Be Prepared...I wasn't

[Joatmon]

Going to try to make this short but I was caught not being prepared because I thought the risk was too low to bother.

Park my boat 10 miles from ramp. I keep the tires to recommended 50 psi. Tandems with 2 year old radial tires less than 3000 miles so why bother with having a spare tire and tools. Bad plan.

Monday night I am towing down the Interstate when a tire sidewall blows. Destroyed. My mind starts racing to develop an emergency plan. I had forgotten but my tow vehicle has run flat tires so no jack or lug wrench (as if I expected the metric to fit SAE lug nuts). I did have an air pump but with NO sidewall it was no help.

I hobble to the next off ramp and fortunately there is an emergency lane. My crossbar wrench and jack are at home and no spare. Google tells me tire bolt pattern and I verify with tape measure. I have to leave boat on I75 ramp. Wife says no way in hell she is staying with the boat by herself. PANIC sets in. I visualize the boat being stripped and in flames when I return from my Walmart emergency shopping trip.

I'm on a bat of hell trip to nearest Walmart for supplies. Yes, I hit every red light as I rock in my seat thinking about my baby sitting on the off ramp by herself and defenseless. I wonder down the aisles searching for a spare wheel with tire (inflated), 4 way lug wrench and a small bottle jack. Not one item in the same aisle. I need a 14" tire with wheel but only find a 13" with the correct bolt pattern. It will have to do.

Make it back. Changed wheel and my fears were in vain. Nothing missing and no fire. All the nuts popped and screamed as they are removed. With spare on I make it to the storage lot. Tuck her in and go home. Had new tire installed on wheel the next day and ordered spare bracket for my newly acquired spare tire. Also insured all the lug bolts on the other wheels were clean and removable.

Hats off to you who are always prepared and to those who think it won't happen. It is not worth the risk.

 

[ripler]

I carry extra studs and lug nuts, the factory studs on the MFI trailers break easily.

 

[Bruce]

When traveling long distance I throw a floor jack, cordless impact and grease gun in the truck bed. Those tools and the spare were used twice on one tow to Florida.

Locally I expect to use the truck’s tools if needed.

 

[2kwik4u]

I have have wanted to make a "Trailer E-Kit" for a few years now. Never have. We tow about 50 or so miles one way every weekend in the summer. Sometimes three times a week we'll make that trip. I always figured I'm within 25 miles of home, or the nearest wal-mart at any point in the trip, and they are mostly rural roads, so I have a plethora of places to park the boat and leave it while I go in search of help/tools/etc. At this point I didn't even have a spare tire since Yamaha doesn't furnish one.

Our trip to Nashville last year finally prompted me to get a "kit" togethor of stuff to take with us when towing. 2.5hrs on the interstate was NOT where I wanted to find out if I had proper tools to deal with a lost bearing/tire/lights/etc. SO, I made a kit finally. Here's what I have on hand if going anywhere other than the local lake. Everything except the spare and cover are in an old milk crate I had sitting around. The small tools are in a cheap harbor freight soft sided tool bag, in the milk crate

• Spare Tire mounted to Trailer
• Spare Tire Cover
• 5ton bottle jack
• Folding 4-way Tire Iron
• GIANT 2in open/boxed in wrench (for leverage on the tire iron if I need it)
• Spare valve stem
• Bottle of slime as backup to spare (or if I get more than a single flat per trip)
• Small hand tools to get bearings on/off
• pliers
• screwdrivers
• crescent wrench
• cheap $1 Wal-Mart folding knife
• Couple spare bulbs
• wire strippers
• scrap wire (10ft maybe)
• Crimp connectors
• Spare bulbs for the trailer

Haven't had to use it yet. Hope to keep it that way. Have a 6hr tow to Douglass Lake coming up week after next. We'll see how that goes.

 

[seanmclean]

Locally I expect to use the truck’s tools if needed.

