Tire Blowout on Trailer

I had my first tire blowout on my Wave trailer so I thought I'd post a warning for everyone.

It took me a while to figure out that I even had a flat. I had the AC and the radio on and of course the trailer and boat are very light. I eventually thought that I heard something odd and I noticed that the trailer was a bit canted to the right.

I pulled over onto some gravel and had a very hard time getting the wheel off. Foolishly, I had never loosened and retightened the lug nuts from when they were air-wrenched on at the factory. When I tried to loosen them, the whole wheel just spun on the gravel. Fortunately there was a hole in the wheel and I was able to jam the jack handle in to lock the wheel.

I did have a spare so once I got the wheel off I was on my way in no time.

I got a replacement tire mounted at my local Goodyear store for $21.

Lessons: Keep an eye on the trailer when driving, make sure the lug nuts arent too tight, always have a spare on board.

Look for a product at your local auto parts store called anti-sieze made by permatex. Put a small amount of this product on the threads of the wheel studs or wheel lugs it will prevent corrosioin and make wheel removal a happy time later on.

Most tire manufactures say that tires over 7 years old are done even though there is good tread. Trailering a distance it is well worth the money for decent tires.

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Hobie 16 Sail #5213
Hobie 20 Sail # 530

I had a bearing blow and the wheel seized up at 60mph on the highway. I was on my way home from purchasing the boat. The trailer fishtailed but being a light 14 and the fact that I have been towing since I got my learners I speed up to keep it under controll then gradyally pulled over. The tire and rim were both toast but my "new" $800 boat was safe, my truck was safe, and I was safe so I just waited for my parents to get down (2hr drive) with a flat bed and we put the hobie, trailor and all, up on it and got it home.

Lesson: Good axles and tires are a must, even with light weight towing.

Long-time trailer boat here. Nothing will ruin a weekend faster then wrestling with bum trailer for the duration and typically the trailer is the last thing in anyone's mind when it comes to maintenance. So if you don't mind a few tips:

Wheels/Tires: First and foremost, make sure you have a lug wrench that will fit your lugs. Don't count on the one in your vehicle. It may not fit or may be inadequate to loosen really tight lugs. The best thing is a "T" wrench. Check ahead of time to make sure you have a wrench along that you can use.

Make sure you have a spare tire. They are VERY cheap and you can get frame mounting h/w at Wal-Mart to conveniently carry it. You may want to get a carpet sample or remnant to put betweent the spare and your trailer frame (depending on h/w) so you don't scratch the paint or galvanization off the trailer.

Learn to re-pack the bearings. It is a messy but easy job that anyone can do in an hour or so. READ THE DIRECTIONS. You typically need some cheap replacement parts (grease seals) to re-assemble. With boat trailers this is really important particularly if you ramp launch or otherwise submerge the tires or if you regularly take the trailer on the beach. Depending on usage, re-packing should be done once a year.

Cover or remove the wheels and tires during periods of extended outside storage. Sunlight is a tire killer. That is why you always see Motorhomes with tire covers on.

Replace tires at 7 years whether they need it or not. This includes the spare. Trailer tires are relatively cheap.

For the rest of the trailer, if it is painted, a coat of wax goes a long way in preserving it. Regularly inspect your lights. Buy and learn to use an Ohm-meter or, minimally, a testing light. Buy and carry some extra wiring components including at least a spare light connector, spare bulbs, some extra lenght of wiring, some good crimp sleeves (or other connectors), electrical tape, and a good pair of electrical pliers. All of this will cost less then $100.00 and things like the ohm-meter have a multitude of other uses around the house. I put all my trailer repair stuff in a small action packer and throw it in the car. If you are trailering a distance you may want to throw in some spare grease and a grease gun too.

Finally . . . consider joinging the Boat US trailering club (again especially if you are going a distance). AAA and other roadside services typically will NOT help you with a boat trailer even if they say they will when you joing. It comes down to the location where you break down and the vast majority of services contracted by AAA are un-equipped to deal with a trailer. Boat US Trailering Club is cheap insurance and it includes a regular Boat US membership to boot![/list]

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Pete
Reading, PA

Mr. O has a lot of good points, I follow all of them.
That said there is one major reason for trailer flats that trumps all others.
Under inflation of the trailer tires.
If you look at the tire it calls for a very high inflation # like 45-70 psi. Most people don't have a good enough gage or don't bother to check. A tire that requires 50psi will look fine at 30 but it will get so hot when run under load at highway speeds that it will melt the bearing grease to liquid and blow the bearings or blow the tire from heat.
One more thing, you need a jack that will raise the trailer. And don't try to do it on grass, the jack will sink down.
One more REAL important thing. Don't do a tire change in the breakdown lane, people get killed there regularly. Two frinds of mine in the eighties. Get behind a rail barrier or trash the tire and drive it to an exit, it's not worth your life!

Good points Beach Boy. I figured with the lighter cats jacking wasn't much of an issue. For a light cat (like a Wave) you could probably just carry a jack stand to lift the trailer on to work on a wheel. When we had our 18' Crownline I carried a few pieces of 2x6 and 3 ton bottle jack. It was compact and strong enough to lift the boat and trailer (~4000 lbs.) off the ground enough to work on a wheel.

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Pete
Reading, PA