Trailering fun

T

TexasA&M

New Member
Sep 14, 2009
213
Austin, Texas
Boat Info
2005 185 Sport
Engines
4.3MPI
This is not how I had planned on getting the boat home from the lake a couple of weeks ago -

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We were driving home from the lake on Saturday night when it felt like we had a blowout. Pulled over, went to check it out, and the tire was completely gone.

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Not sure exactly what happened.... I had checked the hubs earlier this spring (and have driven a couple hundred miles since) and everything was good to go. I've always kept the bearings greased, etc, and tire pressure up. I still haven't found the wheel/tire, so I can't verify the condition, but the fact that it rolled far enough away to get lost means that it still had plenty of air in it.

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A buddy and I went to tractor supply Sunday morning and bought a new trailer axle so that the boat would be mobile again. She is now at the Sea Ray dealer with hopes that the Liberty extended warranty will cover the damage and get me a new axle.

Ahh.... the joys of boat ownership!!! :smt021
 
Was there any damage to the other side?

Something must have been seriously wrong to break ALL of the lugs on one side and do nothing to the other side...
 
If you look at the studs there is rust and clean metal which means they were cracked. Could have been over tightened or just some bad Chinese metal. Look on the DICO web site and see if there are any recalls.
 
Nothing wrong with the other side.

As far as cracked studs... I didn't think of that. I can confirm that they were NOT overtightened though, as I'm the last one to have put them on. Isn't it odd that they were ALL cracked though?
 
High quality Chinese or Mexican parts.:lol: How did the nut get ground off I would think the drum would of taken the worst of it.
 
That's what I can't figure out. Part of the spindle is ground off as well. Maybe that's where it rode on the wheel for a half second?
 
Looks like I'm out of luck as far as the warranty is concerned. 'Wheel studs' are not listed on their coverage, so they aren't going to do anything for me.

This is the third major problem I've had with my trailer (axle specific) in the 5 years I've owned it... none of them have been maintenance related.

Anyone else have problems with their ShoreLand'r trailer?
 
I put a new axle under it the day after it happened. Bought one from tractor supply just so that I could have the boat rolling. Been using it that way ever since, but this new axle doesn't have brakes. That's why I was hoping that the warranty would cover the damage, but after working with Liberty, I don't see how they would actually cover ANYTHING. The trailer could brake in half and they would find a reason not to cover it.
 
It would take more than half a second to do that kind of damage to the spindle. Looks like there is some outter bearing damage. Is there? For sure the spindle needs replaced. If you don't have the equipment to properly replace it then a new axle is the way to go. IMHO.
 
Yea a lot of the extended warranties are a scam. I have one on my 01 impala the intake was leaking anti freeze in to the engine they said they only cover internal parts. The dealer wanted $1000 to fix it so I got a Chevy Mechanic to do it on the side for $400. I guess if I blew it up they would say I caused it by not fixing it.
 
No idea what caused the spindle damage, but Liberty said that it was no doubt caused by the wheel studs breaking off. The hub isn't frozen, so they are claiming that it's not the hub/bearings.

The new axle does have mounts for backing plates, but it's not a drop axle, so my trailer now sits about 3" higher than it used to. I may just take the axle to a trailer shop myself and see how much they would charge to put a new spindle on the old axle. Spindles are cheap, and it probably would only take them an hour to do.

Anyhow, both Shoreland'r and Sea Ray are going to hear about my problems. I will definitely buy another Sea Ray boat, but I don't think I'll be getting another Shoreland'r trailer. I definitely will NOT be getting another extended warranty from Liberty, either.
 
If you want what you had in the old axle as far as ride and and height, I would definitely have a new spindle installed. We have a shop here that has every type of trailer spindle and moderately priced. Most 3000LBS axles have 5 stud bolt patterns.
 
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