Trailer work . . . . . . .

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CaptainScott
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Trailer work . . . . . . .

Post by CaptainScott »

Well, about 5 years ago I purchased a trailer for a 14' boat for our Dinghy.
The trailer was literally in pieces. The previous owner had 100% disassembled the thing so he could sandblast and paint it again then lost ALL the nuts and bolts to assemble it. Doh! Well After some negotiations I got the entire trailer set of parts for 100 bucks but better yet I received a clean title!

She sat in my front yard for two days while I mock assembled her and took inventory of all the nuts and bolts I needed to reassemble her.

For the last five years I've had a very decent trailer but was afraid to go far with her as she had two different wheels and tires. One side had a nice hub with 5 lugs, the other side had a 1" shorter tire with no hub. The tire rode on bearings directly on the axle with a castle nut to hold it on. To and from the launch was as far as I'd go.

Our dinghy is a nice 10'2 RIB with a 15 HP merc which would be fun to take to local lakes, trips and such but we never did.

Well, yesterday I got a wild hair, pulled the trailer out into the driveway and stripped the axle of tires, one hub, and bearings. Cleaned all the parts and took them to the local boat trailer shop.

HELP! Here is what I have, here is what I want . . . .
The sales person laughs at me and says hang on. Literally in minutes I had a pile of all new bearings, a second hub, new wheel and tire for the odd side, and a tube of marine bearing grease! WOW That was easy . . . .

OK, with a cost of under 100 bucks total I sprung for a second new tire which pushed me over my 100 dollar budget but hey . . . !

So back home I went with my new found bounty!
An hour after getting home my little trailer had two new rims and tires, new bearings and hub on one side, and newly packed grease!

WOW! I've been avoiding this job for literally years and it was so easy to fix!

So for all you guys thinking about maybe replacing bearings, checking hubs, or whatever on your trailer, JUST DO IT! It is not to bad! In fact, it was quite easy!

I've had bearing buddies on all my trailers to date but given how easy it is to repack and check the bearings, I'm not sure I would add bearing buddies!
Nothing against them, they work great!

Scott
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OutnBacker
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Post by OutnBacker »

I agree, it's a basic and easy job, but I will never complete a hub rebuild or service without springing for Bearing Buddies. Plus, I know you aren't serious, Scott.

But, for those who might believe all the hype about these things, here is a tip for you:

Bearing Buddies and their clones do a good job of keeping grease pressure working inwards, towards the bearings, but they also push the grease right on out the other side, past the seal.

Therefore, Rule #1 with Bearing Buddies is: Grease Often. Since it's so easy, do it right before you dip the trailer at the ramp. Grease is cheap and it does no good in the tube. If you grease every time you launch, no water will ever get in there because there will be no room for it. Your bearings will last indefinitely. Indefinitely means just that - indefinitely.
Current: '75 Montgomery 17 #65
Current: '78 Chrysler 20
Past: '78 Chrysler 22
'98 Bauer 12 - gaff rig
'78 Orion Malibu 18
Forever: '83 Grumman 17, gunter rigged with jib and trimaran outriggers.
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CaptainScott
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Post by CaptainScott »

LOL!
Oh yeah! I forgot bearing buddies apply pressure to the grease!
Either way, the point is the job of changing to a hub was SOOOO freakin easy those who are in the need, just do it! Having all new bearings, fresh grease, pair of new wheels and tires, and now even a spare, my trailer has gone from a tool I was a bit timid to use, IE always worried I'd get a flat or such, to a trailer I now have full confidence in and would happily drag our RIB anywhere I desired!

I do have bearing buddies on both of my current trailers, even reinstalled the ones on the little trailer even though I have new caps. I do love the bearing buddies and do grease each time out. I just would not rush out and buy a set if I did not have them! I suspect a properly sealed and greased hub is a very reliable way to go!

