Trailer repair advice
 

I have had my boat 6 weeks now and there are somethings on the trailer that are bothering me. I have a couple scratches on the side from my trailer, it has the diamond plate over the wheel well and I have noticed that not many boats have this anymore. The carpet on the back of the wheel well no longer extends over the diamond plate at the top leaving the edge exposed. Should I just remove the diamond plate, or redo the carpeted wood backing on the wheel well? I also noticed a constant grinding from my trailer, kinda like the sound your brakes make in a car when they are going bad. My trailer only has surge breaks, any thoughts? I appreciate eveyone's help on the board with my "issues", being new to boating this board is a great resource.

The damae to the boat is definitely from the wheel wells, the damage is in line with scraping the top of the well. Probably a cheap fix to redo the wood and carpeting. Where should I take the trailer to be checked out? A boat shop or an auto repair shop? In order to replace the wheel well backing I will have to take the wheels of so I can take a look at everything then and report the results. Where is the best place to jack the trailer up to remove the wheels, one at a time of course.

Trailer
 

BP-

Take it from me you want to fix the issues with your trailer.... Last August we were driving down the road and one of the wheels 'blew' off. (no exageration)

I replaced the bunk carpet a few years back. I put the boat in the water and then worked on the trailer for the afternoon. I replaced the wooden bunk board themselves with new treated lumber and stainless lag bolts. ~75 bucks if memory serves me. I actually covered the new wood with new bunk carpet and stapled on the bottom side. Drilled new holes and mounted the lag bolts. You may be referring to the wheel wells in which case you could fix it all while the boat is on the trailer perhaps.

As to the brakes, that is an entirely other discussion. Please take a look and see if you have disc or drum brakes; disc have rotors that clamp down on the discs with pads. Also do you have four wheel brakes or two? Have you checked the brake fluid level on the actuator on the front of the tongue? One last thing to consider is the wheel bearings... have you had them repacked recently?

I replaced the wheels, rotors, brake line, actuator and the whole nine yards on my trailer last September so once you know some details I should be able to give you some ideas. (You can see pictures in the gallery section)

Brent

I think for now I will get the wheel well carpeting replaced to prevent further damage, and start making new bunks for the trailer in my spare time. As far as the trailer goes I have the single axle version with drum brakes. I checked the reservoir up front a few weeks ago and it was full, but I will check it again. I just bought the boat 2 months ago so I have no idea last time the bearings were serviced, there is plenty of grease in them but beyond that I have no idea. I will have to do some further investigating.

Anyone have any good links or guides for inspecting and repacking the bearings? I am sure a shop will charge at least $100 to do it, I would rather buy the items needed to do it myself and save money in the long run.

Step by step guide here including a video:
http://www.sailingtexas.com/Movies/T...rbearings.html

Good photos and step by step from DIY network:
http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/bo_mai...277898,00.html

Really good close-up photos here:
http://www.rd.com/17452/article17452.html

I also recommend you take off the wheel drums and inspect the brakes. If they are in bad shape I would consider investing in a pair of disc brakes... well worth the investment and another project you should consider yourself.

Here is a good link for buying the wheel bearings:
http://www.jamestowndistributors.com...wheel_bearings

My pleasure - just trying to add some value to the other members.

What kind of carpet should I use to redo the backside of the wheel well and where should I buy it? I imagine I can just use plywood as the base, should I water seal it before stapling the carpet?

I think I'd spend the extra $$ and buy some pressure treated plywood. You can buy "marine carpet" at many places, I think even Home Depot.

I will check HD. Sould I remove the diamond plate over the wheel well while I am at it and add some other non slip surface that won't damage the underside of the boat?

For the trailer bunks make sure you use pressure treated lumber and galvanized bolts. (Replace whatever bolts and bunks are on there now or at least look at them with a very jaundiced eye.)

As to the wheel wells I would see if you can pick up pressure treated siding or exterior grade plywood at Lowes or Home Depot. One sheet should do you fine.

I would then cover it with complementary or matching marine grade carpet - I googled and got quite a few entries.

Let us know how you progress on this.

Finally got my noisy trailer fixed today, turns out the grinding sound was indeed the brakes. The pad had worn down and it was rubbing metal to metal, brakes had probably never been replaced. Unfortunately the drum on the starboard side was shot, needed to be replaced. My mechanic got a good deal on 2 completely new drums assemblies with new bearings, $120 for the pair. After labor and a $25 trip charge and antoher $30 in parts the whole shabang was $500. He probably over charged me a bit on the labor(4 hours) but he did come to my house to do the repair.

Chariot Trailers were made of top quality products and are definately a top of the line unit. The fender pads should definately be recovered and replaced as they offer protection to the hull from road bebris the tires may kick up. The carpet should be a high quality carpet, at least 28 oz. carpet. The bunks should be carpeted with the same (good quality) carpet.

How do you load and unload your boat, how far down do you back the trailer to load and unload? Do you spay anything on your carpet to help the boat slide on and off easier? All of these things add to extended carpet life of the trailer and make it much easier on the hull.