Trailer project

[haggard]

Winter project: extending the life of the trailer (and converting from rollers to bunks) instead of buying a new one which in retrospect may have been more sensible, but before long I was too far in. Didn't plan on tearing it down completely but that's what happened. Lots of sanding, priming and painting, some new parts, and @jbmaine used his machinist mojo to repair the gouges I put in the axle when removing a stuck bearing.

 

Stripped loose paint and rust, then most parts were hit with self etching primer from a rattle can. Rougher rust areas were scraped as much as possible before applying primer painted on by hand (the brown in the photos is the primer, not the rust). Final coat is a machine gray enamel from a rattle can, one coat over the self etching primer, and two coats over the rougher areas. Thought about a more flashy final coat but figured the cheaper flat machine gray will make the bright red 12 ft. skiff really pop.

 

Stripping/painting phase almost complete. Only remaining paint work to do is a final coat on the underside of the main trailer frame. Then it's reassembly time which will include installation of new stuff (electrical, wheels, tires, hubs, coupler, misc hardware). Oh carp, just realized I still have to build the bunks and order the bunk swively things. Anyway can't wait to see this thing finally come together. It's not perfect by any means but there's something very satisfying about this project.

 

 

[jimmyjoe]

   There are 1) Things I can do, and 2) Things I can't do. One of the "Things I can do" is take apart. One of the biggest "Things I can't do" is put back together ...... correctly. That applies especially to electrical circuits.

   I think what you're doing here is going great!   jj

[haggard]

11 hours ago, jimmyjoe said:

One of the biggest "Things I can't do" is put back together ...... correctly.

Ditto! I take plenty photos in the teardown process for just that reason.

 

[Oregon Native]

Well done......

[jaimeastin]

Good stuff, please keep up posted!  I love to see everyone's builds and mods

[tracker01]

On 3/24/2019 at 8:19 PM, jimmyjoe said:

   There are 1) Things I can do, and 2) Things I can't do. One of the "Things I can do" is take apart. One of the biggest "Things I can't do" is put back together ...... correctly. That applies especially to electrical circuits.

   I think what you're doing here is going great!   jj

When I take something apart I take pictures and some videos with my cell phone to document how it should look when it’s time to put everything back in its place. A pictorial map, so to speak.

[haggard]

Dragged the trailer out of the basement today and finished the electrical. Only remaining items are bunks and safety chains. This has been a fun winter project. 

[haggard]

Built the bunks today, pressure treated lumber wrapped in runner rug. Taking the new skiff out of storage tomorrow and expect a few adjustments but hoping all goes well. Trailer bounces around a bit unloaded, hoping that will settle down with the boat on top.

 

 

[haggard]

Just over 100 miles round trip to pick up the skiff, spent much longer at the shop adjusting the bunks and winch stand, but after a bloody knuckle and some sweat, got it home safely. Bearings run a little warm and there's still some vibration but tomorrow I'll loosen them up a notch and make another adjustment on the winch stand. 

 

 

[Alex from GA]

Betcha it bounces a lot with that light boat.  You might think about taking a leaf out of the springs.

[haggard]

On 4/22/2019 at 11:47 AM, Alex from GA said:

Betcha it bounces a lot with that light boat.  You might think about taking a leaf out of the springs.

It's a very heavy trailer from the 60s or 70s - even unloaded, surprisingly, there's no bounce (edit: earlier I said it bounced around a bit, but now I attribute that to vibrations in the wheels, not bouncing due to trailer weight).

 

[Fishing Rhino]

Vibration?  My trailer developed a vibration on one of my excursions to Pickwick.  Turned out a tire had broken a belt which resulted in the tire being out of round.  It was fine until I reached 60 mph.  

[haggard]

On 4/22/2019 at 4:35 PM, Fishing Rhino said:

Vibration?  My trailer developed a vibration on one of my excursions to Pickwick.  Turned out a tire had broken a belt which resulted in the tire being out of round.  It was fine until I reached 60 mph.  

The tires are new (so are the hubs, bearings and rims) but bad things can still happen to new stuff. When I get a chance I'll jack it up and spin the wheels to see if they're out of round. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[haggard]

With trailer all dialed in (except for vibration from wheels/bearings), focusing on the boat. Motor is hung on the transom but not really secured - it's a 1974 Evinrude 15hp 2-stroke that was last used on a salt water sailboat so the clamps are broken and seized - but that's a project for another day. Bass Pro seats and mounts installed, and tonight it was accessory rails. Got them from my dealer. They're aluminum C channels. Cut the 8 foot length into two 4 foot sections and installed one on port, one on starboard. I felt bad drilling holes in a new boat but it worked out well. Beveled the drill holes and used nuts with nylon inserts on the outside of the hull with nylon washers between them and the hull to protect the finish. For accessory bracket just use a panhead bolt and washer slid into the rail, secured with washer/lockwasher/nut through a section of L-angle iron (aluminum) to support anything like cup holders, rod holders, bimini top mounts, etc.