7000 miles on the stock trailer

[mastreb]

30 day trip statistics, family of 5:

Average MPG: 15mpg
Median speed: 75mph
Miles: 8272

Costs:
$2,452.31 Food
$2,206.68 Gas
$2,222.64 Lodge (hotels+Marinas)
$409.00 Parking, tolls, storage
$796.73 Repairs
$628.23 Tourism (parks, admission, etc.)

So $8,700 total. Makes cruises look kind of inexpensive.

[WASP18]

30 day trip statistics, family of 5:

Average MPG: 15mpg
Median speed: 75mph
Miles: 8272

Costs:
$2,452.31 Food
$2,206.68 Gas
$2,222.64 Lodge (hotels+Marinas)
$409.00 Parking, tolls, storage
$796.73 Repairs
$628.23 Tourism (parks, admission, etc.)

So $8,700 total. Makes cruises look kind of inexpensive.

$290.00 a day is pretty cheap for a family of five. That's $58.00 a day per person for food, lodging, travel and entertainment. When you consider the appetites of teenagers or pre-adolescents who are constantly grazing at home in the kitchen, that's low cost on the road.

[seahouse]

Where do i put the WD 40 to stop the 'thud' that happens when i pull away from a dead stop? I just figured it is what it is but if you got wd 40 to help it I would sure like to try it too.

Does not fix the pull-away thud, only fixes the "on/off" brakes. Still thuds.

BOAT- If the “pull away thud” is there, then it's working properly. If the “pull away thud” is gone (on anything more than very light acceleration on level ground) then your braking is gone too . The thud is just an artifact of a functioning system.

On the other hand...You do not want to hear/feel a thud and feel sudden trailer brake application when you are ("trailing throttle") decelerating or applying steady progressive braking from the tow vehicle. That is an indicator that the mechanism is sticking, seizing, and not sliding smoothly, and in need of some attention.

[WASP18]

I don't have trailer brakes. The "thud" I hear when starting from a dead stop is the slight ball movement or play inside the trailer hitch.

[seahouse]

I don't have trailer brakes. The "thud" I hear when starting from a dead stop is the slight ball movement or play inside the trailer hitch.

While you might already have done so ("slight" sounds about right, WASP), the amount of lash is adjustable, usually by turning a nut located underneath the ball socket. Some are spring loaded (and will release under catastrophic conditions) and some are not.

On a trailer that is too heavy to lift by hand, you can check the clearance by using the tongue jack. Use the jack to lift the tongue after it is connected to the vehicle while closely watching the point of contact (between the tongue and the hitch) just as the trailer's weight is taken off the vehicle. The play should not be excessive.

While I personally don't lubricate the ball and socket for short hops to the ramp any more, I would definitely lubricate this point for an extended trip.

[RobertB]

I don't have trailer brakes. The "thud" I hear when starting from a dead stop is the slight ball movement or play inside the trailer hitch.

What size hitch ball are you using?

[BOAT]

Thanks Seahouse - it's just like you said - I only get the "thud" when pulling away from a stop sign or a stop light - it only happens after I have been rolling pretty fast and have come to a dead stop. It does not do it when I just slow down. I know the brakes are working right because I live way up on top a steep hill and when I am going down the hill to get to the marina I put the brakes on in the van and everything seems to slow down perfectly like as if there was no boat behind me - the trailer brakes must be working right because there is no drag going down the steep hill, and no noises or thuds at the bottom when the road turns level. There is no thud pulling out of the water either. It only happens after I have been traveling forward at a good speed, and have come to a complete stop, and then pull forward to proceed on the green light or whatever - there is a slight "thud" and we are away.

HEY MATT! You think I need the WD40?

[Crikey]

The hitch ball socket on the trailer is sized for a 2" ball. I've a utility trailer at home that needs a 1 7/8" ball that I regularly keep mounted on the car as I'm always hauling other stuff. Considering the small difference, it's quite amazing how much extra noise is generated when I've forgotten to swap things over for boat hauling - like our first holiday this year. Had to turn around and add another hour to the planned three. If I'd gone further I'd probably have winged it and bought another ball at the destination. That, I'd have to say would not have been a very safety conscious decision, because I'm sure a big enough pot-hole could pop the hitch off.
Lubricating your balls stops them rusting and squeaking...
Ross

[WASP18]

I don't have trailer brakes. The "thud" I hear when starting from a dead stop is the slight ball movement or play inside the trailer hitch.

