Picking up boat on old trailer.

I am going to be picking up my eBay bargain boat next weekend. I am wondering about what I problems i might have with the trailer. The owner says the tires are in good shape. What kind of things should I anticipate?What should I take with me as far as tools and other things? Any ideas are appreciated.

Re: Picking up boat on old trailer.

Pete,

Assume the worst and prepare for it. Depending how far from civilization you are trailering the list can be short or long. You might inquire of the current owner when the axle bearing were last serviced. If this was a while ago, I would plan on stopping ASAP at a filling station and have the axles bearings serviced and greased.

I bought a trailer in FL and pulled it unloaded to Ohio with out a problem, but I had the owner pop the dust covers and inspect the bearings before I started on the trip.

Stop a few times (5, 20, 50, 150 miles) to check both the tires and the axle temperatures. You should be able to lay your hand on the spindle with out it being too hot to touch. If its hot or both sides have greatly different temperatures stop at a service station or marina and resolve the problem. Road side is no place to solve the difficulties.

For a couple of miles (50 or less): take a tire pressure gage and assure the tires are filled to max rated pressure. Usually 40 to 60 psi. I would bring a grease gun and if bearing buddies are installed, give it a couple of squirts.

Make sure the bearing preload is not to great. If you can get the tire off the ground, assure they spin freely with little drag.

For longer hauls: Bring a spare tire and rim, a scissor or bottle jack to lift the axle, a set of new bearings, and new races.

Best of luck during the trip and enjoy your new toy.

erie_guy
Port Clinton, OH

Re: Picking up boat on old trailer.

I was in a similar situation as you recently and here are some things you might want to take (depending on your d-i-y skills):
spare bulbs (usually 1157)
some wire and stripper/cutters in case I had to jump trailer wiring somehow
electrical tape
can of fix-a-flat
can of grease or grease gun if you know if it has fittings
something to put license plate on with (i just took a wire coat hanger)
extra tie down straps
rope or something suitable in case winch needs rope, strap etc
Did you check to see if your hitch and trailer ball size match ?

I wouldn't necessarily buy all of the things mentioned above before you get there, but if you already have them might as well take them.

Re: Picking up boat on old trailer.

Thanks for the input, guys.

It's interesting that you guys are both from Ohio. I am picking the boat up in Bellaire, OH and bringing it home to Newburgh (southwestern), IN.

Re: Picking up boat on old trailer.

Well that's some good advice for ya...enough about the trailer...what kind of boat are ya gettin?

Re: Picking up boat on old trailer.

1969 Sea Star 17.5' Closed Bow Runabout. Got it for $150 on eBay. It will probably take almost that much in gas to get it home.

It DEFINITELY needs work. I am planning on a full stringer/deck/transom replacement and hoping (no praying) that I don't need to. The interior is bad. As of a couple weeks ago it was under 2 feet of snow.

Re: Picking up boat on old trailer.

Wishiniwuzfishin said:

spare bulbs (usually 1157)
some wire and stripper/cutters in case I had to jump trailer wiring somehow
electrical tape
can of fix-a-flat
can of grease or grease gun if you know if it has fittings
something to put license plate on with (i just took a wire coat hanger)
extra tie down straps
rope or something suitable in case winch needs rope, strap etc
Did you check to see if your hitch and trailer ball size match ?

I wouldn't necessarily buy all of the things mentioned above before you get there, but if you already have them might as well take them.

Click to expand...

And...
spare tire(s?)
small air compressor if you have one
tire pressure gauge
tools to fix wheel bearing
tire iron and jack
complete trailer re-wire kit from WalMart (if you don't use it, return it)
wire crimp connectors and cable ties
Misc hand tools
penetrating oil (WD40, etc)
Chain/cable and a couple quick links for bow eye or trailer to vehicle
hand cleaner & rags
cardboard or crappy blanket to kneel/lay on

When I picked my Ebay find, I took everything I thought I could possibly need and used several things to get the boat/trailer home. If I didn't have them I would have been scrounging around in an unfamiliar town to get home...

Do you have another trailer right now? I wouldn't hesitate to take the wheel/tires off one of them as backup spares, as long as the tires are similar sized. Even if the boat has 14's and you have a spare 13", it's better than sitting on the side of the road, might be good enough to help you limp to a tire shop.

