Axle wont slide

We had several that wouldn't slide at my old job. They ended up taking them to a shop that was able to lubricate the slides. I know they are harder to slide with a lot of weight on them.
DO NOT pull it with the pins out of the holes. For obvious reasons.

 

Back it against a curb. I've had to do that on an icy parking lot before.

*edit* just make sure you're not going to rip the mud flaps off.

 

It sounds like it's old and rusty. If you are in freezing temps it can even be frozen.

If it still gives you problems try to chock the wheels. I always carried a chock with me for them moments. Find a block of wood or a big rock. If nothing else find a curb but be careful about ripping a mudflap off. You might have to flip it over or tie it up. Once you break it free you should get it to slide.

If you have to slide it back pull a Swifty and cut the corner too quick to grab a corner curb.

 

Can you see down the slides? Is one bent somehow? Did you try spraying lube between the rails? It might take awhile, but it might help.

 

I spray the silicone lub on the rails. You have to use a lot of it but that is all that is going on. It might take a couple of cans or just a little in the right spots. If the trailer was empty a little heat from a torch works well but it is dangerous if you don't know what you are doing.

 

Some sort of lube oil/grease on the slides, please! Lube them well and slide the axle back and forth a bit once you get it moving. It might take a can or three to get things loosened properly without some brute force help.

I have had trailers that refuse to move, we tied the axle assembly to a 50K lb forklift and pulled them free. That's the brute force I was talking about.

Happy Cold!

 

Any chance you could just call the shop and ask them what they did?

Since they got it to move a little, maybe get up in there with a flashlight and look to see where the metal is scrubbed/shiny showing signs of where the stuck assembly was actually sticking at. Soak it and the sliding surfaces down with WD40 or the like and rock it. Once it's broke loose, go back over those areas with a thin coating of grease.

Any other ideas I have would probably be strictly in the shop's realm (you wouldn't want to be responsible for breaking stuff LOL). Finding a pry point or use a block for a long wrecking bar or rigging a hydraulic jack to push or pull the tandems against the frame. If those don't break it loose, maybe use them to put tension on the assembly then get under there (away from the wheels and tractor brakes set, maybe even chocked, of course) with a big hammer and try to break it loose with impact.

Of course, after you are dead certain that there are no unseen safety devices, stop bars, pins with broken springs or loose linkage staying in, or anything of the like that could be jamming up the works before you really start yanking on stuff.

 

Go faster in reverse and grab the Johnny bar while moving?