What size hitch ball are you using?

Two inch, 6,000 lb gross weight from UHaul. It's more of a "clunk" than a "thud". I compensate by gently pressing the accelerator when starting from a complete stop (when I remember) and it doesn't happen. It clunks when I forget.

[Tomfoolery]

. . . I'm sure a big enough pot-hole could pop the hitch off.

I built a log splitter in another life (early 20's), and my business partner at the time towed it to a jobsite using a 1-7/8" ball (2" coupler). It popped off, and went into a guardrail on I-95 in CT. Not good, but no real damage, and nobody hurt. So yes, it can and does (did?) happen.

I have a utility trailer with a 1-7/8" hitch, and one of these days I'll change the coupler out for a 2" so I don't have to keep a variety of ball mounts (for two different cars with very different receiver heights) with two different size hitch balls. The boat trailer and the utility trailer both require about the same ball height to be level, so it's pretty silly to have to change back and forth, but this sort of thing happens in bits and pieces over time.

As to the 'thunk', perhaps the hydraulic damper is shot. Mine is new, and it'll thunk a little pulling ahead from a stop, but that's normal IMO, as it's a mechanical system with intentional lash. Intentional, as the master cylinder requires movement to work.

And as an aside, I could never understand why they went from 1-7/8" to 2" to 2-5/8" instead of jumping up to something in the middle that couldn't be confused with a 1-7/8". Like 2-1/8" or 2-1/4".

[RobertB]

I had major thunking going on when the brake fitting at the caliper broke and had no fluid in the master cylinder.

[Russ]

What about the the receiver? Is it possible the thud is that thing having some play in it? Without boat attached, can you push/pull on the hitch to see it it's got some play in it. Perhaps the pin is not fitting correctly and allowing some slack.

[BOAT]

But I thought mastreb and seahouse said it's supposed to go "thud"?!?

[seahouse]

But I thought mastreb and seahouse said it's supposed to go "thud"?!?

Good to ask if you don't understand BOAT, because you might not be the only one, and I think mastreb is as concerned as I am about "getting it right".

It will go thunk when it is working properly. But just because it's going thunk doesn't necessarily mean it's working properly. The thunk could be coming from somewhere else. If you never get the thunk at all, it's likely not working properly either. All of the above statements are true, and not contradictory. If they seem that way, read them more literally. Follow the line of logic? If you study the simple but elegant action of the servo mechanism it might become more apparent- it's the nature of the beast that there needs to be some movement for the system to work.

Regarding the trailer brakes, there are two distinct sources of the thunk - one from deceleration, one from acceleration, and both rely on the initial conditions (whether, and how hard you braked perviously, and the slope, etc).

[WASP18]

. . . I'm sure a big enough pot-hole could pop the hitch off.

I built a log splitter in another life (early 20's), and my business partner at the time towed it to a jobsite using a 1-7/8" ball (2" coupler). It popped off, and went into a guardrail on I-95 in CT. Not good, but no real damage, and nobody hurt. So yes, it can and does (did?) happen.

I have a utility trailer with a 1-7/8" hitch, and one of these days I'll change the coupler out for a 2" so I don't have to keep a variety of ball mounts (for two different cars with very different receiver heights) with two different size hitch balls. The boat trailer and the utility trailer both require about the same ball height to be level, so it's pretty silly to have to change back and forth, but this sort of thing happens in bits and pieces over time.

As to the 'thunk', perhaps the hydraulic damper is shot. Mine is new, and it'll thunk a little pulling ahead from a stop, but that's normal IMO, as it's a mechanical system with intentional lash. Intentional, as the master cylinder requires movement to work.

And as an aside, I could never understand why they went from 1-7/8" to 2" to 2-5/8" instead of jumping up to something in the middle that couldn't be confused with a 1-7/8". Like 2-1/8" or 2-1/4".

tkanzler:
What size ball is required for the MacGregor standard, one-axle, steel trailer, year 2000? As I said my ball is 2 inches.