Damaged frame guidance request. (Pics)

[Ducatiman]

I am considering a 1983 31' Excella that is on consignment at a local lot. I was told the holding tank had just been replaced. Here is a pic of the street side frame behind the axle:

Obviously, something has impacted, but my question is, how significant does this damage appear to be? Many thanks in advance.

[dwightdi]

Since the crack seems to exist all the way down into the axle mounting plate, the box member of the frame must be completely broken in half. It is a wonder they could even drag it to the consignment lot. The aluminum skin is the only thing holding the back end frame and tanks on the unit. This will need major dismantling, rewelding the frame after it had been bent back together and then strengthening members over welded on the frame. It should also have the mounting flange (fish plate) as provided by the factory, installed before you could consider hauling it. It is questionable whether it is worth it to fix. There are alot of old bigber trailers available fairly cheap.

[Aerowood]

I'm going to have to jump in and disagree with the cracked frame. It looks to me that the axle mounting plate has been bent and then straightened with some heat. this plate is mounted on the outside of the frame and does two things, first to act as a frame doubler at the axle to increase the load carring abilityof the frame at the axle and to to act as a cradle to position the axle on the frame. I would however pull some of the belly pan in that area down to inspect for hidden damage on the itself. The frame itself is hidden by the belly pan.

[Ducatiman]

dwightdi and Aerowood,

Your comments and observations are exactly what I needed and my thanks are immense. Here is a different angle of the damage.

[Aerowood]

I would definitly remove those rivets on the belly pan right at the seam and take a good look at the frame to insure it is not damaged, including bent.

[Joey 73]

Maybe someone got it stuck and called a tow truck to get it out and they used a hook to pull it sideways and hooked it to the plate for the axle it looks like there is a dent in the shape of a hook tip on the plate.Im just guessing. It looks like it only pulled the outer plate loose from the frame.

[nickcrowhurst]

FWIW, I wouldn't consider buying that trailer. In fact, I wouldn't accept it as a gift. You could pour several thousand dollars into the restoration of a trailer with a compromised frame structure. That axle mount girder is very substantial, as was the force required to distort it. As stated above, you will find better trailers for restoration. IMHO.
Nick.