I lent out a bike trailer like this one:

And received it back with one of the top aluminum cross members seriously bent (if you look closely at the pic you'll see the axle is steel)
Manufacturer says

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the grade of aluminum we used on those trailers was quite ductile, and bending the crossmember back will cause no serious harm

I actually own a fairly heavy duty pipe-bender, but I don't know what one would use to straighten such a tube. Ideally something like a section of hardened steel tubing of slightly larger diameter that could be clamped around and slowly tightened down.

Anyone know of a standard tool or process to do the job? Is this something they'd be able to do with a special tool or machine at an average auto repair or body shop?

Thanks!

Fill the tubing with sand and plug ends. Then use your pipe bender to gently straighten it out. "Quite ductile tubing" -- that's a feature, not a bug.....

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What it is, man, a low-down and funky feelin'

Would prefer to not have to remove it-- bolts will need to be cut off at this point- it's one of the ones that the fenders attach to as well.

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Dick Moore
Fill the tubing with sand and plug ends.

Just curious, what does filling the tubing with sand achieve? I've never heard of doing that before.

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C(-)ris

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Dick Moore
Fill the tubing with sand and plug ends.

Just curious, what does filling the tubing with sand achieve? I've never heard of doing that before.

If it's packed in tightly, the tube is no longer hollow and won't collapse. Or at least that's what the girl thinks. We'll see if I'm right or wrong.

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AlphaDog
If it's packed in tightly, the tube is no longer hollow and won't collapse. Or at least that's what the girl thinks. We'll see if I'm right or wrong.

True, my father showed me that trick and we used it frequently. However, results are usually more predictable when bending rather than "unbending" - just speaking from experience. YMMV

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I think there is a tool that is a long, tight spring that fits inside tubing for bending it. Don't know if it wouid work for straightening. If you could get it inside, it would probably work. In the end, it might just be cheaper/easier to replace the tube.

I generally use a special tool called an Aluminum Tube Section Straightener. I have also found that you can pound salt as easily as sand, but the salt stings.

Aerospahre shows use pressurized water (hydrobending) for the same purpose. Good luck with that. Cool trailer. I was buzzing around the neighborhood garage sales the other day with the kid carrier trailer on the back of the bike to carry 'finds'. Sure beats carrying all that stuff on your back.

Replace it.
There are no tools to "unbend" damaged aluminum tubing.
The metal has been stretched. You can't shrink it back to it's original shape.
Bike shop?