New Tinny Trailer Pitfalls

[Tangles]

Recently got a new Stessco Catcher 4.3 with a Stessco trailer 2 months ago. Trailer needed a bit of setting up to make easier at the ramp.. Anyway that was the easy part..decided i needed to get a spare whee/hub for trips up the highway so hopefully this will help others down the line

First I rang Stessco, trailer had holden hubs, bearings etc. ( They didnt specify HT or HQ, lesson there)
Ordered spare holden rim and tyre to fit. ( I Didnt specify HT or HQ as no idea, lesson there)
Got a holden spare hub and bearings, ie ordered Holden ( lesson there)
Got a spare wheel carrier to suit

Decided to check if wheel fitted so thats when the fun began, it didnt. It didnt fit the HQ hub or the holden hubs on the trailer, ended up being a ford rim i was given not what i ordered.

HQ hubs didnt fit tinny wheels either, ended up being an HT holden hub rim i needed. So also sorted out the spare bearings i needed after a bit of head scratching, ie i had a spare wheel that doesnt fit a HQ hub or the holden hubs on the trailer?

On trying out the spare tyre to see if it fitted, the bearing on new trailer was buggered so got that sorted, got spare hub exchanged for an HT and pick up new rim and tyre tommorrow ( I quote the guys supplying this are doing this too often with wrong rims) ie but they didnt check it was a holden or ford etc.

Summary,
A: if i hadnt checked it well i could of been up the road with a problem thinking i had a spare wheel/hub and bearings but id be stuffed
B: Checked out my other boats trailer, a recent 5 m cruisecraft on a Redco , well i was told Ford… nope it has HT hubs but with ford bearings
C: On a new boat still pays to check the bearings and dont believe any bugger

Hope this helps others as i learnt a lesson. If i hadnt checked the spare and the bearings on a new trailer i probably would have carried around a useless spare wheel and hub for a while and been stuck

[Dan5]

I know your pain mate......you are not alone!

I recently did a similar thing...........I have Ford stud pattern with Holden bearings.......why?...Fark knows...1 ton axle and shitty 750kg bearings.

Dan

[Noelm]

The whole wheel bearing/hub issue has been going on for decades, why all manufacturers don't just once and for all settle on Ford bearings and wheels, or Holden bearing and wheels is beyond me, as a general rule, unless specified, Holden means HT pattern (in fact from FC to HT) and the stud pattern changed in the HQ, so unless you say "HQ" you will get early Holden, spare wheels are often multi fit, meaning they have both Ford and Holden (HT) pattern, which comes in very handy at times, over the years I have seen some disasters on trailers, including one that had Ford one side, and Holden the other... why that was not picked up when whoever assembled the thing found he needed odd bearings is beyond me, lots ask what bearings do I have if I have a brand X trailer? the fact is, who knows? sure for the expert there is signs to indicate what will probably be fitted, but for the average boater, he is on a try and see mission.

[ozynorts]

It surely can't be hard for the manufacturer to provide the information with the trailer.

[Noelm]

I am positive it wouldn't be hard, but they don't.....why wouldn't a manufacturer use only one type of wheels and bearings? I doubt in this day and age that supply would be an issue considering the amount of trailers that a builder would make in a day/week? If they all just settled on (say) Ford bearings (because they have the thickest axle) and that's how it is forever and a day, then eventually all trailers would be "standard" rather than the mess we have now.

[Dan5]

Agree Noel.....Ford wheels ford bearings and be done with it..........I mean honestly early Holden WTF how long has it been since they where manufactured?

Dan

[Moonlighter]

I know your pain mate......you are not alone!

I recently did a similar thing...........I have Ford stud pattern with Holden bearings.......why?...Fark knows...1 ton axle and shitty 750kg bearings.

Dan

Same here .... Ford stud pattern, Holden bearings. NZ made Surtees trailer.

Dont confuse use the hub itself with the stud pattern, as they are two different things!

Hub simply needs to match your bearings;

Wheels need to match studs!

I had a bit of a job getting Surtees trailers in NZ to respond to my emails asking about the bearings, by the time they replied, I had already popped a dust cover off the bearings, undone the big retaining nut and had a look at the number on the outer bearing and matched it to the Holden code.

One of these days, manufacturers are going to get their act together and issue a simple, 1 page "owners guide" with every trailer sold that includes relevant care and maintenance details! Including relevant specifications such as the wheel size and stud pattern and bearing codes.

How hard can that be??

if I was a dealer selling boats and trailers I would do it myself.

[aussiebasser]

Most early trailers had Holden Bearings and Wheels. Ford had bigger wheel studs so some changed to Ford on the heavier trailers. My Jet Ski Trailer is a Oceanic. I rang them with the VIN and they told me what bearings and hubs were fitted. Most trailer manufacturers should be able to do the same thing. The latest galvanised wheels available have both sets of holes drilled so they are interchangeable. http://www.boattrailerspares.com.au/92790w-multi-fit-14-tyre-assembly-185lt/

[tjotter]

our trailer has Ford rims :)

came with Holden spare :(

[Noelm]

there is a few things at play here, as mentioned, there is bearings, hubs and stud pattern, even early Holden had two size hubs, the old 5" that fitted early FC (1956) Holdens, and the later 6" that fitted HT (around 1971) and some rims are not interchangeable, all wheels will fit the 5" hub, and old 5" wheels do not fit the 6" hub (even though the stud pattern is the same) this is especially so with those 600X9 Velox alloy wheels, they are machined for 5 or 6 inch, how stupid is that? Now I "think" (forgetting the stud size and pattern) that the Holden and Ford bearings will fit both hubs, the only bearing difference is the inside diameter (that fits on the axle) Ford axles are bigger, Ford also has bigger wheel studs, as well as the PCD (pattern) being different, confused yet?? now imagine some poor old holiday maker, stranded on the side of the road during the Christmas holidays, 40 degree heat, kids and wife yelling at him, and trying to get bearings to fix his trailer.....

