Adventures in Trailering

[Jeff S]

Background:
I recently upgraded my brakes to disc brakes since the old lugs had rusted to the wheels and the drums were really rusty. The PO let the trailer decay quite a bit. I had also previously sanded and painted my trailer with the protective rust preventitive POR-15 (works great-strong stuff). The old coupler was slightly bent so I bought the Tiedown kit from Champion trailers that included the 6600# coupler for disc brakes.

That coupler is designed to be bolted to the trailer tongue. I used an angle grinder to cut off the old coupler. I did notice a considerable amount of rust inside the tongue, but thought it was still sturdy enough to support the coupler-wrong.

Story:
On a trip to Florida from NC with the new setup (and new tow rig) things were going well (the Dodge 2500 with Cummins Turbo Diesel tows like a champ- 15.6 mpg towing as well). At 0230 I heard a noise from the trailer and pulled to the shoulder on I-95. The bolts had pulled through the rusty metal almost completely and the coupler was holding the trailer at about a 90 degree angle while still connected to the ball. (The new tow chain setup I hooked up to crossover properly worked like a champ). I jacked up the trailer, removed the coupler from the hitch, put the family up in a motel and drove back with the local phone book to park by the boat until morning when I could contact someone with welding tools to help out. I also turned on the Nav lights of the boat as a marker.

At 0800 I got a hold of a trailer repair shop in Florence, SC (closest town). 20 minutes later a nice man came out- cut off 6 inches on the end of the tongue and welded the coupler to the remaining portion of the tongue. I then proceeded to find a local storage facility to park the boat for a week while I took the family to DisneyWorld then visit my brother in SW Florida (sans the boat now).

I did pick up the boat on the way back and brought it back (today)- the welds look pretty good. The welder looked at the rust inside the tongue and recommended that the entire tongue back to the trailler crossbar be cut off and a new galvanized one be installed in its place.

Lessons learned:
To share with all-
1) I don't recommend bolting a coupler to the 26X trailer- welds will not compromise the integrity like drilling through the tongue.
2) I recommend everyone thoroughly check their tongues for rust. Even with that there is no way to check all the way back and it is almost impossible to do anything to protect the exposed metal on the inside of the tongue. I literally tapped the sides and chunks of metal came loose on the inside. The 2 wimpy little drain holes were clogged with chunks of rusted metal- those drain holes are inadequate for the whole tongue. (I live in an area where it rains frequently as do many on this board- they are probably fine for an AZ or CA boat).
3) I recommend anyone buying a Mac 26X thoroughly check the trailer-this is (IMHO) the weakest link of the boat and probably most overlooked in the purchase. If I had known better I would have looked over it and requested a price reduction for a new trailer- So far I have replaced all the bunks, the brakes, sanded and repainted to prevent rust, and will have to replace the entire tongue. In retrospect a new 2 axle trailer would have been a better alternative.
4) The tow chain setup on the MAC 26X setup is marginal at best- a crisscrossing setup is superior.
5) For saltwater use- extreme vigilance and inspection is required above and beyond what would be normal for a galvanized or aluminum trailer as well as very thorough flushing. Unfortunately my trailer had already degraded past the point where zealous PM would save it and it has required a lot of refurbishing on my part. Once the tongue is replaced it will be a better trailer than a stock one.
6) Lastly- and most importantly- any signs of weakness on the trailer (like rust in the tongue) I will correct completely before taking the rig on the road, even if my eyeball calibration tells me it should be ok.

Fortunately the occurence caused no damage to anything whatsoever and no one was hurt. The trailer in my mind is insufficient for repeated salt water usage. I know there are many who defend Mac no matter what and I love my Mac, but IMHO the trailer is the bad part of the Mac setup. The one area where most can't see is the least protected and one of the most critical- the tongue. It would be worth an NDI or some type of metallurgical test if you can't see in the tongue.

Separately- the trailer tows just fine with 6 inches off the tongue- I may have the new tongue made to this new length. I imagine it helps reduce sway. Not sure about any adverse affects- didn't notice any.

