Josh, Have you planned all this or did these guys just appear out of thin air? I said you were on a roll and I meant it but am beginning to believe there is more to it and if so, we as readers need to appreciate the effort. I have personally owned something like 9 or ten boat trailers and in some cases went to great lengths to customize them for a particular need. I've actually built more than one trailer from scratch, that is from a pile of steel and some of these came to me not well cared for in the least. This great article can really help anyone who wants to read and consider the points. It is all important but the info on tires could be the most critical and therefore most important. Please keep this stuff up if at all possible!
Hi Phil. Thanks for the kind words and support. Presently we offer a mix of articles—some from our 23-year archives (like this one), some new stuff from semi-regular columnists, and then a lot from our growing list of new contributors. I'm pleased to hear you're finding the contents entertaining or useful. We're excited by all of the new content and happy to be able to republish really useful articles like this one from our friend, Guy Light.
Thanks to Guy for this practical article, and thanks for reposting it, Josh. Lots of practical tips that I wish I had known earlier, and many concepts that affirmed my current practices. I always look forward to SCA content.
Having grown up almost on the water, I cannot tell you how many trailers have seen broken down on the side of the road. Usually it is a rotted through axle that breaks midway across and dumps the whole mess on the road in an unruly heap while the wheels try to do the splits.
Something I have found that helps. Is not only largest diameter wheels that you can fit, but getting them balanced. I know many will say that a trailer does not need balanced tires, but I have found that it helps to make for a smooth and vibration free trip.
When I bought my GP14, she was on her original 55 year old trailer. Not only was it dangerous from a rot perspective, but it was rolling on tiny 8" rims. These little buggers may have been good for running around town, but I often drag my boats across state lines. When I built a new trailer, I went with 13" rims. The bearings stay cooler, the rubber stays cooler, and when combined with the axle less torsion suspension, made for the smoothest and quietest trailer I have ever towed.
Something I now do, as it has saved me, is after securing the trailer to the hitch ball, I use the trailer jack to crank up the trailer to verify the hitch was properly secured.
Yet another excellent article. At the very end, he mentions that maybe we'll pick up a couple pointers. He's spot on. In particular, I'm sure many of we older boaters have had an "incident or two", and can REALLY relate. Today I learned some more ... Great stuff☺️
Lights: Often the tail lights on a trailer are not visible behind the boat on the highway, especially for Small sailboats which overhang the trailer a bit. The solution is to mount lights on a board (say a short 2 x 4) and mount big lights on that. Often state laws require the trailer itself to have lights so you will need those too. But with an extra pigtail, you can mount a second set of big tail lights up on the rear of the boat which can be tied on temporarily – I tied mine to the cleats on either side of the stern. I have had semi drivers come up and thank me for having those extra lights.
I have only one quibble with the article. When trailering, I always check the spring cap before the start of any trip and immediately before launching. I've never had a bearing failure. I also make sure the hubs are hand col before immersion.
Padding is good. It is cheaper than replacing major parts. That said, make sure everything is well secured.
Great article, the tip on using widely available chain link connectors to shorten the chains was worth the price of admission alone. My current focus is adjusting the height of the bunk supports so that the boat sits lower on the trailer (a bullet proof galvie Triad custom made to replace rusted out Mac factory trailer) and so will be easier to launch and retrieve. This is proving to be a somewhat complex simultaneous equation with iterative mutually dependent adjustments. If anyone knows of a write-up specifying repeatable methodology, minimum clearances, etc., that would great.
All good points but I will take issue with one detail. The hitch connection photo shows the chains connected to the hitch, not the receiver. In this setup, if the hitch pin goes, then you lose the entire trailer. If the chains are connected to the receiver, then a lost pin isn't fatal. But yes, the chains need to be short enough stop the tongue from digging into the road, causing boat an trailer to do and end-over-end.
