I was on my way to the lake today and 1 block from my house I make a right hand turn and the right tire goes off the road into a hole. I get a big bounce and then see smoke coming off my right tire. The tire is rubbing the fender. It broke the leaf spring hanger.
I was able to get back home but now I have to get the boat off the trailer to get the trailer fixed.
I was looking at how to do this...jack up the back and block it. What do I do at the front and still be able to pull the trailer out from under the boat?
But maybe think about getting out your hack-saw, cut through only one of the hangers supporting the fender, bend it out of the way and when it comes time to have a new leaf spring installed just have them re-attach that one hanger.
After you block up the back, you take two sets of blocks and block up the front. The way you do this is set one set of blocks lifting the front of the boat. Pull the trailer forward until something hits that set of blocks. Then build up the second set of blocks behind whatever hit the first set, or use your jack. Remove the first set. Pull the trailer forward. Reset the first set of blocks. Repeat as necessary until all crossmembers have cleared the forward blocks and trailer is clear. Reverse to replace trailer. It is a lot of jacking and blocking but not all that difficult.
Thanks for the reply. I would likt to put the boat in the water but do you think I could dirve it with the front of the leaf spring not attached? I could bend the fender out of the way. My slip is about 40 min. away...with some interstate!
I know what you mean about a lot of jacking. I'll do that if I have to but getting boat into the water would be easier.
rfm1992 wrote: . . . do you think I could dirve it with the front of the leaf spring not attached?
No~! . . . and certainly not 40 miles.
If you have large trees nearby, you might sling the bow from a large branch.
Or, you might construct an A-frame, though that would require some heavy timber.
I drove my just purchased 2002 boat from salt lake ut to Monterey CA and then home to oregon. I didn't notice that both rear bracket were also broken. It appeared that the rear bolts were either to tight or the bushing wasn't the right size. I had the assembly re welded and but in new urathane bushing with new grade bolts and it worked just fine then
The spring/shackle joint is intended to swing so as to accomodate spring length changes during compression.
But springs commonly rust-solid to their shackles, causing either one to break.
Spring shackles deserve regular greasing, but they're an easily overlooked maintenance item.
My wife won't let me takes Macs off or on their trailers, so if I was in you position, I would do the repairs with the boat still on the trailer(keep in mind, my worker is a mechanic). Not a real difficult job.... or look at getting a mobile engineer or trailer repairer to make a house-call and do the same.
Another option: get a tilt tray in, and have it taken to a wet berth, float the boat off, then do what-ever you need to do to the trailer.
Whatever you do, stay safe.
Cheers
Phillip
You have probably solved your problem already, and if so we want to know what you did, but........
I looked at my trailer this morning and thought, with a couple pieces of strap steel and three long bolts a man could make a temporary shackle. Couldn't you bolt a strap on each side of the frame and then put a third bolt thru the spring. It wouldn't be forever but would allow you to take the rig to a welding shop and they could probably weld a new bracket on without removing the boat.
R Rae wrote:Frank, what is the procedure for lubing the spring shackles on the trailer please ?
Some have added special shackle bolts that are drilled & cross-drilled. A grease zirk can be fitted to one end, and grease pushed through the bolt, to spread inside the spring loop.
I dont have drilled shackle bolts. In the alternative, I'm not sure it qualifies for the phrase, "procedure" but i just drizzle some 30 wt motor oil on the end of the shackle bolt. Grease would clearly be much better.
By spring hangers, do you mean the two vertical straps welded to the frame and drilled for the sping eye bolts? Better than an explanation would be a photo or drawing. The engineer in me says there is a temp fix which would allow you to tow it far enough to be fixed, but I need to know exactly what is wrong in order to make a suggestion.
Taking the boat off the trailer other than by floating it off is a major operation and could be trouble. I'm not known as a shrinking violet type but I wouldn't even attempt it except in an emergency in which there was no other possibility. 99% of trailer repars can be accomplished with the boat still on the trailer. Constructing a heavy timber A-frame for such a purpose is way over the top. Another question is where do you live that you would be towing it further to get it fixed than the 40 minutes including interstate to float the boat off the trailer?
If nothing else, a standard flatbed tow truck could winch the trailer with boat onto his truck and take it anywhere. Some $$ but safe.
Before you get any further however, what year and condition is your trailer? It may not be worthwhile nor safe to make repairs if the the trailer is otherwise shot.
When I had my trailer apart when adding the second axle, I took the opportunity to drill the bolts for lube fittings. In those days I had more time than money and access to a machine shop so did it myself. Though you could have any competent machine shop do it, truthfully I'm not sure it's worth the effort.
A family pulled their "X" to its "mast up" slot at a local marina, and the starboard wheel broke off at the axle end weld site. Their solution was using a bottle jack, and blocking up the trailer frame. Then the entire axle was removed. They ended up putting a new axle and springs under the trailer, since they found too many other rust issues with the original axle. They did the entire job on the open lot at their mast up-Marina storage lot. It was a 2 day job for 2 guys.
Anyway, it seems doing the work with the boat on the trailer is the best option, since youre too far to float the boat off.
Well, it's not fixed yet, but I have ground the old hanger off. Easier than I thought it would be. I thought I'd have to cut the fender off to have room to work. But the fender is bolted on, I thought it was welded on. I made a new hanger out of 1/4 in. steel. It's kind of like a u bolt. It hangs over the top of the frame and runs down the sides to the same lenght as the other side. That gives me a lot of area to weld to. I don't have a welder at home so tomorrow I'll call around and see what it may cost to get someone to come out and weld it.
I'll do that if I have to but getting boat into the water would be easier.
I drove my just purchased 2002 boat from salt lake ut to Monterey CA and then home to oregon. I didn't notice that both rear bracket were also broken. It appeared that the rear bolts were either to tight or the bushing wasn't the right size. I had the assembly re welded and but in new urathane bushing with new grade bolts and it worked just fine then
