The Trailer

There is one part of the Trailerable Boat equation that is often overlooked – the trailer. This element makes it possible to get to distant sailing grounds - but only if properly maintained. My Com-Pac trailer was the original equipment version and it seemed to me to be very lightly constructed. However, it was already part of the deal so I would make do

On purchase, the dealer had indicated hat the bearings had been freshly greased. I checked the bearing and tire temperature by feel several times during the 550 miles of towing on the trip home and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. A more detailed inspection at home did reveal the start of dry rot on the tires. This would not be an issue since these tires were slated for replacement anyway.

Internet e-mail discussions had convinced me to replace the tires with the best and heaviest that I could obtain. A blowout on the road at 55 miles an hour could ruin your day as much or more than a sinking boat. The original tires were Load Range D with a capacity of 1350 pounds each at 70 PSI cold inflation pressure. I replaced these with Load Range E tires with a capacity of 1550 pounds each at 90 PSI.

The spare tire that came with the trailer showed absolutely no signs of ever having been used.  This spare had not been stored outside on the trailer so it also had no signs of dry rot and UV damage.  There was really no need to replace this tire as long as I was careful in it's use.  The only change was to add a spare tire carrier to the trailer so that the tire would be immediately available.

I had to be somewhat persistant with the load range E tires since one trailer center laughed when I wanted to order them.  They would only quote load range D tires and believed that the delivery time would be about 10 days.  Spending some time with the phone book, did result in a dealer that had load range E tires in stock.   It turns out that in the Midwest, the load range E tires are associated with larger pontoon boats where it is also important to keep the boat low in order to improve launching.

The trailer winch was in good condition but the winch strap showed significant signs of wear and was replaced.  The only other maintenance was related to the wiring and bulbs. On purchase, everything worked. However by spring, several lights no longer worked and the wiring proved to be incorrect. The prior owner had failed to correctly ground the trailer harness to the trailer chassis so I replaced most of the wiring harness.

Several owners had commented on the requirement to install a tounge extension to the trailer to enable launching on low water ramps.  So far, this has not been necessary for me.  The first launch attempt showed that with the generally flat ramp at the marina, I was able to launch with only the rear wheels of the vehicle touching the water.  Since my tow vehicle is a four wheel drive Nissan Pathfinder with a 3.0 Liter V6 engine, this is not an issue.

After installing the new tires and re-filling the bearing buddies with grease,  I was able to determine that the grease seals on one side were defective.  I sent the trailer to a local shop and had them replace all wheel bearings, seals, and add new bearing buddies and caps.  The possibility of a breakdown from a bearing failure on the road during a long trip was just not worth the risk.

After all of this work, I still experienced some problems with the turn signal and brake lights failing to function on an occasional basis.   I finally replace the rear light assemblies and during this work found a short in a cable behind the starboard light  assembly.  So far, the new lights have held up fine.  I did select a type of light that is not sealed against water but instead uses a Bell Jar principle to keep the inside of the light assembly dry.  I hope that this will result in a longer life for the bulb connections.

The Trailer - Part Deux

While I was somewhat skeptical about the lightness of the trailer design, I had decided to make do with it since it was part of the purchase price.   Prior to my 1,800 mile trip to the Chesapeake Bay, I had replaced the tires, wheel bearings, grease seals, and bearing buddies.  Unfortunately, I had failed to inspect the bunk support system adequately.  Once at the launch site, I also failed to support the rear of the trailer even though I had disconnected the trailer from the tow vehicle.

Both of these failures could have resulted in a disaster!

Lessons Learned:
1) Never work on top of the boat while it is on the trailer unless the trailer is firmly supported with rear blocks or jack stands located behind the axle
2) Fully inspect all elements of the trailer and not just the wheels and bearings

After a number of  inquiries of various suppliers about a more "Heavy Duty" trailer for this boat, I decided to try a simple re-build of the support system.  This would be considerably cheaper since the trailer quotes were coming back in the range of two to three thousand dollars.

The trailer bunk boards were solid but the lag screws holding them to the support uprights were pulled out from vibration.   The bunks are now fastened to the support system with counter sunk 1/4 inch bolts.  The keel guides were also secured in the same manner.  All contact surfaces were re-covered with brown carpet material ($1.40 per running foot - on sale - for 6 foot wide indoor/outdoor marine grade carpeting at a local hardware store).

The bow roller has been replaced with a 3 inch "V" bow stop.  The mounting bracket for the bow stop was  rotated to point down so that there would be no contact with the bobstay chainplate or bobstay.  This allows the boat to be positioned a few inches more forward on the trailer.  It also reduces the stress on the winch strap since this allows for a more straight pull.

During this period, I also replaced the coupler unit (2 inch ball on a 2 inch shaft), the winch (1,400 pound rating), and moved the support clamp units   so that the best clamps are under the bunk uprights while potentially weaker looking clamps are used for the keel guides where there is no real loading force.  I also repaired a wheel fender bracket that had broken and replaced the electrical connector system that powers the trailer lights.

Hopefully, the trailer is now ready for a major over the road trip of some 2,600 miles when I go to sail in the Florida Keys.

This page was last updated:  09/14/00 05:13:38 PM