MrMoose
Jetboaters Admiral
- Messages
- 1,579
- Reaction score
- 2,278
- Points
- 287
- Location
- Calgary, AB, Canada
- Boat Make
- Yamaha
- Year
- 2015
- Boat Model
- AR
- Boat Length
- 24
Regarding recent model year Shoreland'r trailers. This has been mentioned in other posts, but since it is a serious safety issue, I thought that it should be posted in a separate thread.
Some newer model Shoreland'r trailers have a vibration problem that can loosen the fender nuts, crack the fender diamond plate, and crack the mounting bracket. My personal experience is with a 2015 tandem trailer. There are three spots where the fenders are attached. Two of them can be seen at the leading and trailing edge of the diamond plate, BUT there are also nuts and bolts on the middle section (bottom side) of the fender that can loosen.
Nuts, bolts, and brackets falling off your trailer at highway speeds can obviously cause a serious accident. @Majorsmackdown recently had a blow-out (2016 tandem trailer) while towing back from the Bimini trip. A very likely cause is that the nuts and bolts from his center fender bracket vibrated off and the bracket swung into his tire causing his blow-out.
When I received my boat in May of 2015, the 200 mile tow to deliver it had loosened the center bracket nuts on my driver's side fender, and one of the bolts had already fallen out. I replaced them with nylon-sleeved locking nuts, BUT I should take another look at the passenger side and replace them too.
Check your nuts! Sorry, I couldn't resist.
My driver's side fender diamond plate and center bracket have developed cracks at the 5000 mile mark. Other forum members have experienced cracks on both fenders. Shoreland'r is stepping up and replacing the cracked fenders and brackets, BUT the problem is destined to reoccur if the root cause is not addressed.
My guess is that the vibration is coming from the wheels. In other posts, some members have changed their tires from bias ply to radials in order to correct the problem.
I can't feel any vibration from my trailer, but I can see the fenders vibrating in my side mirrors. My driver's side fender vibrates much more than my passenger side, and it's the driver's side that has cracked, so I'm certain that vibration is the root cause.
I think that it is very important that anybody with a newer Shoreland'r trailer check their fenders. Loose nuts, missing bolts, cracked diamond plate, cracked brackets, are all signs of an underlying problem that should be addressed.
I think that the vibrations are coming from the wheels. The wheels that come with the trailer are not balanced. Some members say that balancing them won't fix the problem, and they decided to switch from bias ply tires to radials. I just received 5 new radials from Carlisle. They came mounted on galvanized rims, just like the stock rims that my trailer came with. I just looked at them and ALL 5 WHEELS ARE BALANCED. The weights range from 1 oz, up to 4 oz.
Shoreland'r seems to be doing a good job repairing the broken parts, but I haven't seen any evidence that they understand the severity of the situation, and that the underlying root cause is with wheel vibration. Maybe they aim to design/build their trailers to endure the vibration from bias ply tires? Based on one post, I get the sense that Shoreland'r has redesigned the fender bracket. Carlisle has demonstrated good will, and may be willing to replace/upgrade the vibration-prone bias ply tires to balanced radials.
If you have a recent model Shoreland'r trailer, the first thing that you need to do is to look for the symptoms: cracked diamond plate, cracked brackets, loose nuts, missing nuts/bolts.
Be safe.
Some newer model Shoreland'r trailers have a vibration problem that can loosen the fender nuts, crack the fender diamond plate, and crack the mounting bracket. My personal experience is with a 2015 tandem trailer. There are three spots where the fenders are attached. Two of them can be seen at the leading and trailing edge of the diamond plate, BUT there are also nuts and bolts on the middle section (bottom side) of the fender that can loosen.
Nuts, bolts, and brackets falling off your trailer at highway speeds can obviously cause a serious accident. @Majorsmackdown recently had a blow-out (2016 tandem trailer) while towing back from the Bimini trip. A very likely cause is that the nuts and bolts from his center fender bracket vibrated off and the bracket swung into his tire causing his blow-out.
When I received my boat in May of 2015, the 200 mile tow to deliver it had loosened the center bracket nuts on my driver's side fender, and one of the bolts had already fallen out. I replaced them with nylon-sleeved locking nuts, BUT I should take another look at the passenger side and replace them too.
Check your nuts! Sorry, I couldn't resist.
My driver's side fender diamond plate and center bracket have developed cracks at the 5000 mile mark. Other forum members have experienced cracks on both fenders. Shoreland'r is stepping up and replacing the cracked fenders and brackets, BUT the problem is destined to reoccur if the root cause is not addressed.
My guess is that the vibration is coming from the wheels. In other posts, some members have changed their tires from bias ply to radials in order to correct the problem.
I can't feel any vibration from my trailer, but I can see the fenders vibrating in my side mirrors. My driver's side fender vibrates much more than my passenger side, and it's the driver's side that has cracked, so I'm certain that vibration is the root cause.
I think that it is very important that anybody with a newer Shoreland'r trailer check their fenders. Loose nuts, missing bolts, cracked diamond plate, cracked brackets, are all signs of an underlying problem that should be addressed.
I think that the vibrations are coming from the wheels. The wheels that come with the trailer are not balanced. Some members say that balancing them won't fix the problem, and they decided to switch from bias ply tires to radials. I just received 5 new radials from Carlisle. They came mounted on galvanized rims, just like the stock rims that my trailer came with. I just looked at them and ALL 5 WHEELS ARE BALANCED. The weights range from 1 oz, up to 4 oz.
Shoreland'r seems to be doing a good job repairing the broken parts, but I haven't seen any evidence that they understand the severity of the situation, and that the underlying root cause is with wheel vibration. Maybe they aim to design/build their trailers to endure the vibration from bias ply tires? Based on one post, I get the sense that Shoreland'r has redesigned the fender bracket. Carlisle has demonstrated good will, and may be willing to replace/upgrade the vibration-prone bias ply tires to balanced radials.
If you have a recent model Shoreland'r trailer, the first thing that you need to do is to look for the symptoms: cracked diamond plate, cracked brackets, loose nuts, missing nuts/bolts.
Be safe.
