"When Something Goes Wrong," a report in the February/March 2004 issue of BoatU.S. Trailering magazine cites the top three reasons for roadside breakdowns.
#1 reason: Flat Tires: You can take care of your tires but you can't always take good care of the road surfaces your tires travel upon. Almost half (43%) of all calls for assistance can be chocked up to the simple but age old problem of flat tires. Ironically, it's one of the easiest to fix when you have prepared for it. Have both a trailer and tow vehicle spare with you and practice changing them. For example, a tandem axle trailer can easily be driven up on a curb so the flat tire is off the pavement.
#2 reason: Bearing Failures: The second most common reason (20% of all calls for roadside assistance) is trailer bearing failures. The BoatU.S. Trailering club recommends that bearings be inspected and repacked at a minimum each time the tow vehicle has its oil changed. A trailer that is rarely used may need to have bearings inspected and repacked as often as one that is used often. When traveling long distances, bearings should be inspected at every gas station fill up and checked for leaking grease, hub heat buildup, smoking or wheel noise - indicators that something is not right.
#3 reason: Tow Vehicle Problems: The third most common problem phoned in to the BoatU.S. 24-hour Dispatch Center doesn't involve the trailer, but the tow vehicle. Fifteen percent of all cases were the result of running out of fuel, being locked out of the vehicle, or the need for a jump start.
Other remaining reasons included axle problems (8%); wheel and rim problems (4%); and stuck on the boat ramp (2%).
"The findings show that some breakdowns are preventable and some are not," said BoatU.S. Trailering's Associate Publisher, Beth McCann. "The best way to protect yourself is to ensure your on-the-road 'motor club' provides for both a trailer and tow vehicle."
Here are some tips I compiled from personal experience, and from boaters who have had experience with short and long distance tows.
- Call your insurance agent and make sure your auto and/or boat policies cover your liability while pulling
your boat trailer, as well as covering damage to your own car, boat and trailer.
- Make certain your tow vehicle has the horsepower to do the job. If it doesn't have
and an oil cooling system to help keep it from overheating, put one
in. A burned-out transmission or jeopardizing safety is not a good trade-off for
a reliable towing vehicle, even if you have to spend a little more.
- Consider the size, weight, and length of your boat and capacity
of the trailer when you're shopping for a tow vehicle. And remember...a rear
drive vehicle is superior to a front wheel drive vehicle when it comes to
getting your boat in and out of a slippery boat ramp.
- Check the metal or plastic certification label attached by the trailer manufacturer to the left forward
side of your trailer. It may show the maximum load-carrying capacity of the trailer. It
is required to show the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR), which is the load-carrying capacity PLUS
the weight of the trailer itself. Be sure that the total weight of your boat, engine, gear, and trailer do not exceed
the GVWR.
- Find a wide open space somewhere, like an empty parking lot, and
practice backing, turning, and maneuvering your trailer. Set up some empty
milk jugs to look like the edges of a boat ramp. If you make a mistake
here, you lose an empty milk jug.
- A good trick for practicing backing a trailer is to put your hand on the BOTTOM of the steering wheel. Move
your hand to the left, the trailer goes left. Guess what happens when you move your hand to the right?
- There are good trailor hitches and dangerous ones. A bumper hitch should never
be used and is illegal for towing in many states.
- Modern tow vehicles have more electronics than NBC. Therefore, you should
never try and modify or install a trailer wiring harness unless you
really know what you're doing. You might just burn out a VERY expensive
computer module.
- Periodically, check your trailer for cracks in the welds, and tighten any bolts that may have worked
loose. Trailers take a real beating on rougher roads, and therough roads seem to lead to
roads that lead to lakeside launch ramps are usually rougher than normal for some reason.
- Take the time to attach the trailer to the tow properly, and make sure that the ball is
properly engaged and locked on the hitch.
- Make sure the electrical connections to the lights and brakes are operating. And before you back
a trailer into the water, unplug the lights. It'll help save your bulbs. Just don't forget to plug them back together
before you take off again.
- Connect a safety chain from the trailer post to the bow of your boat, so that a sudden surge won't force the
boat to slide off the back of the trailer.
- Safety chains should be crossed underneath the hitch
before attaching them. Use bolted connections rather than "S" hooks,
which can actually s-t-r-e-t-c-h under severe strain. Adjust the chains
if necessary to keep them from dragging along the ground.
- Attach a chain or extra heavy-duty strap from the back of the boat
to the trailer to keep the boat from lurching forward into the rear of
the tow vehicle if you need to stop quickly. The bow of your boat sticking
through the back of your tow vehicle is not a pretty sight!
- Check your boat straps, chains, and winch cable regularly, and replace
them if they look frayed or worn.
- Inspect the trailer bearings and grease them as needed. If you use
"bearing buddies", make sure they're tight on the axle and filled (but not
over-filled) with grease. Overfilling can blow the inner seals out of
their housing.
- Before leaving home or leaving the launch ramp, open a can
of pop and take a leisurely stroll around the trailer and the tow
vehicle. Make
sure everything is hooked up properly, locked, strapped down, secure,
and if your trailer has a spare tire, make sure it's fully inflated.
- When you get to the launch ramp, take your time getting the boat squared away before launching. These minutes you spend making sure all your boating safety equipment is ready will give your wheels and bearings a chance to cool down. If they're hot when you dip them into that cold water, you're taking a risk of seizing the bearings.
- If your trailer has brakes (recommended for gross weight over 1,500 pounds), make sure
they are adjusted and working properly. If they are
"surge" brakes, see to it that the brake fluid reservoir is full.
- Keep your trailer tires and your tow vehicle tires properly inflated.
- Make sure the tire jack you intend to use in an emergency will fit properly beneath the
axles or lifting points BEFORE you have to use it. Don't assume that the same jack and lug wrench that works
with your tow vehicle will work with your boat.
- Keep a fire extinguisher in the tow vehicle or on the winch stem when trailering. Lots of things
can happen to put it to good use...a bearing catching fire, someone throwing a cigarette into
or onto your boat when you're stopped for lunch...use your imagination.
- Make sure you know your state trailering laws. Most states require a special permit to tow
if your load exceeds eight feet.
- Always stay in your car while you launch your boat. No driver, no access to the brake pedal,
which activates the brake on all four wheels. The parking or hand brake only sets the rear
wheels.
- Carry spare bulbs for your trailer lights.
- Make sure that 5-7% of the total weight of the tow (boat, motor, contents, and trailer) is on the tongue of the trailer. More, and the tow vehicle will handle poorly. Less, and the trailer is likely to fishtail.
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