Wheels: - The other week I had dropped my boat off to have some work done on the trailer, and as I was towing it noticed a "bumpity bumpity thump" noise and feeling it through the car. As I was having the tyres on the car rotated, I took the wheels off the trailer and asked the garage to balance them: bad news.
The treads were not far coming off, and as they were not steel belted they couldn't be balanced; one tyre had a slice out of it, and the spare was a different sized tyre. So, two new tyres, balanced, and the best of the 'worst' kept for a spare: but wow, what a difference to towing !
So, first point; have you checked your trailer tyres for a) pressure, b) good tread, c) balance.
Tyre pressure is very important, and they should be checked regularly. If you do not know what it should be, check with your local tyre dealer, remembering the weight of boat & trailer will be around 750/1000 kilos. Why not paint the pressure on the mudguard ?
As the wheels are off, now is a good time to strip the bearings down, thoroughly clean them and re-grease with a high speed, waterproof grease. This should be done regularly through the year, particularly if you often immerse the wheels while the bearings are hot (ie; immediately after arrival.
This is also a good time to check the springs, and a recommendation is to liberally coat them with a mixture of old sump oil and Kero; don't forget to put thick wads of newspaper under the work so as not to spoil e) the grass, f) the garage floor ! Loose rust should be wire brushed or hammered off. I actually jacked the trailer frame, so as to take the tension off the springs to allow better penetration of the mixture.
Remember to have the trailer frame well blocked in case the jacks should slip.
Lights: - do they work ? funny question, but have you noticed how many trailer lights don't ?
They should be regularly checked, and on a boat trailer this should not be too hard, as they usually come right off the trailer, and you can lay them beside the car so you can see them from the drivers seat.
I was recently checking the lights on both boat trailers I have, and suddenly noticed that there were no brake lights; then I found the car ones didn't work either. After a check I found the fuse had blown. but not before having stripped all the fittings and connectors.
I asked about this at my service place, and the service manager immediately said that older connectors tended to ARC across the earth, and that this should be thorough cleaned, or a new connector fitted.
This also explained the dimming of the tail-lights on the trailer if a turning indicator was put on.
- Tow-hitch:- have you checked that the bolts are tight ? what about the tow-ball on the car ? is it well greased ?
- Safety-chain:- I have had a longer one fitted, and put a shackle at a point that it fits comfortably onto the tow-bar; the end is just long enough to the other side of the tow-bar, where I padlock it to the car; nothing worse than coming back from a sail to find the trailer pinched !
- Winch cable:- I suggest that this should be regularly checked, watching particularly for broken wires and rust that could be potential trouble. I wonder if it would be an an idea to treat the cable with a light machine oil or WD40. Don't forget a drop of oil or grease on the winch bearings.
- Chassis: - check for rust and treat where necessary with a rust-inhibitor, and paint with Kill-rust primer and finisher.
- Dolly Wheel:- again, a drop of oil on the wheel bearings, and strip it down so you can oil the internal screw; oil on the trailer screw will help too. If a pump-up, check the tyre pressure.
- Boat Detail:- the A.Y.F. regulations require the name, class, boat number and trailer and/or towing vehicle reg. number to be on the trailer. I have put this detail on paper (printed in large type on my computer) and put it in a large size registration label holder, which is now besides the rego lable on the trailer.
David Boult treats the end section of his trailer with a coat of "McKay Marine & Boat Trailer Grease" obtainable from Whitworths; he says it is messy to put on and for 5/6 weeks after application, but then goes quite firm, and will only come off if really rubbed. He trims up where necessary from time to time.
I have noted that it is not always advantageous to use the full tilt on my trailer when recovering the boat, so have bolted a length of light chain to the front end of my chassis, and put a 1/4" hook on the drawbar, so enabling a limited tilt.
- Bolts & Pins: - Check for tightness and split pins for wear, particularly the tilt bolt & pivot pin.
- Rollers: - Check for ease of running and any breadown of the rubber, lubricate with watreproof grease.
- Rear end of trailer: - a boat can be badly damaged when being recovered if a wash or chop lifts it at the wrong time. The end of your trailer should be clear of any unnecessary projections, and I have noticed that a number of owners have put timber guides across the rear frame to minimise the damage that a contact with metal will do. I have put a strip of decking timber 'Balou', which is oily, on mine.
The victorian guide suggests that these could be slightly 'Veed', not more than 10 degrees, to guide the boy onto the rear roller.
There are very good points on trailer design and maintenance in the Victorian publication"The Hartley T.S.16 Cruising Guide, pg 75/78, and it may be an idea to see if we can publish it in a later Tillerscope.
Safe towing - Barrie Heath