Trailer emergency Westport MA pan-pan

[fouz]

Yours broke in bad spot

Mine was just ahead of the ladder. But you could do the same thing.

Measure how long the hitch is from the back of the tubing.
Cut the tongue off just ahead of ladder.
Straighten the tongue the best you can. I didn't have to do this step.
Get a 2" ID iron pipe (it will be 2.5" OD). About 10' long. This fit just inside the 3" tubing that MacGregor used to make the trailer.
In your case hammer it into the tubing all the back to the old tubing.
Drill you at least 2 holes from the top down for some 1/2" bolts
Measure how long to leave the pipe from the other hitch you measured.
Buy a new trailer hitch at lowes or some places like that that fits over the 2" pipe. Bolt it on. Use these bolts to put your safety chains on.

You wont have brakes but it will ride fine.

May or may not help you.
This will be about a 3 hour fix on the road I guess.

[Catigale]

A 4x4 will be more than twice as strong in bending (vertical tongue load) as two 2x4's, and much much stiffer, unless they're glued together, but even then, the 4x4 will be a little taller and therefore a little stronger (all other things being equal).

If you do that, make sure you strap it near the break and near the coupler, plus all the way back near where the existing tube ends.

You'll have to get around the flanges of the channels, though. And cutting a relief for them will weaken it, but at least it's on the compression side (the top of the wood, if it's strapped to the bottom).

Marks handbook gives my a working (4x margin) stress factor of about 2000 psi for a 4x4 pine beam. Given a heavy tongue weight of 500#, thats still 4x below the working limit.

If I can get the whole 8 foot of a 4x4 under and strapped tight, Im pretty comfortable with that solution.

Ill buy a new beam for this.

Wow!
So lucky that didn't occur on the road!

Totally.

[K9Kampers]

Let me know if you want to try option D. Sail down LI Sound & up the Hudson to home!

[Highlander]

Let me know if you want to try option D. Sail down LI Sound & up the Hudson to home!

Yep leave the trl still strapped onto the boat & float her home I,ve seen cottagers do that to get their trl onto their island cottage

J

[Johnacuda]

were you able to get an estimate on an in-place weld job? i trust the structure of the 4x4 solution, but a 4-5 hour trip to get the x trailer home sounds a bit risky. I am only basing this on the way mine bounces and shakes without a lad on it.

[Catigale]

I'm going to 4x4 only to get the boat off the trailer, then empty trailer it home.

I managed to pull the boat out with the broken tongue, so I'm sure a 4x4 will let me relaunch.

[Russ]

Seems like the engineer types agree it will hold. But what is your plan. Float the boat in MA and repair the trailer back home? Come back for the boat? If the rest of the trailer is adequate, I'm sure this can be repaired. However, it ain't fun driving an empty trailer. I had to rescue the boy on the jet ski at the other end of the lake (25 miles) on the jet ski towing an empty trailer. Bouncy bouncy.

I like the idea of floating the boat up the Hudson.

Hopefully this will all be a funny story soon.

--Russ

[Catigale]

The trick with empty trailer is to take the tires down to 20 psi

....or just buy another boat....

[kmclemore]

Wow. I wasn't able to look at the forum for a couple of days and while I'm away the sh*t hits the fan!

Steph, I'm up here at the lake house so not sure I can help you, but if you need me to drive down to your place to give you a hand, let me know. You've got my cell number.

Oh, and the 4x4 fix sounds kosher to me, so long as you bind it tightly on either side of the break as well as at the ends.

Good luck!

[Johnacuda]

The trick with empty trailer is to take the tires down to 20 psi

....or just buy another boat....

Drop the pressure down to 20. i am filing that one awayfor future use. i have been bouncing my way home for too many years without even thinking about a solution.

But these go to 11. -Nigel Tufnel

[Catigale]

Wow. I wasn't able to look at the forum for a couple of days and while I'm away the sh*t hits the fan!

Steph, I'm up here at the lake house so not sure I can help you, but if you need me to drive down to your place to give you a hand, let me know. You've got my cell number.

Oh, and the 4x4 fix sounds kosher to me, so long as you bind it tightly on either side of the break as well as at the ends.

Good luck!

Jimmy Stewart ^2

Thanks Kevin. Got your contact info.

Appreciate your thoughts on the 4x4 solution.

[Catigale]

Preflight tool list

4x4 by 8 foot pressure treat lumber, no cracks
2 2x4 by 8 pressure treat possible side braces
Saw to cut lumber

Two ratcheting straps

Floor jack
Shoring lumber for floor jack

Deep Impact sockets to remove jack and tire mounts from tongue
PB blaster
Long breaker bar

Brake fluid
Bleeder wrench
Hose
Container with tight lid
Nitrile gloves

Jack stands

Long safety chain to pick up I beams to trailer home, safety for boat relaunch, shackles for same

Harry...good thing I saved him from that ice skating incident when he was a kid.

[Tempus]

At the risk of stating the bleeding obvious....can only imagine how terrible such a failure could have been at speed. Scary stuff. Thanks for the added impetus to check the trailer!

[Tomfoolery]

Preflight tool list

4x4 by 8 foot pressure treat lumber, no cracks
2 2x4 by 8 pressure treat possible side braces
Saw to cut lumber

Two ratcheting straps

Not to hammer this point too hard, but you need to secure that beam in at least three places; both ends and the middle, and better if it's secured on both sides of the break. The only thing resisting side-to-side load is what little is left of the original tongue, and if there's any side-to-side bending, the stresses will be very high right where the crack ends, since the vertical side walls of the tube would have been resisting that but are no longer there. So the crack is going to grow, possibly quite fast with any flex (metal seems to be mostly eaten away), and the only thing holding the whole mess together really is what's left of the steel. Which you don't want to lose.

My recommendation for the welder on site was based on hauling the boat. I didn't see where you said you're pulling an empty trailer. I've done a lot scarier stuff than what you're doing, in a former life (worked in a junk/scrap yard - if a piece of equipment like a crane is too old, worn out, broken, and dangerous to work in construction, it's a new machine in an old-school scrap yard ). Sounds like you've got the caution part under control, with the extra chains to the frame.

[Paul S]

My M trailer needs a new tongue as well. I have a couple welders coming over to give estimates. One was about 250. waiting for another (he initially said $45 for labor +parts, but will see what it is when he sees it)