Mystery clunk in trailer

[BruceDrake]

I drove down to Salem today to check out a King KB2100 trailer 2002, side rails, extra tire w/ galvanized rim. Agreed to a price that would have been somewhere around $1400 below cost of a new one. Actually had it hooked up to my truck..
Then I just happened to step on the fender step on one side of the trailer and heard a metalic clunk - metal hitting metal. Tried the other side and no sound at all. Repeated the drill several times with the same results. Tried to shake the tires sideways but didn't create any sound.

I finally figured out the source of the noise and then cancelled the purchase.

Any clever folks out there who can guess the cause?

[Skagitguy]

Bruce, I know ! One of the fibelflexters came loose. Chuck

[Sammamish1]

Boy it's pretty hard to get one over on Chucky, He knows all that there mechanical stuff.

[BruceDrake]

clunks, fibelflexters, snarks, trailer safety

On the sideframe of the trailer are two u bolts that hold a long galvanized metal band under the frame to which the two leaf springs are attached. On this trailer the band fractured all the way across at one of the u bolts so the rear spring and essentially half the axle assembly on that side had no support. There was a 1/2 gap between the broken metal and the sideframe so when you pushed down the frame and metal piece hit each other and clunked . You had to stand between the rails of the trailer and look under the rail to see it. No telling what the trailer would do either loaded or unloaded if it hit a speed bump and the trailer went up while the leaf springs stayed down. It would be an easy fix with the right parts but I wasn't going to drive it up I-5 and see what would happen. In addition someone had cut the tongue length so short that the 16-18' trailer specs were now about 16 to 16.5' hence another repair to make and then wonder what else one might find.

(Chuck is it true you are still working on your snark hunting merit badge )

[Skagitguy]

Bruce, I ask the person that told you about the hunting merit badge to keep it a secret. It was going to be a surprise....Darn ! Chuck

[McSkagit Tim Jones]

Clunk

I thought King trailers had torsion axles....a sort of torsion bar in rubber. Don't think I'd purchaser a King trailer for that reason...
My two cents worth...

McSkagit