What do you do if you break down on a long distance trip?

[Eric Ballard]

When I tow farther than 1 hour from home I have a large Rubbermaid tub with tools, jumper cables, jack stands, an extra jack, etc.

If I brake down I'll try to fix it, but if I can't I have good insurance for my tuck and TowBoatUS for the boat. I have my phone and a handheld VHF radio too.

 

[ncnmra]

I've wondered/worried about this in the past. I have a spare tire for the trailer and 4-way lug wrench in my boat toolbox, but wondered how I'd change a tire on the trailer if I needed to. Would the jack from my Ford Explorer be high enough to get the wheel off the ground?

 

[bronze_10]

U can always find blocks to drive the good tire onto to get the flat tire up...

 

[jawsf16]

I haver a dedicated scissor jack that is ops tested appropriate height for trailer in my "Trailer Tub" along with extra bearing buddy, dust cover, hub, lug nuts, etc. Also some ratchet straps and other tools I always have in my truck. Definitely something you want to be prepared for vs scrambling to fix.

 

[Sacamano]

I have one of these in the back of the truck. It works well for tandem axel trailers.

https://smile.amazon.com/Trailer-Aid-Plus-Tandem-Changing/dp/B000I4JPZE/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1499697640&sr=1-1&keywords=trailer+jack&th=1

 

[biglar155]

For those carrying an extra wheel hub (something I don't do but have been thinking about), I have a piece of advice: You also need a hack-saw, a decent (as in LARGE) file, and some emery cloth.

If you lose a hub, it's probably because you overheated a bearing. That bearing will probably be seized to the spindle. Your new hobby will be trying to remove that old bearing from the spindle (with hacksaw and file) and then trying to smooth out the spindle (with file and emery cloth) so that you don't have an immediate repeat performance when you put the new hub on.

This will, of course, all be done on a 110 degree day with the sun at high noon and cars whizzing by.

Fortunately for me, this is not first-hand knowledge... but as they say "I know a guy..."

 

[ncnmra]

I lost a bearing buddy once, having a spare is a great idea. I like that wheel ramp. Would be neat if I could figure a way to attach it to the trailer.

 

[bumpy]

They can put both your truck and boat together on a flatbed, but it does cost a chunk of change!

 

[ncnmra]

@Sacamano : have you actually used this ramp with our trailers? I was reading the Amazon reviews and one of them said that it doesn't work with leaf spring trailers. Isn't that what ours use?

 

[Ronnie]

@ncnmra , I have the yellow version and it failed miserably the first and only time I tried to use it. Basically it is too low, so getting a flat tire off is not a problem but putting an inflated tire back on is. They offer a black one that is taller, get that one if any of them.

 

[itsdgm]

@Sacamano : have you actually used this ramp with our trailers? I was reading the Amazon reviews and one of them said that it doesn't work with leaf spring trailers. Isn't that what ours use?

You need the trailer aid that has the extra pad on top. Here's mine. View media item 3361View media item 3360View media item 3362

 

[mraz72]

Well, I guess I don't have to worry as much about breaking down on my upcoming trip, the truck just blew the motor. I'm now the owner of a '17 F150 that's rated to tow 10k....

Thanks for the advice, I ordered one of the trailer buddies, where do you store the TB? It would be nice if I could attach it to the trailer, but it might get stolen that way....

 

[ncnmra]

You need the trailer aid that has the extra pad on top.

Ok, I think they refer to it as the "Trailer Aid PLUS". However, the second picture doesn't look like its high enough for the front tire to clear?

I may try the scissor jack that is on my Ford Explorer to make sure it works. My concern there is that the head it pretty small, as it is meant to fit in the grove under the car if I recall correctly. I have a bottle jack also, but haven't had much luck with those in terms of lift distance. My trailer is at the marina, so I will do some experiments when I have some time.

 

[Ronnie]

I have bottle jacks now for both trailers and I carry a large block of wood in the locker on the Pwc trailer to give me a little more height with the bottle jack incase I need it. I found out I needed it the hard way when I first tried to use the bottle jack to replace a flat tire.

I didn't have the right jack at the ramp once and needed to change at flat on the boat trailer, after removing the flat with the trailer aid I ended up pulling the trailer onto a curb so that I could get the spare on while the related hub was suspended in the air. It worked but I'm sure someone was unhappy with me, the tread marks on the curb/sidewalk and the adjacent lawn/grass.

 

[itsdgm]

Ok, I think they refer to it as the "Trailer Aid PLUS". However, the second picture doesn't look like its high enough for the front tire to clear?

I may try the scissor jack that is on my Ford Explorer to make sure it works. My concern there is that the head it pretty small, as it is meant to fit in the grove under the car if I recall correctly. I have a bottle jack also, but haven't had much luck with those in terms of lift distance. My trailer is at the marina, so I will do some experiments when I have some time.

It is very close on that pic. In fact, if memory serves me correctly, the drop on the hitch makes a huge difference. But I do check my hub bearings annually by simply lifting each wheel off the ground with the ramp and spinning the wheel by hand and checking for bad bearings and stuck calipers. So I've tested it many times, thank goodness only in front of my house and not on the side of the road

 

[Sacamano]

@ncnmra , I have the yellow version and it failed miserably the first and only time I tried to use it. Basically it is too low, so getting a flat tire off is not a problem but putting an inflated tire back on is. They offer a black one that is taller, get that one if any of them.

I use mine all the time to check bearings, brakes,etc and the yellow one works for me. The extra tall one would not be a bad idea though.

 

[dan144k]

Triple AAA, has 100 mile tow plan. Had a friend breakdown in Indianapolis on the way home from florida.
1. He called AAA they towed him 100 miles
2. His wife called, same day, got another 100 miles.
3,4. Next day they both called again, got another 200 miles.
400 mile tow, using AAA membership.

I tell my friends about it with older high mileage cars.