1. Burnt wheel bearings – you sometimes see the trailered
boat along the side of the road with this one. A little maintenance
and preparation can keep your trailer and boat hooked to your vehicle
for an easy trip home.
Each year inspect and repack your bearings, if they are damaged
or worn replace them before taking a trip. You might even consider
carrying a spare bearing set for that just in case event.
2. Blown trailer tires – When it comes to problems, this
one is the easiest to prevent. Before going on an extended trip
to your favorite water hole, be sure to check your tire pressure
with a pressure gauge. You should check your tire pressure before
leaving the house and after finishing at the lake and coming home.
In addition, you should look at your tires for extensive wear, dry
rot, radial wire sticking out of the rubber, slices, nicks or cracks.
Any one of these items may become a problem before you get home.
Every so often you should pull the boat trailer around the block
to see if any problem exists.
3. Boats falling off of the trailers – The most embarrassing
(and possibly the most expensive) thing that can happen is for your
boat to fall off of the trailer due to improper strapping or cabling.
This kind of problem is completely preventable and should never
occur if care is taken during the binding of the boat to the trailer.
Take a critical eye to the straps or cables and
make sure that they are properly installed and that there is no
loose connections that need to be tightened.
4. Trailer connections – Take extra precautions
to be sure that your trailer is properly connected to the hitch.
This can be a very dangerous problem once you get on the road. Also,
be sure that your safety chains are in use and that your trailer
lights are plugged in and working properly. If they are not, it
is an accident waiting to happen.
5. Trailering your boat- When you are backing your trailer into
the water to recover your boat, turn off your radio and any other
item that will distract your attention or make it impossible to
hear as problems might be occurring. Check your trailers connection
to the hitch or you may have to send in divers to recover the trailer
before you can recover the boat. Also, roll down your windows so
you can hear what is happening. You need to hear if your prop is
scraping the ground and needs to be raised and you need to know
if your trailer is far enough into the water to retrieve your boat
without damaging the hull.
Nelson J. Flowers @ www.personalwatercrafts.info
