Trailer Maintenance

First Born

First Born

New Member
PLATINUM Sponsor
Oct 3, 2006
3,900
Charlotte, N.C.
Boat Info
2006 185 Sport
Engines
4.3 L 190 HP
Guys this is not only the first boat for me but also the first trailer. What do you guys do to maintain the trailer. I checked the other day and my psi in the tires were around 41 and I think they should be closer to 50. I wash the trailer and wheels down everytime I bring it back from the lake. Is there anything else I should be doing? Thanks :thumbsup:

Wesley
 
My tire pressure also leaks a little from sitting. I also keep the tires safe from dry rot with tire foam, and keep the hubs greased. I need to install bearing buddies but have not got around to it.
 
Everyone should check the air pressure in the tires each and every time they move the trailer. Read your side wall and inflate the tires to the recommended pressure when cold. You will be surprised how often this will need to be done. You can justify the purchase of a new compressor with the admiral just for the trailer tires.

If your air pressure is low the tires build up heat and will not carry the weight they are rated at.

While checking the air pressure look at the general condition of the tires and if they show signs of dry rot or cracking replace the tires. Also grab each tire and see if it wobbles every once in awhile. Wobbly tires are not good as your wheel bearings are probably shot.

Your wheel bearings should be checked each time for leaking grease out the rear seal or water coming from them. I would install buddy bearings also as they are easy to check. Once a year repack your wheel bearings.

Brakes can be checked also at this time. If you have drum brakes that need replacing I would replace them with disc brakes for the better stopping and less stuff to mess up. In addition some couplers will need to replace a part in the hitch so that the brakes act correctly. You probably donot need a new coupler just the release valve. Check your owners manual.

Upon removing the boat from the water each time I would rinse the salt off. I rarely rinse my trailer as it is galvanized and I boat in fresh water most of time. When I go to coast it gets rinsed every time I launch. After rinsing a silcone spray goes a long way on the winch sprockets and the coupler pin. I also keep clean grease on my ball.

Check the lighting each time after hook. I guess that is about it. Trailers are pretty dependable.

Have a great day

Paul
 
Thank you Paul....that is the type of information I was looking for. I feel like the first time I posted the lauching, loading, beaching topic I can not believe I have done all this searching on maintenance / taking care of the boat and have not even thought about the trailer. I also have a galvanized trailer. The good news is the trailer is new and hopefully no damage done. Now I need to do some research on the following as I feel like when I got the directions on docking, wow that sounds easy but I have no idea what they are talking about. The one thing I know is you guys never let me down :thumbsup:

SearayPaul said:
Your wheel bearings should be checked each time for leaking grease out the rear seal or water coming from them. I would install buddy bearings also as they are easy to check. Once a year repack your wheel bearings.
Click to expand...

So you say they are called wheel bearings huh :smt017

SearayPaul said:
In addition some couplers will need to replace a part in the hitch so that the brakes act correctly. You probably donot need a new coupler just the release valve. Check your owners manual.
Click to expand...

:smt017

SearayPaul said:
After rinsing a silcone spray goes a long way on the winch sprockets and the coupler pin. I also keep clean grease on my ball.
Click to expand...

:smt017

Time for some searching :smt024
 
Paul,
Do you have a line for brake parts for these trailers? Not sure if NAPA or Autozone carries any of this but I know mine needs a new valve. I have only messed with electric brakes before. This is a first with the hitch type actuator. What kind of resistance should you feel by physically pushing the coupler back and forth? Mine moves relatively easy with almost no resistance. I just picked up this boat and trailer which has been sitting for 2 years untouched. All else looks good, just want to make sure those brakes are working properly!
Jetpig
 
JetPig

I have never bought any trailer parts on line. I have used this site for information http://www.championtrailers.com/. There are a lot of other sites also.

Look at the easy stuff first. Is there fluid in the resivoir? Is there air in the lines? Do you have a leak in the brakes lines? Are the brakes rusted up at the drums? This is more complicated. You should need a good amount of pressure to move the accuator in if everything is ok. The easiest way to bleed trailer brakes is with a mighty vac if you use the accuator you will be old before you get all of the air out of the lines.

Good luck

Paul
 
Paul,
There is quite a bit of rust on all the brake parts. The line looks very rusted and pitted which means the inside probably looks worse knowing brake fluid. I did fill the sump which didn't require much but that fluid is obviously a very rusty tint. I am probably going to have to start with the master cylinder and move my way back with new parts including stainless brake lines. I know I can probably do a search on it and find out but I will try you first. The drum to disk conversion kit, any idea of cost?
I know I don't want to get this on the road till the brakes are working good!
Jetpig
 
Jetpig:

As an aside what is a jetpig? Are you a tanker pilot? My wife and I are curious how you arrived at your screen name. Mine is obvious Searay Boat plus you guessed it Paul.

Back to the trailer. Since everything is rusty I would just get a new system consisting of a coupler, brake lines, and disc conversion kit. The hydralic coupler is about 100 bucks and the SS brake conversion kit is about 500 dollars. I forget how many axles you had and prices can vary depending upon the weight you are stopping and trailer frame size. Labor is free, at least when you are getting dirty. You can shop around and bring your costs down. Todd just had his trailer rebuilt so he probably can give you an exact price.

