Boxed or V-clip hangers?

[skeeter_ca]

I had the two rear hangers on my 22 yr old 5'er break off at the welds just like most do. I am removing all the hangers and welding on new ones. I cannot decide on boxing the end hangers or welding in V-clips. Does one one know if one is better than the other?

skeeter

 

[Rene T]

You say like most do, I'm not sure that's a very accurate statement. Very rarely do we hear of hangers breaking.  On occasion we do though.

I don't know if I'm the only one but I have no idea what boxing the end hangers or V clip means. Maybe you need to explain.

 

[kdbgoat]

I'm still trying to figure out what is even being talked about.

 

[IBTripping]

OK. I know what you mean. I think either would work fine. My TT has V shaped slots to hang clothes on a hanger which seems to work well for me. I can't imagine how big a bump I'd have to roll over to knock the clothes hangers off the hooks. And, I don't want to find out.

 

[Back2PA]

OK. I know what you mean. I think either would work fine. My TT has V shaped slots to hang clothes on a hanger which seems to work well for me. I can't imagine how big a bump I'd have to roll over to knock the clothes hangers off the hooks. And, I don't want to find out.

I don't think he's talking about clothes hangers - he's talking about welding them 

 

[ChasA]

Glad I'm not the only one who has no idea what he's talking about.

 

[Rene T]

I think he's talking about spring hangers for their axles.

 

[IBTripping]

I think he's just screwing with us.    ;D 

 

[skeeter_ca]

LMAO, you guys are hilarious!

OK, I guess I wasn't super clear. The rear spring hangers that are welded to the underside of the frame have broken off so my springs are just resting against the frame. Now it is my understanding that it is not to uncommon for the rear spring hangers to break off over time due to flexing and heavy shock loads. Since I am going to the trouble to replace the rear hangers it is not that much more trouble to replace all of them on my 20yrs old+ trailer. I have heard of people strengthening the hangers by welding a plate to the rear of the rear hanger and the front of the front hanger to Box it in to keep it from flexing as much. Another method is to V-clip it. You take two pieces of metal and weld it into a V shape. This is inserted up into the hanger and welded to the hanger and frame.  I am looking at maybe Boxing the front and rear hangers and using a V-clip in the center hanger.

Both of these methods are used and I was hoping someone had some experience with either type.

skeeter

 

[skeeter_ca]

Here are pics of my broken hangers

skeeter

 

[Rene T]

I would just clean them up and weld them back on. Probably when they were bent and then welded, the welder applied too much heat or not enough heat when welding. 

 

[jubileee]

I?ve built a lot of spring shackles over the years to lift Jeeps and ect. What I would do is weld a plate across the two ends that were previously welded to the frame ( inside and out), then weld the plate to the frame.  Gives you 4 welds rather than 2.  I always ladder barred the shackle with 1? x 1/4? flat. As short as your shackles are a piece of flat on the front and would suffice.

 

[jubileee]

I meant to say flat on front and back

 

[jhild]

Do you have some pictures of your repair? My hanger bracket broke on my Shadow Cruiser TT and I am looking to to having the bracket re-enforced. Sounds like your fix is what I need.

 

[SargeW]

I?ve built a lot of spring shackles over the years to lift Jeeps and ect. What I would do is weld a plate across the two ends that were previously welded to the frame ( inside and out), then weld the plate to the frame.  Gives you 4 welds rather than 2.  I always ladder barred the shackle with 1? x 1/4? flat. As short as your shackles are a piece of flat on the front and would suffice.

I agree with this approach. If something breaks in normal use, to me it means that it wasn't designed robust enough and needs to be beefed up. Especially if you plan on keeping it for a while. Why risk doing the minimum to fix it, and needing to do it again down the road.

 

[Larry Howard]

I?d also spend some cash and replace those nasty looking tires. Weld all you want but if you keep the tires you are soon to crash and bend everything into a big ball of recyclables.