Trailer fender issue

[alsantini]

I wonder if anyone else has had problems with the magic Tilt trailer fenders?  The PO of Off The Wind trailered the boat from Texas up to Kansas City.  Along the way the right front fender bracket cracked.  The fender chewed up the tire.   He had the bracket re-welded and bolted it back to the fender.  In November, on the way to Florida, I noticed a bit of vibration in the left fender.  Looked at it and realized that the bracket had cracked (I sense a pattern here....)  While in Florida I had a weld shop repair the brackets on the left side.  On Thursday, when we arrived home I realized that the left rear bracket had again cracked and is somewhere on RT 57.  I checked the right side and I had lost the bolt and the front bracket is again cracking.  This system seems to be crap!  Has anyone replaced the fenders with Fulton plastic fenders and U bolts?  or am I the only person who has experienced this problem?  Of course I may have more miles than most on the trailer.  Towed from Clearwater, FL to Texas to Kansas to Elgin, Illinois to Nokomis Florida to Elgin Illinois with a few side trips in.  I have replaced the tires with new balanced ones and have no vibrations.  I generally travel at 63 mph max, but occasionally hit 65.  Any ideas?
Al

[Vectordirector]

Al,

Good to hear you made it back in (kind of) one piece.  I noticed somewhere on the journey down that one of my fenders had broken a weld but it wasn't rubbing on anything so I kept an eye on it and it was fine. It was pretty rough going through Nashville and Birmingham, your Acadia probably smooths it out pretty well.  Haven't thought about it since as I don't plan on using my trailer much. 

So, yes, I had it too, but not as bad as I don't use my trailer nearly as much as you do.   It didn't seem any worse when I put the boat in the water and then put the trailer in storage.

Sounds like maybe springs.  My prior owner said he had the leaf springs replaced/upsized to help smooth the bouncing.  Also, Arthur tells me that most SS hardware these days is cheap Chinese junk that doesn't last in salt water.  The weld shop might have used it. 

Good luck and let us know if you find a fix. 



Vectordirector

[alsantini]

Well the continuing saga of the trailer fenders.  After seeing a pic of a set of aluminum fenders on an Eclipse trailer, I ordered the Sam A O Smith fenders and mounting brackets from West Marine.  They really looked cool and I was excited to get the job going.  BUT, when I brought the fenders out to the trailer and put them up to the frame the front bracket runs and can only be put where the rear spring shackle is located.  Neither the shackle or the bracket can be moved - damn
I am now back to making my own bracket out of good quality stainless steel, bending it, drilling holes and mounting the fenders.  I will keep all posted.  This has become an all consuming project.  But, I refuse to let it get in the way of sailing !!

[Napier6]

Here's the solution I came up with for my Performance trailer about 4 weeks ago. I had the fenders removed to go up to 13" tires.  Looked at the aftermarket fenders available, then after trying brackets, I had a welder reattach the fenders at a higher level. It's a bit brute force, but got me to the coast and back safely. Also, I like to stand on the fenders so the brackets weren't up to the task. ,

[alsantini]

Cool.  Same trailer and same fenders.  Amazing how heavy they are isn't it?  I am keeping the same tires and have started drilling through the rail to install 2 bolts through a 3/16 X 1.5 X12 galvanized flat hunk.   Once attached I will bend the s*** out of it to fit the inside of the fender and drill and bolt it through the fender.  The PO did that on one side with one bracket and it is strong as can be.  What a PITA  Thanks for pics.

[rogerschwake]

  It looks like I have the same fenders on the trailer under my SunCat. I took my fenders off and had a Line X dealer pray them with the material they put on pickup boxes. It's was done 2 years ago and looks gust like new yet and no problem with slipping when standing on the fender. My brother owns the Line X franchise so have no idea what they charge for something like this but thinking about having him do the bottom of the boat some time.

ROGER

[alsantini]

Figured that I would update all regarding my fender issues.  After screwing around trying to get aluminum fenders that would fit, I decided to rework the original super heavy fenders.  I bought a one inch wide 1/8 inch thick coated steel flat bracket material.  I drilled one 3/8 hole in the material and the trailer rail and then proceeded to bend the flat into a bracket.  Once it fit and put the fender in the proper position, I drilled the second hole in the bracket and rail and attached it with 3/8X24x1" nyco bolts with washers.  I then drilled through the bracket using the original hole in the fender.  As I tightened it down I realized that the lip on the fender could go in-between the bracket and the frame rail, so I loosened the bolts, slid the fender down and retightened everything up.  It looks perfect and it is strong.  Only debate will be if it will last during long trips on the road.  Problem is that it is so heavy that it bounces up and down and flexes the bracket eventually breaking it.  All four brackets have been replaced (2 per each fender). 2 by the PO and 2 by me....  Sail on.   Al

[captronr]

Al, I noticed my light ones do a lot of flopping around.  Haven't crawled under to check on them yet.

We're in DEN right now-nephew graduated college.   And just our luck, supposed to get 3" of white evil stuff on Sat.

Ron

[alsantini]

Ron.  I guess you should see if Peggy will allow you to crawl under there and look at the brackets.  When I bought Off The Wind, she came with one broken bracket that had been repaired.  On the way home I broke another one and had it welded.  going to Florida, the other side came apart with both brackets breaking.  Had it repaired (welded) but it did not make it home.  I have the heavy ones that are shown in Napier photos up this thread.  Each fender is probably over 10 lbs.  I am not sure how the aluminum ones are attached but suspect the same type of bracket.  With the reduced weight I would guess it will last a much longer time at highway speeds but a check seems like the prudent thing to do.

[captronr]

Will try to do that soon.   

In my mind, vibration is a killer either way, but will check.

Ron