Thread: Updating and Upgrading My Skeeter F-80 Strada

Like the energizer bunny I'm all over the Skeeter. I jacked up the trailer first thing this morning and pulled the old bent axle. I had put it back under the frame to have something to roll the boat around on.



Pulled the tires, hubs, and mounting U-Bolts of the old axle.



Normally I can cut the old spindles off and weld them on a new tube but one of these was run so hot it turned very blue so I just canned the old axle and made a new one.



I needed to reuse the spring perches so I took all the measurements before cutting them off.



Using a Porta-Band I cut through the welds enough to knock the spring perches loose with a chisel.



I usually use 1/4 in thick stock but the steel yard only stocks up to 3/16in. The original axle tube is only 1/8in thick stock.



One cut was a little out of square so I had to be sure and tack it well so the welds didn't pull the spindle out of align. I don't try to put any toe in the axle doesn't hurt the tires. All the axles I have built the tires wear uniformly.



Got ready to weld and since I'm TIG welding all the time I didn't think to change to boots till I got ready to pull the trigger on the MIG Gun.



I ran a solid bead on both ends so water doesn't get inside the axle and rust it from the inside.



After washing off all the oils from the Mill I put a coat of Red Lead primer and one coat of Top Coat paint before quitting for the day.



I made this axle a little wider as I have 4 13in Trailer Mag Wheels I plan of refinishing and putting under this trailer. The Wheels offset is about a inch more than standard trailer wheels.