Bolt holes not aligned - Channel steel frame

Over the weekend I bought and assembled a utility trailer.  When I got to the final step of the assembly instructions, two sets of square bolt holes do not line up - they are off by abt 1/8".  This is of course in parts that were attached in steps 2 and 15, so it would be 6-8 hours of work to dis-assemble back to the beginning.

What tool(s) to use to enlarge 3/8" square hole on one side?

That sounds like a tough one considering that they are square holes. They only thing I can think of off-hand is a Dremel which uses very small metal cutoff wheels (about the size of a quarter). Even then it might be a little tricky. Would probably go through a number of such wheels since I assume that that steel is pretty thick and would still be difficult to not over-cut.

Any way you can use smaller bolts without compromising the strength integrity? I guess, no way to move any parts to give you that 1/8" inch?

try a drift pan.  Slide it in and bash it.

FilmCarp said:

try a drift pan.  Slide it in and bash it.

Can't hurt to try.  If this doesn't work, I will drill new holes and use regular bolts.  It will make it impossible to fold the trailer for storage, but I need it at least twice a month for most of the year, so that was a pretty low priority anyway.

can you just loosen the other bolts around the assembly without taking them out?  That may buy your enough slack to get the last one in.

Let us know if the drift pin works.

Red_Barchetta said:

can you just loosen the other bolts around the assembly without taking them out?  That may buy your enough slack to get the last one in.

That would require dismounting the axle and wheels in order to reach the other bolts.  In this heat that's too much work.

Why not something like this to increase the diameter and just buy round bolts?

tomcat said:

FilmCarp said:

try a drift pan.  Slide it in and bash it.

Can't hurt to try.  If this doesn't work, I will drill new holes and use regular bolts.  It will make it impossible to fold the trailer for storage, but I need it at least twice a month for most of the year, so that was a pretty low priority anyway.

Depends a bit on what the last bolts are designed to do.  If they just control how the tongue gets folded, it may be that they are lightly loaded (i.e. mostly for negative g-loads which should be minimal).  I this case, you could slightly oversize the hole and use hitch pins with safety pins.    Something like this:  

It is designed as a folding trailer (to save on storage space).  The last two bolts (one vertical & one horizontal) are what hold the rear section to the front section (other than the hinge, which is skimpy), so they are key structural components.

I lean towards drilling new holes for 3/8" bolts that can take the stress.

By folding the trailer, I was able to ream out one side of the vertical hole (one piece in one direction, the other in the opposite direction) with a 1/2" bit.  In the horizontal plane I drilled a new hole.

Now I just have to finish the deck, and build a double kayak cradle.