Boat Trailering Mistakes 

lol, are you pulling my leg?! 🤣

lol no I'm not. I'd pay tp see you!! @@boatinglessons

@@greggo502 Very kind words! Thank you 🙂

I found that out the hard way so to speak. Had a flat thought I had all the bases covered carrying a separate 2t floor jack just in case. Found out that with the tire flat my jack still wasn't low enough to get under the axle😮. First thing i did was grab a new tire and a low profile racing jack.

Trailer tires also have a lower speed rating and blow out easier at higher temps/speeds. I see guys going 90 pulling their boats on Texas toll roads and wonder if they realize the tire speed ratings are often lower than their vehicle tires.

​@@moonpiespotlight4759 most trailer tires are rated 55mph, some are 70 and some are 80 depending on the ply rating

An easy bearing check is to feel the hubs' temperatures whenever you stop. They'll usually start to run hot well before a failure.

DC works fine in water. Now, salt water is another story!

If your electrical system is allowing water into it, disconnecting power s going to do very little good for longevity.

If you have LED lights your fine......if you have normal lights.....COLD.....water like below 60°.....will pop hot bulbs.....if your bulbs are cold waters not freezing.....they should be fine underwater.....it's cold water cracking hot glass.....not really water touching wire....and if your worried about that is check your connections.....

@@YourMomsPlaceLastNight Normal bulbs are fine in a water proof housing and very few aren't waterproof these days.

That doesn’t work on my trailer. my reverse lights activates a trailer brake bypass allowing me to back up.

Better safe than sorry.

It's better to have it and not need it, then to need it and not have it.

Agreed. I’ve seen perfectly good looking tires shred that were 7 years old. I never met my trailer tires get over 5 years old regardless of appearance.

No mention of balancing trailer tires .

@@hotchihuahua1546 To me, balanced tires are a given.

@@timothystevens4840that’s you and me but check most trailers and the tires aren’t balanced . Lol A spare is also overlooked .

You are so welcome!

Ozone actually is the bigger problem that degrades and breaks down vulcanized rubber. Better to just pay the piper and upgrade trailer tires every 5th year at the longest.

Grease is not good. It attracts dirt, sand, and gravel and hold it thus wearing greased components out. Use a spray silicone that dries and leaves a lubricated film...

Way way to much......just touch them they will either be kinda warm or too hot to touch.....or listen for sqweeks......

It's great for checking the temp at the hot springs, also. I am not crawling all the way under the trailer to touch dirty, hot stuff. Infrared imager works well, also!

Correct that is standard in New Zealand my country

That is not on our normal check list and perhaps it should be.

I use epoxy lined heat shrink and overlap a longer piece over a shorter one for double protection. Liquid tape is also a good product to coat a connection with. It's not pretty but in a hidden space you can use a wire nut on at-risk connections and simply dip the entire wire nut into the liquid tape to completely seal the connection (telephone companies used to do this with buried cables). I have nav lights with hidden wiring in the bow of my boat that have these types of connections for 20 years without any issues.

Thank you Donald!

The max pressure is written right on the side of the tire. It is usually between 50 and 70 psi.

Thank you Perry!

Glad to hear it! Thanks for the kind words :)

I've had that same experience...not fun.

Not sure if you mean the same thing, but rollers are a common option on trailers. Many people don't like them because your boat rolls off as easy as it rolls on. You have to have 2 experienced people to load and unload a boat. With bunks, you can park so it's almost floating, unhook from the trailer and pull it off with the engine, then park the boat and go move your truck. If you have rollers, the boat is going off the back of the trailer the second you loosen the strap, if you are in it or not. There are ways around this, but they involve a second rope. With bunks, as long as the trailer is as the right depth, the boat stays in place while you get in and out.

When I was a kid that is all you saw was wobble rollers. There were many different kinds. they have faded out over the years. Newer trailers have precision placed bunks specific to the boat it was built for that work great. Wobble rollers are more versatile and good if you are using your trailer to haul a variety of hull size and shapes.

It depends on where in the USA you are….in the north east where the tides change water depth 6 feet from low to high tide you see plenty of full roller trailers. Tides & shallow ramps are difficult for bunk trailers a roller can be used where a bunk cannot.

Yes, you can as long as the other wheel is safely checked and you don’t go too high.

Never a bad idea.

Exactly. Those steel cables on the other hand, will fail.

I had a 6000 lb chain snap with a Pontiac V8 and tranny hanging on an engine hoist once. Made me a frayed!! Upon further inspection found two nicks in one of the chain links like somebody hit it with a hatchet. That motor dropped REAL fast!

Synthetic decking material doesn't have the support. That's why you need 12" on center joists to avoid sagging and why substructure of decking is normally lumber. Also there's no holding power to them so using a lag bolt in them is a non-starter since below the surface coating is mostly pressed material. Even PVC boards don't have the best holding ability with screws, and don't have structural support. There's nothing wrong with using lumber as long as you continue to service your trailer regularly. Bunks should last several years. That said, there are synthetic bunk boards but they are really expensive and aren't made from decking material.

@moonpiespotlight4759 a piece of aluminum angle backing the board would take care of the sagging. Of course, you just bolt through them to negate the weak holding power.

La crosse Wisconsin area?

Or just shoot grease into the bearing after every trip so it pushes the water out…

@@jakemedley7423 actually that will blow out the rear seal. Then the grease slings out and the bearing fails.

