The SunCat Magic-Tilt trailer, 10K kilometers (6.2K Mi) after...

[Joseph]

Ten thousand kilometres (some 6,200 miles) on the road seem to be the limit for several parts on the Magic-Tilt SunCat trailer…

Three years have passed since I towed the SunCat out the Hutchins' yard... Since then the boat has been on the road for over 10,000 km, some of which were on less than perfect paved roads (some were not paved at all...).

Straps: I use straps to tie the stern of the boat to the rear of the trailer (one strap on each side from the stern cleat to the frame of the trailer) and another one with an anti-chafe device holds the bow down to the base of the winch post. The idea is to avoid any bouncing of the boat on the trailer. However the straps have needed retightening every few hundred kilometres, particularly in the rain. The front strap broke once and another time one of the rear straps went loose and was lost on the road.

Mud guards: When coming back from the last trip one of the mud guards broke off. One of the bolts was missing and the remaining bracket got fatigued by the vibrations from the road.  The other mud guard was holding on one single bolt and bracket. Both mud guards were recovered, the bracket resoldered and the bolts replaced. Needless to say, this was very lucky.

Tongue: The tongue is the hinged type that can fold back to fit in a garage. The vertical bolt at the hinge broke near the bottom of the tongue during the last road trip and its lower piece with the nut holding it went missing. However, the top portion held in place until it was noticed while snugging the boat down for the winter.  This, of course, was extremely lucky (I sweat every time I think about it…) as otherwise nothing would have held the trailer to the car… The bolt has since been replaced with a new bolt of similar kind as no bolt made of a harder alloy could be found.

Tires: The tires are still in good shape, but wearing of the threads is clearly more pronounced on the inside side than on the outside one, suggesting that some flexing must have caused the tires to contact the road more on the their inside than the outside. New tires will be installed at the onset of the coming season. The bearings, seem ok, as is the rest of the trailer, but will likely be changed also before the coming season.

I realize that 10,000 Km in 3 seasons is likely more road-towing than that inflicted on most other SunCats. However, I though that other owners might find this information useful towards the maintenance of their own trailers.

Cheers,

J.

[NateD]

Interesting. When you say mud guards, are you talking the wheel fenders that cover the upper part of the wheel, or did the trailer come with rubber flaps that hang down on the backside of the wheel? I lost a wheel fender on my CP16 trailer, but it was 30 years old at the time.

I'm also a little confused by your description of the tire tread wear. Are you saying just the inside portion of the tread was worn more than the rest, or both the edges (inside and outside) were worn more than the middle? Here's a good description of how to diagnose tread wear: http://www.venturetrailers.com/pdfs/Tire%20Wear%20Chart.pdf

[capt_nemo]

Joseph,

I do not trailer my 2010 Sun Cat as much as you do, but find that living in Florida and boating in salt water require vigilance in trailer maintenance.

Although only three years old, my trailer has been "spot" painted with Cold Galvanize Spray Paint (Rustoleum Brand) several times after wire brushing the tell tale rust spots that inevitably appear despite it being a "Galvanized" Trailer. I've used several cans of spray in covering those "spots". And, the "Bearing Buddies" are checked periodically and kept full of grease. It continues to look good and serve me well, so far.

capt_nemo

[Joseph]

Thank you both for the comments...

NateD... Yes, my mistake, I was referring to the metal "wheel fenders". As for the worn tires, looking at the pics and description in the link from venturetrailers, I'd say that "cupping" would be the best fit, and yes, most of the wear is the portion of the thread that rides towards the middle-line of the trailer. Bearings, bushings, alignment and wheel balance had been checked last year. Suspension is more difficult to assess, but will have the elastics checked in the spring. I'd like to rule out excessive weight because when towing most of the gear travels inside the towing vehicle.

And capt_nemo... my compliments as usual on the way you keep your jewel... Mine, even if I sail her in fresh water, cannot compare to your mini-yacht! Still, I aim for safety, so I'll be more careful in not taking the trailer so much for granted in the future.

J.