Trailer Maintenance at 6 years

[Mainah]

Trailer needed a lot of TLC I did not expect. Let the below serve as a good reminder to check your trailer.

My trailer bakes in the sun 7 mos of the year with no boat on it . Has been splashed in salt or brackish water less than 10 times and always dipped back in a fresh water lake right after recovery. Always greased annually.

I noticed the surge brakes weren’t working well and the bunks were bowed to the point they were no long in contact with the boat in the middle of their length (almost an inch gap at the worst). Bunk carpet somewhat worn as well.

After resorting to a many minutes behind a SDS plus hammer drill to get the rusted pins out I was finally able to pull the ufp60 slide assembly out and was shocked. Reservoir plate rusted to the point there was a hole. Electric reverse valve rusted to heck. Wiring connections for the electric reverse valve corroded to heck. Terrible amount of rust on acuator pin and spring. Rust in reservoir and line. Slide assembly with some surface rust. After pricing individual parts I decided to replace the whole assembly which is now somewhat redesigned with improved intergration of the electric reverse valve. From there I used a oil extraction pump to pull a vaccum at the disk brake bleeders and pull through all fresh brake fluid. Lots more work than I expected but back to how she should be. I also replaced the rusty safety chains with coiled cables while at it.

Well that sucked but the bunks had to look better right? Nope. I cut back the bunk carpet to get to the brackets and the bunk boards were nearly rotten in some spots after just 6 years. At least the brackets were in great shape. Cutting nee boards to length and carpeting was at least easy with tools I have.

With that done I figured should check the wheel bearings. Yet another surprise with some minor water intrusion. Already this far in I decided to just replace the bearings and seals. Yep should have done that before bleeding the brakes as had to do it again.

Again much more work than I had anticipated it needing after just 6 years and so few days hauling.

If your reservoir looks like this then something is likely wrong.

 

[Joshua Miller]

I’d say six years sounds about right for heavy maintenance. Where I live on the coast I only get a couple years out of my springs before the salt eats them up, even with fresh water rinses after each trip.

 

[Neutron]

Mine needed brake calipers at 3 years and bunks at 4 and that was a few salt water trips use prior. Its amazing how much is needed in a short time

 

[Ohio]

At 10 years, (this year) I had the bearings repacked, and replaced the tires. Sad thing was that the place that repacked the bearings either failed to reinstall one of the caliper bracket bolts, or they failed to use thread locker on it and it came out. Lucky for me it was at the ramp when I noticed it, as it was making an odd clicking noise. Without the bolt, I removed the caliper and taped it to the axle to get home. It's just kind of crappy that I should have to check their work. Bright side was that the weekend before it made it from Ohio to Lake Cumberland and back without issue.

All that said, my trailer has required very little in the way of maintenance in the 5 years I have had it.

 

[scokill]

I have replaced slide assembly that includes the master cylinder and reverse lockout solenoid and one caliper. I changed my bunk boards about 5 years ago and check them each time. One trip in saltwater will start the rusting process from inside out on anything that can rust.