- Messages
- 1,490
- Reaction score
- 837
- Points
- 237
- Location
- Ottawa, Canada
- Boat Make
- Scarab
- Year
- 2015
- Boat Model
- 165 G
- Boat Length
- 16
Some may have seen my post on Facebook already... but for those that didn't.
I store my trailer at the cottage inside a forest a decent chunk of the summer. I took it out for the last time a few weeks ago to get the boat out of the lake to winterize it. After getting the boat out, as I was driving, I noticed that the lights were flickering... eventually they went out. After checking the obvious quickly, decided to replace the fuse. Boom, it worked. Drove off. 10 min later, dead again. After doing this 3 times, I finally decide to pull over and have a closer look at the wiring. I pull out the wires near the left tail light and noticed some damaged wires. Damn! I go to the other side and pull on wires without looking... why are the wires hairy and squishy??? I look and discover what you see in the photo. lol After a bit of a shutter, get the mouse out and discover a bunch of wires damaged there too. Essentially this mouse was nesting inside the trailer and I guess drowned and got stuck in the wires when I put the trailer in the lake.
So after a couple of nights of work, I redid all my wiring and everything is working wonderfully now. I then got some galvanized mesh and cut/screwed each piece to cover ALL holes in the trailer. Steel wool was recommended, but that stuff rusts quickly. This won't and does the trick very well! All the pieces can't be seen without looking underneath the trailer. Pretty happy with this and any wires that are chewed outside of the mesh is easy to fix anyways (IF it happens).
Out of curiosity, I noticed that the cross member bar in the middle of my trailer (165 model) has no drain hole at all? And it's in the form of a "V"... doesn't water sit in there because of this? Or is the tube sealed at the joints so water can't get in? Not sure if anybody knows... I may drill a hole in the middle at the apex of the V to ensure it drains.
I store my trailer at the cottage inside a forest a decent chunk of the summer. I took it out for the last time a few weeks ago to get the boat out of the lake to winterize it. After getting the boat out, as I was driving, I noticed that the lights were flickering... eventually they went out. After checking the obvious quickly, decided to replace the fuse. Boom, it worked. Drove off. 10 min later, dead again. After doing this 3 times, I finally decide to pull over and have a closer look at the wiring. I pull out the wires near the left tail light and noticed some damaged wires. Damn! I go to the other side and pull on wires without looking... why are the wires hairy and squishy??? I look and discover what you see in the photo. lol After a bit of a shutter, get the mouse out and discover a bunch of wires damaged there too. Essentially this mouse was nesting inside the trailer and I guess drowned and got stuck in the wires when I put the trailer in the lake.
So after a couple of nights of work, I redid all my wiring and everything is working wonderfully now. I then got some galvanized mesh and cut/screwed each piece to cover ALL holes in the trailer. Steel wool was recommended, but that stuff rusts quickly. This won't and does the trick very well! All the pieces can't be seen without looking underneath the trailer. Pretty happy with this and any wires that are chewed outside of the mesh is easy to fix anyways (IF it happens).
Out of curiosity, I noticed that the cross member bar in the middle of my trailer (165 model) has no drain hole at all? And it's in the form of a "V"... doesn't water sit in there because of this? Or is the tube sealed at the joints so water can't get in? Not sure if anybody knows... I may drill a hole in the middle at the apex of the V to ensure it drains.
