have a hard time getting it through the woods with my ATV, and the ATV or maybe an ATV plus a field dressed deer would be about the most it would ever see when attached to the truck.

If not, axles can normally be picked up pretty cheap on craigslist. My only real concern now is how hard is it going to be to find rims for it. It needs two new tires, and I'd rather put a set of used 14" car tires on it (because they are cheap) than a set of trailer tires. Trailer tires would wear better, and hold more, but I won't need the weight rating and dry rot will get them long before I ware them out. Plus, the car tires will be a little wider so the trailer should go over soft ground easier with car tires on it. At least that's my thinking. At this point, I need to measure the bolt pattern (4 bolts) and see if I can find a pair of rims at a local salvage yard.

 

[subway]

you cant really find k-cars at the salvage yards anymore but i found out saturn wheels fit!

i actually like a decent set of car tires better than any dinky trailer tires. i picked a set of rims and decent tires up from a yard last summer for $40. much better clearance with a larger 14" rim tire setup.