jet ski trailer question

[nycsteve]

Hi All,
I purchased a used jet ski trailer off craigslist. The plan is to modify it to carry a few kayaks. Its a Karavan trailer , maybe 16 years old. The only rust apparent are on the leaf springs, and they are still OK. Aside from replacing the tires which are dry rotted and lubbing the grease nipples , is there anything else needed to prep the trailer for the road. I will be taking it 1500 miles one way in the spring and want to avoid any surprises. The lights function fine. Are there bearings to repack or the like?
Thanks.

[LIKE2BUILD]

nycsteve wrote:
The lights themselves are new. I didn't closely inspect the wiring, but will. Thanks for the link, if there's even a hint the wires have gone past their due date I'll replace them.

Good plan. It's always best to make sure all wiring is in good shape.

[nycsteve]

LIKE2BUILD wrote:

nycsteve wrote:
Hi All,
I purchased a used jet ski trailer off craigslist.....I will be taking it 1500 miles one way in the spring and want to avoid any surprises. The lights function fine. Are there bearings to repack or the like?
Thanks.

It's great that the lights work fine now, but don't trust it for a minute. Most likely the wiring is original which means the insulation is probably pretty brittle. If it were me going on a 1500 mile trip I would re-wire the trailer. A wiring kit like this Hopkins trailer wire kit is only $11. That's some pretty cheap peace of mind.

If you don't I would strongly suggest you take these steps as a minimum:
1) Inspect all wires for chafing and cracks. If any looks bad it needs replaced.
2) Remove bulbs, clean contacts, apply di-electric grease, and install new bulbs
3) Remove light fixtures, grind grounding location around the bolt holes, apply di-electric grease, and reinstall lights
4) Remove grounding wire at the tongue, grind grounding location around the bolt hole, apply di-electric grease, and snug down ring terminal with a new bolt. If the ring terminal is sketchy, install a new one.
5) If there are any parts of the main frame that are bolted you need to make a bridge wire that connects the two sections and keeps good ground.

I say all this is because poor grounds can cause all kinds of havoc. Sometimes everything seems just fine then something wiggles during a trip and you loose ground contact and your lights go goofy.

I recently borrowed a friend's gooseneck trailer. I had lights going home but all kinds of weird stuff happened on the way home. When I tore into it I found nearly all insulation chewed through by mice back at the lights. The trailer brakes were tied into the red charge wire and up at the front the red charge wire was grounded to the frame. Also, the breakaway switch wasn't even connected, the battery wasn't wired in, there was no effective ground, and finally someone had added an extension at the 7-way plug and two of wires had pulled loose from the butt connectors.

The moral of the story......don't trust someone else's wiring until you inspect it front to back. You never know what you might find.

KJ

The lights themselves are new. I didn't closly inspect the wiring, but will. Thanks for the link, if theres even a hint the wires have gone past their due date I'll replace them.

[LIKE2BUILD]

nycsteve wrote:
Hi All,
I purchased a used jet ski trailer off craigslist.....I will be taking it 1500 miles one way in the spring and want to avoid any surprises. The lights function fine. Are there bearings to repack or the like?
Thanks.

It's great that the lights work fine now, but don't trust it for a minute. Most likely the wiring is original which means the insulation is probably pretty brittle. If it were me going on a 1500 mile trip I would re-wire the trailer. A wiring kit like this Hopkins trailer wire kit is only $11. That's some pretty cheap peace of mind.

If you don't I would strongly suggest you take these steps as a minimum:
1) Inspect all wires for chafing and cracks. If any looks bad it needs replaced.
2) Remove bulbs, clean contacts, apply di-electric grease, and install new bulbs
3) Remove light fixtures, grind grounding location around the bolt holes, apply di-electric grease, and reinstall lights
4) Remove grounding wire at the tongue, grind grounding location around the bolt hole, apply di-electric grease, and snug down ring terminal with a new bolt. If the ring terminal is sketchy, install a new one.
5) If there are any parts of the main frame that are bolted you need to make a bridge wire that connects the two sections and keeps good ground.

I say all this is because poor grounds can cause all kinds of havoc. Sometimes everything seems just fine then something wiggles during a trip and you loose ground contact and your lights go goofy.

