TOPIC: More trailer work

45 here today, but windy. Still, not too bad to be working on the old boat trailer.

Getting ready for brakes, so took off the drum/hubs. Just rebuilt the hubs (new bearings and seals) this spring, so the axles have a good amount of grease on them. I wrapped them both in plastic bag while I get some other stuff done.





Got a problem with my left side fender from the tire blow out back in August. You can see here how the mounting lip got bent back, and the fender is way out of round where it meets the plywood...



Here you can see the effect the tire blow out had on this fender's bondo. Took a long time to build that bondo up!



I got the damaged lip mostly fixed, but am not sure what to do with the bondo. I wonder if I could build a wooden buck using the other good fender for pounding this bad one into better shape? Eventually I want to get new fenders, they're just pricey.



This week I order new brake assemblies, a line kit and the 1st of 3 new 15" aluminum wheel/radial tire combos. Once I get the other 2 wheel/tire combo, maybe I'll get some new fenders, though I might pop for new drum/hubs. Eventually I also want to replace the leaf springs, and maybe get an electric winch.

I hope everyone had a good New Year's Eve. I stayed up till midnight for the 1st time in decades. My son and daughter-in-law were here, Gail was sleeping off and on, and Max and Kimmy and I had a blast. And then I slept in till 8 this morning!

Happy New Year all!

Frank

I wimped out. Sanded it so it was well faired, then applied the first of many, many coats of bondo.

Looks like your haveing to do a fair amount of work there Frank. Just a thought, wouldn't it be better to save the cash from trying to fix the fenders and put it towards a new set in the spring. As the old ones will not be real noticable in the winter. Just my thought, thats all. Skip.

I thought about this back & forth plenty Skip, but will fix these just because I probably won't have spare cash in the spring for a new set. If I do, great, if I don't, I'll still have fenders that look decent. I'd rather get new springs anyways, the ones on there are real old and should get replaced. I don't know if I can afford that this year either. Too many things going on, between house projects, the hot rod, grandson...

I just can't wait to get brakes on the trailer and get the boat back on it. I'm wondering now if maybe that will happen before spring. No snow yet, so that's good, but we're going into the deep freeze Tuesday.

Frank

Did good. Among all the other things I did today, I got my wiring done. New 4 prong connector for the trailer, with plenty of extra line to reach the truck, new left rear marker light, new ground connections on it (from the front left marker, goes to the back left, then over to the back right). Got it done just before a snow flurry hit too.

Some of you that know me know I always run continuous grounds right from the truck plug. I do NOT rely on a ground wire screwed to the tongue for good grounds all around. Wire and connectors are cheap, more than worth while running grounds to each light in my book.

Body fill almost done on that damaged fender too. Couple more minor coats and sanding, then paint.

It's amazing to me how much work a blown tire created...

Hope y'all are having a great day. I'm done! Time for a brew.

Frank

MMMMMMMMMMMMM Brew, Fenders that are bent are hell. My Tee Nee Fender was twisted. I bet it took an hours work getting it back.

My fender is almost done. Pics later.

Just ordered right and left brake assemblies, a line kit, and one 15" aluminum wheel with a radial trailer tire, all I can afford right now, but we can wait for the 2nd tire, then will need a spare before the season hits. Wheel/tire combos are $212, but free shipping from etrailer.

Can't wait to get it done!

Frank

I know how it is with money. My truck has not had gas in it since late October. It has enough to get out in case we need to with the 4 wheel drive. Other than that it is empty. What money I could scrape up last month went to my wife's present. I also had to get my Model 88 Winchester repaired because my gunsmith retired first of the year. Thank God he did it cheap. he had to make 2 parts because you can't buy them. It came to $63.60. I bought a leather pocket holster for this little beauty also for $15.00.

First coat of paint, more to come, but looks good. Not much body fill, mostly time, but not even much of that, just spread out. Brake assemblies, line kit and new wheel/tire will be in Friday.

From what I can see it's looks just fine. That reminds me I need to get a spare for my Tee Nee. I never had one for the Electra because it is a weird size.

FRANK, any idea where i can find those flesh colored soft rollers for my trailer. west marine don't have the diameter hole that i need nor do they have flat rollers. my black rollers are so hard that they mar the hull. ron

What is the hole and roller diameter and length Ron? Two different ones, or just the big ones under the flat hulls?

By the way, what is a flat roller? Never heard of one, kind of a contradiction in words.

Etrailer wants pics of my brake assemblies and line installation, gonna maybe put it online. Good thing it's supposed to be decent Saturday!

Frank

Your "thru-bolts" 1/2" diameter Ron? You can use the 5/8" rollers, just put a piece of 1/2" ID copper pipe over the bolts between the brackets, like a sleeve bushing. It'll take up the difference on the bigger bore rollers. This place has them in 12" lengths, you can cut them into shorter lengths and get two or three out of each one!
www.easternmarine.com/2-1-2-x-12-stoltz-straight-trailer-roller-rp-212
Or you can save a little money, buy four at a time:

(Sorry to butt in Frank, I didn't mean to be rude.) Congrats on the Etrailer deal, that would be very cool!

PC1000 wrote:

What is the hole and roller diameter and length Ron? Two different ones, or just the big ones under the flat hulls?

By the way, what is a flat roller? Never heard of one, kind of a contradiction in words.

