The inertial force I was considering was the effect of an abrupt directional change in the vehicle + trailer and the mass of the canoe wanting to continue its forward trajectory twisting the flimsy uprights off and/or breaking off the cheap straps and their attachments and launching into traffic.
As to PA trailer inspections, those have tightened up since we had a tragic accident north of Pittsburgh some years ago when a construction worker neglected to hook up the safety chains on a trailer with a generator on it – it broke loose on long hill on a 4 lane state route and slammed into a car carrying a father and 3 young children, an infant and twin toddlers. Only one of the twins survived. Of course, safety features only work if people use them.
While i have seen better welds, I have seen worse. The 2x6 uprights appear to go through the top plywood and are bolted to the frame of the platform below. That arrangement is actually strong. My biggest complaint is the PVC cross pipes. Those need to be steel, and attached firmly to the uprights to reinforce the side to side structure of the uprights. Frankly, I have seen a lot worse than this design.
@Jeff G said:
While i have seen better welds, I have seen worse.
If it was actually holding two pieces together I find that hard to believe.
As I’m sure are many others, I’m getting tired of beating this dead horse but I’ll give it another kick or two.
Have another look at the weld between the frame and the front spring shackle. There are two more-or-less parallel weld beads. Though I’m limited by the photo’s resolution, it’s clear that the first weld wasn’t on target. It was beside the joint, perhaps joining it a little bit but not enough to satisfy the welder. What to do? Well, it should have been ground off and done over, but I suppose laying another bead isn’t all that bad – IF it isn’t just as far offset the other way as the first one. So now we have a weakened area much more prone to stress cracking right between the two stronger weld beads. This happens to be right where the shackle was supposed to be attached to the trailer frame. But that’s ok. Paint makes most welds look a lot better than they are… and it’s “structural” paint, isn’t it?
Then there are those odd little loops in the weld bead that either indicate some physical ailment causing the shakes, or that the person had absolutely no skill in properly laying a weld bead. Either way, the end result is a poor weld. Without question a weld that shouldn’t be on a critical part of a trailer going down a public road at any speed. Period. (Although I’m sure some will see this as a series of three such dots, leading to further discussion on the topic.)
Y’all could probably track that plate # to find the owner/maker and then post it on twitter and get the trailer nazis to at least order a few pizzas sent to the house.