Long Distance Towing Tips

[Jackew]

Yep- never tied all the tricks. I had a uncle he would spay Pam nonstick spray on the front of his RV - it was a mess at the end of trip lol

 

[Seadeals]

I like having the "non contact infrared thermometer with laser sighting" (yeah, yeah, temp gun is easier). I like the peace of mind knowing if one hub is different from its partner. Front hubs will match if all is good and back hubs (axle with brakes) will be hotter but match if everything is nominal. The actual temp isn't as big of a deal as when one gets hotter than the other. Hubs usually don't fail at the same time.

On my last outing I noticed after loading up the bearing buddy was not protruding like it was when I left for the lake. The left rear axel seal had failed but I still had to make an hour and a half trip home in the dark down out of the mountains. Making a quick stop 20 minutes into the drive to check the hub temps and seeng it was still matched with he good one made for a lot less stress. I would not have wanted to deal with failed bearings in the dark on the side of a shoulder-less winding road. I also used extra caution braking as the disk and pads on that side were covered in grease.

"non contact infrared thermometer with laser sighting"? Absolutely! Works on boat engines, car engines, brake rotors and radiators too. Heck, you can even take your own temperature if you want. Just turn off the "laser sighting" before you shoot your eye out!

 

[cane.mba]

Ok, trip delayed until tomorrow too much painting, and prep work to get the house on the market. I love all the tips, and hopefully this weekend I will have the chance to organize them all into a comprehensive list. Most of all, I hope I don't have any lessons learned to add!

 

[Jackew]

You doing it right - 1st step taken was successful "Don't rely on Luck".
Safe travels - post pictures and let us know how it went.

Don't sop in Louisiana - you may never want to leave

 

[cane.mba]

My last three trips through Louisianna have cost me two windshields and a speeding ticket. Not a big fan of Louisianna at the moment!

 

[PEARCE]

My last three trips through Louisianna have cost me two windshields and a speeding ticket. Not a big fan of Louisianna at the moment!

I sure hope you have better luck this time.

 

[BlacklimitedS]

If you leave the tower up use a Velcro strap around the bimini cover around the zipper. I had it rattle on my black tower and took a quarter size chunk of paint off. It also broke the zipper.

 

[jawsf16]

I would consider completely removing the Bimini.

 

[cane.mba]

The Bimini has two straps to secure it to the tower. I confirmed they were as tight as I could make them. Then I zip tied the Bimini in 6 spots to the tower. I also zip tied the Bimini support poles together running the tie through the pin loop making sure I don't lose the pin.

Tires are all inflated, hubs greased (very surprised how much grease was needed!), locking pin installed on the hitch ball securing it to the truck, cover on, poles in, straps tightened, chains crossed, jack handle and Jack bungee corded to trailer. At this point, I think it's as ready as I can get it!

On a side note, the Big Green Egg is loaded and secured in the back of the truck too!

 

[Retired37]

I know I am a little late on this. But I would recommend taking another set of trailer wheel bearings and seals as well as a grease gun. I towed from AZ to FL and back to AZ over a 9 month period, I lost a wheel seal and had grease everywhere (except where it should have been). OF course my trailer is now about 10 years old and that was actually the first issue I had ever had with it. I do keep up the routing maintenance. I hope it doesn't happen to you. On the side of the highway is not a great place to reseal and repack wheel bearings. Granted it did not take long but still not the safest place to do it. (ALWAYS PULL AS FAR OFF THE ROAD AS YOU SAFELY CAN) some drivers are not paying attention.

Wishing you safe travels.

 

[BlacklimitedS]

Have a safe trip!

 

[Matt Phillips]

I bungee my Bimini when towing as the zippers on it do work loose. Don't ask me how I learned this.

Another good idea is when you finally do get ready to splash the boat, take a couple minutes and check your bearing buddies for grease while they're warm...add some before dunking them to maintain positive grease pressure.. I always do that after a lng tow.

Also give your trailer a complete walk-around every 200 miles (or tank) full. The gas station lights are a great place to look for anything. That's changed.

As others have I said, an infrared heat thermometer is well worth the $20 off amazon.

 

[Ronnie]

The tip I learned the hard way last season is to make sure the bolts holding the brake calipers to their mounts are tight. It took five years (three under my ownership) for the bolts on one of my calipers to loosen up and fall out but a few turns of a wrench would have saved me a lot of stress and money.