On 5/17/2011 11:38 AM, Andy wrote:

I checked my bolts for security last year after YO's report. Don't
remember how much I tightened them, it at all, but the damage was
probably already done. I think the only safe action is to replace the
bolts.

Given Howard's confirmation of fatigue failure I wonder how much wash
boarded dirt roads are a factor. Is this just a Western US hazard? I
didn't even know what a wash board road was until I moved here.

Washboarded roads - maybe. Here's another data point: 1995 Cobra trailer
for ASH 26 E, 160,000 miles of highway driving, and the bolts are not
broken.

Some details:

*note that the ASH 26 E trailer body is 30 feet long, as the 18 meter
wing is only two pieces (tongue is another 4 feet)

*towed almost entirely by motorhomes

*I haven't actually pulled out the bolts to see if they are cracked

*Probably less than 1000 miles of dirt roads, including mostly roads
under repair or construction, and hardly any washboarded roads.

I will replace the bolts as soon as people settle on the best kind of bolt.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to
email me)