wild willy

all c-hawk trailer owners, aparently the owner at c-hawk trl has been using the wrong axles on our trailers with out realizing it. here is the problem!! the axles have 4 holes drilled in them by dexter the manufacture of the axles.,but they are for electric brakes not surge brakes!! when we launch out boat the axlex fill up with water and it does not all escape the axle tubes, these holes are at the 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock position on the axle tubes not on the bottom,thus trapping water inside and rusting the inside of the axle tubes.i have talked to c-hawk and to the head man at dexter axle about this. they say to drill 2 holes in the bottom of the axle tubes!! this is fine ,but what about the rusting problem that has been going on for many months before i found this out??neither one wants to take the responceability for the screw up!!i am going to call checkmate today so they can corret the trailers at the factory before any more get out to customers.you may not be aware of this problem!! just look and if you see any rust on your axles you have the same problem as many of us. i found out that c-hawk does't buy his axles direct from dexter or he would have know about this. we are not sure how long this has been going on!! we did find this problem on 2001 and 2002 trailers. please check your trailer!! bill

slapshot

Thanks for the heads up, I will check mine out.

Vinny P

Thanks for the information. Please post any results that you get.

GameOver

Anyone checked their trailer made in '96 yet? Or is that year not a problem?

wild willy

as i stated in the first post on this issue, we don't know when they started using the axles with the holes drilled in them.dexter axles are not at fault,this all falls on c-hawk trailers for using the wrong ones.the owner of c-hawk doesn't want to asume any liability for the axle rusting, but on down the road this could become a major problem for the ones of us that have this problem.the correct fix is to replace the axles with the sealed units!!it will take more owners of c-hawk trailers to come together to force the manufacture to replace these axles. here is the phone# to call c-hawk.419-562-7978 ask for otis the owner if you find this problem on your trailer. bill

gach1

Bill,
Can you verify what size axles you have and the brake type? I have a C-Hawk trailer 2001 tri-axle 5200lbs with disc brakes. I cannot see any holes with the hub & rotor off the axle. However, I would have to remove the caliper mounting bracket to actually see the end of the axle tubes. Just curious what your set-up is on your trailer. I know 3 other guys using C-Hawks under their 37' baja's around the same year. Will check theres also.. Thanks for the info..

c_deezy

iTrader: (1)

Seven year old thread

gach1

Bill,
I agree it is a old thread but, is also a safety issue. I have no rust issue and appx 10,000 plus miles on my trailer. I have had one safety problem and that is when I was replacing all my shackle bolts and insulators I notice my RH RR leaf spring mount (on the rear axle of the 3) one side of the mount was cracked and when I removed the spring bolt the mount plate came off the frame. It had been like this for some time because, the crack was rusted. Luckily it never let go but a good triple bead weld and all is good again and back on the road to some water. Appreciate your information.

Shah Mat

I had a 1990 Chawk and I don't remember any holes. A huge pothole bent the back axle and the Dexter replacement axle did have holes in it, but they were on the bottom.