Trailering Issues (part duex)

[Catigale]

BOat US members can add Trailer US coverage to their membership for $10 per year...Ive never used it but the service is nationwide in US and does get good reviews from people in the Boat US mag......duh....

[March]

Ooh, Bobby! You've got much luckier than I was with AAA. Flat tire on the trailer two years ago, somewhere in Illinois around midnight. We called AAA because we had the sevice, even though I am sure we could have used the hydraulc jack we had and changed the wheel ourselves. They sent a local service mechanic who came indeed and changed the wheel in a jiffy. The bill was 75 bucks and triple A refused to reimburse it since, of course, we didn't have triple A plus. Had the mechanic told us how things stood (and we asked) I would have done it myself. I would change wheels for a living at this going rate.

One year before that, AAA sent me a mechanic to jumpstart my van (son left the door open, draining the battery). A spacey mechanic came with his jumpstart kit and put red on black and black on red, thereby frying my electrical system. Again, AAA didn't own up--they replaced the battery only leaving me with plenty of electrical problems (the tricky ones that manifest themselves just as you're leaving the mechanic's) and a wobbly alternator that I had to replace from my own pocket

The idea behind AAA is good, for sure, but the extensions are the luck of the draw.

[c130king]

Believe it or not I will now get to test out my 2004 Chevy Trailblazer jack on my trailer.

We drove home today from our Spring Break vacation (Carnival Cruise to Cozumel). I had parked my truck and the trailer in the way of the garage so I backed out and drove around the block to "re-park" my trailer in its normal spot. When pulling back into the driveway I was watching how close my truck was to my wife's mini-van and failed to watch my trailer. I hit the 2' brick wall that seperates my driveway from the drainage ditch.

Scraped up the side of the trailer. Bent the fender back into the tire. Broke the side light and the side reflector. Broke the brick wall. And, oh yeah, gave my wife even more great material to tell all my buds what a dumb@$$ I am

Called my buddy (his name really is "Buddy") and he helped me use a big pry bar to bend the fender back to its normal position. No longer rubbing the tire at least. The front of the fender is dinged pretty good.

I will clean it all up tomorrow and cover all the bare metal (a lot of black paint has flaked off) with a black paint.

But, since I had to pull the boat forward about 10 feet with the fender rubbing hard against the tire I will jack up the trailer and put on my nice new spare (only had it about two months). Don't think I punctured the tire so I will make it the spare.

The boat itself has a small black rub mark where the fender pushed up and slightly rubbed the hull on the bottom paint. Not really worried about that.

Does anyone know if it is possible to order a new fender along with the two pieces of angle iron the bolts? The trailer frame has just a big brick rub mark...no structural damage.

I will post some pics tomorrow. I have 2 days to get all this straightened out. I leave for Norfolk, VA early Sunday morning.

Thanks,
Jim

On Edit: Stephen, I do have the BoatUS Trailering membership. Seems like a good deal. Hopefully I will never need it but I do plan to trailer nearly 1400 miles in the next two months.

[Bobby T.-26X #4767]

Does anyone know if it is possible to order a new fender along with the two pieces of angle iron the bolts? The trailer frame has just a big brick rub mark...no structural damage.

when i damaged a fender on my X last year, i called Bill at Macgregor.
the factory has the fender parts available for order for a reasonable price ($75? + shipping). but in my case, i would then neeed to get them welded into place.
so instead of driving to the factory (80 miles from my house), i went to a local "trailer shop" (you know a guy who specializes in hitches and trailer repairs). they had a matching fender in their supply room and basically copied the damaged one by welding L brackets in the same location. it had to be painted black but looks like OEM.
cost me $120 IIRC.

Bob T.
"DäBob"
'02X w/ '04 90-TLDI (14" x 11 pitch)
Dinghy Motor: '06 2.5-Suzuki

[c130king]

Here is the brick wall I hit. You can see the diagonal crack. The piece broke off and then caved in the fender. I set it back in place.


Here you can see the brick wall rub on the trailer and the damage to the fender.


Here is a close-up of the fender. It was caved in and rubbing on the tire. The angle iron was back about 45 degrees.


Since I have taken these pictures I have removed the fender. But I am not able to do much with it other than wire brush it and paint it black. Maybe while I am in Norfolk I will look for a trailer place and see if I can get a new fender.

I will have to replace the fender light and the reflector as well.

I think the tire is fine. It lost no air. I see no damage...just where the fender rubbed against it. So I won't change it before I leave. But I did buy a 2-ton jack and jack stands at the Auto Zone which I will take with me just in case.

I will do all that tomorrow...which is my last day to prep for my 700 mile road-trip to Virginia. I leave early Sunday. Hwy 84 East to I-95. North on I-95 to Hwy 58 East into Norfolk.

Give me a honk if you see the König on the road. Hopefully I will get it there with out any further damage .

Jim

[PeteC]

Jim,

There are a couple of places I know of near Norfolk (Hampton and Portsmouth) that can probably fix you up.

Should be some places in Norfolk too.

Let me know.

PeteC (in Hampton)

[c130king]

Pete,

Thanks. I plan to leave the boat in the water for the 9 weeks so I may see about getting my trailer fixed up while I am down there.

Talk to you when I get down there.

Thanks,
Jim