Always good to verify fitment. My truck lug wrench does not fit my trailer lugs. Now I keep a torque wrench with the right socket in the tupperware box of 'oh shit tools' in my bed.

 

[Need A Vacation]

I have a decent size tool kit I keep in the truck bed 24/7, unless moving a large item...

~200pc Craftsman Kit, with 1/2” deep well socket. Plus other tools: adjustable wrenches, extendable 1/2” ratchet, multi meter, etc...

I also made a tire change kit that stores in a homer tool box. 4 ton bottle jack, and 2x6 boards cut to fit in the rest of the space. The boards make a “trailer aid ramp”, but a little easier to store.

I do set the ramp in a 2x10x~18 board to gain a little more height. Worked great changing a tire due to a rim leak on our travel trailer last year. I also have a slime tire inflator.

I’m sure the ramp would still work on a single axle trailer. Just need room to get the jack under.

 

[Sbrown]

All great suggestions, one thing I would add to your emergency kits, especially for the long interstate tows, would be an infrared thermometer to check hub, wheel and tire temperatures. I check them at every stop when towing long distance. May be able to prevent an emergency repair by spotting a problem before it becomes inconveniently obvious.

 

[Julian]

My wife insists on keeping AAA, so I have a spare tire and a phone.....my plan....sit in the AC and nap until someone else comes along to fix it for me! Yup, I'll wait longer....so it's not optimal (and I do take a lug wrench, but dont have a jack)....

 

[rrmidden]

Always good to verify fitment. My truck lug wrench does not fit my trailer lugs. Now I keep a torque wrench with the right socket in the tupperware box of 'oh shit tools' in my bed.

Yup, first flat tire I got on the boat trailer and I realized the truck lug wrench was a different size. Luckily, this happened in the driveway, so I just had to go to the garage to find the right tools, luckily a spare tire and bracket cam with the boat. Don't all Yamaha boats? But after that I procured the right tools and added them to the truck, so I will be prepared.

 

[djetok]

I have a 3 ton trolley (small floor jack , it weighs less than 30 lbs ) , a 4 way, and a spare on the trailer. On longer trips I will throw my dewalt 20v impact and a 21 mm in. Oh yeah a grease gun.

 

[Farmdog267]

When we purchased the boat last year, the distance to the river was about 20 miles. We have since moved further north and now the traveling involves the turn pike and its about a 35 mile distance each way. I keep a bottle jack, cordless impact gun and breaker bar in the tool box just in case. Spare tire mount is still in the box, I hope to get it installed on the trailer soon!

 

[BigAbe75]

In true JB.net fashion, this thread prompted a purchase of this little doodad.

DEEWAZ TPMS Solar Power with HD LCD Screen, Real-time Display 4 Tires' Pressure and Temperature (-40~80℃), Wireless Tire Pressure Monitoring System with 4pcs External Sensors (0~99PSI), 6 Alarm Modes Amazon.com: DEEWAZ TPMS Solar Power with HD LCD Screen, Real-time Display 4 Tires' Pressure and Temperature (-40~80℃), Wireless Tire Pressure Monitoring System with 4pcs External Sensors (0~99PSI), 6 Alarm Modes: Automotive

I recently witnessed it in action on @jcyamaharider ’s trailer.

 

[2kwik4u]

In true JB.net fashion, this thread prompted a purchase of this little doodad.

DEEWAZ TPMS Solar Power with HD LCD Screen, Real-time Display 4 Tires' Pressure and Temperature (-40~80℃), Wireless Tire Pressure Monitoring System with 4pcs External Sensors (0~99PSI), 6 Alarm Modes Amazon.com: DEEWAZ TPMS Solar Power with HD LCD Screen, Real-time Display 4 Tires' Pressure and Temperature (-40~80℃), Wireless Tire Pressure Monitoring System with 4pcs External Sensors (0~99PSI), 6 Alarm Modes: Automotive

I recently witnessed it in action on @jcyamaharider ’s trailer.

