Trailer refinish nearly complete !!

[Dhopper71]

Well, I finally am putting the finishing touches on my old trailer this weekend. Due to some serious issues with a bunk shifting and the guide roller gouging a nice hole in the side of my boat; I couldn't think of a better time to refinish it from the ground up. Here's how looks now and before. I still want to find replacement trailer moon hubcaps (eventually they will be found). I'm also considering adding side bunks above each fender. Pretty sure I will, but need to make the right mounting hardware first. I'm just happy it's ready to put my boat back on it and I'm not worried about it failing on me again. Let me know what you think.

 

[cannonman]

Re: Trailer refinish nearly complete !!

Looks Great! Good job.

 

[jayhanig]

Re: Trailer refinish nearly complete !!

Man, I know I'm impressed. You took what looked like a total POS and turned it into something that looks brand new. You should be very proud of your work.

 

[not enuf toys]

Re: Trailer refinish nearly complete !!

Nice work!

What did you strip it down with and how did you repaint?

 

[Dhopper71]

Re: Trailer refinish nearly complete !!

Thanks guys. Glad you like it. It may be JUST a boat trailer, but it sure looks a whole lot better than the POS that it was before! LOL.

I started by scraping and wire brushing the old paint and rust, then power washed the crap out of it at the car wash. Also hit some tough spots with the wire wheel on my power drill. I primed it with a couple coats of heavy duty paintable car/truck undercoating spray. Then topped it with several coats of rustoleum gloss black rattle can.

I refinished the winch and changed to a strap instead of old rope. Reran the wiring and added new tail lights. Threw on some reflectors too. Repositioned and redid the bunks and hardware. Also swapped out the old bow stop for a roller. Made my own anti-slip "tape" for the front. Lastly, I stripped and repainted the wheels and added the vintage chrome rings I dig up in a junkyard.

I've pretty much decided side bunks are a go. Now I just have to figure out how I can best add them effectively and on the cheap too. Not as easy as a prefab add on with these fenders I don't think. ?? Any ideas?

 

[jjohnson120]

Re: Trailer refinish nearly complete !!

Trailer looks great, looks like a new animal. Once you get those side guides on there it will be as good as new.

 

[raymondpickens]

Re: Trailer refinish nearly complete !!

http://www.wheelskin.com/chrome-baby-moon-hubcaps.html

 

[jjohnson120]

Re: Trailer refinish nearly complete !!

I personally think the wheels look fine as they are with the nice little beauty ring you already added. I wouldn't spend $60 for something that could pop off going down the road.

 

[Dhopper71]

Re: Trailer refinish nearly complete !!

Well, I hit the lucky as* jackpot today. Spent the morning rummaging through what for lack of better words was a boat graveyard. After disscovering several great engine parts and some parts to retrofit some side bunks for my trailer ... the owner informed us that no "individual" parts were for sale. WHAT?!? We had to buy the whole boat and trailer combos as they sat if we wanted any parts off of them! SERIOUSLY?!? No joke. They couldn't have paid me to haul off any of those rotted out hulls and rusted down trailers for any part on the lot. Sounds horrible .... and THAT part was.

With boats on mt mind, on the way home I had a brainstorm (more like a light drizzle). I remembered my local shop had a couple of rotting Mark Twains like mine out in back of the shop. I knew they were on old trailers and maybe they were like mine!? So I ran by and sure as heck one of the trailers had 3 hubcaps left on it. And the right size, too! Talked the owner into selling me just one (he was wanting stupid prices for the "set"). I told him I wanted to comeback tmrw to pick one out. I really wanted to make sure I could get by with one rather than all three.

Came home and proceeded to see if any of mine were salvagable from the rusted POSs that they were. With a little elbow grease, Turtle Wax chrome polish, and some 000 steel wool; this is what I ended up with:

 

[old boat 54]

Re: Trailer refinish nearly complete !!

I would like to nominate this for ..... " Best Restored trailer of the year award" Nice job. Classey !

 

[Dhopper71]

Re: Trailer refinish nearly complete !!

I would like to nominate this for ..... " Best Restored trailer of the year award" Nice job. Classey !

LOL. Thanks, but I doubt I quite qualify for that. Now maybe if I had blasted it to bare metal and replaced all the hubs/bearings. It's far from perfect for sure, but does make the old one look like it should have been in a scrap pile.

Here's how those caps finished out. Not too shabby IMHO.

 

[Dhopper71]

Re: Trailer refinish nearly complete !!

I had a few free hours today while cleaning the carport, so I decided to tackle the side boards. I designed them to be supportive but have enough flex to prevent disasters. I also needed them to work with the wide fenders of my tandem trailer. If I had mounted anything aft of the fenders, they would sit to low when launching and not had enough side to side support to guide us in straight. I bent the support out of 1/4 x3x3' hot rolled steel, drilled the mounting holes, then sprayed it a rubber coating. The bunks are 2x4x2' with hd outdoor carpet. What isn't in these pics are the springs installed from the fender to the lower corner of the support arm. Gives them just the right stiffness.

Took about four hours from paper to install. I'm just about ready to go pick up the boat. I sure hope she works as well as she looks!!

 

[Silverbullet555]

Re: Trailer refinish nearly complete !!

Nice work.

On the side bunks, are you going to cover the top with anything to prevent scratches, gouges? I know I would be lucky enough to find one with the side of the boat or the side of my arm, stomach, leg, head, or anything else that could be damaged. Maybe some black plastidip?

 

[Dhopper71]

Re: Trailer refinish nearly complete !!

Hey James. Thx. They're covered with black plastic-dip spray now. I still think they need more protection, too. I'm going to use the equivalent of a foam float tube that will wrap around it from top to bottom.

After a test drive today, I think I'll replace the springs with a bolt with think rubber bushings. Needs to be a bit stiffer at the fender.

 

[Dhopper71]

Re: Trailer refinish nearly complete !!

update: wrapped the guides and i'm pretty happy with those. should be plenty of protection now. also stuck with my springs, but swapped them out for shorter & stronger ones. much better.

 

[The DM]

Re: Trailer refinish nearly complete !!

Nice work! Kudos on the overhaul. Looks like a new one.

 

[SteelNuttz]

Re: Trailer refinish nearly complete !!

Dhopper, I have a really crappy trailer that looks similar to yours did at the beginning. Did you paint over all of the things that were attached to the trailer like all of the clamps for the winch and the jack, or did you just leave them on there and spray over them all? I'm wondering if I need to take everything apart to do it...thanks.

 

[FastFission]

Re: Trailer refinish nearly complete !!

That is a beautiful job. I love the way the hubcaps came out.