Hi all,
Long time no post.
One of my friends (who posts on this site) had his trailer fail, at
60+ miles per hour, on the I-15 freeway, in the middle of the night. It's a 26X. I forget what year.
Yep, the sucker broke right at the ladder. It left a deep gouge in the freeway. Luckily, no damage to the boat, believe it or not and no loss of control.. This I attribute to the little safety cable from the surge actuator, being attached properly to the tow vehicle. It was snapped, but did it's job and locked up the wheels.
Fortunately for my friend, this particular part of the I-15 has next to no traffic in the middle of the night, or it could have been a major thing. Needless to say, a new trailer was in order.
One of my other friends also got a new trailer for his 26X. I inherited his old, factory trailer, from which I'll salvage the axle, brakes and related parts, to put on my brakeless, factory 26D trailer, (that is in great shape, btw). This 26x trailer is so rusted out in the area of the jack, and where the main rails are welded to the tongue, I could, just about, grab the top of the ladder and bend it over 90 degrees, by hand.
I guess multiple axles are okay, but the important thing, particularly with steel trailers, is to keep them clean and maintained.
Rust can be deadly, not only for the trailer but for the guy pulling it also.
My 1988 26D trailer is in great shape, as I said. It looked kind of sorry, when I got the boat 5 or 6 years ago. I took it over to get sand blasted and gave it a good paint job. I keep the paint touched up regularly. I painted the trailer white for two reasons. It's very easy to see, when submerged @ the launch ramp and more importantly, even the smallest bits of rust will show up easily.... as will cracks in welds and the like.
Best Breezes,
Steve K.
Mac26-D "Three Sheets"
and a breeze................ That's all I need