I recently borrowed a friend's gooseneck trailer. I had lights going home but all kinds of weird stuff happened on the way home. When I tore into it I found nearly all insulation chewed through by mice back at the lights. The trailer brakes were tied into the red charge wire and up at the front the red charge wire was grounded to the frame. Also, the breakaway switch wasn't even connected, the battery wasn't wired in, there was no effective ground, and finally someone had added an extension at the 7-way plug and two of wires had pulled loose from the butt connectors.

The moral of the story......don't trust someone else's wiring until you inspect it front to back. You never know what you might find.

KJ

[All_I_could_aff]

Each wheel bearing will have the part number stamped on it usually one letter and about five numbers. The inner and outer bearing may be the same or may be different so pay attention when you disassemble. The races and grease Seals will also have a number but if in doubt wipe most of the grease off and put them in a plastic bag and take them with you.

If you have never worked on wheel bearings before please have someone there with you for reassembly because if it's done even slightly wrong you can be catastrophic on the road later.

If you can't make out the tire size on the outside side wall due to curb rubs and or dry rot try looking at the inside sidewall. May have to unbolt the wheel off the axle or roll the trailer forward or backward to do this.

[deltabravo]

Pull the bearings and races and take them to a bearing supply house, or RV dealer, or a dealer that sells utility trailers.

hard to say if an Auto parts store will have them or not. They might just give you a "deer in the headlights" look when you say "these are for a trailer."
Seems like these days, if the parts counter kids can't look it up in the computer, they don't know what to give you. For example....I laugh when I tell them my truck is Silverado K2500 and the ask if it is 2 or 4WD

[nycsteve]

Thanks for the advice. I'll replace the bearings. These can be purchased at a auto parts supply? Is the size easy to determine?
As for the wheels/tires. The wheels may be galvanized and have no rust visible with the tire mounted. As far as tire size, any writing on the tire itself is difficult to read but the diameter of the tire is 16". The distance from the wheel rim to the edge of the tire is 4" . This is considered a 8" tire then?
The wheel itself measures 9" in diameter.
The fenders are solid.

[Bedlam]

I agree with replacing the bearings after this number of years, even if the trailer sat more than being used.

Since you are replacing the tires, I suggest fitting the tallest wheels that fit your current bolt pattern - You may find that buying a tire mounted on a rim is not much more than mounting new tires on the existing rims. That's what I found when replacing my enclosed trailer wheels. I was able to sell the old set locally and end up with new tires and rims for the same or less than just having new tires mounted on my original rims.

The kayaks may extend too far back off the trailer and be a safety issue without supplemental lighting. You can pick up a cheap set of magnetic mount lights and attach them to the kayak end with elastic cords. Run the lights in parallel with or instead of the trailer lights.

[All_I_could_aff]

Having owned several PWC's over the years, I offer this advise:
1) Replace the bearings and races, not just lube them. They are likely neglected, and frequently dunked in water, possibly salt water. Bearing kits are cheap, and saves the time you would have spent thoroughly cleaning and inspecting the old ones.

2) If It has either size tire used on 8 inch rims, consider upgrading to either of the two 12 inch tire sizes readily available at Walmarts or places like ETrailer.com. Your rims are likely somewhat rusty where the face meets the outer rim anyway. The taller tires spin slower, run cooler, and bounce less on bumps. The wheel bearings will also run cooler.

Fenders may need to be replaced or modified.
3) tongue weight may be very light, resulting in a lot of noise from the hitch slop. Consider making/buying a small storage box for the front of trailer for tools, etc.

[BarneyS]

Yes, there are bearings in each wheel hub. I would take the wheels and hubs off. Take out the bearings and clean the races and hubs. Replace the bearings and seals with new ones. There are probably no brakes in the trailer. If there are, then you would need to adjust the brakes. Then get some new tires and head for the road. 🙂
Barney

[MFL]

On a 16 yo trailer, not knowing the service history, you should pull the hubs/bearings. Once you get the bearings out, and cleaned, you will know the actual condition. Look closely at the bearing races as well.

The small tires/wheels on this type of trailer, will be turning very fast, at hi-way speeds. This makes bearing condition very important, and good fresh grease important also.

Jerry