Boat and Trailer Project

[Keith1138]

I was given my grandpa's old boat and trailer 6 years ago it is still water worthy but needs some work done. My goal is to get it water and road worthy.

Here is my list of things i want to get fixed:
Reseal the fiberglass deck from where it is cracking from age
repaint/seal the hull
rewire the trailer
fix the tongue on the trailer
service the axel and springs
get new tires for the trailer
fix the carpet baords

Has anyone ever done anything like this before?

 

[Keith1138]

First thing i want to get done is getting the trailer fixed up so i can move it around with out any worries. Wiring the trailer shouldn't be problem along with servicing the axle. My Concern is the tongue of the trailer where it has been damaged at some point.
My plan is to replace the ball coupler and add a wheel jack on the front along with possibly a spare tire holder.

Attached is a picture of the dent my plan is too cut the tongue where the dent is and install the ball coupler right there. The red line represents where im planning on cutting. I'm going to remove the triangle piece of metal install wheeled jack and drill a hole on the bottom to fish a grade 8 bolt through to connect the chain to the trailer since im loosing the where it is currently connected. My biggest concern is doing that is going to make the tongue too short what do yall think?

 

[Fabrik8]

You could always cut and add a foldaway tongue to kill two birds with one stone if it will go into a garage or carport at some point. You can add length after the foldaway hinge, etc., to be whatever you want. Yours is super easy because you don't have a surge brake actuator in the tongue to worry about.
Unless you've weighed that rig (full of fuel) and looked at the tongue weight, I wouldn't worry yet about making the tongue shorter because it may be a non-issue. Unless you know the boat and trailer are matched, I'd assume they aren't and figure out what is proper based on that assumption.

 

[Keith1138]

The coupler is rusted and is very loose so i was going to jave replace it i know the tonger is just held with a pin system under the main part of the trailer.

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[obullfish]

Keith post up some pics of where the tongue attaches to the trailer at the V.

 

[shawn]

The tongue isn't that rusty, and it's adjustable. No reason you can't reuse it and save a few bucks. Just wire brush it and spray it with some canned zinc.

 

[mbalbritton]

First thing I’d check is, do you have the registration? Getting a boat registered without it can be a huge pain in the ass.

Or maybe you have done this already.

 

[rodney eppes]

First thing I’d check is, do you have the registration? Getting a boat registered without it can be a huge pain in the ass.

Or maybe you have done this already.

NC prefers Titles. Some old boats & out of state boats, just had a bill of sale. NC accepts that, notarized, & will issue a new title. Least that the last info I had.

 

[Loganwayne]

NC prefers Titles. Some old boats & out of state boats, just had a bill of sale. NC accepts that, notarized, & will issue a new title. Least that the last info I had.

Yep Tennessee doesn’t have title all I had to do was turn in the Tennessee card and a bill of sale


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[Keith1138]

The boat is resgistered in NC And i have the stuff to get a tag for the trailer. Ill get pictures of where the tongue connects tomorrow.

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[Keith1138]

These pictures show where the tongue connects to the rest of the trailer the main thing that holds it in place is just a bolt the keeps it from piveting when there isnt a boat on the trailer.

Also the pictures give the dent in the tongue more justice to why im thinking about cutting it off. Which will cause the tongue to become about 8inches shorter.

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[obullfish]

I’d cut it just behind the bend and reattach the coupler if it isn’t going to put the bow of the boat to close to the rear of tow vehicle where it could hit.

 

[Keith1138]

I’d cut it just behind the bend and reattach the coupler if it isn’t going to put the bow of the boat to close to the rear of tow vehicle where it could hit.

It will be shortening the tongue by 8 1/4 inches. I dont thing it will be putting the bow to close to the back of my jeep. The internals of the coupler are rusted. This boat and trailer spent all but the last 6 years on a farme in florida.

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[a_kelley]

You'll fine shortening the tongue a bit. Tractor supply sells couplers pretty affordably. They bolt on or weld on.

 

[obullfish]

Plenty of room. Cut it and replace with new coupler.

 

[rodney eppes]

Check the inside of the tongue, & trailer, if you can. I've seen a couple trailers rust out from inside, mostly due to being in salt water.

 

[Keith1138]

Thank you all for all of the advice and in put on this first stage of the restoration. Im going to cut and instal a new coupler.

Once i get that done im going to carefully unload the boat hull up so the real fun can begin. Going to paint/seal the hull. As thats in progress going to rewire the trailer, serice the axel, and fix the bunker boards.

For servicing a basic trailer axel do i just need to regrease it. Along with inspecting the hub and bearings?

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[Fabrik8]

Inspect the bearings and races, and replace the seals, and inspect the seal surface. But, I'd just assume beforehand that also you need to replace the bearings and races. Between grease breakdown and condensation/leakage from sitting so long, the bearings probably aren't worth reusing. It's one of those relatively cheap "while you're in there" deals.

Get some Timken bearings, and buy them in sets with the races because it's about half the price of buying the bearing and race separately. Little trailer bearings are really cheap, and theres no need to shave a few bucks (it will literally only save a few dollars total) by getting some off-brand bearings when Timken is cheap and easy.

Any good brand of seal is fine, and get a double lip seal instead of the cheapie single lip ones.

Also, don't mix grease if you don't know exactly what is already in there. Clean and repack, and once you're doing that, you might as well do new bearings and new grease, etc..... Do it once, do it right. Use marine rated grease, it's easy to find from Lucas, etc.

If you feel like splurging ($30-50 total), look into bearing buddy products to replace the dust caps. Slight positive pressure inside the hub makes it a lot harder for water to enter. Useless for cargo trailers, but wonderful for boat trailers.

 

[XJsavage]

If you do any grinding and welding on that, be weary that it is galvanized coated.
Also, you can re-galvanize coat it if you ever do weld on it or just cover up bad spots. Rusto cold galv compound in a can works great. My old continental trailer dates back to the late 70's and I defy you to find even one flake of rust.
Best advice I have, get bearing buddies of some sort, use the best grease possible, and routinely check for heat buildup even between short tows. The caps get beat up by rocks at landings and all it takes is a few miles of a bearing being dry to be catastrophic. Dealing with damaged spindles usually means replacing the entire axle on stuff that size.

 

[Keith1138]

If you do any grinding and welding on that, be weary that it is galvanized coated.
Also, you can re-galvanize coat it if you ever do weld on it or just cover up bad spots. Rusto cold galv compound in a can works great. My old continental trailer dates back to the late 70's and I defy you to find even one flake of rust.
Best advice I have, get bearing buddies of some sort, use the best grease possible, and routinely check for heat buildup even between short tows. The caps get beat up by rocks at landings and all it takes is a few miles of a bearing being dry to be catastrophic. Dealing with damaged spindles usually means replacing the entire axle on stuff that size.

Anything special i need to do when i cut the galvanized tongue besides recoating wear i cut?


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[Keith1138]

Got the boat pull up about four feet one tire is complete screwed and the other is in surprising shape. The one that is screwed is flat to the point the flat spot stayed in the tire. Went ahead and coated every single bolt i plan to undo with pd blaster.

 

[XJsavage]

Anything special i need to do when i cut the galvanized tongue besides recoating wear i cut?


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If the new tounge has bolt holes, it doesn't hurt to bolt and weld. Extra work but it's fail-proof. Most light duty 1.875-2" receivers aren't the highest quality of steel at least until you get into pintle styles.