It our 20th anniversary today..

Tim,

Thanks for the kind words and your spot on with the headaches!

It is worth it, my toys have never been a stress free adventure but be grown to love them even though they always bring a list of work and worry!

To answer your questions. Yes, bolt together ezloader. I'll keep and eye on it and hope it gives some years before I upgrade to a welded unit! I'd be happy to hear any tips!

Tires are Carlisle I believe. I'll double check in the am. I've personally had good luck with them on my last few trailers but did upgrade to Goodyear Marathons on my toyhauler. It does have dual stainless disks on both axles. As for salt, will be in it next month and I'd appreciate tips on it. I e never been in my on boat in the salt. We are crabbing and will rock fish eventually.

Bow eye is held by the winch and safety chain. Is there a better way?

Not hitting Tuna! I'd be in a boat like your old one if I had deep sea on the mind!!!!! Parkers are nice, there is a nice Trophy with twins on the rear that is for sale I pass everyday....if I was a rich man!

I once encountered a fellow at the ramp who made fun of my obsessing over strapping down the bow eye. He and his buddies drove off laughing. I encountered him at the first stop light and saw that his entire boat had hopped off the trailer and landed smack in the middle of the road. He just stood there slack-jawed as I cruised past.

The winch has limited ability to keep the bow on the trailer when a momentary bump or sudden trailer drop occurs. We can depend on gravity to do lots of things, but inertia can and will rule the day in the end. I never like to gamble. Have you watched the bow of your boat closely while you travel at highway speeds? Chances are that if you had, you would understand why I strapped mine down. I think it saved my bacon during one particular panic stop on the interstate. As I said, people may make fun of you at the ramp, but you will arrive intact wherever you go if the bow is strapped (along with the rear eyes of course).

Keep an eye on the axle hangers, a u-shaped channel that each axle is bolted to. They have "ears" at each end that can develop cracks across them where the u-bolts attach to the trailer tube.

I found that my Marathons didn't wear evenly and died premature deaths. I moved over to Towmasters and finally settled on Kumho commercial truck tires. They lasted several years until I sold her. Not much difference in price either. I bet the 5th wheelers also have plenty of advice for good rubber. I do know that when you dunk the trailer in salt you MUST rinse it as soon as practically possible to avoid corrosion. It is amazing how much hardware on trailers turns out to be NOT stainless. And you have to tear apart your bearings for inspection and new seals every year. Getting dunked after running on the road means that they get cooled quickly and water goes in there, despite your best efforts to prevent it. Be sure to use a REAL marine grease for the trailer bearings and not some generic do-it-all stuff. I used several brands but was partial to the better names.

Say, be sure to pull the prop and lube the shaft yearly too. They get frozen if neglected. Shoot me a message for more tips on Yamaha outboards. I had a F150 - Sweet motors! They are so quiet that I've seen people forget to turn 'em off when they pull the boats out of the water. It only takes about 15-30 seconds to melt the seals on the water pump when out of the water. Always keep her submerged when running. And don't crank her when on muffs until the lower unit fills, or run it in a barrel.

Anyway, Bless you my son! Go and live life to the fullest with your wonderful craft! Be sure to post more pics of the WC and boat combo in scenic situations. I never tire of seeing TC's getting out in the world!

Definitely use the safety chain on the bow eye. Also, if the strap has very much age on it, don't be afraid to replace it before it breaks. They aren't very expensive. It's not fun to have one break.

One thing about greasing while we are off topic. :) Make sure you don't overgrease the bearings especially if you have bearing buddies, and it's probably worth checking them out since you don't know if they've already got blown seals or not.

Oil bath hubs. Never had them before so I'm clueless as to how much better they are...

Tried to say Happy anniversary earlier, but got kicked out.
I got roped into Hawaii last summer for our 20th. All I can say was its worth it! In more ways than one!
Considering my dear wife puts up with every other trip looking suspiciously close to yours, it was time.

Vinsil wrote:
Oil bath hubs. Never had them before so I'm clueless as to how much better they are...

I'm still a fan of grease able bearings, but have had a set of oil baths now for like 8 years. Aside from some defective caps when I first got the boat, they've not leaked.

Better is a matter of opinion. I'd still prefer bearings that don't get smoked in 10 min if the seal leaks.

If you really want to be prepared for bearing failure carry a spare axle sleeve. Most every parts store carries bearings and hubs with the requisite seals, but if the bearing tears up the sleeve you'll be in a bind. Emery cloth can make it smooth enough to get home, but a spare sleeve can fix things back to new. Getting the old one off is usually not hard if it's already torn apart. I found that ordering parts from EZ Loader was pretty easy and not too pricey. Trailer Superstore was good too. Just don't break down more than 100 miles from home on Sunday afternoon!

The best thing to do for the longevity of your bearings is to get rid of the surge brakes. They are fine for short trips on relatively flat ground but that is it.
If you decide to take a trip over the Cascades to the many lakes around Bend, you will quickly learn the downside to surge brakes.
Going down the many 10-20 long steep grades, the surge brakes will be on nearly all the time, whether you need them on or not and you usually don't need them on. Especially if your foot is off the throttle going down the hills.
Your hubs will get so hot, the grease liquefies and pours out. Your hubs will get so hot, that water boils off them.
With electric over hydraulic, the hubs will be cool to slightly warm to the touch.
When I switched over, my brake usage dropped by 90%.
Also, when you launch your boat with the hubs hot, water will be sucked into the bearings.
Oil bath hubs are nice in that you never have to grease the hubs. Just look at the sight glass and you can not only see if you have the right amount oil, you can also tell if you have water in the bearings as the oil will turn milky white.

Great advice all I'll order some parts to get a good piece of mind.

Sky hammer I think recommended electric over hydro when I was asking about boats before. I see your point and that does suck I can't control my braking in the mountains.

$1500 for a conversation is out of the question right now but I will bump it up on the list of must do as I will be heading over to bend often and down to Shasta a few times a year too. I hate the thought of toasting hardware for no reason...


Grit, I think I'll be doing a big trip next year. She wants Hawaii but I'm pushing Costa Rica as it's cheaper, I have an uncle who owns a farm there and I think we'd enjoy it more (and maybe I can sneak a Marlin fishing trip in too!!!!!)

One other thing I forgot to mention, is that surge brakes only work going forward.
So, if you are backing down a steep hill or boat ramp, you will only have the trucks brakes. If the ramp is slick and steep, it is nice to have another set of wheels to help stop you from sliding into the water or into a tree etc.
Didn't you say you had a EZ loader trailer? EZ loader makes trailers with EOH. Maybe the dealer will swap trailers for a few extra $, since your rig is new.