@@JeffBattleFish no it won’t if your careful and only do enough to displace the water

@@jakemedley7423 Where does the water go?

Do you use them on your vehicle as well? My Truck sits in the sun just like my boat, I don't worry about dry rot. Tires should be replaced on a timed basis, not by tread wear (especially on boat trailers).

The castle nut isn't torqued, its retained from spinning off by a cotter pin. Do a search for details, but basically you tighten the nut down to seat the bearings, then back it off till loose, hand tighten then insert cotter pin. Check wheel for run-out and adjust aaccordingly. There are many videos that show this.

I would check loaded.

Great advice! Thank you for sharing :)

1/8 inch is a lot. Way more than the bearing expands. Finger tight is what I’ve always gone by

1/8 play at the top of the wheel is next to nothing at the bearing, finger tight on the adjustment nut is zero clearance on the bearing cold and preloaded when hot.I have serviced and adjusted 1000s of wheel bearings I was taught this 45 years ago by WW2 mechanics.@@BabyGators

Yes on the safety chain!

I pump mine until the spring loaded piston moves out. And always use waterproof grease!!!!!

The more intense the sun, the more they rot - agreed!

Robert I understand about the Arizona sun. Does that also apply to car tires? Every two years would get expensive.

@@darrelldreher5980 Nope. Car tires seem to do relatively fine. Not sure if its the quality or the load or both that reduce the trailer tires life.

@@robertsaget9697 probably because of the time sitting

You will get an answer 50/50 on that one! We always leave them connected with new issue.

If you have a trailer with serge disc brakes you need to have the trailer plugged in to operate the solenoid that keeps the brakes from engaging

With newer LED lights they should be better

I like to unplug. I don't have LED's.

I leave mine connected and have even dunked them. If the housing is sealed with wiring it shouldn't be an issue.

5 years for me, travel trailer, boat trailer, and utility trailer

It could be that the tires themselves take a slight shape (flatten a bit) where they sit at rest when not in use. Once the tires heat up after the first few miles, they soften and return to proper shape.

Agree

If possible, uncovered. It is really hard on the covers.

It depends on if your cover is rated for travel. Some are and some are not.

Thanks for the info!

Actually it's the other way around. The first two numbers are the week and the last two are the year of production. Hope this helps. Also while the D.O.T. numbers are on both sides, the date code is sometimes only on one side.

@@YesThatSuperDave , Awww yes LOL, it has been many years since I have had to worrie about the dates. I use to haul 5th wheels and the tires would have half a tread and tell me they will be fine--LOLOL. Umm NO! , All the boat tips are so great, some dont apply but it is good learning and it keeps me outta trouble--Ha ha - iam 59 - did i say iam married AND have a boat. It was great comms here- take care all :)

@@twlyons1 I've had people tell me," Those tires are new, I just put them on last year." When in reality the tires are 10+ years old.

@@YesThatSuperDave LOLOL, yeah, time slips away some times ha ha.

Dual not fuel

Feel the axle hubs after a few miles or at any time you may perceive a problem and EVERY TIME YOU PULL- check brake fluid if it aplys - this is how I found out our new to us 2019 Supreme had none- and all the fluid after priming back in has disappeared on us so we are replacing the hitch slide part unless I can find the correct plunger with elec lock out. Keeping a few end (butt) connectors and just a cheap set of crimpers in the glove box helps in case a wire breaks or gets snagged. If you have tandem axles, carry a 4x4 cut at one end 45 degrees and fix to a 2x6 just as long so if you get a flat, loosen the lug nuts and place the blocks in front or behind in order to ramp the good tire on the same side- by doing this, it will lift the axle and flat tire up fast then digging out the wind up jack and putting it away--LOL - I hope I explained the well :) .. Make sure that your emergency pull cable will pull out before the safety chains stretch out all the way- this will activate the trailer brakes in the event of tongue break or hitch slides out or even some dirt bad has un latched your boat when you stopped for gas and chips---the chains keep both vehicles together so not to roll into a soccer moms van, (ok that is harsh but so true). Subscribe to Len's Cove Lessons in Boating and the like button HIT IT !

Good advice!

During the walk around precheck ( every time) if you see tiny rust spots on the wheel then your lug nuts are loose and failure is very few miles away.

I have my spare tire mounted onto a hub with bearings which is mounted to a replacement spindle so worse case (burned bearing ate into spindle) any welder can get e going.

I pull trailers on salted roads... Having lug nuts freeze on and have to replace studs due to twisting them off while trying to remove them...lesson learned.. As a general rule don't lube lug nuts with anything.... I do because I'll need to get them off one day... Also.. retorque after a few miles and you probably will never have a problem.. Oh....if you depended on toque wrench on those rusty bolts ,you'll really be under tightening.... You'll have to use some good judgment while doing so....or replace all studs and nuts every few years...

@@jonjacobjingleheimerschmid3798 Need to adjust torque specs if you're lubricating threads.

@@moonpiespotlight4759 what part of " freezing on" did you miss? As not many actually toque wrench anyway...I only do on emergency equipment and now and again to keep that muscle memory accurate So everything is " goodntight"

Or better yet, that bearings don't leak, seals do!

Then make a video and show us how.

You make a video! ​@@NTSAdventures

You must be real fun at parties. I wish the dislike counter was still active!

@@jen4739Yeah, we know… And tires don’t go flat, the air just comes out.