Trailer Mods for Island Time

[brackish]

Hey, nice job Mike.  Cherry huh, I'm thinking you could resaw that into boards.  But maybe not.  Is that a flower growing out of it.  

Going to do a little trailer work myself this winter.  Ordered bunk carpet yesterday.  What isn't rotting off, the squirrels are tearing up.  Got to find a repellant for that.  Going to buy four new tires.  Breaks my heart to throw away tires with almost full tread, but after 8 years, getting a lot of side wall cracking and not trusting them anymore.  May buy a set of disk brakes and replace the drums which are relatively high maintenance.

Neon lights.....hmmm!

[Bob23]

   All this talk about trailer mods has got my wheels a-turning. And we all know that that means trouble. My tires are also about 8 years old with about  200 miles on 'em...guess I should check them out.
   Wonder if I could lower the suspension on my trailer...fender skirts...dingle balls hanging from the rear side  windows...dice from the rear view mirror...crop the windshield...Look what you've started, Salty!!!!!!!
Bob23...with trailer envy!

[Salty19]

Mike, thanks for defending the decorative cherry boat alignment device adorning our side yard, and to you Bob for showing an unusual amount of self-restraint! It does look a little like a navigational beacon now that you mention it being helpful for that function, Mike.  I had planned on cutting it up, but low and behold, she still sits there 10 months later.  But the rest of the HUGE tree has been..ahem...put to rest.

Brackish--Hehe, yes I think there is a flower in there somewhere!   If I call it a garden, that takes all the pressure off to remove it!

Bob, those mods are brilliant!  Don't forget the neon man, you'll regret it!

[kickingbug1]

    as a lawn ornament it sure beats a bunch of knomes.  hey i bought my "rims" on sale too-----eight bucks a piece -----well you guys know me----now to find the tires i can afford-----maybe white letters or redlines.

[Salty19]

Kick- I found prices to a be a lot less online than at local tire shops for tires.  Huge difference.

As a sidenote, it cost me almost $180 for the roadside replacement to ONE tire (included $30 to expedite rather than waiting 2 hours).  I could of bought three tires for that cost, but when your stuck on the side of the road, you pay what it costs.

Moral of the story...do not go cheap here, it may just cost you more in the long run if they are poor quality. 

[Cruzin]

Salty,

Do you have to do anything special so your trailer will back up when utilizing the trailer extension with the brakes? I think mine would lock up and prevent me from backing up as the actuator would not be engaged. That is one fantastic looking trailer you have, great work!
Dale

[Salty19]

Cruzin, no I don't think I have to do anything special..could be wrong?? 

Since the "main" trailer coupler will be unhooked during use with the "dummy" extension, no force should act upon it that would engage the hydraulic piston inside the coupler. It will simply be hanging there until I hook it back up.

Err...I think.

[Salty19]

Pulled the boat today, always a sad day of the year.

Glad to report the trailer extension worked well. Just need to clean up a few burrs to make it slide easier, and maybe some dry lube.
Thankfully I thought ahead and had a wood block to give extra height to the trailer winch (the one to raise and lower the tongue) so the hitch extension was easy to re-hitch on the ball. It sits a bit lower and the winch isn't too tall.

Tires got wet, but only because I pulled in a bit too far. When I pulled out to an adequate depth, which was deeper than I normally can do due to concerns about the SUV literally being sunk (not a steep ramp), there was 5" of distance between tire and water!  No more SUV dunks!

The new wheels and tires  (ST205/75-14, 50psi Goodyear Marathon) DEFINITELY rolled easier down the road empty and loaded with boat. I also didn't notice any bouncing on the road like before with the 12" 90psi tires. While it's only a 5 mile drive home, the difference was immediately noticeable. The highway should be a smoother ride as well.  And in a first time, rookie-like move, forgot all about the tie down straps.  Only the bow eye was connected, and it still was stable.  Could be a connection here..when I store it for the winter I'll strap and see if the straps contribute to boat movement.

The brakes..only really tested them once, and it was not a super hard stop, but generally speaking I can tell they are working! Feels like I'm only towing half the load when slowing and coming to stop.  I realize they need to bed themselves in like any brakes do, so expect them to improve a bit more.
I must of got all the new 7 pin hitch wiring right, the reverse solenoid works, and all lights are operational  

So I consider all the trailer mods a success, it feels much safer and overall less nerve racking.

[Citroen/Dave]

More important than chrome valve caps are solid metal valve stems.  Sooner or later the old style rubber valve stems are going to leak at the rim.

[Salty19]

Finally a pic of the trailer extension in action. Keeps the car out of the water...