Capacity of 5 lug axles

[pullmytrigger]

A nieghbour came by the other day and was checking out the boat on the trailer.......a pretty knowlegable guy......the "Featherlite" double axle enclosed trailer he has turned out to be homemade by him ......anyway he made a comment that my 5 Lug axles on my trailer are only 2500lbs each therefore my tailer only has a 5000lb capacity.........I havnt given this whole thing much thought previous to this because the trailer came with the boat (both used, bought from a Marina assumed it was OK) and the sticker on the trailer with the capacities is completly illegable (sun faded).......I know the real world wieght of my boat and trailer (boat gassed, all our junk on it) is 9550 but I have never wieghed the trailer by itself.......it is a steel double axle EZ Loader bunk trailer......thoughts???.......spent $900 replacing THE WHOLE braking system (surge) and thought it should actually brake better than it does when I got it back...... is it possible to switch axles??? or should I unload the thing ...............doug

[Sydwayz]

5 lugs sounds like the max each axle may be rated for is 3500 lbs. Are they torsion axles or leaf spring suspension? I had two torsion axles made by Quality Axle (or something like that) on my last trailer. Loaded up ready to go, including gas, fuel, trailer, gear, tools and both boat covers, via the county dump scale I was at 7280 lbs. I had to replace both my axles as each had a bent spindle, and went to 4 wheel disk brakes over single axle drums.

My current setup is 3 - 6K lbs capacity axles under a 10K lbs boat. I don't think you can have too much trailer, and I would just look to build/buy a new one if I were you. Remember, when you ascend and descend the ramp, your rear axle(s) are not supporting any weight, its all on the front axle (read: this is when you bend and damage things). This is a very good reason to over-engineer the whole thing.

[pullmytrigger]

it has leaf springs......4 wheel drum brakes

[Outdrive1]

Your 29' Fountain is that heavy???????

[t500hps]

I don't think a 29 fountain weighs 9500 lbs unless you fill the CABIN with fuel. Like Sydways, I have 3 6K axles under a 31 Formula 8,100 dry...9,500 ready for the water. The few hundred bucks extra were worth it for peace of mind.
My axles are rated at 5k with 6 lug wheels and 6k with 8 lug wheels. (Not sure why that is though)

[Tim G.]

The trailer I had for my twin BB 28 Pantera had 3500lb axles...
Not enough trailer by far. It ate up wheel bearings, and the trailer frome wasn't up to snuff. It cracked on each side.

I'd be after a 10,000lb trailer for a 29 Fountain..single or twin..

[pullmytrigger]

Originally Posted by t500hps

I don't think a 29 fountain weighs 9500 lbs unless you fill the CABIN with fuel

9500 is for the boat and the trailer ready to go ......the trailer has gotta wiegh at least a ton........so now your down to 7500........3/4 tank of fuel........blah blah blah.......Fountain rates the current 29 with twin smallblocks at 5500ibs dry......mine, with its low tech materials is probably at least 500lbs heavier.........doug

[wannabe]

Trigger- Contact EZ loader w/ model # and ask them the rated capacity. If you just use it for storage that is one thing. But if you trailer alot sell the trailer and get a new one. "upgrading" the axles might cost as much as selling the old trailer & buying a new ( used)one.

Wannabe