Etrailer wants pics of my brake assemblies and line installation, gonna maybe put it online. Good thing it's supposed to be decent Saturday!

Frank

FRANK, flat rollers are those with no groove in them. there are 4 of them at the end of the trailer. i think 3/8ths diameter hole and about 8" long.

MarkS wrote:

Your "thru-bolts" 1/2" diameter Ron? You can use the 5/8" rollers, just put a piece of 1/2" ID copper pipe over the bolts between the brackets, like a sleeve bushing. It'll take up the difference on the bigger bore rollers. This place has them in 12" lengths, you can cut them into shorter lengths and get two or three out of each one!
www.easternmarine.com/2-1-2-x-12-stoltz-straight-trailer-roller-rp-212
Or you can save a little money, buy four at a time:

(Sorry to butt in Frank, I didn't mean to be rude.) Congrats on the Etrailer deal, that would be very cool!

:
mark, they're not bolts..they're pins, 3/8ths i think with cotter pins at the end. will measure roller diameter tomorrow.

Okay, I get the "flat" roller now Ron, thanks. As you know, I am NOT into rollers, and really don't know much about them. Having said that, I bet I could find rollers for you (and have fun doing it) if I knew exactly what it was you needed!

Frank

frank, i was considering scrapping the rollers for a flat platform as you suggested, but after installing the new springs the fenders are about 4" higher and although i didn't measure it my eyes tell me that the step won't clear the fenders. i'll get you roller measurements tomorrow with pics. ron

Look good Frank, Bondo was the way to go if you plan to replace. If ya have a torch, heat shrinking is best if your not going to replace it.

not to jack the thread.
Ron, those Stolts rollers are the way to go. I tried the flat rollers and did not like. Every surface on the bottom of a MR has an angle. The flat ones only touched the hull in 1 small spot. Check out my thread www.fiberglassics.com/glassic-forums/13-trailer-talk/13737-snowco-trailer.html Did a test launch before unloading. As soon as the water started to support the transom off it rolled. Loading was just as easy, dry foot even with the short tounge.

don't understand the transom pad?

I don't think it's a transom pad Ron, more like a positioner at the end of the trailer to get the boat coming on correctly.

Frank

:
took measurements of the rollers...the 2 front ones are 5"lx3"dia. with a 1/2" or 5/8ths hole. " :
the 6 midship rollers are 5"lx2" dia. : : :

the 4 rear rollers all flat are..outer ones 8"lx3"dia.
inner angled ones are 4"lx2" dia.:that pic is earlier in this thread." :

as you can see my fenders now sit about 4" higher with the new springs. i placed a piece of 4x4 on top of the fender to show how much lower the boat would sit if placed on a flat platform in place of the rollers. the boat would definetly rub on the fenders. : :

now i realize that the steel frame can be built up but i would not want to tackle that. also now that the trailer sits higher i just hope i can launch it with the malibu without burying the exhaust pipes in the water.

I do have a transom pad and I love it. It never comes in contact with the boat until I pull it out of the water. It does have weight on it. When my winch line broke last year that was in fact what stopped my boat from coming off. I was on what most of you would call a very steep ramp. I does keep that boat from moving.

Like Frank said it helps center the boat when loading. The final bunks will be made of PVC and have 2 pads per bunk, 90sq.in pad surface. I'll add 2 more between the next 2 sets of rollers going forward. These 2 are more for my piece of mind when I need to work in the boat while on the trailer. The pads were labeled Transom Pads on the shelf, they're made of a soft matterial like the rollers and grips well with a little cusion. I see a lot of boats with a pair of these replacing the aft keel roller on V hulls. Like Robert pointed out it supports the heaviest spot, under the engine. When I test launched I left a little slack in the winch strap and the boat did not move while backing down the ramp. The flat rollers did not allow the front sponson to clear the fenders. Now it rolls right over the fenders as soon as the water supports the transom.

I always thought keel rollers and bunks were the best way to go. Traditional bunks would be a bear on a MR and this is what I came up with that was easy.

Just found out all my trailer brake stuff came today, so that means tomorrow I get to install it. Woohoo! Plus I got one of my new wheel/tire combos. Going from 14" to 15", I know it's silly to just get one, but it will take me a while saving pennies to get the other 2! Pics soon!

Supposed to be 44 tomorrow, pretty tough eh for the 1st weekend in January!

Frank

CAT*FIN*k wrote:

Like Frank said it helps center the boat when loading. The final bunks will be made of PVC and have 2 pads per bunk, 90sq.in pad surface. I'll add 2 more between the next 2 sets of rollers going forward. These 2 are more for my piece of mind when I need to work in the boat while on the trailer. The pads were labeled Transom Pads on the shelf, they're made of a soft matterial like the rollers and grips well with a little cusion. I see a lot of boats with a pair of these replacing the aft keel roller on V hulls. Like Robert pointed out it supports the heaviest spot, under the engine. When I test launched I left a little slack in the winch strap and the boat did not move while backing down the ramp. The flat rollers did not allow the front sponson to clear the fenders. Now it rolls right over the fenders as soon as the water supports the transom.

I always thought keel rollers and bunks were the best way to go. Traditional bunks would be a bear on a MR and this is what I came up with that was easy.

:
i had the same problem centering the mr when loading. then i purchased led pipe lites. that solved that problem. frank installed them and re-wired my trailer. :