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Welded Axle - Normal?

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coolpool View Drop Down
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    Posted: 29 July 2017 at 5:07pm
The Bantam I just bought has a weld around the circumfrence of the axle tube right in the middle. Was this a repair or were the axles in two pieces at some time?

Thanks for looking!
Canadian Forces 1986-2006
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1953 M100 Cdn
1952 M100 US
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote coolpool Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 July 2017 at 5:34pm
What I should've done is some research, my mistake. 

It looks as though the welded axle was a Willys second generation design to eliminate forging 1 piece axles freeing up much needed foundry space. 

 So I have a Bantam trailer, with a Willys axle and shock mount spring plates on the springs but no where to attach shocks to the frame? What a heinz 57!
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1952 M38 Cdn
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1952 M100 US
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Rus Curtis View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Rus Curtis Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 July 2017 at 12:16am
Nice work figuring that out!  The upper mounts are documented in case you want to get some made.  IF you get lucky, you may find another set laying around in someone's collection.  Good luck!
 
 
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote PackRat Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 July 2018 at 1:23am
I would not be too sure that the designation of a SMOOTH axle is a Willys feature and a welded/seamed one is a Bantam. I have a data base over on G503 for the G529 1/4 ton trailers that I maintain to help guys who have no data plate using the ACM numbers.

Anyway, I just counted up the Bantam list of those which were reported and found this:
Seamed Axels: 89
Smooth Axels: 54
Cast Center: 14 (early MBT only)

By the way, there are over 400 Bantams reported to this data base.

When I went to my Willys list I didn't have to bother with counting, only one in about 15 reported trailers having a Seamed Axel.

While there is nothing but anecdotal evidence here, I might point out that along with the mixed up axels, there was often a different style spring bracket involved. Therefore a Bantam may have a smooth axel but have a spring bracket with a cotter pin to hold the spring and conversely, a Willys MBT might have a seamed axel with a threaded spring bracket.

The frequency of mix-ups between axels and spring brackets when reported means that in depot service, especially in Europe...axels were serviced by replacing them with what ever was available and not with the original one. This meant that the Bantam might be getting either style, by the luck of the draw.

Now I haven't seen it documented on the Bantam T3-C Forum if owners are reporting which style axle they have on their trailers, but I will toss my hat in the ring and report that #20117 has a SEAMED axle on it. Perhaps yours has a SMOOTH one or a SEAMED one?

Bottom line is I am of the opinion that Bantam is likely to have used a seamed axel whereas when Willys stopped using the CAST CENTER style, they went to a SMOOTH axel design.

PS....while the WWII trailers had shocks, the T3-Cs did not. In WWII, the difference was simple....a threaded upper and lower shock mounting was a Bantam feature and the use of a cotter pin was a Willys feature.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote PackRat Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 July 2018 at 1:26am
Edit....mine is #21170, I'm just getting used to having the old gal around here!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote coolpool Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 July 2018 at 6:07pm
Interesting read Pack Rat, thanks! I've since sold this trailer but I'll report that it had a seamed axle with threaded bottom shock mounts on the spring plate. But it also had holes drilled in the threaded stud? Weird rigs for sure!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote PackRat Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 July 2018 at 6:33pm
Yours simply exhibits how convenient it is to swap around some of the parts between a G529 (Willys or Bantam or other) and a post war Bantam T3-C. In my trailer data base on G503.com, you would be surprised at how many trailers there have a mixture of the cast center axles, the seamed and the smooth types and how often the threaded Bantam (an other) style lower shock mounts were later drilled for a cotter pin.

There are some guys here who are looking into mounting shocks on their T3-C trailers and if they intend on driving a lot with either an empty trailer or one with a good load in it I think that will be a good idea. Why Bantam dropped the use of shocks is not known to me anyway, but adding them certainly can't be a BAD idea!
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