Rust is trouble and by the time you replace nickle and dime parts each time one breaks you can run into considerable expense. The hassle factor also is not worth my time so I would rebuild from what you say.

I also would look around in MB and see if someone has a trailer in good shape that is just sitting. The last time I was down there I saw lots of boats in storage a lot of empty trailers. A friend of my just found a trailer for his 28 or 29 foot Grady White in Calabash in great shape and for the price of tires plus a small amount of cash he got almost a brand new trailer. The prior owner had used the trailer a couple of times and now has the boat rack stored and was not using it. Call the MNF before buying to make sure the trailer will fit your boat.

Have a great Day

Paul
 
Hey Paul
Jetpig is a reference to a type of aircraft I use to fly in the early days which has a bit of a following. It has a cargo pod on the bottom that makes it look like a pot-belly pig.
I won't do stainless brake system, just brake lines. Disk conversion I probably won't do, just hone up the drum system with new parts. I can't see picking up a newer trailer for as little as I will be actually trailering the boat.
Thx for all the info.
 
SearayPaul said:
While checking the air pressure look at the general condition of the tires and if they show signs of dry rot or cracking replace the tires. Also grab each tire and see if it wobbles every once in awhile. Wobbly tires are not good as your wheel bearings are probably shot.

Your wheel bearings should be checked each time for leaking grease out the rear seal or water coming from them. I would install buddy bearings also as they are easy to check. Once a year repack your wheel bearings.
Paul
Click to expand...

Paul makes a lot of good points, but I disagree with one. Rather than grab a tire and see if it wobbles, I would recommend you jack the tire up off the ground and spin it. Listen to what is sounds like. A bearing that is loose or going bad will sound different. With it off the ground, grabbing it is see if it wobbles is more effective, as you are trying to move only the tire and wheel, not the whole boat and trailer.

For repacking the hub, there is an inexpensive tool you can buy at the auto parts store to force the grease through each bearing. You should also wash the dirt and oils off your hands before repacking.

In addition to checking the tire pressure, you should also periodically check the lug nuts to make sure they are tight. I normally use a torque wrench to do this.

Another thing you should do is check the wheel and hub temperature often when you stop after a trip. You want to make sure the wheel and hub are not overheating from bad bearing lube and from dragging brakes. Be careful doing this, as the hub can be hot enough to boil water! Mine was once from dragging brakes.

On my fifth wheel travel trailer, I took detailed photos of the bearings when I repacked them. I think I was doing this for an on line photo contest. In the process of looking very closely, I decided the inner races were not the quality that I remember seeing "in the good old days". I greased them and put them back in service. But I also bought a spare set of bearing, greased them too, and tucked them away in the trailer. Since I frequently check the hub temps by hand when I stop, I think I would detect a bearing about to fail. I would be able to change it out on the spot, as I normally carry enough tools to do so.

I have seen at least half a dozen trailers disabled along the road with the whole wheel bearing assembly removed or missing altogether. You don't want that to happen.

If possible, you may also want to find a way to check that the braking is really working. I can't really tell you how to do this. With my boat and trailer that weigh 10,000 lbs together, I can feel the difference when the trailer brakes kick in.
 
He guy's

A little fun in between.....

This guy was happy that he maintenanced his brakes on his trailer

Peter
 
Last edited:
Whoa, that pictures is just crazy!

For repacking the hub, there is an inexpensive tool you can buy at the auto parts store to force the grease through each bearing. You should also wash the dirt and oils off your hands before repacking.
Click to expand...

I thought that tool was just your palm of one hand and the fingers of the other?! Seriously, my Dad taught me long ago how to repack bearings. Put a bunch of grease in your palm near the pinky-edge, take the cleaned bearing in the other hand and proceed to press the bearing into your palm, through the grease. Work slowly around the entire circumference until grease comes through the other side.

I'd be interested in a link to this tool...must be some sort of injector or something?
 
I have never been any good at packing bearings by hand, so I use the tool. You do end up with unused grease in the center of the tool when done, but it does a good job. I think it is obvious that you would not want it to force out the old grease while it puts in the new though. If you are going to go to the effort, you should clean out the bearing before repacking.

http://www.standardus.com/cgi-bin/standard/LIN-G721.html?id=S7vjMLgH
 
.

Thanks Dave; that device is pretty cool in that you can use a grease gun to do it. Less messy. Although I have begun to wear disposable latex gloves when I do it now... :wink:
 
Re: .

Gunn said:
Thanks Dave; that device is pretty cool in that you can use a grease gun to do it. Less messy. Although I have begun to wear disposable latex gloves when I do it now... :wink:
Click to expand...

What I really like about it is that the grease comes out between each bearing and the carrier, pretty much at the same time. You can see that it is doing a really good job.
 
I normally figure grease is grease, and what is most important is to keep it repacked as needed. For a boat trailer though, you probably should use the blue stuff meant for boat trailers. And don't mix it with normal wheel bearing grease. Keep it packed, keep it clean, and keep the water out. With a bearing packer it is an easy job. I am not so fond of Bearing Buddies and such, I think they mainly just do the first item. Getting some grease on your hands is a 'Good Thing'. Taking the wheel off, looking at the brakes, checking out the bearing surfaces after cleaning, and see how well they survived with your last change interval is also a good thing.


Maybe I should next go to a hot pickup truck site and say motor oil is motor oil. Wait, that would be trolling.... :smt018
 
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