Jeff S

[Tom Spohn]

The shorter tongue should improve trailering, but will make launching more difficult as you will have to back further into the water

[Robert]

I suggest finding a channel iron or I-Beam to replace the square tube tongue. Removing the enclosed space in structural parts is a good idea when worried about corrosion. The rest of the Mac26X trailer is channel open channel iron.

[Jeff S]

I suggest finding a channel iron or I-Beam to replace the square tube tongue. Removing the enclosed space in structural parts is a good idea when worried about corrosion. The rest of the Mac26X trailer is channel open channel iron.

I did consider that, but not sure how the coupler would fit to the tongue. I am going to take a close look at some other trailers.

Jeff S

[James V]

Dear Jeff, Sorry, but I think that you will need a new trailer soon. I had an old 16'sailboat used in salt water. Pieces of the trailer started breaking. It would have been cheeper in the long run just to replace the trailer when the problems started.
For my info, How old is your trailer and has it been in or around much salt water?
Thanks

[Jeff S]

The boat is a 2000, and I assume the trailer was purchased with the boat. (I am the 2nd owner). The PO's were from CT- they used it both in an inland lake and saltwater. I have used it for 1 year in saltwater, but the majority of the deterioration has been there from when I first purchased the boat.

The I beams had surface rust, which I knocked off, sanded down and prepped with POR-15 Metal Ready, then painted with 2 coats of POR-15 which is pretty good stuff. The I beams are still very intact and the surface rust was minimal, but left untouched would have worsened- I am confident that I treated that in time. The brake system has been completely replaced. The coupler is now new.

Once the tongue is replaced the only other 2 points of concern from a rusting standpoint are the axle- it is a square shaped axle that I assume is hollow. The exterior has been treated, but there is no way to inspect the interior. I don't see any way for water to enter the inside of the axle and tapping with a hammer it seems sturdy, unlike my trailer tongue. The other point are the guide posts, which aren't really a critical component. The exterior is treated and in good shape, the tops of them are capped off so they should last quite awhile.

I agree that it would have been better to just replace the trailer from the start, but now- with a lot of elbow grease and good old $$$ I think the trailer will last longer than a stock trailer as the components (brakes, coupler, tongue) are better, and all the metal will be completely sealed better than standard paint that breathes. I tried rustoleum at first but that really didn't do much. I will vouch for POR-15- after almost a year it is pretty impressive. It does fade in UV so either it will gray a bit, or paint it with Chassis Coat Black (which I did on most areas) and it will look better and seal the paint even better. If the Axle does indicate internal rust I will replace with 2 axles as I will already be on my way to building the perfect trailer- I shall call it Frankenstein.

Seriously, here are some of the test results for POR-15 (FWIW-it is from their website):
Weatherometer - The weatherometer is perhaps the most accurate weather resistance indicator due to the cycling of conditions. The cycle is 30 mins sun at 135 degrees F, 30% relative humidity and 30 mins dark at 75-80 degrees F, 100% relative humidity 1,000 hours of exposure equals 5 years of simulated exposure in the Rocky Mountain region. There was no change in 3 panels coated with POR-15 exposed for 2,000 hours.

ASTM B-117 Salt Spray - The oldest and most wildly used weather cabinet test. It introduces a spray in a closed chamber where specimens are exposed at specific locations and angles. It creates a 100% relative humidity condition in the exposure zone.
Two separate B-117 tests. One with new steel and the other with rusted steel.

No change in 3 panels of new steel exposed for 250 hours at 98 degrees. Thickness = 2 mils
No change in 3 panels of rusted steel exposed for 1000 hours at 98 degrees. Thickness = 2 mils

It also exceeds the tensile strength of concrete- so the concrete will fail before POR-15 will- so if anyone uses this- use a lot of drop cloths. Also it only comes off skin right away- once it dries it won't come off until your skin comes off (1-2 weeks)- I had some on my knees (my painting pants had holes in the knees) and it took almost 2 weeks for it to go away- nasty stuff.

Jeff S