Posted by Paul in MN on November 26, 2009 at 11:11:02 from (71.210.146.203):
In Reply to: Wagon wanderings posted by 550Doug on November 26, 2009 at 07:43:01:
A few things to consider in making a wagon tow correctly.
Shim up all loose joints with mechanic washers. Replace all worn bolts and sleeves if available. Replace loose tie rod ends. Now you have something to work with.
For the alignment procedure, I use 2 pieces of 1" square tubing about 8 ft long and at least 5 empty 5 gal buckets to support the tubing. Spin each wheel first to determine that you do not have any bent wheels or out of round tires.
Then set 2 buckets by each front wheel, one forward and one back just a bit from the outside of the tire. Set the 1" tube on top of the buckets and tight up against the side of the tire. The tube needs to go just a few inches to the rear of the tires, and way forward from the tires. Set the tongue on another bucket.
Now measure the distance from the center of the tongue to each tube (perpendicular to tongue). Adjust your tie rods until you have exactly the same measurement on both sides. Then measure the toe in by measuring the distance between the backs of the tires (sq tube to sq tube) and the distance between the tires at the front of both tires (sq tube to sq tube). Readjust your tie rods until you have 1/4" less at the front of the tires than at the back. You may need to adjust both tie rods to get this toe in and keep the tongue centered.
Lastly, check that the rear wheels of the wagon follow the front ones exactly. Your reach pole may be bent or the wagon gear may be mounted a bit diagonally under the stringers and box. This check can be performed by moving the buckets and sq tubes to the rear tires and extend the extra tube length towards the front wheels. Ideally the rear wheels will have a bit of toe in and a bit of camber (lean out at top), but this in not adjustable. I bolt both front bolster mounts to the box stringers and position the rear bolster correctly and then use 2 vertical pieces of 3/8" angle iron bolted to the stringers, making a slot for the rear bolster supports to ride in. Do the angle iron trick on both sides of the rear bolster. Lastly, take a 2 loops of chain around the stringer and bolster (1 on left side and 1 on right side) tight enough to allow the bolster to drop about 4 to 5 inches, but not enough to allow the stringer to get on top of the bolster support.
I go through this same procedure even with new wagon gears, as most are not adjusted correctly at the factory. If you follow this plan, you will have a wagon that will trail straight at even 50 mph (my son's speed, not mine). We even have 50 year old wagon gears that have undergone this procedure, and they trail straight loaded or unloaded.
If you are working with an old gear, clean, regrease and adjust your wheel bearings to minimize bearing slop.
I know this works, as my son and I have 15 wagon gears, many going 10 to 25 miles loaded with each load. We have fitted most of ours with tail and turn signal lights to increase safety for other drivers.
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