Spare Tire Mount for MFI Trailer

[jetboater4life]

I placed mine on the starboard side to keep me off the road when working it as much as possible....I see too many folks texting out there...

Are MFI trailers made where they drive on the wrong side of the road?

And yet another good reason for the starboard side.

 

[mark_m]

Bruce,

Bayside jet drive put the bracket and spare on my galvanized trailer before I made the trip from MD to OH, I'll get the details on cost tonight and snap some pics over the weekend.

I looked at bill of sale, 55.84 for that bracket, ouch! Didn't look at that line item when I bought her.

 

[Ronnie]

I think that fulton is the same one Yamaha sold me with my 230 when new. It is plenty good and cheap. It is zinc plated which is a protectant and resists corrosion. But without the nickel bath and hot zinc application is it surface only and won't last a long time. My suggestion would be to use that bracket and not worry at all about it...just get stainless steel fasteners and change the bracket if you ever need to. My guess is that it won't cause you any grief at all if rinsed. I would also suggest just getting a can of cold zinc rich spray and coat it. It will act as a sacrificial anode and wear off instead of eating into the factory coating. Spray it before each ocean outing and you'll be fine!

Damn Mel, that sounds like a lot of work to prolong the life of something that costs less than a set of anodes. I just assume rinse it when ever Its been exposed to salt water and replace it when it goes bad, probably a few years down the road. I'm in brackish water mostly, so I rarely rinse the boat or trailer off afterwards and the spare tire mounts have yet to rust out on any of my jet ski trailers, some were over 10 years old when I sold them.

I looked at bill of sale, 55.84 for that bracket, ouch! Didn't look at that line item when I bought her.

That sounds about right if it includes the labor to install it on the trailer and the spare on it (I.e., 10 to 15 mins at $100 per hour + $30 to $35 for the mount itself).

 

[txav8r]

@Ronnie , you may be right. As I said, they are zinc plated. The U-bolt will last plenty long, even the threads. But the nut may weld itself onto the U-bolt and then changing in the future can be a real PIA. The zinc spray is something anyone with a galvanized trailer should have on hand and use anytime they see any rust on the trailer or components. Stainless fasteners are just another good measure to assure that you can indeed get the damn thing off without grinding in the future. Rinsing, well some do and some don't. Good to know however that you haven't had any issues.

 

[GTBRMC]

I bought my spare tire rack from dealer at time of boat purchase. I believe it is the MFI (will look for ID on it tonight). Note the U-bolt attachment...strongly recommend this route vs welding, particularly for the salt water guys.
I am very happy with it, use it as a step as @txav8r mentions above.

Pix (stolen from another topic - so not closeups) show the spare tire mount front and back:

View attachment 11823 View attachment 11824

After a thorough joint inspection with my 11 year and his excellent vision, I can say unequivocally that we could find zero identifying markings on our spare tire mount. It does look exactly like a black painted version of this, so quite sure it IS MFI:


http://www.mfitrailers.com/partsdept.htm

 

[Big Shasta]

My spare is mounted on a full spindle and set of bearings. If I need to I can change an entire bearing/spindle set or just the tire. Do they have that setup for the MFI trailers?

 

[Wayloncle]

My spare is mounted on a full spindle and set of bearings. If I need to I can change an entire bearing/spindle set or just the tire. Do they have that setup for the MFI trailers?

That is a good idea!

 

[mark_m]

I looked at bill of sale, 55.84 for that bracket, ouch! Didn't look at that line item when I bought her.

@Bruce :

I connected with Eric at bayside jet drive, he's happy to get you that same bracket and send you. Give them a call and ask for Eric or Liz. You can tell them in reference to Marks email.

Contact Us
Bayside Jet Drive
106 52nd Street (Bayside)
Ocean City, MD 21842
410-723-9773


410-723-5603 (fax)
baysidejetdrive@earthlink.net
10595 Worcester Highway
Berlin, MD 21811
410-641-3040