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Print versionSmall Boat Trailers
Listen to most boat angling writers and you'd think that all used boats come with a galvanized trailer. Fact is, many don't. Even new boats are often purchased without a trailer. The new owner supplying his own.
The galvanized trailer should always be your first choice, but if a boat takes your fancy at the right price that's sat on a plain steel trailer don't necessarily be put off, providing the trailer supports the boat correctly and satisfies current legal requirements.
There is many a good dinghy sat on an old, rusty, rot box of a trailer. If the price is right do you knock that boat back just because the trailer requires some work? Of course you don't! You weigh up the pros and cons of renovation and assess your bid with this in mind.
 Check out the trailer thoroughly |
Non galvanized trailers tend to be of a home construction incorporating both open box section steel and open U shaped girder. These materials are the easy option.
Non galvanized trailers rot from the inside, not the outside. Surface rust may not appear too bad, but deep inside the open box section is where the real damage lies. Half girder lengths may have surface rust evident, but will not usually have rotted further than this because water cannot stand for long periods because of open air contact.
When inspecting such a trailer, is it freshly painted with no obvious wear and tear? This would make me very suspicious. Ask yourself, what's he hiding? At least obvious rust patches can be closely inspected. Trailers mostly rot where saltwater gets trapped. Double check where box section is welded to the main stem at right angles, around welds, and where the indispension units are bolted on.
Using a wooden mallet to tap along the box section highlights where potential thin areas are. A solid metallic ring denotes sound metal, a dull thud gives warning of possible corrosion underneath.
Fully enclosed box section worries me. If water does get inside, it can't get out, and that's when real problems start. At least open ended metal allows drying to take place which prolongs the rotting process.
Now move on to ancillaries. Do the keel rollers roll or are they rusted solid and the rubber rollers themselves flattened and grooved. Not a major problem, providing you don't want to use the boat straightaway. Side support rollers, usually set in a U shaped bracket, are possibly housed on vertical support bars. These fit inside tubes welded to the outside of the trailer and have a screw through the middle for tensioning. The rollers should actually roll and the support bars freely move up and down inside the tubes.
If the trailer is braked, put the brakes hard on and try to move the boat to decipher whether they work or not. Then release the brakes and move the boat again to conclude if they are free or rusted solid. If the boat refuses to move, it's either that the brake linkages are rusted solid, the wheel bearings are seized, or that no maintenance has been done on the brakes and they are rusted tight through saltwater penetration and can't open and close. If the brakes don't work at all it's most likely down to the brakes having been left on and being seized again through lack of maintenance.
Whilst at the trailers front, check to see that the tow ball hitch lock is working and free. Also look at the winch support pedestal and check around the base and welds for rust and corrosion. Does the jockey wheel rise and fall?
Is the winch in good condition, ie are the teeth rounded at the ends? Remove the link connection to the boat and pull off some cable or wire and try it for release and retrieve. Is the wire in good condition, or is it frayed. Pound to a penny the U bolt clamps fixing the cable to the end link will be rusted solid and need replacing. Winch handles that fit over a spindle often become solid and will not turn freely.
Are the tyre's in good condition or are they cracking around the walls due to perishing of the rubber. Place your hands on the top of the tyre's and rock the whole unit backwards and forwards. Is there a knocking? A slight knock is generally nothing to worry about, but a large amount of movement could denote worn wheel bearings.
Pay attention to the brackets that hold the mud guards in place. These will have been stood on and the welds that hold the brackets in place can often have sheared. The brackets may also be badly corroded.
Lastly, home made trailers may be poorly balanced when it comes to maneuvering the boat. Check that they are not front heavy with the point of balance off centre. I've seen some twin wheel trailers with the boat on still tip forward. They should try to stand level even when the jockey wheel is off the floor, though you need a hint of forward weight for ideal towing.
Also check that the tow ball coupling is a 50mm size. There are still some antiquated 2in couplings lurking on old trailers. The sizing will be stamped on the side of the coupling and on the top of the tow ball it'self.
MAKING GOOD
 Making good with strong repairs |
Rusted bolts need soaking overnight in WD40 or diesel, not oil, then tapped with a hammer to help loosen the rust. Often, the nut will come undone for a few turns then jam again. If this is the case, simply saw through the bolt just above the nut. Extreme cases may need a sharp metal chisel to split the nut off the bolt. Smaller bolts can be drilled through the centre of the head and sheared off.
The chassis needs to be double checked for corrosion while you're at it, then remove any loose paint and rust using a wire brush. Heavy rust patches and bubbles may need an abrasive disc on a drill or sanding using coarse paper to remove. Try to avoid going through good paint down to the shiny metal underneath. A roughened surface gives a better key than a smooth one. Any removed parts that will need painting require the same treatment.
