She Rolls Again!

In my last post, I mentioned that I had removed the axle from the snowmobile trailer in order to replace it.  Despite the very cold temperatures this past weekend, I did manage to get this task accomplished.

With the recommendation from my Uncle Paul (the one who originally sold me the trailer) and a local welder in town, I called Pioneer Rim & Wheel to ask about a new axle.  The sales person on the phone was VERY helpful and after I gave him the exact measurements I needed (which I'm sure helped him out a ton) he was able to give me a quote of about $100 and they even had it in stock!  Dad and I made plans this past Saturday morning to drive to Northeast Minneapolis and pick it up.  When we got there, we learned that not only did they have the exact axle we needed, but they also sold the hubs, bearings, U-bolts, wheels, tires, and lug nuts we needed!  They even offered to install the hubs and bearings along with packing them with grease for free!  So to avoid having to go to multiple shops and stores to get all these parts and since the prices were either cheaper or only a couple dollars more, we got everything there.  I think the total was about $240 for everything.  This seemed to be a very fair price considering some of the place we checked out were selling just the axle for this much and we would have had to assemble it still.  I was a big fan of not having to pack axle bearings with the temperature outside was below zero!

The installation went very well considering the temperatures and that my driveway has about an inch of ice on it.  Since the new axle was exactly the same as the old one, it pretty much dropped right into place.  Also, since we had all new hardware (U-bolts, lug nuts, ect.) we didn't have to worry about rust or bent items.  The total installation took about an hour and this included picking everything up at the end!

As you can see the new axle and tires look very good and the bent that has destroyed many tires over the years is gone for good!  The only thing we have to do is install the Bearing Buddys after we trailer it for a few miles and let the new grease distribute.  I posted a picture of the tires that we replaced below.  You can see how the bend in the axle would wear the inside tread down.

Now that the trailer is 100% (I'm assuming the lights still work right, but with trailer lights, I can't hold my breath) all we need to do now is load the sleds and hit the trails.  I am still working out the details of a couple snowmobile trips, but as of right now, I have none set in stone!  I know I will get out at least once or twice, but I don't know how many will be out of town trips!

The Wheel Less Wonder...

If you looked real close at the last front and back yard shots (I mean REAL close) you would have noticed a couple things.  First, my snowmobile was parked in the back yard behind the garage.  Second, that the snowmobile trailer is sitting on a set of car dollys, not on it's own wheels. 

These particular things are actually for a good reason, and no, I didn't get the wheels stolen from my snowmobile trailer!  I originally bought my snowmobile trailer in 2001, brand new from my uncle in Fargo, North Dakota.  He bought it, never used it, and upgraded to an aluminum trailer and sold us this steel trailer.  My brother and I had both just bought snowmobiles and went in on the trailer together 50% each.  Over the years, this trailer had been used to tow snowmobiles many miles, but also found use hauling ATV's, furniture, firewood, and was used as a land barge to place sofas on and tow behind a lawn tractor at BIR for the drag races. 

Somewhere along the line (I have my guesses) the trailer was overloaded and the axle got bent.  I also had a set of bearings go out on it and overheated one of the axle spindles.  Basically what this meant was that the trailer would eat up a set of tires every year, wearing the inside tread totally bald.  My brother and I would just split a new set of tires and keep using it.  Well, over the last couple of years, the tires would wear out much faster and actually started to cause a towing hazard.  Once my Dad bought my brother's snowmobile and his 50% interest in the trailer, we started talking about ways to fix the axle.  The conclusion we came to was that we needed to replace the axle and spindles with the exact same thing that was on there to begin with.  In order for us to get the correct measurements, we needed to remove the axle from the trailer.  So, on a icy driveway on a cool December afternoon, Dad and I got the axle removed and didn't even snap a single U-bolt!

Now that we got the axle out and Dad got it taken apart and measured, we just need to find a place that can make us a new axle!  I got a lead on a place here in town, but with the New Year holiday, I am going to have to wait to talk to them next week.  After we get the axle made, we just need to replace and repack the bearing, install the hubs, reinstall the axle, and get new tires!  Hopefully when all is said and done, we will be able to get a few more miles out of this trailer!

Happy New Year!

Well, this New Year's mark the end of one decade and the beginning of another.  When I look past over the last ten years, I can't help but be very thankful for what I have.  I managed to find a job that I love, married the woman of my dreams, and welcomed my beautiful children into this world.  My family is healthy and happy.  I really can't find anything bad that happened in the last ten years!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year also.  Maeve really got into Santa and opening presents and Shannon and I loved seeing her eyes light up with every gift she opened!  We also celebrated Christmas with a major winter snow event.  The snow started early on Christmas Eve morning, and continued until the day after Christmas.  We started out with about six to seven inches of light fluffy snow, then got a break, then got another six inches of wet heavy snow mixed with some sleet and rain.  Overall we ended up with about 11 to 13 inches!  Not a bad Christmas gift from mother nature.  The only real bad thing about this snowfall is that I was working during most of it and the driveway suffered.  I got the fluffy light snow taken care of right away, but the wet heavy snow had to wait about 12 hours and in doing that, I managed to get about an inch of ice on the entire driveway.  I just hope we get one day soon with some warmer temps so I can try and salvage the driveway for the rest of the snow season!  Below are the most recent front and back yard shots.  You can see how the snow really piled up!