[Rhodes22-list] Trailer Trouble

[Peter Nyberg]

I feel I owe the list the final chapter (I hope) in this story.

I picked up my boat and trailer from Brian's Trailer Repair in Berwick, ME on Friday, almost exactly 6 weeks after having lost a wheel on the Maine Turnpike on my way to Rockland.

Long story short, we decided to replace pretty much everything that makes a boat trailer a trailer:  new axles, hubs, springs, disc breaks, tire rims, actuator, break lines, plus other miscellaneous hardware and lots of labor.  At every point where I was presented with options, I chose whatever seemed most robust, which I'm sure also meant most expensive.  The total bill came in at about $7,000.

I hope to get in one more week long cruise starting in a few days, but we'll have to keep an eye on hurricane Lee. 
 
Peter Nyberg
Coventry, CT
s/v Silverheels (1988/2016)

> On 2023-07-21, at 21:39:35 EDT, Peter Nyberg wrote:
>
> So, yesterday I was towing my boat from Connecticut up to Rockland, ME, as I do 
> several times a year lately.  Shortly after crossing the Maine - New Hampshire 
> border, something about the behavior of the trailer caught my attention, but I 
> can't really say exactly what it was.  When I glanced in the rear-view mirror, 
> the first thing I noticed was a tire and wheel rolling freely down the highway 
> somewhere behind me.  The second thing I noticed was a shower of sparks coming 
> from behind the forward trailer wheel on the driver's side.  I decided that I 
> should probably pull over to the break-down lane. The trailer handled the loss 
> of one wheel pretty well, so fortunately, it was a pretty low drama situation. 
> 
> My trailer is a dual-axle galvanized Triad. manufactured for General Boats in 
> 2016. 
> 
> I maintain an 'Unlimited Gold' membership with BoatUS, so I called them to 
> arrange for transport for the boat and trailer to a trailer repair shop about 20 
> miles away.  The bill for the 'tow' was over $700, so I'll come out ahead on my 
> membership this year. 
> 
> As the attached (I hope) pictures might show, it was the axle itself that 
> failed.  I have the wheel hubs serviced every year, and check them periodically 
> when towing to make sure they're not getting hot, but of course the thing you're 
> checking is not the the thing that fails. 
> 
> The trailer shop in Maine is still in the process of figuring out options, but 
> I'm pretty sure that they won't be cheap, and they won't be quick. 
> 
> Be careful out there,
> 
> Peter Nyberg
> Coventry, CT
> s/v Silverheels (1988/2016)
> 
> 
> 
> <a 
> href="http://rhodes22.org/pipermail/rhodes22-list/attachments/20230721/5e2e51fe/attachment.jpg" 
> target="_blank">Axle.jpg</a> 
> 
> <a 
> href="http://rhodes22.org/pipermail/rhodes22-list/attachments/20230721/5e2e51fe/attachment-0001.jpg" 
> target="_blank">Wheel.jpg</a> 
>