If you're absolutely sure the trailer is in first class order, you could consider galvanizing it. To do this, you must remove all the previously applied paint. Galvanizers will need to use a sand blast technique to remove paint which adds appreciably to the cost of the galvanizing. Use Nitromors liberally, then wash it off with warm water. Yes, a fine film of rust will appear, but the galvanizers will put the chassis in a vat of etching acid which removes any foreign substance prior to the galvanizing process.
It's very doubtful a secondhand trailer will achieve such a good state of repair and be worth the cost of galvanizing. For the most part, it's worth treating a non galvanized trailer as a stop gap. If you think you'll get three years out of it, allow only two. Stick with paint and use the interim period to save up for a new galvanized one.
There are two paint applications to consider. Two or three heavy coats of red oxide primer followed by a quality gloss paint keeps the worst at bay on the outside. Alternatively, try two thick coats of Hammerite applied one on top of the other. I prefer the Hammerite, because after a few months you only need give it a quick sand off and add another coat. It is a thinners based paint and will adhere to the previous coat well. Standard gloss paint needs excellent sanding preparation to get the new coat to key to the old one.
Tipping cheap paint down inside the empty box section does help providing the inside is fully dry, but the damage has been done inside and no amount of paint will cure that. Once the outer paint has fully dried, pouring oil or diesel down the box section on a regular basis is more effective, but only prevents, never cures. Diesel is good because it creeps along the metal until all is covered.
Metal wheels can also be painted with Hammerite, but make sure you get some paint onto the actual rim edge as this is where corrosion starts to eat away and then discolour the paint on the wheel. Never paint the wheel nut seats where the wheel nuts tighten on to. The paint stops the nut from fully tightening and it can come loose in transit. Hammerite is applied to all the other loose fittings including the indispension units.
Whilst the winch is off, you may want to consider ridding yourself of wire cable and replacing it with webbing or pre stretched rope. Both should be compatable regards strength to the weight of the boat. Make sure any exterior brake cable adjusters are working freely and also the little pulley guide wheels that carry the brake cable on the underneath of the trailer.
Roller spindles should be cleaned free of rust. If the rubber rollers fit directly over the spindle and are too tight and will not freely revolve, stop! This is no good. A simple modification sees the rubber rollers centre bored out slightly with a large drill, then putting in a metal tube slightly larger than the spindle. The roller then can freely revolve on the spindle with a no friction metal to metal contact. Add plenty of waterproof grease to the spindle and that's that. The split pins holding the spindles in place between the roller frames need to be stainless steel.
The same waterproof grease should be liberally smeared along all the brake cables and their adjusters to keep the worst of the saltwater at bay.
On the braked hubs, it's usually the adjusting nut that gets rusted and will need to be freed with liberal soakings in diesel or WD40. Check the condition of the moving parts and that all are free. Also the linings for wear. Are the rivets that hold the lining on the metal shoe flush with the lining? If so, they need replacing.
Also take the wheel bearings out, wash off the grease with petrol, then check them for gratering noises when revolved which is a signal of scoring and pitting inside the inner housing where the ball bearings run. If they are okay, fine, but I would fit new just to be sure. Most hubs will be car type, ie Mini, 1100 etc. Most have thrust bearings with a pre set spacer to determine the pre load on the bearings when assembled. Ensure that the bearings are fitted the correct way round with the thrust faces inwards. Some may be Timkin taper type which need the retaining nut first fully tightened, then released a fraction to allow for correct loading after assembly.
All the nuts and bolts you replace should be smeared with a little waterproof grease for ease of removal when required.
MAINTENANCE
Maintenance is simply a continuation of the previous procedures. Keep checking for corrosion and repaint as soon as problems start to manifest themselves. Usually it's about a new coat of paint every 12 months with touch ups in between. The same with brakes and bearings. Frequent checks and re-greasing keeps roadside breakdowns a rarity. Grease brake cables and adjusters every three trips.
One of the best things you can do is to wash the boat and trailer down with a freshwater hose after each trip. Salt water is far more corrosive than freshwater. This applies particularly inside open box section lengths on the trailer.
TIPS
Check that the threads on the nearside wheel nuts are not left hand thread. This means that the wheel nuts on the right side of the trailer undo towards the left and those on the left side towards the right. This allows for any untightening during travel. It's rare, but can occur.
Seized parts should be left immersed in diesel for a couple of days. Diesel penetrates really well and can save the day.
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