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Old 06-01-2019, 09:24 PM   #1
Gary H
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Boat Trailer Blues

I park my boat in the back yard right behind a 12’ double gate. I move it to the driveway every Tuesday so the lawn guys can get into the back yard easily as well as mow underneath where the boat is normally parked. This Tuesday morning started out by revealing a problem I have been expecting and dodging for a very long time – a flat tire. The reason I have been dreading this is because the lug bolts were so rusted on when I got it that I knew getting them off was going to be a problem. They did not disappoint! I snapped three of them and the threads were destroyed on the others. Since the tires have been on there for 16 years of UV light exposure, I decided to replace both of them.

Since all the lug bolts were either broken or threads messed up, I considered replacing both hubs, in addition to both wheels and tires. When I started researching hubs I was not confident I knew enough about getting the right ones to fit the spindles, so I took one of them off for an inspection. As it turned out the bearings and all the internals were in pristine condition. I decided I would just replace the 10 lug bolts and nuts and save myself a bunch of money. I stacked up some 2x4(s) and started knocking them out with a big ball peen hammer. This went very well, even the broken ones came out fairly easily using a ½” SS rod I had in my “I might need this one day” pile. Then the fun began. I tried pressing the new studs/bolts into my old hubs with my bench vice. I could not apply enough force - even with a cheater pipe. So I grabbed some thick ½” washers and used an impact driver to hammer them in using the new lug nuts. This seemed to be going pretty good until I heard a “ping” noise coming from the hub I was working on. Upon examination, I found that the new studs were about 0.020" bigger than the ones I knocked out, so something had to give. There was a perfectly straight crack originating at the new stud and radiating out to the outer edge. I figured since these only have to hold 80 ft-lbs, and it probably took about 400 ft-lbs to seat them, they should be fine. I proceeded forward, but did not fully seat the rest of them to avoid having all of them cracked.

I cleaned out all the old grease and repacked the bearings with fresh grease. Bolted the new rims and tires on and headed for the boat ramp. My wife went with me because we have not been out on the boat for a while and she wanted to see if there were any fish left in the spot my son and I cleaned up on a month ago. Launching a boat with my wife is always a tricky situation. If you give her too much information/direction, she is going to get pissed and think you are treating her like a kid that doesn’t know what they are doing. On the other hand, if you let them “help” without a full discussion of what needs to be done, then things can go wrong. I was hot and tired from working on the wheel lugs, so chose to go with the assumption she has seen and done this with me for a couple of decades, so all should be fine. I attached bow and a stern lines long enough for her to hold both while I backed the trailer down and she walked down the dock beside it. As soon as the trailer fenders went under water I hit the brakes to let momentum pull the boat off the trailer. I saw it moving back off the trailer and my wife signaling me all was clear to pull the trailer out. I visually verified the bow line was not in front of the boat guide and pulled out. Apparently the boat was not clear of the trailer, it got snagged on the opposite side guide post and basically broke it. It was rusty and in questionable condition, but I think it could have lasted a few more years. It also broke off the running light that was attached to it. Anyway, we went fishing and came home with all of our bait minus one shrimp that I pulled off my hook and tossed into the water.

So now I am shopping for boat guides, and possibly new running lights. The best part of replacing them is I drilled holes and routed the wiring inside the guides. I then mounted the lights and license plate high on the guides to keep the lights out of the water during launch – this was just last year. I soldered, cleaned and used heat shrink to be sure the connections lasted forever – oh well! I think I will just tie-wrap the wires on the outside of the new guides instead of being so anal. In fact, I think I might just tie-wrap the lights on too! 
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Old 06-02-2019, 01:23 PM   #2
agbiv
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Re: Boat Trailer Blues

Snork! We've all been there. I work at a grocery store and "whine" is on aisle #1. I am so glad to learn my wifie went to the same school of understanding and cooperation as yours! Mine has a Master's Degree.

Big grin and keep on keepin' on!
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Old 06-02-2019, 01:35 PM   #3
Marcus
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Re: Boat Trailer Blues

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gary H View Post
I park my boat in the back yard right behind a 12’ double gate. I move it to the driveway every Tuesday so the lawn guys can get into the back yard easily as well as mow underneath where the boat is normally parked. This Tuesday morning started out by revealing a problem I have been expecting and dodging for a very long time – a flat tire. The reason I have been dreading this is because the lug bolts were so rusted on when I got it that I knew getting them off was going to be a problem. They did not disappoint! I snapped three of them and the threads were destroyed on the others. Since the tires have been on there for 16 years of UV light exposure, I decided to replace both of them.

