What gauge?

[Alphacarina]

I'm not an enginer or anything so maybe someone could explain how the grade of bolt could increase stiffness?

The bolt holes are a bit larger than the bolts themselves, so the bolts actually hold the two pieces of metal together by compression - That compression prevents the 2 pieces of metal from moving against one another to the limit of travel allowed by the larger holes which is what they would do if all the bolts were loose. The tighter the bolts, the stiffer the 'connection' between the two pieces of metal

Higher grade bolts permit higher torque which equates to higher stiffness. If you sat the 2 opposite corners of a rectangular frame on a cinderblock and you and a friend both pushed down with your bodyweight on the other 2 opposite, unsupported corners, you would see the (bolted together) frame flex - Lots more than it would if all the connections were welded. Using higher grade bolts and more torque would stiffen it some, though probably not to the point that welding all the joints would

Don

[asianflava]

I'm not an enginer or anything so maybe someone could explain how the grade of bolt could increase stiffness?

The bolt holes are a bit larger than the bolts themselves, so the bolts actually hold the two pieces of metal together by compression - That compression prevents the 2 pieces of metal from moving against one another to the limit of travel allowed by the larger holes which is what they would do if all the bolts were loose. The tighter the bolts, the stiffer the 'connection' between the two pieces of metal

Higher grade bolts permit higher torque which equates to higher stiffness. If you sat the 2 opposite corners of a rectangular frame on a cinderblock and you and a friend both pushed down with your bodyweight on the other 2 opposite, unsupported corners, you would see the (bolted together) frame flex - Lots more than it would if all the connections were welded. Using higher grade bolts and more torque would stiffen it some, though probably not to the point that welding all the joints would

Don

That's is somewhat true but you are still limited to the strength of the metal being bolted together. If the angle or channel can take so much force, it will bend no matter how tightly it is bolted together.

[Wangofree]

Hi Mike,

I got the HF1740 so that's the one I took the dimensions off of in the above post.

The bolts that came with my trailer are graded bolts (I'll have to go back and look at the markings to tell you which since I don't remember what they are now) with nylon locking nuts and they're hefty (I can measure them if you'd like but the bolts take a 17mm wrench and the nuts a 16mm. So what's that? Like maybe a 12mm bolt body?).

Once put together the trailer is very rigid.

Thanks for the details Les. That's reassuring information. I noticed you hail from Whidbey Island. My father was stationed there in the 50's. What a great place to call home, albeit it was for only 3 years, but it was heaven on earth. I can still smell the salmon in the smokehouses we use to visit.

Take care,
Mike

[bdosborn]

The bolts that originally came with my trailer were terrible. They were super soft and the washers deformed very easily. Plus the washers were too small to spread the bolt load properly. And finally, no nylocs , all lock washers. The grade 5s with nylocs and proper washers held much tighter than the stock bolts.
Bruce

[Wangofree]

The bolts that originally came with my trailer were terrible. They were super soft and the washers deformed very easily. Plus the washers were too small to spread the bolt load properly. And finally, no nylocs , all lock washers. The grade 5s with nylocs and proper washers held much tighter than the stock bolts.
Bruce

Bruce, and everyone else who's built a trailer,
I'm wondering if you guys use any type of lock tight on your bolts? Does a Nyloc negate the need for a locking liquid?

Also, I haven't heard of anyone using a torque wrench to evenly tighten everything...does everyone just tighten things until "it feels right"?

Mike

[bdosborn]

Bruce, and everyone else who's built a trailer,
I'm wondering if you guys use any type of lock tight on your bolts? Does a Nyloc negate the need for a locking liquid?

Also, I haven't heard of anyone using a torque wrench to evenly tighten everything...does everyone just tighten things until "it feels right"?

Mike

I've never had a nyloc come loose, even on the old jeep that I used to beat to pieces every weekend.

A torque wrench seems like it would be over kill but it wouldn't hurt.

Bruce

[bledsoe3]

I use the German torque scale. It's called good'n tite. Nyloc's require no locking liquid. I do however replace any Nyloc that has been loosened.

[asianflava]

Nylocks should have at least 3 threads sticking out the top.