[Rhodes22-list] Getting the weight off the tires for winter storage

[Jesse Shumaker]

Roger, thanks for the tips and the photo of your trailer setup.  It's funny
that you should mention the rear jacks since I just did something similar
on Friday and the inspiration was from a photo of your trailer that I had
stumbled on awhile ago on rhodes22.org (
http://rhodes22.org/rhodes/pics/jack1.jpg).  I had two tongue jacks, one
that was on the trailer when I got it (but the wheel didn't turn very well)
and another one on the other side that I added last year when I got the
trailer - however that one didn't want to turn very well either.  I had
left on the old one as a backup.  Since I was taking care of a few things
on my trailer already, I put on a new double wheel tongue jack that is more
stout.  I moved the two jacks that had been on the tongue so that there is
one on each side of the rear of the trailer, so it serves a similar purpose
to the jacks you mentioned in terms of stabilization.  Since all these
jacks are on wheels, chocks are still needed to prevent the trailer from
moving around.  I like your setup where you put the wheels up on a board,
putting chocks on top of the board, and take off most of the weight by
using the jacks.  Where I park for the winter, there can be some occasional
standing water or snow so it would be good to have the tires up off the
ground a bit.  I might use a couple of jack stands on either side as well
to spread the load out when I store it for the winter.  Tire covers claim
to provide some UV protection and are a minimal expense so I'm going to put
those on.  Hopefully all this leads to tires that stay in good shape for
longer.

As you mentioned, having the jacks on the front and rear should make for a
stable platform when working on the boat on the hard, or for accommodations
in campground en route.  With the pop top enclosure, and the mosquito
netting over the bimini to enclose the cockpit, it really meet the the pop
up camper criteria!

I will take a look at getting a come-along as well.   It sounds like that
would be a good addition to my growing list of trailering gear.

Given the difficult circumstances at your place with the failed dams, do
you intend to trailer your boat anywhere else this season?

On Sat, Jul 11, 2020 at 3:08 PM ROGER PIHLAJA <roger_pihlaja at msn.com> wrote:

> Hi Jesse,
>
> Nice photo!  It reminds me of my favorite anchorage called the Church Camp
> Cove on Sanford Lake prior to the flood this spring.  I won’t be anchoring
> there anytime soon.
>
> You can certainly use jack stands as per the recommendation of your
> automotive gearhead friends.  However, you might consider what I did.  The
> attached photo shows a screw-type jack welded onto the trailer frame.
> There is one of these jacks port and starboard.  They each have a
> quick-release pin.  They swing up for trailering and come off for
> launch/retrieval, so you never immerse them.  Using these two jacks and the
> tongue jack, one can get the weight off the tires for the winter.  However,
> you can also use these jacks to change a tire by the side of the road.  You
> can also use them to level the boat on it’s trailer, so you can use the
> Rhodes’ cabin as a sort of travel trailer for overnight stays in
> campgrounds.  The Rhodes 22’s cabin is way more comfortable than a tent,
> there’s a full galley, potta-potti, and you’re way up high so the critters
> can’t get to you.  Some campgrounds don’t allow tent camping, so you simply
> register your Rhodes 22 Pop-Up Camper!  I find it comforting to wake up in
> the morning looking down on my fellow campers.  You will never have to
> carry an extra bottle jack again!  However, you might consider throwing a 2
> ton come-along into your bag of trailering gear just in case you get stuck
> on a launch ramp again.  The come-along + a stout anchor rode will rescue
> you from many sticky situations.
>
> One of Stan’s beliefs is that everything on the Rhodes 22 should do
> multiple duties.  I think that philosophy should extend to the trailer as
> well!
>
> Roger Pihlaja
> S/V Dynamic Equilibrium[cid:image002.jpg at 01D6579D.86263060]
>
>
>
>
> Sent from Mail<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for
> Windows 10
>
> From: Chris Geankoplis<mailto:chrisgeankoplis at gmail.com>
> Sent: Friday, July 10, 2020 8:29 PM
> To: The Rhodes 22 Email List<mailto:rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] first road trip with R22
>
> Thanks for sharing your adventure with us. I enjoyed the tale and lesson
> too!  Bottle jack, don’t leave home without it.
>
> On Fri, 10 Jul 2020 at 16:40, Jesse Shumaker <
> jesse.laten.shumaker at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Last weekend, a couple of friends and I took my Rhodes 22 to Rathbun Lake
> > in Iowa.  It's about 10 times as large as Lake Manawa, where I normally
> > sail.  Preparation and getting there turned out to be more of an
> adventure
> > than expected.  The week before the trip, I realized the brake line on
> the
> > trailer had rusted through and had to be replaced.  Fortunately, one of
> the
> > guys going on the trip is a mechanic and took care of that.  We tested
> out
> > the brakes on the trailer the night before leaving, which resulted in a
> > broken bunk.  I saw that right before we were going to load the boat on
> the
> > trailer.  Much better to have that happen without a boat on it!  We
> > replaced the bunk, got a spare bunk for the other side (more on that
> later)
> > and loaded up the boat.  For the first time, I used the mast lowering
> > system on the water and that worked well.
> >
> > I picked up a bottle jack and jack stand just before we left the next
> day.
> > An hour into the trip, the driver side tire on the trailer blew.  We
> > quickly pulled over since the tire was completely shredded and the
> trailer
> > was resting on the rim since this is just a single axle trailer.
> > Fortunately the rim was not damaged.  The tires were 8 ply from 2017.
> They
> > made the trip from Florida to Iowa a year ago with no problem but
> appeared
> > to have developed flat spots from sitting over the winter.  The shredded
> > tire took out a minor side light on the trailer and knocked off a trailer
> > guide bar on that side.  I'm lucky it was not more serious.  Anyway,
> after
> > putting on the spare and getting back underway, I found a tire shop a few
> > miles away so I went ahead and got all new Power King 10 ply tires.  They
> > got us in right away and it was only $100 a tire installed, so I'm
> probably
> > lucky the blowout happened close to that shop.  The trailer runs smoother
> > on the new tires.
> >
> > Upon arrival, we were moved to a larger slip than we had reserved since
> > that is where they had availability.  Instead of the small boats for
> > company, we were the tiny boat in these slips.  Imagine my surprise to
> see
> > sailboats up to 40' in Iowa.  Some of these bigger boats seem to be used
> > more as floating condos with a mast rather than getting out and sailing.
> >
> > There was a ramp right next to the slip that we were assigned and we saw
> a
> > couple of powerboats launch and retrieve there, so we figured we would
> use
> > that ramp.  We got the mast up on land and proceeded to back down the
> steep
> > ramp with the trailer extension in use.  After we were fully off the
> > trailer, the truck couldn't get back up the ramp.  Uh oh.  It turns out
> we
> > backed off the end of the ramp.  Fortunately, we had taken the new spare
> > bunk with us and had removed it from where it was strapped to the trailer
> > just before launching.  We used that as a giant lever placed under the
> > frame in front of the wheels to pop up the trailer and then the truck was
> > able to pull the trailer out.  Whew!  We later learned that we used the
> > high water ramp (the water was not high).  Unfortunately there was not
> > signage to identify it as the high water ramp and there was no mention of
> > this by the staff.  Oh well, we came out unscathed other than feeling
> > embarrassed.
> >
> > I was also surprised to see two R22s at Rathbun: one from 1976 (which had
> > been recently for sale) and a 2000.  Unfortunately, I did not see the
> > owners there.  It would have been nice to meet another Rhodie in person.
> >
> > The knot meter read 22NM after a full day of sailing on Friday which is
> the
> > furthest that I've gone on my boat in a day.  We anchored out on Friday
> and
> > Saturday night.  We used the Fortress FX7 anchor that came with the boat
> on
> > the first night and on the second night we used a 13lb Mantus M2 that I
> > recently bought.  In time I'll be following up with some questions on
> > anchoring now that I've got a chance to try out a few things.  I've read
> > the anchoring threads in the archives but I'm really curious to see how
> > Peter's new anchoring setup (described at https://youtu.be/VeL_3Ir0yQ4)
> is
> > working out in practice.
> >
> > I slept in the cabin on the extended settee and my friends each slept on
> > top of cockpit cushions on a bench.  I had made cockpit filler planks but
> > they were content to each sleep on a bench.  It wasn't buggy and we
> didn't
> > even end up using the netting or pop-top on the second night anchoring.
> >
> > Returning was a lot easier.  We used the normal ramp to retrieve and
> didn't
> > have any problem.  I waded out to check the water depth first to be on
> the
> > safe side.  Mast lowering and raising was easier since we all had been
> > through the processes together a few days earlier.  Trailering was
> > uneventful on the way back.  My trailer is at the trailer shop for a few
> > minor repairs to make sure it's ready for the next adventure.
> >
> > I definitely learned some lessons about trailering, ramps, and got used
> to
> > camping on the boat for a few days with a couple of friends.
> >
> > My friends (both are automotive guys) recommended taking weight off the
> > tires by using some jack stands when the boat is on the trailer for the
> > winter.  Does anyone else do this?
> >
> > I attached a photo from the anchorage on the last morning before leaving.
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