Since all the lug bolts were either broken or threads messed up, I considered replacing both hubs, in addition to both wheels and tires. When I started researching hubs I was not confident I knew enough about getting the right ones to fit the spindles, so I took one of them off for an inspection. As it turned out the bearings and all the internals were in pristine condition. I decided I would just replace the 10 lug bolts and nuts and save myself a bunch of money. I stacked up some 2x4(s) and started knocking them out with a big ball peen hammer. This went very well, even the broken ones came out fairly easily using a ½” SS rod I had in my “I might need this one day” pile. Then the fun began. I tried pressing the new studs/bolts into my old hubs with my bench vice. I could not apply enough force - even with a cheater pipe. So I grabbed some thick ½” washers and used an impact driver to hammer them in using the new lug nuts. This seemed to be going pretty good until I heard a “ping” noise coming from the hub I was working on. Upon examination, I found that the new studs were about 0.020" bigger than the ones I knocked out, so something had to give. There was a perfectly straight crack originating at the new stud and radiating out to the outer edge. I figured since these only have to hold 80 ft-lbs, and it probably took about 400 ft-lbs to seat them, they should be fine. I proceeded forward, but did not fully seat the rest of them to avoid having all of them cracked.

I cleaned out all the old grease and repacked the bearings with fresh grease. Bolted the new rims and tires on and headed for the boat ramp. My wife went with me because we have not been out on the boat for a while and she wanted to see if there were any fish left in the spot my son and I cleaned up on a month ago. Launching a boat with my wife is always a tricky situation. If you give her too much information/direction, she is going to get pissed and think you are treating her like a kid that doesn’t know what they are doing. On the other hand, if you let them “help” without a full discussion of what needs to be done, then things can go wrong. I was hot and tired from working on the wheel lugs, so chose to go with the assumption she has seen and done this with me for a couple of decades, so all should be fine. I attached bow and a stern lines long enough for her to hold both while I backed the trailer down and she walked down the dock beside it. As soon as the trailer fenders went under water I hit the brakes to let momentum pull the boat off the trailer. I saw it moving back off the trailer and my wife signaling me all was clear to pull the trailer out. I visually verified the bow line was not in front of the boat guide and pulled out. Apparently the boat was not clear of the trailer, it got snagged on the opposite side guide post and basically broke it. It was rusty and in questionable condition, but I think it could have lasted a few more years. It also broke off the running light that was attached to it. Anyway, we went fishing and came home with all of our bait minus one shrimp that I pulled off my hook and tossed into the water.

So now I am shopping for boat guides, and possibly new running lights. The best part of replacing them is I drilled holes and routed the wiring inside the guides. I then mounted the lights and license plate high on the guides to keep the lights out of the water during launch – this was just last year. I soldered, cleaned and used heat shrink to be sure the connections lasted forever – oh well! I think I will just tie-wrap the wires on the outside of the new guides instead of being so anal. In fact, I think I might just tie-wrap the lights on too! 
Thanks for the write up. My wife and I enjoyed it.
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Old 06-02-2019, 03:08 PM   #4
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Re: Boat Trailer Blues

Break Out Another Thousand. I have one boat left to sell and probably my travel Trailer too.
Anymore it can be a full time job keeping up with tires,hubs,seals ,lights and engine maintenance.Iget some marine items wholesale or at a discount and it still hurts.
Been looking at new boats and got sticker shock and depression shopping for a little boat to fish/freedive off and be able to pull with my little Colorado.My sons buddy just bought a 24 reef/bay boat with 300 hp.Over 70k for the boat loaded plus a new pickup that was well over 60k.
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Old 06-02-2019, 03:22 PM   #5
Gary H
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Re: Boat Trailer Blues

Been married 30 years and 90% of our arguments have been related to boat ramps

Just in case anybody thought I was kidding about the tie-wraps:
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Old 06-02-2019, 05:00 PM   #6
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Re: Boat Trailer Blues

:d
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Old 06-02-2019, 05:31 PM   #7
Marcus
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Re: Boat Trailer Blues

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gary H View Post
Been married 30 years and 90% of our arguments have been related to boat ramps
lol
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“If the natural tendencies of mankind are so bad that it is not safe to permit people to be free, how is it that the tendencies of these organizers are always good? Do not the legislators and their appointed agents also belong to the human race? Or do they believe that they themselves are made of a finer clay than the rest of mankind?”
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Old 06-03-2019, 12:03 PM   #8
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Re: Boat Trailer Blues

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lol
Try sailing with the wifeIf she is still around after docking you are doing something right.
One of the reasons I sold our little 28 Morgan was her very vocal distaste (hate really)for sailing.
How can you hate motoring 50 yds from the dock,popping the sails and turning off the world?
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Old 06-03-2019, 05:01 PM   #9
Gary H
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Re: Boat Trailer Blues

To me, sailing is like scotch, it's an acquired taste. Morgan 28 is a single malt
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