How to get your trailer ready for the water

Aside from the hull and motor, the trailer cradling your pride and joy often is one of the most overlooked and neglected pieces of equipment in a boat owner’s shed.

So, before you head out for the first time this year, ask yourself, is your trailer up to scratch? When was the last time you checked the tyres, bearings, brakes, key trailer components and lights?

Let’s take a look at some preparation and maintenance tips.

Owners should check the trailer’s running gear comprehensively every 12 months, with plenty of routine observations in between.

Boat trailers, similar to boat engines, don’t like to sit idle for long periods. A good tip is to have the trailer inspected (or inspect it yourself if you know what to look for) at the same time as an annual engine service.

Whether you have a mechanically or electric braked trailer, some basic trailer maintenance practices will help avoid inconvenience or damage to your gear, minimise stress out on the road and maximise time on the water.

The feedback we’ve heard from businesses that specialise in servicing boat trailers is that some owners think they know how to look after them, but in reality they don’t.

They claim owners, and especially new ones, often avoid asking questions or seeking advice.

It also comes down to experience. If you’ve never had to change a wheel bearing or brake pads, what makes you think you can change it on the side of the road? Do you even carry the right spares or the right tools?

In this instance, It’s good to know your abilities and be honest about mechanical limitations. Trailer maintenance is not rocket science – it’s good practice – but there’s nothing wrong in mitigating the risk by having a trailer professionally serviced.

Case in point; yours truly with a BMT package nudging 2800kg with an electric braked trailer. Circumstances meant the boat had sat relatively idle for the past year, with the only trips being a few short 10-minute runs to and from the local boat ramp.

Regular maintenance had lapsed, and I knew from my own inspections that the running gear was needing attention. It was time to bite the bullet and get a thorough health check.

The workshop at Seaford, Victoria-based Savage Trailers ran through an inspection checklist and targeted the wheel bearings and brakes for attention.

Jacking up the trailer and rotating the wheels to listen for vibration or resistance resulted in no unusual noises, hinting that nothing on the surface presented an immediate problem.

However, removing the caps to inspect the outer bearing revealed a tell-tale sign that moisture had found its way into the housing – a brown caramel/rust discolouration of the normally red marine-grade grease.

Another bearing inspected showed almost black grease around the stub, while the outer bearing appeared okay – this darker grease indicated extreme heat and flagged that the brake caliper may have been the culprit.

Savage Trailers’ Joel Boldiz said a common mistake some people made was to check just the outer bearing without realising the inner bearing might be masking a problem. He recommended to always remove the hub during an inspection.

Brakes also make a contribution to trailer failure. Moving parts seize after being left idle for long periods, while grime and rust build-ups cause things to bind. This can create heat build-up, which in turn can attract moisture – the enemy of bearings.

A mistake sometimes made on smaller mechanically braked trailers is to leave the handbrake on, which in turn can cause problems that don’t surface until much later.

Okay, so my trailer might have survived many more trips without bearing issues, but had things been left as they were for much longer the potential for something to go wrong was only a matter of time.

As it turns out, all brake pads were replaced and calipers checked, the pistons readjusted, the disc hub and spindle/stub sections were cleaned with a wire brush and regreased, bearings packed with new grease replaced the old ones, the bearings were tightened correctly to minimise play, and the wheel nuts torque tightened to get things ship shape.

It was also recommended that I re-tighten the wheel nuts after 100km of travel.

A correctly maintained trailer means replacing bearings shouldn’t need to be an annual event; the previous set on this trailer had lasted five years without any problems. Often it will just be removal, a thorough clean, inspection and repack with new grease.

Other maintenance items on my trailer included replacing the battery for the break-away system, and a new set of LED lights – the previous lighting system’s installation had resulted in the appearance of a few spots of corrosion.