Looking for stainless carriage bolt

[Fodeman]

I need to replace the spare tire mounting hardware on my utility trailer, as it has gotten corroded. I would like to replace it with stainless hardware consisting of :

1/2"-20 x 1-3/4" all stainless carriage bolt
retaining ring
1/2"-20 stainless tapered lug nut

I've seen this hardware kit sold as a zinc-plated kit from various sellers, but not in stainless. I would even buy the hardware separately, but as for the carriage bolt, it seems to be only available as a 1/2"-13 (coarse thread) in stainless.

Anyone have a good hardware source for this? - Thanks

 

[manwithtools]

Odd thread pitch for a carriage bolt, they typically only come in coarse thread. I don't think you are going to find that in stainless.

 

[The Cobbler]

why not just use a 1/2-20 chrome wheel lug nut and regular bolt.

 

[PCustoms]

Stainless on stainless is going to Gall like crazy

 

[Fodeman]

Odd thread pitch for a carriage bolt, they typically only come in coarse thread. I don't think you are going to find that in stainless.

That's a standard thread pitch for lug bolts. The original carriage bolt/lug nut combination is 20 tpi, but the bolt size and lug nut on this spare tire rack is odd ball (probably metric). I'm just trying to make the spare tire nut the same size as the road lug nuts so I can remove it using the same 13/16" lug nut wrench, while also making it rust free. Presently, the existing lug nut on the spare is 3/4".

 

[PCustoms]

I'm just trying to make the spare tire nut the same size as the road lug nuts so I can remove it using the same 13/16" lug nut wrench, while also making it rust free. Presently, the existing lug nut on the spare is 3/4".

12/16 is close enough that the 13/16 wrench should take it off. It's not like it's torqued to 150ftlbs

 

[Fodeman]

why not just use a 1/2-20 chrome wheel lug nut and regular bolt.

The mounting plate for the spare already has a 1/2" square holes for carriage bolts.

 

[The Cobbler]

from the web, Mc Guard nuts spec . don;t make it difficult.

 

[The Cobbler]

The mounting plate for the spare already has a 1/2" square holes for carriage bolts.

I would use a regular plated carriage bolt & a chrome lug nut. no one sees the carriage bolt, do they?

 

[manwithtools]

I would use a regular plated carriage bolt & a chrome lug nut. no one sees the carriage bolt, do they?

Agreed, no vehicles I know of use stainless wheel studs and the ones they do use last pretty much forever.

 

[Fodeman]

12/16 is close enough that the 13/16 wrench should take it off. It's not like it's torqued to 150ftlbs

I'm not going there, pal.

 

[rlitman]

Agreed, no vehicles I know of use stainless wheel studs and the ones the do use last pretty much forever.

I've replaced my share of wheel studs that were getting too rusty for my taste. But I totally agree that I'd be using a lug nut here. I'll take it one step further and even suggest using a wheel stud instead of a carriage bolt.

 

[Fodeman]

I've replaced my share of wheel studs that were getting too rusty for my taste. But I totally agree that I'd be using a lug nut here. I'll take it one step further and even suggest using a wheel stud instead of a carriage bolt.

How would you suggest mounting the wheel studs? Drilling holes in the plate and drawing them in with an impact wrench? That sounds good to me.

 

[rlitman]

How would you suggest mounting the wheel studs? Drilling holes in the plate and drawing them in with an impact wrench? That sounds good to me.

If you're installing this in a new hole, yes. The benefit here is that it's easier to drill a round hole (assuming you have the right size bit) for a stud than a square hole for a carriage bolt, and the stud (especially if you bed it in some red loctite) should hold well enough for your purposes to make mounting the tire a little bit easier too.

If you're expanding a square hole from a carriage bolt to take the stud, that might be difficult. I'd probably attack it with a round file, or maybe a step drill bit.

 

[PCustoms]

If the hole is square, put the stud in and tack weld the backside.

This is how I had my old tire rack setup.

 

[DGersic]

I need to replace the spare tire mounting hardware on my utility trailer, as it has gotten corroded. I would like to replace it with stainless hardware consisting of :

1/2"-20 x 1-3/4" all stainless carriage bolt
retaining ring
1/2"-20 stainless tapered lug nut

I've seen this hardware kit sold as a zinc-plated kit from various sellers, but not in stainless. I would even buy the hardware separately, but as for the carriage bolt, it seems to be only available as a 1/2"-13 (coarse thread) in stainless.

Anyone have a good hardware source for this? - Thanks

Bolt Depot dot com will sell you anything you want or need in any quantity.

 

[Fodeman]

If the hole is square, put the stud in and tack weld the backside.

This is how I had my old tire rack setup.

Thanks, I'll probably go this route with tacking, since the existing holes are already there. It's not like it's supporting the weight of the trailer. Only the spare.

