I now own my first trailer and the ramp I use makes it virtually impossible for dry launching…so I need the hubs are soaked and I want to keep it in good shape for years.
I’m curious what everyone’s general maintenance routing is meaning: I do [this] every [#] months.
The folks here have put together so many great guides, resources, etc over the years. If everyone adds to the thread…I’d be happy to compile this into a formal crowd-sourced guide on trailer maintenance and tips to extend longevity.
Depending on the trailer construction, I had gotten in the habit of freshwater dunks on the way home, when I was submerging mine. Imo, that’s more important for galvanized tube construction trailers, as they tend to rot inside out. Alum or Channel built trailers it’s not as important. Those just generally need a good rinse afterwards.
Imo you can never do to many wheel bearing checks. It’s easy assuming you have a floor jack, just jack up one wheel at a time, under the leaf spring or axle mount, give it a good spin, any noise means the bearings need replacing.
Keep a sharp eye on things. I have a HB Biscayne and dunk it every trip. I run about 150mi round trip where I fish and do about 18,000 miles per year. I watch my seals, hub temp and tire temp very closely as well as give my rig about 10min as I setup my boat to launch for the hubs to cool to avoid drawing water when you dunk warm hubs. I do not have a specific per mileage or per month checklist. I just always watch my tire pressure, I have a floor jack that I will spin a wheel and listen…etc but I am not sure changing hubs because it has been a pre determined period of time. I do carry two spare hubs and two spare tires due to travel distance.
I dunk my trailer 5-6 times a week. Definitely cant dry launch…
I carry 1 spare tire and 1 spare hub at all times. when i go from cape cod to florida with the skiff I carry 2 spare tires and 1 hub prepack with grease and bearings ready to go.
I pull my wheels off every 6 months. Replace the seals on the hubs, repack with grease, and call it good.
I just do a freshwater rinse when I get home after every trip, I dont have the patience to drive to my local freshwater pond and relaunch. Esp after night fishing, no one wants to relaunch at 2 am to rinse off the trailer.
When we dunk our trailer I have a garden sprayer with salt away in it….we just spray under the steps and the hubs…I actually spray the whole thing down. 3 year old trailer looks new. I also install new hubs every year, it’s cheap insurance since we tow around 15k miles a year.
I saw something new today. It wasn’t a boat trailer but still hardcore backup. I followed an enclosed trailer through town that had a complete extra axle bolted behind the back of the fender. Complete with hubs. I bet he had springs laying around the truck also. I have seen trailers down here in parking lots with people replacing axles and replacing springs.
Some people are more prepared than others.
Chip
My current trailer sits much lower to the ground, and my old rear just can’t reach everything sufficiently any longer! This is my current setup for trailer/hull bottom, connected to a 2k psi electric pressure washer. Took a really short video as well but can’t upload it.