Read three paragraphs up, note the bolt used instead of a pin in the picture:
> if the hitch is bolted to the receiver it is now a physical part of the frame and cannot fall off because the clip pin got knocked out or wasn’t installed properly
Josh, Have you planned all this or did these guys just appear out of thin air? I said you were on a roll and I meant it but am beginning to believe there is more to it and if so, we as readers need to appreciate the effort. I have personally owned something like 9 or ten boat trailers and in some cases went to great lengths to customize them for a particular need. I've actually built more than one trailer from scratch, that is from a pile of steel and some of these came to me not well cared for in the least. This great article can really help anyone who wants to read and consider the points. It is all important but the info on tires could be the most critical and therefore most important. Please keep this stuff up if at all possible!
Hi Phil. Thanks for the kind words and support. Presently we offer a mix of articles—some from our 23-year archives (like this one), some new stuff from semi-regular columnists, and then a lot from our growing list of new contributors. I'm pleased to hear you're finding the contents entertaining or useful. We're excited by all of the new content and happy to be able to republish really useful articles like this one from our friend, Guy Light.
Thanks to Guy for this practical article, and thanks for reposting it, Josh. Lots of practical tips that I wish I had known earlier, and many concepts that affirmed my current practices. I always look forward to SCA content.
Thanks, Dave!
Having grown up almost on the water, I cannot tell you how many trailers have seen broken down on the side of the road. Usually it is a rotted through axle that breaks midway across and dumps the whole mess on the road in an unruly heap while the wheels try to do the splits.
Something I have found that helps. Is not only largest diameter wheels that you can fit, but getting them balanced. I know many will say that a trailer does not need balanced tires, but I have found that it helps to make for a smooth and vibration free trip.
When I bought my GP14, she was on her original 55 year old trailer. Not only was it dangerous from a rot perspective, but it was rolling on tiny 8" rims. These little buggers may have been good for running around town, but I often drag my boats across state lines. When I built a new trailer, I went with 13" rims. The bearings stay cooler, the rubber stays cooler, and when combined with the axle less torsion suspension, made for the smoothest and quietest trailer I have ever towed.
Great detailed article!
Something I now do, as it has saved me, is after securing the trailer to the hitch ball, I use the trailer jack to crank up the trailer to verify the hitch was properly secured.
Excellent article. I'll be ordering a grade 8 bolt, nylok nut and a couple of wrenches for my hitch. Thanks for sharing your hard won experiences.
Yet another excellent article. At the very end, he mentions that maybe we'll pick up a couple pointers. He's spot on. In particular, I'm sure many of we older boaters have had an "incident or two", and can REALLY relate. Today I learned some more ... Great stuff☺️
Excellent timing for an article by a "Guy" who knows his stuff. Thanks!
Lights: Often the tail lights on a trailer are not visible behind the boat on the highway, especially for Small sailboats which overhang the trailer a bit. The solution is to mount lights on a board (say a short 2 x 4) and mount big lights on that. Often state laws require the trailer itself to have lights so you will need those too. But with an extra pigtail, you can mount a second set of big tail lights up on the rear of the boat which can be tied on temporarily – I tied mine to the cleats on either side of the stern. I have had semi drivers come up and thank me for having those extra lights.
I have only one quibble with the article. When trailering, I always check the spring cap before the start of any trip and immediately before launching. I've never had a bearing failure. I also make sure the hubs are hand col before immersion.
Padding is good. It is cheaper than replacing major parts. That said, make sure everything is well secured.
Great article, the tip on using widely available chain link connectors to shorten the chains was worth the price of admission alone. My current focus is adjusting the height of the bunk supports so that the boat sits lower on the trailer (a bullet proof galvie Triad custom made to replace rusted out Mac factory trailer) and so will be easier to launch and retrieve. This is proving to be a somewhat complex simultaneous equation with iterative mutually dependent adjustments. If anyone knows of a write-up specifying repeatable methodology, minimum clearances, etc., that would great.
All good points but I will take issue with one detail. The hitch connection photo shows the chains connected to the hitch, not the receiver. In this setup, if the hitch pin goes, then you lose the entire trailer. If the chains are connected to the receiver, then a lost pin isn't fatal. But yes, the chains need to be short enough stop the tongue from digging into the road, causing boat an trailer to do and end-over-end.
Read three paragraphs up, note the bolt used instead of a pin in the picture:
> if the hitch is bolted to the receiver it is now a physical part of the frame and cannot fall off because the clip pin got knocked out or wasn’t installed properly