2015+ Shorlandr trailers are having issues with fender brackets cracking

[Glen]

Potentially adjacent issue that I found on my 6 month old trailer is that the fender brackets, on both sides of trailer, are cracked.
Believe it resulted in fender vibration that shook a number of bolts loose on 2K track to/fm FL.

Believe it will eventually fail and cause tire(s) failure-

 

[Bruce]

@Majorsmackdown, did you have the same issue that @Glen has discovered?

 

[Majorsmackdown]

Yep, mine were cracked on both sides and eventually one of those brackets was able to swing forward cuz all the nuts on top vibrated out - allowing it to swing on the captured bolts . It instantly shredded the tire during moderately heavy braking on a freeway offramp.

Others complaining of similar vibration issues believe to have solved it with radial tires.

On a previous triple axle trailer I had - it blew up a couple tires when I backed it into the new concrete driveway - after a few times. The driveway previously was gravel and thats much easier on the tires ni doubt.

Shorlandr is sending me the parts to fix my trailer but I plan to switch to radials to smooth the ride. Some highways we drove on felt really smooth but got the fenders wiggling. Harmonics I guess.

I was missing a few of those diamond plate bolts within the first 100 miles when I bought the boat.

 

[Glen]

@Majorsmackdown Hey John! (and thx @Bruce !)
Yea it was your sharing of the above photo & root cause, that caused me to inspect my trailer more closely.
I could not see the crack until I got the phone, with flash on, inside the well, and lifted up on the fender.
Thank you for sharing as it has likely saved me from a similar result.
Did you go through Yamaha for the trailer fix, or directly to Shorlander?

 

[Bruce]

I believe this is important enough to have it's own thread. Please check yours. They have already caused one blow out.

 

[Majorsmackdown]

@Majorsmackdown Hey John! (and thx @Bruce !)
Yea it was your sharing of the above photo & root cause, that caused me to inspect my trailer more closely.
I could not see the crack until I got the phone, with flash on, inside the well, and lifted up on the fender.
Thank you for sharing as it has likely saved me from a similar result.
Did you go through Yamaha for the trailer fix, or directly to Shorlander?

@Glen Im glad you caught this before a highway emergency. I could just as easily needed to get on the brakes in heavy traffic and blow up a tire. Could have been a nightmare. This happened near Cheyenne so I looked for a shorlandr dealer near me but there weren't any. So I called my yamaha dealer and he gave me a number to shorlandr in hopes of finding a place to fix the trailer on the way home. I called them looking for a dealer but there weren't any on my way home. I made sure the remaining broken bracket wouldn't swing so we went toward home. While we were at our last motel stop I had a good signal and sent all my photos to shorlandr. Since the yamaha dealer and shorlandr dealers were so far from home for me I opted to deal with it myself. I got a reply that shorlandr is sending me the parts and a replacement tire/wheel. If the fenders didn't shake I'd have no qualms running these tires. But I'm concerned this'll happen again.

I'm not a tire guy but I understand radials are smoother running.

Another tidbit. I put 50psi in my tires and they would go up to 51 or 51.5. The radials on my truck were put at 45 and they get to 51 psi warm.

 

[eticket]

Mine is missing a fender bolt after 1.5 seasons and very light use, thanks the warning @Glen!

 

[Rob9550]

Mine is missing a fender bolt after 1.5 seasons and very light use, thanks the warning @Glen!

View attachment 41174

I have the same on mine...
Going to check it over before I take it out tomorrow.

 

[MrMoose]

Thanks for sharing this guys. I'll have to check my brackets. After about 2600 miles of towing, my driver's side fender diamond plate cracked, but I did not think to check the brackets for cracking. I was thinking that I should see if I can get the tires balanced. My driver's side fender seems to vibrate, but I can't see any vibration on the passenger side. The vibration has been there since day one. Also, my trailer had lost some nuts and bolts by the time that it was delivered to me when new. There's a definite theme here.

 

[Adrenalinejunky]

Both sides on mine have cracked brackets and cracked fenders. Did you contact shorelander direct?

 

[JTC1016]

Thanks guys. Because of this I checked mine last night and have cracked brackets and diamond plate as well. Sounds like the dealer is going to get me parts. They wanted me to bring it in but I don't feel safe towing it 3 hours to the dealer to get it looked at.

 

[MrMoose]

Thanks guys. Because of this I checked mine last night and have cracked brackets and diamond plate as well. Sounds like the dealer is going to get me parts. They wanted me to bring it in but I don't feel safe towing it 3 hours to the dealer to get it looked at.

@JTC1016, were both fenders affected? Sounds like you have a good dealer.

 

[JTC1016]

The starboard side fender bracket is completely sheered above the bolt. I'm going to have to check the port one more closely tonight because I didn't get a great look at it last night, but there were stress marks on the diamond plate. Here are pics of the starboard side one.
I have been nothing but pleased with my dealer (Grand Pointe Marina, Lansing) through shopping, purchase and post purchase. Great communication and service all around.

 

[Mainah]

Are the replacement parts that shorlander is sending any different ftom the originals?

 

[haknslash]

Does this only apply to tandem axle Shorelander trailers? Us single axle guys have the plastic fenders and no diamondplate. I haven't looked close but I don't think we have the same brackets. I haven't noticed any vibration while pulling and I always find myself looking at them while driving.

 

[swatski]

Does this only apply to tandem axle Shorelander trailers? Us single axle guys have the plastic fenders and no diamondplate. I haven't looked close but I don't think we have the same brackets. I haven't noticed any vibration while pulling and I always find myself looking at them while driving.

Correct, no known issues with 190/192 trailers TTBOMK.

 

[JTC1016]

Are the replacement parts that shorlander is sending any different ftom the originals?

I'm not sure. I'll let you know if there is any noticeable difference when mine arrive.

 

[JTC1016]

Has anyone replaced the brackets yet? The bolts run through the leaf springs. I'm thinking I'll put a jack under it and push the bolt out from the back with another bolt to hold everything in place. Does anyone have more experience with this that I can learn from or helpful hints?

 

[Fozzy]

I just took my new 242 LSE out tonight for the first time. I was just complaining to my wife on the drive up that the trailer was bouncing and shaking its self apart. I could see the port fender bouncing so bad I thought it was going to fall off. This is my first jet/Yamaha boat. But this is my 3rd boat with a Shore Lander trailer and this thing pulls terrible. Tongue weight seems in check. do you guys thing it's the tires?

 

[vanmurray]

Interested to hear if tires or balance are the issue. Have been pulling 2016 242LSE on 2017 Shorelander and noticed the same bouncing of fender and frame in rear view.