:D

Scott
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Chrysler20%26
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Post by Chrysler20%26 »

Will done Scott, I do like those buddies
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OutnBacker
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Post by OutnBacker »

I'm with you, Capt. Scott. A well prepared trailer gives alot of confidence. One of the first things I do is go through the trailer when I buy a boat, even though my tow is only seven miles.
Current: '75 Montgomery 17 #65
Current: '78 Chrysler 20
Past: '78 Chrysler 22
'98 Bauer 12 - gaff rig
'78 Orion Malibu 18
Forever: '83 Grumman 17, gunter rigged with jib and trimaran outriggers.
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Post by OutnBacker »

Switching gears a little on the subject line...

Here's a pic of the completed wood mockup of my trailer mod. The rollers and their pivoting yokes will go away, leaving just the basic pan for the shoal keel- made using 2X8 treated plank. There will be two planks, seperated in the middle so I can see the keel through a wide slot.

The bunk frame supports will be of 2X3 mild steel. Galv is just too expensive. Kept painted from time to time, the mild steel will be fine. The rails will be made from plastic decking material, strong and flexible to make the bend. I'll glue on some kind of carpeting for a pad.

The 2X8 pan will take the main weight, with the bunks just there to cradle the mass and make it easy to retrieve. I'll be glad to be able to use the boat again.
http://s1125.photobucket.com/user/OutnB ... 4613263908
Current: '75 Montgomery 17 #65
Current: '78 Chrysler 20
Past: '78 Chrysler 22
'98 Bauer 12 - gaff rig
'78 Orion Malibu 18
Forever: '83 Grumman 17, gunter rigged with jib and trimaran outriggers.
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clair hofmann
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Post by clair hofmann »

John
Will your bunks support the boat above or below the waterline? If they will be below you might consider forgetting the carpet. The boat will slide better on the plastic decking. You might also cap the 2x8's with decking or UHMW from Mcmaster. I removed the carpet from all my bunk trailers and used 1/4"x6" UHMW countersunk and bolted on with flathead bolts. It makes loading and unloading much easier.
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Post by OutnBacker »

Hello Clair,
Thanks for your comments. I think in most sailboat trailers I've seen, the boat does not slide onto the bunk rails at all. A powerboat does, and I've often just driven right onto the trailer in such.

A well designed sailboat trailer just sits there while the boat is drawn between the bunks until it reaches the bow notch in the winch tower. The boat does not actually even need to touch the bunk rails until it nests home - and won't until the trailer begins to leave the water allowing the boat to settle onto its keel. A guide structure built onto the keel pan centers the boat automatically. If the ramp is steep and the keel misses the guide, you'll know it instantly and can re-dip and adjust. I haven't shown that in my pic, but the guide is assembled along with the new pan.

In order to do that, I need to weld up the bunks first, and then jack the boat up about three inches to be able to remove the pathetic plywwod pan that is there now. The pan takes the weight. The bunks only stabilize the boat until it is secured by straps.

Your advice about using no carpet is valid, though. Many bunk trailers have no carpeting anymore, in favor of plastic decking.

best,
John
Current: '75 Montgomery 17 #65
Current: '78 Chrysler 20
Past: '78 Chrysler 22
'98 Bauer 12 - gaff rig
'78 Orion Malibu 18
Forever: '83 Grumman 17, gunter rigged with jib and trimaran outriggers.
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clair hofmann
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Post by clair hofmann »

Hi John
The ramp at our Jersey house is short and steep. The bunks never touch the water. I have a vee roller on the aft crossmember. That gets the boat up onto the bunks. From there its all winch. Now I'm only loading a Venture 22 with no keel trunk. The boat only weighs 2000#. Our N.C. ramp is longer and I can get the bunks 3/4 of the way submerged. There I power the boat up to the winch post.

I like your idea with the 2x8's to support the boat. I am going to do something similar for my 26 trailer if I ever get to it. Its been at least 5 years now and something more important always comes up.

Nice work and good documentation.

Clair
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Post by OutnBacker »

I get the picture. No shoal keel so the hull does rest on the bunks. Nice to be able to power on, too. The Chrysler 20 is a different animal at 2790lbs dead weight, and the keel.

