bloody boat trailers

[lippa]

i've just spent the last 8 hrs under my trailer, what a joy!!!!!
i've pulled every single bolt out ::)greased it and put it bak in. checking wheel bearings, lights and whatever else (christ i hate caliper return springs!!!!)

and the bloody missus reakons i don't do anything!!!! :D


check ya trailer guys, mine is a year old and i found some issuses, so better to be safe, than sitting on the side of the hiway!!!!!!!


merry christmas every one


and a safe holiday period to you all!!!!!!!

cheers

lippa

[Noelm]

I know the feeling, I built my own trailer for my tinny and thought I would give it a bit of a "check up" found a roller needed a bit of a "tweak", bloody bolt broke off, only been on about a year, and was galvanised and covered in grease as well, ,makes you think about what happens 5 years 'down the track" and there is cheap sh!t used on a trailer, by the way, to build a trailer is NOT cheap, so do not think the "store bought" ones are expensive, sure they might skimp on some stuff, but just try to price all the goodies needed to build one from nothing, and I had access to lots of parts at "mates rates" I only did it because I wanted a good trailer for my 3.7 Quinnie and there was not a lot of "heavy duty" stuff around for that size, so, next time you are trailer shopping, try to think about the next few years and buy the best you can get, not the cheapest piece of crap you can find, the very minimum I think is 13" wheels even though I have had those 600 X 9 velox wheels before, and a good frame with a GOOD galvanising job, before you eeven THINK about putting it in salt, at least paint everything with fishoil or something, cover everything you can see (bolts etc) with grease, sure it may look a little old, but it will still be good and servicable later on.

[Noelm]

hey hang on, did I just have a "mini whinge" I thought my last whinge for the year was yesterday!

[PADDLES]

the year's not over yet noel, heps of days left for more whinges ;D

i've got some trailer reconstruction to do myself over chrissy. i've got the boat booked into a rack over at spinnaker for a week so it'll give me the time to head down the back shed and replace a rusted out cross member, clean up a bit of other surface rust and replace some bolts and rollers and give it all a good plastering with blackjack. it'll look pretty ugly but slows the cancer anyway.

best of all i'll be able to pretend i'm rich and make the phonecall to spinnaker

"prepare the boat james, we're heading out" ;D

[Noelm]

best of luck "replacing a cross member" if it is rusted, you can bet lots of stuff has 'gone to god" a mate of mine who was a metalurgist always told me steel never rusts, "it just returns to it's natural state"

[PADDLES]

yeah, your mate's right about the natural state thing. it's pretty hard keeping it as steel sometimes. ;D

hopefully i won't be finding too much other stuff wrong, i've just replaced the springs and that's how i found the crossmember to be well past it's use-by date.

i've only owned the boat for just over a year and my mate owned it for 4 years before me (he warned me about the crossmember) but i swear that old mate who owned it before us never used to wash it down after dunking it. it's a tinka driveon multiroller trailer and is generally in awesome condition for a 13 year old trailer. but the last set of rollers and brackets are downright ordinary and the rear crossmember on the cradle that hold the springs/axle/wheels is the one that's cactus.

[emuparkpete]

Yeah, just noticed some give in my wheel bearings on one side . Considering the roller pins cause the most strife , I got a quote to get some 316 grade stainless pins cut to replace the rusty ones ( 5 of ) and will only cost $45.00. I am told these will outlast the trailer.
Also noticed hairline crack in the winch post roller arms , BLOODY TRAILERS !

[lippa]

i just piad 20 big ones for dodgy gal ones

for s/s thats a bargin

i'll get aqnother year out the gal ones i just put in, but kicking myself i didn't buy s/s


lippa

[no_name]

LAD'S COP THIS,I'M NOT SAYING THIS IS THE ANSWER IT'S JUST WHAT I DO. ONCE A YEAR I GET THE MOTER SERVICED, AS WELL I GET THE LADS(SUNDOWN MARINE) TO CHECK OVER THE T


RAILER ALL DONE DRIVE AWAY ALL GOOD

[lippa]

good mate is an outboard mechanic, that right mechanic, not a bloody parts replacing technician!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;D ;D ;D ( i'm only having a shot at the system)

so anyway, he does me boat,,,,,,,,

but the trailer is up to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

come to think of it...............

the amount of rum he drinks, it might be cheaper to get a "technician"run over it???????????

cheers

lippa

[Kiktz]

Since having a bearing go on me, I would re- grease the bearing after
2 trips. Trailer maintance is 2nd on my list right under engine. Like a few others in the time of boating I was complacent at first these days painfully methodical.

Aj

P.S has anyone got any thoughts as to what type of bearing you use in your trailer. I have gone frm the cheap chinese made bearings to ones made in Japan. Just wondered if anyone else has ideas regarding this.