Neat device......I love the last picture before the video.....one feature pointed out is "Fine Airtightness".......

 

[mrmeaniemeateaterman]

3620 - Rapid Jack

I have one of these "rapid jacks". I use it as a stabilizer block for the trailer jack wheel when parked. When I hook up I just throw it in the back of the truck. I have used it to jack a tire in the driveway and works well to get other axle off the ground. But as far as emergency situations on the side of highway when you want to get that done fast, I'm pretty sure I could have the bad trailer tire in the air in less than 30 seconds compared to 5-10 min messing around with a traditional jack. Obviously this only works for dual axle trailers.

 

[Mattdog501]

Probably already said but I take my Extended Jeep Jack out of the back and bolt it on the trailer whenever we go for long hauls. Knock on wood Ive never had to use it, but it will be there when the day comes!

 

[djetok]

In true JB.net fashion, this thread prompted a purchase of this little doodad.

DEEWAZ TPMS Solar Power with HD LCD Screen, Real-time Display 4 Tires' Pressure and Temperature (-40~80℃), Wireless Tire Pressure Monitoring System with 4pcs External Sensors (0~99PSI), 6 Alarm Modes Amazon.com: DEEWAZ TPMS Solar Power with HD LCD Screen, Real-time Display 4 Tires' Pressure and Temperature (-40~80℃), Wireless Tire Pressure Monitoring System with 4pcs External Sensors (0~99PSI), 6 Alarm Modes: Automotive

I recently witnessed it in action on @jcyamaharider ’s trailer.

@jcyamaharider and abe

Can you get them wet?

 

[BigAbe75]

@jcyamaharider and abe

Can you get them wet?

Ha! Good question, and one that I didn’t actually consider. I don’t recall seeing @jcyamaharider removing then reinstalling after launch/retrieval the other day. So, I’m hoping so. Maybe he’ll respond, here. Otherwise, I’ll wait and post back after my vacation just in case. Lol

 

[Dixie Highway]

Couple thoughts here, this is how I have looked at the issue. Some of my thoughts will be valid, some won’t work for everyone so here goes:

1) My truck and trailer happen to both use a 21mm lug wrench. My choice is to have a “breaker bar” style lug wrench, which is basically a 1/2” drive bar with sliding drive point. It has 2 multi size sockets housed in the handles at each end.

2) Jack solutions? I have a jack for my tow vehicle, which will lift my trailer in a pinch. If your tow vehicle has no way of being jacked up when you don’t have a trailer attached, then why bother worrying about it when you ARE towing? I have a tandem axle trailer so I don’t plan to have to use a jack ever, there is always a way built in to trailer design to get a damaged tire/wheel off the ground.

3) Tool kit. I find it prudent to take a simple tool kit and have it on the boat at all times. My boat will be on the trailer when I’m towing it down the road, so that same kit can be utilized if I need to change a bearing/fix lights/insert catastrophe here. My tool kit has a “universal socket” and ratchet, wire strippers/cutters, spark plug socket, Crescent hammer (you home mechanics will know what I mean), some metric box ends, universal screwdriver, Channel locks, and a small vice grips pliers. This will fix about anything on a boat/trailer.

 

[jcyamaharider]

@jcyamaharider and abe

Can you get them wet?

I haven't had any issues with them yet. I have them on both my camper and boat trailer.

 

[Joatmon]

Update. My spare tire mounting on Scarab and fishing boat. Trailer lug nuts are 13/16 hex but I when went to tighten the nuts on the spare mount the socket would not fit. Crap. Nuts on new bracket are 21mm. I want to carry one socket size for the breakers bar to fit both boats and spare tire nuts. Just for kicks I tried three different brands and found a 13/16 that fits all. Manufacturing tolerances a little loose.

The bracket does not fit over the 5" tubing so I bolted directly to the trailer tubing. Looks much better.