Ever see a trailer break like this?

Marketplace - 2022 Wolverine aluminum trailer | Facebook

Look at the fenders...it broke completely in half. How do you do that? Tempted to message the seller and ask what was on it when it collapsed.

He says "from lack of use". His seller history says otherwise

In reply to Steve_Jones :

I don't buy the "it just broke" stuff either, but there's nothing in those other sales that's too heavy for the trailer. Just out of curiosity, I'd like to see the trailer. I'll bet that it broke right at the end of the lower frame member (where the logo is) and there's a weld right to the end of it. Built in stress point. Can't tell which model it is, but the Wolverine site shows 7000# GVWR and 10,000#GVWR versions.

Maybe they moved a bulldozer or steamroller with it.

That's impressive. The amount of overload must have been impressive. 

$3k is a pipe dream IMHO. Its only value is in the parts you can strip and the scrap value of the aluminum. 

I would guess it was due to fatigue and work hardening of the aluminum.  That spot may be in line with a spring perch or other reinforcement creating a stress concentration and higher strain levels at that location.

You would be surprised how many commercial car haulers (stinger and fifth wheel) trailers have been rebuilt and repaired due to cracking of the frame rails. I know the two stinger setups my father had before retirement had been repaired multiple times (main railed and smaller beams). Those weren't overloaded based on total gross weight and would be within limits when axle weights were scaled. 

edit:

I took a look at the rest of the photos and it looks like the main rails run to the back of the axles and end, an it the deck rails and fenders that split. I still think fatigue from the deck hanging past the main rails crating a cantilevered load with stress riser at that spot. 

If the main rails are straight and the damage is the rails from the deck, then it might be repairable 

The only time I've seen a trailer break like this was on a jobsite, when a lifting strap broke on a very heavy concrete piling being loaded.  The front was already loaded fore of the wheels, and the second was being placed center, but when it broke, it landed aft of the wheels, and broke the trailer exactly as you see there.  

There was a visible bend to the deck in person though.  It's hard to see if this is the case on this one though. 

5 lug wheels means 3500 lb axles, so it's the 7000 lb version.  But the axles didn't break, at least not noticeably.

In reply to No Time :

The suspension loads all go into the upper rail. That lower rail with the logo is just an extension of the tongue, and ends ahead of the front wheels, right where it broke. My steel trailer doesn't have those tongue extensions, and therefore, there isn't a weld near the suspension mounts, except for the U-shaped spring holders welded to the underside of the main rail. I have to wonder if this design would be stronger if the tongue extension was eliminated, allowing some flex, like an airplane wing. I could e-mail the pictures to the manufacturer and ask them to explain what I'm looking at. Won't waste their time to satisfy my curiosity though.

Edit: I have messaged the seller and asked what was on the trailer when it broke. I'll be surprised if i get a straight answer, but we'll see.

Came expecting "brake" was misspelled.  Happily disappointed.