[Rhodes22-list] Trailer Rebuild

[mike at traildesign.com]

I just finished refitting my Triad as well and agree, Michael is really great to work with. My 1989 via 2018 recycled Rhodes came with a Triad single axle trailer and after getting the boat home noticed one of the hubs was smoking.. Wheel bearings were shot, which started the whole ball of wax rebuild. After pulling the wheel, I saw the seal was missing, the bearings were full of water (so it was steam not smoke) and the brakes were covered in oil. 
 
New seals (both wheels were bad), inner and outer bearings and lots of brake cleaner got that part done. The wheel cylinders for both brakes were leaking, so a rebuild of those was in order. After finishing that I filled the master cylinder with new fluid and watched it run right back out the piston seals. I thought about a rebuild kit but the surge brake head was in pretty bad shape so in went a new one. Brakes work again! 
 
Last time I put it in the water, I noticed the carpet on one of the bunks was rubbed through and the boat would not center properly when loading it on the trailer. On steeper ramps it would hit the cross bar at the front of the centering posts. Maybe I wasn't putting it in deep enough. Anyway I decided to fix all of that as well. A 10" roller between the posts solved the cross bar issue. New carpet for the bunks installed with SS staples came out really nice. Kudos go to my fiance, Brigit for all the nice detail work on that. The centering issue was a little tougher. After a lot of measuring and head scratching, I took two 4' pieces of pressure treated 2x6" pine and cut the ends on a 60 deg angle and the long top edge on a 45 deg angle. Then I drilled, counter sunk and installed 10 carriage bolts per side through the existing plastic pieces that were in place for the centering guide. Before attaching them to the plastic "boards" I wrapped them in marine carpet and stapled in place. Everything was bolted down using all new hot dipped galvanized hardware. I measured the finished project and have 1" to either side of the keel. That should center the boat nicely. By beveling the top of the boards, the boat can drop in as it's pulled out on steeper ramps and not catch on anything. 
 
We're off to the Keys in April and I now feel confident the trailer will get us there and back. 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: "C Gabriel" <4cgabriel at gmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, February 17, 2019 4:46pm
To: "The Rhodes 22 Email List" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Trailer Rebuild



This must be stuck in the outgoing mail queue of "da list".

On Sun, Feb 17, 2019, 2:12 PM Michael Corley <michael.4591 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Had my 25 yr old Triad trailer rebuilt at Triad in Raleigh. Michael
> Orro's father built my original trailer 25 yrs ago. Michael and his crew
> in Raleigh gave it another 25 yrs of life. All for slightly more than half
> the price of a new trailer.
> Very pleased with his work and his advice. He is definitely the
> expert when it comes to boat trailers. There was an article in Practical
> Sailor about Michael Orro that one of you sent me. Gotta love "Da List".
> New coupler, wood & wheels/tires, lots of welding, upgraded/replaced
> the axle and tongue extension, switched to disc brakes and LED lights.
>
> Mike Corley
> S/V Ranger
> Hampton Roads, VA
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