For those who care, another factoid to fill in the gaps in C-20 documentation: They do weight that much, with an Evinrude Yacht-Twin 6.

My trailer will act as a type of mobile dry dock, in a sense: Support underneath with stability from the sides. The section that will support the 2X8's is 4' long, so there will be two 4' planks, side by side with a 3" space between them to inspect the swing keel. I won't be able to lower it as I had first thought. It's not worth the trouble of changing that much existing structure.

Another couiple of views of the mockup. The bunk rails are just slipped in pieces of scrap that show the curvature development. They will be replaced with the plastic decking.

http://s1125.photobucket.com/user/OutnB ... 0002055177

http://s1125.photobucket.com/user/OutnB ... 7750442241
Current: '75 Montgomery 17 #65
Current: '78 Chrysler 20
Past: '78 Chrysler 22
'98 Bauer 12 - gaff rig
'78 Orion Malibu 18
Forever: '83 Grumman 17, gunter rigged with jib and trimaran outriggers.
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Post by Chrysler20%26 »

Good post Clair, when I load my 25 Mac. an C-20 both with carpet on bunks. After the trailer an boat leave the water the boat is never where it should be. Do to the angel of the ramp, I have been doing what is called the Macgregor bump " drive ahead slam on breaks " with Clair's idea the winch should work.
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Post by astrorad »

looks like a good plan outnbacker...thanx for posting such detail...it is helpful to all of us no matter which boat we have
Bill
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Post by OutnBacker »

astrorad wrote:looks like a good plan outnbacker...thanx for posting such detail...it is helpful to all of us no matter which boat we have
We'll soon see how well it works. "The best laid plans..."

Clair,
I forgot to acknowledge this:
Thanks for the suggestion of using UHMW. I had that on a smaller trailer for an 18 footer. It was the top layer over the 2X8 keel pad and really did help land the boat. There was also a guide structure built up along the side of the pad to get the shoal keel started in the "slot" made of the same stuff, backed by more 2X8.
Current: '75 Montgomery 17 #65
Current: '78 Chrysler 20
Past: '78 Chrysler 22
'98 Bauer 12 - gaff rig
'78 Orion Malibu 18
Forever: '83 Grumman 17, gunter rigged with jib and trimaran outriggers.
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OutnBacker
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Update on the trailer mod...

Post by OutnBacker »

So here's the work to date. I stepped back a few feet so the cobby welding doesn't show, but it'll hold. Now I can order my bolsters from E-Trailer. There wil be six of them, bolted to the uprights and will be able to slide up and down as needed to adjust the bunks for a good fit to the hull. So far, I only have $80 into the project due to a local steel company giving me some gratuitous treatment because I haul material for them occasionally. That steel was worth about $150. The bolsters will be another $70 or so.

Image

Image
Current: '75 Montgomery 17 #65
Current: '78 Chrysler 20
Past: '78 Chrysler 22
'98 Bauer 12 - gaff rig
'78 Orion Malibu 18
Forever: '83 Grumman 17, gunter rigged with jib and trimaran outriggers.
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Post by astrorad »

lookin' good
Bill
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Post by Capt. Bondo »

Jumping back to trailer hubs...
Make sure all your lug nuts are the same size, and best if they match the tow vehicle lug nuts so you can use that lug wrench for all 8)
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You can go to a Zen Master or you can go Sailing, either way you end up in about the same place..... a Happy Place
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Post by OutnBacker »

Capt. Bondo wrote:Jumping back to trailer hubs...
Make sure all your lug nuts are the same size, and best if they match the tow vehicle lug nuts so you can use that lug wrench for all 8)
Compatability and standardization goes a long way down the road - no pun intended, but it's true. And, what's good for the bearings s good for the threads - grease 'em.
Current: '75 Montgomery 17 #65
Current: '78 Chrysler 20
Past: '78 Chrysler 22
'98 Bauer 12 - gaff rig
'78 Orion Malibu 18
Forever: '83 Grumman 17, gunter rigged with jib and trimaran outriggers.
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