Mark Angliss

Trailers are prone to rusting especially if you ramp-launch and submerge your trailer on a regular basis. The areas most prone to rust are welded corners, bolt holes and sheet metal. Look at these areas and examine them for signs of rust. This could be anywhere from a brownish staining of the paint to nearly total disintegration. Severely rusted parts are usually better off being replaced rather than trying to salvage them Especially so for bolts and screws. Treating rust when it is first detected will save time & $$. Rust should be wire brushed or sanded to remove as much as possible. Naval Jelly ™ rust remover works fairly well for areas that are not to badly corroded. Next, put a good smearing of paint remover around the rusted area. I have found the Bix™ and Aircraft Remover ™ to be excellent products. Try not to get remover on the rust itself as it will weaken the remover chemical action. Remove paint surrounding the rust until you reach an area that is good steel. (Rust creeps under paint and you often can’t see it) Treat the rust with a rust "converter" available at paint suppliers. I’ve used several brands and all see to be pretty good. Follow the directions, especially the part where you have to wait before going further. Use rust inhibiting spray enamel primer to spot-prime. Several thin coats are better than one heavy coat. This is especially true if the surface is rough as the paint tends to puddle & run. I have found that the appliance epoxy paints in the spray cans hold up very well. The color selection is quite limited however. The exterior enamels are the next best choice. If you are so inclined, 3-4 cans of paint will usually paint the whole trailer frame. You should sand any rough spots and wipe the frame with a rag soaked in lacquer thinner. Unless the paint is very thin, it is not necessary to apply primer.

Mounts & pads come in all kinds of configurations. Check rollers and bumpers for signs of "chalking" or cracking. If they are this bad, replace them. The chain of West Marine stores carries reasonably priced trailer parts. There are several brands of protectant/ sealers designed for the rubber parts of car bumpers and tires. A treatment now and then will really add life to these parts.

Fortunately, the shag carpet days are gone. Unfortunately, quite a few trailers had shag carpet installed for padding. This stuff is bad-news as it traps a lot of dirt & grit that can abrade your hull. If you opt for carpet padding, use the thinner indoor-outdoor kind that has a very low tight pile. You can buy polyurethane foam rubber padding "by the foot" at many larger hardware stores. Use this under the thin carpet for more protection. It glues quite easily with contact cement. Don’t use the standard rubber carpet pad. This will rot very quickly when exposed to wet and heat from the sun. If your Five-O is on a launching dolly, check the belly pad carefully for dirt and sand. Scrub it well with a stiff brush and warm soapy water. This sounds a bit crazy, but one of the best bow-bumpers I’ve seen is an old athletic shoe!

Most trailer hitches are adjustable. Some have a nut and cotter pin, others the lever-lock lifts & turns. The older "clam-shell" types cannot be adjusted. Hitch-up your trailer and give it a good hard shake up & down. There should be no "slop" or disturbing banging sounds. Tighten up the adjustment until things are snug, yet the hitch can be removed & attached without a fight.

Safety chains should be examined for signs of wear from dragging on the ground or erosion from rust. Replacements are pretty cheap from bulk-stock at hardware stores. Those "S" hooks on the ends are pretty notorious for popping loose. A better replacement is the "lever-lock" connectors found on tire snow chains. Replacements are available at automotive, tire & hardware retailers and are easy to install.

Lamp sockets and light bulb bases are targets for corrosion. Remove the bulbs, clean corrosion with a wire brush (or replace the sockets) and put a good finger-full of silicone grease in the socket. Then smear grease all over the metal parts of the bulb & socket. This will extend life greatly and make burned out bulbs easy to replace. You can buy silicone grease at hardware & marine suppliers. If you splice or replace wires on your trailer, be sure to waterproof the connections. If you use wire nuts or crimp splices, put a squirt of RTV caulking inside before inserting the wires. Common electrical tape is notorious for unraveling if it gets wet. The "liquid" electrical tape covered with heat-shrink tubing makes a neat permanent connection. Some trailers only have 3 wires for the lights and rely on the hitch connection for ground. If your trailer has blinking light syndrome, chances are you have a bad ground connection. This is best cured by making the ground connection via the electrical connector. When connecting the ground wire to the trailer or car frame, cover the joint with a big blob of RTV caulk to prevent rusting. The correct color code for wiring the standard 4 prong flat plug is:

White: Ground

Green: Right Directional & Stop Lamp

Yellow: Left Directional & Stop Lamp

Brown: Tail & Marker Lights

When installing a replacement connector, be sure the connector with the three exposed terminals is placed on the trailer. Installing this end on the car is inviting a lighting system short circuit if any of the terminals touch the car frame. 505 trailers (and many other dinghy trailers) tend to sit very low with poor visibility of the frame and lights. Adding reflectors will help give you visibility at night. Reflectors are pretty cheap so pick up a handful along with some Velcro that has the sticky tape back. Stick the "hook" type Velcro to your boat cover, transom, tie down straps etc. Stick the fuzzy Velcro to the reflector backs. When you’re ready to roll, decorate with the reflectors.

Recently, retailers have been carrying a large variety of tie-downs of many varieties. Check around to find something that may work better for your application if yours are wearing out. The bright red or yellow ones will help give your trailer visibility.

Wheel Bearings should be checked regularly. The best time is right after you stop from towing the boat for a while. Touch the bearing cap to be sure it is not getting hot and look for signs of grease being thrown from the bearing. (look behind the tire also or feel for grease on the back of the tire or rim) In either event, don’t continue driving until you rectify the problem! You could burn up a bearing requiring a rather expensive axle replacement. Or worse yet, wreck your boat!

Once a year, pry the caps off of the bearings and check for watery, dirty or rusty looking grease. The grease should be smooth in texture and not have any hard or waxy lumps. There should also be an ample supply of grease visible. You cannot just add grease to the cup and call it good. Bearings need to be "packed" for proper lubrication. You can do this yourself or bring the hubs & bearings to a repair garage or brake shop and have it done. Before you start, buy a new set of wheel bearing seals and cotter pins. (many marine and RV suppliers have these as "kits") Most small trailers are pretty much the same. First, jack or block the wheels off the ground. Remove the tire and pry off the grease cap gently with a fat screwdriver. You should see a rather large cotter pin that needs to be straightened and removed. Now the large nut can be loosened and removed. (some are "left-hand" threaded) As you remove parts, toss them into a coffee can. Give the hub a shake and a large washer will loosen on the shaft. Remove the washer and next the cone-shaped bearing behind the washer. Pull off the hub. If you are going to have the bearings packed, bring the hubs, seals and small parts to the shop. Wipe all old grease from the axle shafts. If you see rust, DON’T sand it! You could damage the bearing surfaces. Spray the rust with penetrating oil and let it work for a while. If you still have rust, clean it with a wet kitchen steel-wool soap pad or a wet "Scotch-Brite" pad with some scouring powder. If the axle is severely pitted on the bearing surfaces, it may need to be replaced. After the axle is clean, spray it with WD-40 or other light lubricant and cover with rags to keep dirt from sticking to the lube. I’ll not get into the bearing packing process as you will need a seal installation tool and optionally, a bearing grease loading fixture. If you have these, you know what to do. Just prior to re-assembly, coat the axle part with a light film of grease. To re-install, simply reverse the disassembly process. You will notice the washer is "keyed" and will only slide on one way. Tighten the nut until it does not turn anymore, but don’t "torque" on it. Loosen the nut slightly until the cotter pin will pass through the axle & nut. Give the hub a good shake to make sure it is not wobbly. (nut too loose) Spin the hub to make sure it is not dragging. (nut too tight) Bend the tails of the cotter pin when you are satisfied all is OK. Put a good dollop of grease in the cup and reinstall by tapping gently with a wooden mallet or hold a block of soft wood between the cup and use a regular hammer.

A recent novelty is a spring-loaded replacement grease cap that is supposed to keep bearings full of grease and water out. It seemed like a good idea, so I bought a set. ½ way thru the season after a two hour tow, I found the bottom of my boat slung with grease. The inner wheel bearing seal, (which was only 2 months old) had been "blown" to allow the pressurized grease to spluge all over. I was not impressed. The replacement caps with the grease-gun fittings work very well. These are worth buying.