Boat Trailer Repair Project

I have bearing buddies on both my trailers and swear by them,not AT them.LOL Now, matching the boat to the trailer is a little more tricky. The rear roller should be at the stern of the keel within three inches of the the transom edge and the other rollers equidistant from the rear roller to the bow of the boat riser and should be holding all the weight. The bunks should only be used to stabilize the hull while keeping it level on the trailer,holding very little weight. It will become very self-evident the first time you re-load the boat (you should notice very little "drag" resistance while winching the boat up.) That will dictate the position of the winch stand adjustment and the tongue length. Spare tire mount kits can be found at CTC and a fairly inexpensive. You didn't mention whether the trailer axle was adjustable which is real handy for balancing the weight of your boat on the trailer to establish tongue weight. This,too,will become self-evident when travelling on not-so-smooth,gravel roads.

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Originally Posted by northernontario

I redid the lights on my boat trailer this year. New wiring, ground to each brake/turn light... soldered all joints and sealed with hot glue + heat shrink. Dab of hot glue, let it set up a bit, slide heat shrink over the joint, then use a heat gun... heat one end, let it shrink and harden up, then heat along the length... glue will remelt in the joint and squish out the end of the heat shrink as it contracts down the length. Same as the double-layer heat shrink, but a heck of a lot cheaper. The small craft-type hot glue guns are best, as the glue is a lower temp melt point. Larger glue guns run hotter and low-melt glue will run everywhere.

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This the stuff I use. It works great, much easier to use than a glue gun. IMO
Attachment 25969

I find that bunks spread the weight out on the hull, just like being in the water whereas rollers concentrate it in one little area.
Check the website of bearing companies to see how much grease they need, then you will forget about bearing buddies.
The sealed tail lights similar to the ones used on transport trailers tend to last forever as long as the wiring is good. Doesn't matter if they are LEDs or incandescent, but the LEDs require a lot less voltage and current to operate. I don't understand how SAE approves some of the tail lights on the marke, especially the ones that take 1157 bulbs....

Thanks for the tips and info.

The trailer axel is not adjustable, but the trailer itself is a tilt trailer.

Saw the "submersible" LED kits at CTC, good reviews, and for the price, if they last great, if not, well it wasn't that much. Key seems to be to ensure a good clean ground.

As for adjusting the bunks, I guess the only real way to do it is to get the boat up on it, adjust, and just try it out on a launch / load and see how it comes in and adjust as required.

Actually those "submersible " lights are NOT waterproof in any manner and are open at the bottom. Road spray and salt both get into the socket to do their thing. I find that they start giving trouble pretty quick as a result. They might be ok after the winters salt is all rinsed off the roads or if only used in DRY weather. They are sealed at the top so they air lock when you back into the water, keeping the bulb "dry"....
Remove the bulbs and coat the base with grease. The socket contacts are aluminium or steel..

I don't trust anything they say is waterproof. Make sure you disconnect the wiring before backing into water and let it drip dry afterwords before reconnecting.

Something tells me TR, that you're going to be sorry you posted this? :silly: Wiring? Lights? Bunk boards? Rollers, Spare tire?..... whew! Who knew eh? :eek:

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Originally Posted by Bushmoose

Something tells me TR, that you're going to be sorry you posted this? :silly: Wiring? Lights? Bunk boards? Rollers, Spare tire?..... whew! Who knew eh? :eek:

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LOL you got that right, that's why the duck boat goes on the roof lol

I

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Originally Posted by Pat32rf

Actually those "submersible " lights are NOT waterproof in any manner and are open at the bottom. Road spray and salt both get into the socket to do their thing. I find that they start giving trouble pretty quick as a result. They might be ok after the winters salt is all rinsed off the roads or if only used in DRY weather. They are sealed at the top so they air lock when you back into the water, keeping the bulb "dry"....
Remove the bulbs and coat the base with grease. The socket contacts are aluminium or steel..

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These are LED submersible lights, no bulbs/sockets, says completely sealed? but like you said, for how long? who knows?

But for the price, if they only last a year or two, so be it.

[QUOTE=TurkeyRookie;804537]These are LED submersible lights, no bulbs/sockets, says completely sealed? but like you said, for how long? who knows?

Not the ones that I was complaining about. Sealed is what you need, not open at the bottom when talking bulb type units. On LEDs it probably doesn't matter as long as the circuit board has been dipped/sprayed/sealed somehow...