LOUIS B HOLUB wrote:I heard a "BUMPING" sound when towing my former MAC 26C, 95 MILES for some INLAND LAKE sailing. After a nice Sailing day, I checked things before putting the boat on the TRAILER. YEP, there it was -- a TRAILER HITCH BALL very loose, about one half totally unscrewed (Now thats a case for DISASTER). MY NEW CHECKLIST: check trailer hitch BALL on VEHICLE !!!! "CHECK LISTS" < Very Valuable
Suggestion... what I do on all my hitches is that once the ball's installed and torqued onto the hitch extension I then drill a hole straight thru the remaining bit of the ball's threads (sticking out beyond the nut) as close to the nut as I can and then I install a split-pin (aka cotter pin) and bend the ends out to secure it in place.
Really cheap insurance, and she'll never come unscrewed again.
Ace Trailers of Tampa used to use somebodys oil bath hubs and has changed back to standard greased hubs. I forget what they said was the reason - they did not say "cost" - but they were not as satisfactory as the standard.
How long do bearing buddies last anyway? Mine seem to be shooting out a lot of grease around the sides. Maybe next time I spray my brakes down with anticorrosive, I should get a new set. I put new bearings and saltwater grade drum brakes on about 2.5 years ago. I've inspected them once about a year ago and they were still in very good shape even though the trailer takes a few dips in the salt water every year. I also have pretty new marathon 14's on galvanized rims. After I fix my broken bow bunks, I hope to get another 3-5 years out of the stock trailer and then it will be time to get a new one. Despite all my rustoleum baths, I don't think its likely to get much more than 10 years out of this trailer in the Florida environment. In places like Ca where there is much lower humidity, I expect they will last longer.