 

[manwithtools]

Bolt Depot dot com will sell you anything you want or need in any quantity.

Not that diameter and pitch of carriage bolt...

 

[Fodeman]

If you're installing this in a new hole, yes. The benefit here is that it's easier to drill a round hole (assuming you have the right size bit) for a stud than a square hole for a carriage bolt, and the stud (especially if you bed it in some red loctite) should hold well enough for your purposes to make mounting the tire a little bit easier too.

If you're expanding a square hole from a carriage bolt to take the stud, that might be difficult. I'd probably attack it with a round file, or maybe a step drill bit.

I don't have the 1/2" studs yet, but I'll do a test fit tomorrow when I get them. I'm thinking the square hole is exactly 1/2", so loctite and a hammer will probably get the job done. I do have a round file just in case. Thanks again.

 

[andyvh1959]

If you do go with stainless steel threads in the connecting fasteners you HAVE to use anti-seize. Once s/s threads gall you'll be lucky to even get the connection apart again. I would use standard steel hardware and some form of heavy oil or grease for corrosion protection.

 

[CraigStu]

I got a say, I am no longer impressed w/ SS fasteners. I used a bunch of 1/4" SS for the sides of my little utility trailer. 2 years later I needed to remove one of the sides and the dang nuts were galled to the bolts. Since they were 1/4" I just used longer tools until they either came apart or twisted off. I replaced them w/ good old been around for many decades galvanized fasteners.

 

[PCustoms]

I got a say, I am no longer impressed w/ SS fasteners. I used a bunch of 1/4" SS for the sides of my little utility trailer. 2 years later I needed to remove one of the sides and the dang nuts were galled to the bolts.

That's a well and long known issue with SS to SS connections.

 

[andyvh1959]

Yup, galling is just a fact with S/S fasteners. If you apply anti-sieze on all the threads and under the bolt and nut you should not have an issue. But try to do it without anti-sieze and you better be sure to get it fully threaded and tight, because if you stop part way you'll likely never it tight or apart without snapping it off. Happened to me with a 1/4" bolt and nut.

 

[cannuck]

I would suggest using a coarse thread SS carriage bolt (easy to find) and take a silicon/bronze plain hex nut and machine one side to match wheel nut taper. Will never corrode and/or seize.

 

[Danno1]

I would suggest using a coarse thread SS carriage bolt (easy to find) and take a silicon/bronze plain hex nut and machine one side to match wheel nut taper. Will never corrode and/or seize.

Or go all SiBr for the bolt too.

Do a google for "Jamestown Distributers". They are a boat store w a lot of SS & SiBr h'ware. As does McM-C.


.

 

[kwb]

For you guys having lots of issues with galling, slow down your tools. That will solve probably 95% of your problems.

 

[MoonRise]

For you guys having lots of issues with galling, slow down your tools. That will solve probably 95% of your problems.

HA!

By hand, with a socket and ratchet, I once galled a stainless nut and bolt combo SOLID. Before it was fully torqued down and seated. IIRC, it was around either 1/2" or 3/4" threads. So not a small fastener.

We put a BIG long pipe (6-10 ft long probably) and muscled that for all we could. Didn't budge, at all. We ended up muscling even harder with multiple folks on the pipe cheater bar until the bolt finally snapped.

Then we stopped to catch our breath, went and got lunch and on the way back stopped at the local industrial supply house and got some never-seize.

And then applied never-seize to all of the remaining stainless nut-bolt stuff we were doing for the job. Liberally. All the remaining fasteners were installed with no more seizing or galling problems.

(yes, installation speed will increase frictional heating and can make seizing/galling more likely but galling can still pretty easily occur at hand-tool speeds.)

Just a data point. In case you wanted one. Or even if you didn't want one, you now have one.

More info, whether you wanted it or not. Galling is more likely if you have the same alloy on both the bolt and nut. Use different alloys for the two parts and galling potential is reduced (but not necessarily eliminated). Or go all different materials and you reduce the galling potential even more, but may end up with galvanic corrosion (and I don't feel motivated enough right now to go look up the galvanic corrosion tables for SS and Silicon Bronze to see how they do with one another).

 

[rlitman]

...(and I don't feel motivated enough right now to go look up the galvanic corrosion tables for SS and Silicon Bronze to see how they do with one another).

The voltage potential between the two is very near zero, so long as the stainless stays passive.

 

[Fodeman]

Okay, what I wound up doing was getting a pair of 1/2" - 20 wheel studs and tapered lug nuts. I brushed the splines with jb weld and pulled them into the 1/2" square holes. All is well!

 

[The Cobbler]

glad it worked out for you

 

[manwithtools]

It's good to hear it worked out OP. I will add I've worked with hundreds of thousands of SS fasteners and SS threaded parts and I can think of maybe 2 or 3 that galled and it was due to over torquing the fasteners.