Jockey wheel advice needed!!!

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JodinZara

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Hi
If there are any trailer experts out there, I desperately could do with some advice please.
I borrowed a friends trailer and when I went to unhitch it I couldn't get the clamp too tighten on the jockey wheel, so the jockey wheel was not secured in place. We had to lift the trailer off the truck and prop it up on bricks. Does anyone know what the hell I've done to it and how much it will cost to repair? Any advice greatly appreciated as I'm feeling pretty awful about it
 
Not sure what you've done, to be honest!

The shaft of the jockey wheel is basically a threaded tube with the wheel on the end of a threaded shaft that runs through the tube. The threaded shaft moves up or down the tube when you turn the handle at the top.

To lift the draw bar, the clamp securing the jockey wheel assembly to the draw bar needs to be slackened off. That will allow the tube and shaft of the jockey wheel to be moved up or down together. The threaded shaft inside that hollow wheel leg now needs to be drawn back into the tube by turning the handle clockwise.

The shaft and the tube should now be shorter. Push the jockey wheel shaft and tube down as far as it will go (or lift the draw bar up somehow) and then tighten the clamp on the draw bar. Now raise the draw bar by turning the jockey wheel handle anti-clockwise. That should raise the draw bar by causing that threaded shaft inside the threaded tube to extend upwards.

Does that make sense? From what you say, it could be that the clamp securing the jockey wheel to the draw bar has seized. In that case, slacked it off carefully by turning anti-clockwise. If it is stuck, soak in penetrating oil (WD40?) over night and try again tomorrow, possibly by carefully tapping with a hammer…. ANTI-CLOCKWISE!
 
Thanks so much for your response. The clamp is loosened off and jockey wheel is sliding up and down but can't turn the clamp enough to keep jockey wheel in place even though there is loads of thread left on the clamp handle. Is it possible I've loosened the clamp too much and it's come out of some sort of fixing?
 
JodinZara said:
Thanks so much for your response. The clamp is loosened off and jockey wheel is sliding up and down but can't turn the clamp enough to keep jockey wheel in place even though there is loads of thread left on the clamp handle. Is it possible I've loosened the clamp too much and it's come out of some sort of fixing?
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It is possible you've undone the clamp bolt too far and drawn it out of the threads. If you can, remove the clamp bolt completely and (if possible) the clamp as well. That's so you can see what's going on. Now, oil or grease the threads of the clamp bolt and try to gently screw it back into the hole it came out of without the clamp.

There are two things that sometimes happen. (a) A bolt can come out of the hole and be difficult to screw back in because the threads (on the bolt AND the hole) don't line up, or (b) by trying to engage the threads you have actually burred them over so they can't line up. (Have you been a bit heavy handed??:().

Don't panic! Just try to make sure the clamp bolt goes into the hole with the clamp removed. Move it in and out a few times, with oil or grease, to make sure it all works smoothly, then reassemble.

IF you have burred the threads, either the threads on the bolt or the clamp will be damaged but probably not both. Sometimes you can clean out damaged threads on a bolt with a small file just enough to get it started. That is not the end of the world and you may still be able to screw the bolt in with a bit of persuasion. If you have used force, one or the other will have badly a damaged threads and may have to be replaced. But I suspect some gentle persuasion will probably get it working again.

I doubt you'll have to sell a kidney, so don't worry! :)
 
We managed to buy a brand new jockey wheel for around £30 so it's not a hideous cost if you need to replace it!
 
Thanks so much for your replies, fortunately Katy we didn't have to buy a new jockey wheel - phew! Dry rot your advice was spot on, my friend was able to fix it by taking clamp off oiling it and putting it back on somehow. Major panic over and lesson learned. Thanks again
 
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