beefing up trailer

[yamp]

looking for any advice on beefing up trailer for trip up to the cape.I have a standard redco res 1213 trailer ,long skids ,slipper springs,three single roller underneath13in rimsas new condition. My boat is a 4m hornet trophy and 40hp honda tiller pt/tilt.has anyone out there beefed up trailers to suit cape travel or do you just have to go for full off road trailer or cap topper.I priced a heavy duty redco 14in rim,3mm box section ,shackle to shackle springs more gusseting etc $3100.I was thinking I might be able to beef up existing trailer change rims etc and change back when fishing at home, maybe fit shockies for cape road corrrugations or do some other sort of modifications,any advice pics or tips greatly appreciated thanks Yamp

[Ian1]

yamp

I would look at beefing up the axle. Have seen plenty of boat trailers around the cape with bent axles and broken springs. Also make sure you have some good support for the outboard. Don't just leave it hanging off the transom or you will get cracks in the transom. As for the rest of the trailer I don't think its worth disturbing the galvanising to weld gusset etc in.
Just take it easy or you'll break any trailer.

Ian

[yamp]

thanks for reply Ian I was worried about disturbing the gal,might look into new axle,hubs wheels,I always use a off the shelf motor support hopefully it will do

[GAD]

Yamp,
having broken an axle on a trip up north through to bathurst bay , I would carry a second axle as spare as it is not an unusuall sight to see a trailer cobb n co 'd to get to civilization, I was lucky one of me mates had been throught this before and had a spare axle, which I borrowed to get home on ,not slipper springs as they slip right out,springs not to tight so as not to get to much jarr on the boat and trailer as the road up the top is rough, serriously , and though it is getting better it will still tear off any thing it can ,guards ,outboard legs , punch holes in the bottom , really hard on gear . skids are better than rollers as rollers will indent the bottom of the boat, and don't overload the boat, oh one other the ball hitch is cast and will crack and snap sometimes,I carry a spare as I seen one bloke who had his trailer tied on an the tail gate of his cruiser was not very pretty,
My point, you never know but be as prepared as you can .so you can have a safe trip and I hope you catch heaps and we want photos,..


Greg

[shortcut]

My mate Nicko has a similar redco trailer to yours. All we did was cut off the mud gaurds and fit bigger 4x4 tyres to 15inch rims. Had no problems on a 2 month fishing/shooting trip up north. maybe we were lucky?

p.s. it was an unpainted 4m tinny not a pretty hornet trophy, i do not recomend removing your mud gaurds

[FNQCairns]

Not much a person must do with regard to the trailer if the trip is taken slowly many do it every year but big tyres make a big difference!!! Forget shocks if using leaf springs as they do that job inherently, just carry all spares and run low tyre pressures wherever puncture may not be a problem.

cheers fnq

Just one tip, gladwrap your 'entire' motor and before that pull the air box (store in car)and tape up the carb throats.

cheers fnq

[finding_time]

Yamp


FNQCairns is spot on about the low tyre pressure and bigger tyres these are the most important things you can do and will make the biggest differance.

Ian

[peterbo3]

Hi Yamp,
Sounds like a great trip. Couple of suggestions.........
Speed is the enemy. Go too fast & the best tlr ever built will collapse.
If you can, remove the Honda from the transom & store it in your vehicle. Less stress on the boat & no damage to the donk. Remove your electronics, compass, EPIRB, etc & carry them in your vehicle.
Keep as much weight out of the boat as possible. Light bulky items are good but steel J/Cans full of fuel will bounce around & cause damage.
Put all your rods in 90mm stormwater pipe with one fixed & one screwcap end. Pack a bit of foam around them. Protects them & keeps them clean.
If you are driving a LCruiser or a Nissan or any other vehicle with glass windows in the back doors, it may be a good idea to tape some doubled over HEAVY cardboard over the glass. The stones that are thrown up by your rear wheels sometimes richochet off your trailer frame or boat & end up hitting your rear windows.

[FNQCairns]

Peter makes a good point, lots of broken rear windows from that, alongthe same line I have seen some sand and rock blasted hulls before from a few hundred Km or more trips over dirt, standard mudguards just don't cut it esp with lifted vehicles, even big rear bumper full lenght ones don't work real well at speed but a person should be just chugging along anyway:)

cheers fnq

[yamp]

thanks for all the tips fellas gives me plenty to work with