Re: Picking up boat on old trailer.

Caravandaddy said:

1969 Sea Star 17.5' Closed Bow Runabout. Got it for $150 on eBay. It will probably take almost that much in gas to get it home.

Click to expand...

Wow she's a real gem Nice score for $150...love the windshield vent and side rails...you only see those on real vintage 60s boats

Re: Picking up boat on old trailer.

does that trailer have brakes on it? if so there may be another realm of complications. However you should be able to tow that rig without brakes.

Re: Picking up boat on old trailer.

Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention the trailer has tongue activated brakes. And I am pulling it with a 318ci Ext Cab Dakota (shouldn't be a prob). The hitch ball and hitch(?) are the same size, 2".

Re: Picking up boat on old trailer.

I meant the size of your hitch ball and the coupler on the trailer tongue. My ball was 2" and I just brought home two boat/trailers recently that had 1 7/8 inch couplers. Had a hard time getting them on my ball and an even harder time getting them off. I know it wasn't correct but they seemed to trailer ok other than getting hooked up and unhooked. I have since changed the ball to 1 7/8. If I would have known size prior to picking them up I would have changed it before.

Re: Picking up boat on old trailer.

We were talking about the same thing. The correct wording just was not coming to me. Darn those long days at work.

Re: Picking up boat on old trailer.

This fall I completed a trip with an old boat on an unknown trailer that I was towing for a friend. About an hour drive. The seller was honest and told us he had full confidence in the boat and motor but wasn't sure about the trailer. He apparently lived extremely close to the water and only used the trailer a couple times a year. We got halfway home and we blew a bearing. And I mean totally blew. The wheel/hub was just flapping around on the axle. I had done some research on this boat prior and knew what it weighed. It was on a dual axle trailer which was slightly overkill for the boat. I checked the load rating of the tires and made the executive decision to just pull two of the wheels off. We made it the rest of the way home carefully and without incident. A dual axle trailer is most likely overkill for your 17.5' boat too.

Re: Picking up boat on old trailer.

Thanks, EZ.

Just thinking about it is making me excited and nervous all at the same time. This will be my first boat. I kinda feel like I did before my wedding.:redface:

Re: Picking up boat on old trailer.

Assuming you have hydraulic brakes with master cylinder on the tongue I would also bring some brake fluid and something to plug the end of the cylinder....when I bought my boat the brake lines were shot and there was no fluid in the cylinder. Every time I hit the brakes the trailer slid up 4" and slammed the crap out of me....if not possible you should be able to at least put some kind of pin in there to stop that.

Re: Picking up boat on old trailer.

I would guess that trailer only has brakes on one of the axles. If the brakes should happen to be locked up/rusted to where there is a lot of drag on the wheel you could always remove the wheels on the axle with brakes. Like ezemobee said, if thats a 17.5 ft boat, a tandem trailer might be a little overkill. I'm not recommending removing wheels but if it's what you have to do to get it home it might be worth a try. If you could find an approximate weight on the boat/engine combo it could give you a better idea. Like I said I just recently brought 2 project boat/trailers home (one about 25 miles...one about 100 miles) and I tried to be ready for anything when I went to pick them up. Other than the wrong ball size, the only thing I had to do was replace one trailer bulb!! Try not to worry about things that might never happen. You'll probably just hook it up and be home with no problems.!!

Re: Picking up boat on old trailer.

This gets brought up from time to time. Congrats on the new to you boat!

Check out this thread:

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=364853

Re: Picking up boat on old trailer.

my 17' 3" MFG rides on a tandem trailer, being an old truck driver, i carry 2 short chains with a hook on one end.
if you need to take 1 or 2 tires off the same axle,jack it up and put the chain around the frame and axle, and that way the axle is not just hanging from the springs.



better to have it,and not need it,than to need it and not have it !!

woosterken

Re: Picking up boat on old trailer.

Another thing to think about is the title. Does the seller have the title for the boat and trailer? I recently bought an old trailer with no title. It's a huge hassle at the dmv, they wanna get the police involved to look at it. Get the title for boat and trailer, and a bill of sale. congrats!

Re: Picking up boat on old trailer.

He says he has it. And will have a bill of sale. Already looked into it with the DMV. Thanks for the reminder, though.