Trailer adjustment and maintenance

F

ferret30

New member
We're in our second week of boat ownership, and still haven't been able to take the boat our. If I knew we were getting a boat I would have cleared the calendar months ago.

Being new to boating, trailering, etc. I have some specific questions, and haven't been able to find what I need -- it might be there but maybe it's written and read by folks with more fundamental knowledge.

The first issue I have is that the previous owner of our 22' Cruiser only had it on the trailer the day he bought it. Other than that it has been in the water at his houseboat. His son in the mean time adjusted and used the trailer (King tandem) to trailer a 16' cruiser. When we received the boat, we noticed it wasn't set up right and had to take it to a marina to sling it so we could move the winch forward 4' and adjust the bunks (see my album).

The bunks still don't fit quite right -- there's a 1.5" or so gap at the front of the inner bunks from the hull. Can we try to re-fit the bunks to the hull, or should we have someone else do it? I think if we attach the trailer to the truck, we can lift the bow of the boat enough with a 2T jack (and board/tire for padding) to get weight off the front of the bunks.

I wouldn't mind just taking it somewhere and getting it fit properly, and checking the tongue weight, etc. but King hasn't responded to my requests for dealer listings via email, and when I called they said they don't do that sort of work.

The other issue is that the bearings probably need attention since the trailer has been sitting so long. Is this something you guys do yourselves most of the time?

Thanks!
 
You don't tell us what type of bearing greasing system (oil bath, in hub lube, or buddy bearing)--but yes that is a DIY item. Depends on the type as to how much needs to be done.

As for the bunks. I just take that 2 ton jack and loosen the bunk supports, and then use the jack and blocks to bring the bunks to the contour of the hull. You want the hull down as low as possible, and between the fenders if possible. Some times several jacks are necessary. Always be save--and back with jack stands (at least 2 ton) or blocks. When I picked up my C Dory 25 in NJ, we had no idea how the bunks would fit. I just had the fork lift set the boat on the trailer, and then took about 20 minutes to bring the bunk boards into proper position with two jacks and blocks.
 
Thanks for the response! The boat is being kept about 10 miles away from us currently, since our street is far too steep to try to get the boat in our driveway. That makes it very inconvenient to go work on the boat, check things out, etc. especially if I forget any tools!

I think I've got enough documentation on the trailer to find out what kind of bearings it has without going up to the boat. I think it's a system where you pop off a cap and inject new grease through a fitting, but I'll confirm that later.

The other thing I forgot to mention is that I haven't checked the tongue weight since we repositioned the winch post. I may have put it too far forward, and if that's the case I'll need to move the boat back before fine tuning the bunks. I read about using a bathroom scale to measure tongue weight, so that should be interesting!
 
WHen we set up a boat, we often get the outer bunks set, and with the weight of the boat on them, put a jack under the inner bunk support and simply hack it up until the bunk touches the hull. Tighten down the bunk support and you're done.

On the King trailers for the 22 the tall heavy duty brackets should be on the inside of the trailer, and the shorter, lighter duty brackets outboard. In this set up, use the inner bunks as the main supprt and lower the outer bunks so the boat is on the inner bunks.

The outer bunks were probably raised to meet up with the hull of the 16 where it curves upwards- the 22 remains "flatter" for a longer distance.
 
Additionally- we aren't slavish about tongue weight. Yes, there is an ideal range, but it's a pretty large range. If the boat trailers well, it's probably okay. We've never had to move axles on a tandem King under a C-Dory, so you're probably set up fine.

Depending on year, you likely have the "Eliminator" torsion axle suspension. The zirk fitting is in the end of the spindle, and adding grease pushes grease through the spindle to the inner bearings, and back out toward the front. As you add grease, the grease at the end of the hub will be pushed out of the hub toward you.

You can add grease until you see the grease move, which will fill any voids, or you can push enough grease through to displace the existing grease (have paper towels to catch the old grease). A full service would be to tear down the hubs and replace / repack the bearings. Mark (localboy) did a good tutorial with photos that you should be able to find here.
 
Thanks Matt. I think you're right about the bearings, but I'll have to double check in person. Can I tell by looking what type of grease was used most recently? I can probably find out what the factory recommends, but I've read varying opinions on mixing grease on this forum. It's quite possible the grease hasn't been changed since the trailer was new (2006), so is it worth the risk of using a grease that's different from what's currently in there?

Also, the latest photo I've added shows the boat on the trailer, and you can see that the bow of the boat is sort of close to the trailer cross brace. I don't want the boat to ever hit the brace while loading, so I might scoot the winch post back <6". I know some trailers have a roller right there to prevent this.

Thanks to everyone for the info!
 
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