Boat Trailers

What effort do members put into maintaining their boat trailers?

I do all the checks before going north like axels and bearings etc but after such a long wet period I've noticied my skids were rusted out and have spent this weekend grindining them back and galv painting them.

I tend to mother my boat but sometimes forget how important my trailer is. What do other members do to maintain their trailers?

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Blue Sky, Blue Water, Bluetonic!


sea-kem's picture

Posts: 15031

Date Joined: 30/11/09

 Going to give mine the major

Sun, 2013-09-29 22:33

 Going to give mine the major once over this week Blue. Drop the boat off, bearings, brakes, lights, skids and rollers all to be changed and checked. Don't want any grief stopping me from being King of the cape lol.

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Love the West!

catchalittle's picture

Posts: 1875

Date Joined: 04/09/08

giving the springs a good

Sun, 2013-09-29 22:40

giving the springs a good painting with fish oil,as well as any other moving parts on the trailer,repacking plenty of grease in the jockey wheel,other than that when hoseing off the boat after a fish I spend the same time on the trailer which I see a lot of people seem to neglect

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Nathan

Posts: 896

Date Joined: 25/05/09

 I  scrub the rust of

Sun, 2013-09-29 22:46

 I  scrub the rust of whatevers coated n re spray with galv stuff. . An keep everything oiled right up. Having the trailor looking goods keeps the cops of ya back to .

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living is fishing

Posts: 5981

Date Joined: 17/06/10

You are so right

Mon, 2013-09-30 02:13

You are so right Dhuboi

Posts: 1086

Date Joined: 21/05/12

remeber that galv paint is

Mon, 2013-09-30 07:51

remeber that galv paint is only an undercoat and needs to be topcoated with a  sealer coat(its porous and will trap in salt)

its worth it to every 3-5 years take everyhting off and have it redipped (about 70c/ kg) it will last forever

 

Posts: 812

Date Joined: 09/10/06

 hey mate , 70c a kilo for

Mon, 2013-09-30 08:12

 hey mate , 70c a kilo for galv. even through our work account l cant get it done that cheap.  where you talking.  

 

sea-kem's picture

Posts: 15031

Date Joined: 30/11/09

 Yeah mate that's a bargain.

Mon, 2013-09-30 12:21

 Yeah mate that's a bargain. I'm a fabricator and can't get it that cheap. I think $1.50-$2.00 a kg is more realistic. And if it's already galved it's even more expensive. The galvanisers want tonnage not fiddly shit.

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Love the West!

Posts: 563

Date Joined: 27/08/09

Give it a good visual from

Mon, 2013-09-30 13:09

Give it a good visual from tip to tail.

Replace/repack bearings, check and adjust brake system, check suspension, all electrics, winch, winch post, and tie downs.

Wheels and tyres! Tyre sidewalls perish after about 5 to 7 years, develop micro cracks in the side wall and then blow out on long trips. Replace them if needed with a set of light truck rated tyres, not passenger tyres. Inflate to the correct pressure.

Check your wheel nuts are done up correctly. Over tightening is a leading cause of the studs failing.

And I'm sure there's more. :)

carnarvonite's picture

Posts: 8673

Date Joined: 24/07/07

Too much grease

Mon, 2013-09-30 17:22

Always remember not to pump too much grease in to your bearing buddies.
If they are too full there is no room for expansion and once they warm up off pops your cap.
Another trick is to run a line of supa glue on them when tapping them on as a safety precaution.

sea-kem's picture

Posts: 15031

Date Joined: 30/11/09

 Or weld the buggers on. I

Mon, 2013-09-30 21:19

 Or weld the buggers on. I won't use them. I've never had any dramas with well packed bearings for a season.

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Love the West!