Fundamentals of Boat Trailering
Before you venture out to the lake, river or sound with your whole family, all of your boating accessories, coolers, toys, suntan lotion, drinks, snacks, etc. it just might be a good idea to be sure that your boats trailer is ready for the trip! A little preparation can go a long way!
Boat trailers are rather simple pieces of automotive equipment. There are but a few things to check, but any of them, if in poor condition, can cause severe headaches Cobra Kayak even injury or death! Be sure to check the following:
Tires Be sure that the trailers tires are in good condition, have plenty of tread, and are properly inflated. Many times a trailer will be left to sit for long periods of time while the tires are under inflated and they will seem to be out of round. Make sure the tires have at least 30-35 pound of air pressure. If possible, have a spare tire as well as a jack capable of raising the trailer and boat to change the tire.
Wheel Hubs Boat trailers have bearings in their hubs to facilitate easy rolling of the wheels on the trailer. These bearing require grease as they will get pitted and out of round if they are left un-greased and are submerged under water (as happens when launching or retrieving your boat). Its a good idea to install Bearing Buddy grease caps over the hubs to make it real easy to ensure that the bearings are properly lubricated. They come complete with a grease fitting so that the boat owner can easily grease top off the grease in the hubs with a simple grease gun. Using such an inexpensive tool, you can apply the grease without getting all messy.
Trailer Lights hook up the trailer lights to your tow vehicle and test out all of the lights to make sure none is burned out. Some people dont disconnect the light plug when submerging the trailer and any exposure of the hot light bulb to cold water may easily cause the bulb to blow out. Heritage Kayak any bad bulbs and, when buying a replacement bulb, be sure to buy two and keep a spare in the tow vehicle glove box. Be sure to test the brake lights and turn signals for proper operation. If you have any problems with the trailer lights, check with your local boat dealership or Wilderness Kayaks parts house. They usually can help diagnose and repair trailer lighting problems in a flash!
Trailer Brakes Trailers carrying boats weighing more than 2000 lbs usually are required to have some sort of brakes to assist those of the tow vehicle in safely bringing the whole rig to a graceful stop. The brakes may be electric or hydraulic and they may be triggered by an electric signal from the tow vehicle or, more likely, triggered by inertia. In other words, when the weight of the trailer shifts forward due to braking f the tow vehicle, a signal is sent to the brakes to energize and assist in the graceful stopping of the rig. After hooking up the trailer to the tow vehicle, be sure to test the operation of the brakes in a place where you wont cause a hazard to other cars.
Boat Tie Downs is sure that your boat is adequately secured to the trailer so that the two units do not become separated when a bump in the road is encountered. At a minimum, there should be a tie down on each side of the boat transom as well as a winch hook at the bow of the boat. Web type straps are available to make this process very neat and easy. Be sure that your straps are not frayed and the attaching hardware is in good shape. If there is any doubt, tie an extra piece of rope between the lift hooks on the boat and the rear of the trailer.
Engine/Outdrive Positioning For trailering, your outboard engine (or the outdrive portion of an Inboard/Outboard I/O engine) should be in the raised position. Most current models are raised hydraulically by means of a switch and trim motor. Older outboards may employ a lever mechanism forward or the lower unit to keep them in place. You must ensure that the skeg of your drive does not drag the ground when going through a dip in the road or entering a driveway. This can cause serious damage.
Gear Stowed? Be sure that all boat equipment and supplies are properly stowed in the boat and lashed down if necessary to keep them from being blown out of the boat. The convertible top should be lowered and tied down so that it does not blow. Do not tow a boat that is covered with a mooring cover, which is not secured to the trailer. They will tend to blow off very easily. Make sure that the open portion of a split windshield is secured in the closed position.
Tow Vehicle Most importantly, your tow vehicle should be of adequate size and power to properly tow a boat of the size and weight of yours. If the boat is more than 2,500 lbs, or if you are towing for long distances or in high altitudes, its a good idea to invest in an auxiliary transmission cooler on your car. Be sure that the trailer hitch is also of a proper size and rating to properly tow your boat. Your car should weigh more than the boat and trailer; if it does not, you may well find the trailer fishtailing from side to side when you apply the brakes and there is even the possibility of your rig jack knifing on the highway. It is simply not worth the risk to pull a boat too big for your tow vehicle. Make sure that the trailer ball on your hitch is of the proper diameter to match the hitch of the trailer. Personal watercraft usually have 1-78 balls, small boats and runabouts have 2 standard balls and larger boats have 2-5/8 balls. Do not tow a 2 hitch with a 1-7/8 ball it will come off! Also, be certain that your (s) safety chains are in good shape and properly hooked up before moving.
Trailering a boat need not be an unsafe or hazardous process. If you take care of just these few things before leaving on your journey, you will greatly enhance the fun to be had on your boating weekend!
Resources:Don Seibert is a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard and has operated a large marina and boat dealership for the past 10 years. Don has been boating for more than 50 years. You can get more boating issue exposure and benefit from this experience at Metrics-Publishing /Boating">More Free Boating Articles or go to Metrics-Publishing /Boating