[Dan5]

Most early trailers had Holden Bearings and Wheels. Ford had bigger wheel studs so some changed to Ford on the heavier trailers. My Jet Ski Trailer is a Oceanic. I rang them with the VIN and they told me what bearings and hubs were fitted. Most trailer manufacturers should be able to do the same thing. The latest galvanised wheels available have both sets of holes drilled so they are interchangeable. http://www.boattrailerspares.com.au/92790w-multi-fit-14-tyre-assembly-185lt/

Yeah mate I bought a multi fit wheel as my spare............To be honest I really don't like them and have a feeling that it could crack/break between the stud holes......I've seen normal ones crack between the holes before and to have more holes means less metal and even greater chance of doing the same thing IMO.....might be paranoid but I hate when shit fails.

Dan

[Fed]

I matched everything Ford so I could use my car spare as a trailer spare but had to put a low profile tyre on the car spare to bring it down to the 13" Ford trailer wheels so it would fit under the trailer mudguards.
Carry a bottle of Finileak & a 12 Volt air compressor just in case, also very handy for pumping up trailer tyres as there's no where around here with easy trailer access to do it.
I use the boat jump starter on the air compressor to give it a load test at the same time.
After a bit of thought that's the best combination I could come up with to keep it simple.
No dedicated trailer spare wheel and at the same time eliminated the need for a second boat battery, changeover switch & VSR junk.

[tropicrows]

I've got a US trailer, cant wait till I need a need rim or bearings. I did however purchase a spare wheel and a complete hub assembly including the bolt on stub axle.

[odes20]

Fed Ive done thus similar with my off road trailer in regard to spares. fitted 16 inch same offset as my 2014 Colorado and carry two spares out bush that will serve for both truck and trailer. Im sure a heap of people do this?

[aussiebasser]

Yeah mate I bought a multi fit wheel as my spare............To be honest I really don't like them and have a feeling that it could crack/break between the stud holes......I've seen normal ones crack between the holes before and to have more holes means less metal and even greater chance of doing the same thing IMO.....might be paranoid but I hate when shit fails.

Dan
I wouldn't use them up your way mate. I just bumped my way out to Shady Camp and back last week. (Awesome trip too!)

[aussiebasser]

I've got a US trailer, cant wait till I need a need rim or bearings. I did however purchase a spare wheel and a complete hub assembly including the bolt on stub axle.

You'll need this link.

http://www.trailersparesdirect.com.au/

They're in Lawnton and carry a good range of yank bits.

[tropicrows]

I tried them when I was chasing disk brake pads. They were very helpful but didn't carry the type I needed aussiebasser.

[Tangles]

got the right spare rim exchanged this morning, actually took the hub in and checked it there and then, agree with the comments on here especially Noelms,

had a few boats now and decided to set this one up mostly myself, glad i did as it opened my eyes.. i havent mentioned all the basic things like wiring, basic fittings i had to re-do or sort out etc so i get why a lot of guys choose to set up boats themselves rather than dealers.. ive learnt a hell of a lot and mates have helped.

[Moonlighter]

Mike I was going to ask about the Stessco. They looked quite good to me at the boat show last year. Can you give your thoughts on the build and fitout, quality of welding and other workmanship?

[alleycat]

Hi moonlighter, I recently bought a stessco catcher limited and fitted my 30hp Yamaha to it, so happy with this hull, so stable and so little spray when travelling, ive had 4 people in it and it planed ok but when I need a new motor it will be a 40hp, but this hull is streets ahead of my old 4.15 horizon angler..

[Tangles]

Grant like anything some positives and negatives, and i really can only compare it to a tinny i previously had from new being a 4.55 Seajay Territory.

1: I got the Stessco 4.3 SF version with full decks ..ride is very confident for a tinny, had it out in some average bay conditions dropping some pots. It handled well, stable for casting nets with, its quite a wide roomy tinny with a lot of storage room etc, it rides well for a tinny of this size as did the Sea Jay so very happy with that.
2: Workmanship, welds etc, some of the welds not consistent as the Seajay was, probably not as nicely finished overall but the big structural welds are good, its just a little rougher around the edges than the Sea Jay but it seems tough as nails so far
3: Fitout, probably where most boats fall down. For me average but the Sea Jay wasnt brilliant either especially for the extra money. i replaced the really crap plastic rod holders with SS ones, did basic things like filing of holes for wiring to remove burrs, added protective tube to the wiring, etc, the usual sealing of SS bolts against gal etc
4: Value for money well no comparison really. The Stessco is great for the price and has that 3 mill bottom and sides. i got a good deal on it so cant complain. I had also looked at another Sea Jay before going the Stessco, i just wanted an honest tinny without the price getting up there as the Sea Jay was when i priced it.

Im happy with the boat for the money, it rides great and is solid, only real note is I think is the Stessco trailer for this size boat could be better, its a bit light. OK if your just going down the road to the local ramp but for a lot of highway miles or heading to Stanage regularly i would get something different but i knew that when i got the deal.. Ive heard the Stessco trailer for bigger sizes are better.

Your more than welcome top pop over and have a look at it as im just down the road.

Cheers
Mike