Trailer road trip checklist

[tabbibus]

Hey team. So I’ll be doing a 7 hour road trip in a couple of weeks. I haven’t towed before. I’ve practiced handling as well as loading and unloading and feel comfortable right now.

Question to y’all is: what should I check on the trailer to make sure it’s road worthy? It’s a Shorelandr for a 2018 242lse. A few specific questions as well. Is there brake fluid? Where do I add it if so. How do I grease the bearing buddies? Thanks!

 

[Babin Farms]

Brake fluid should be up on the tongue, it prob is good to go. Check bearings by jacking up ant putting hands at 12 & 6 and see how much it moves. Shouldn't be much. Grease bearing buddys by taking caps off and pumping grease into fitting, the spring & endplate will move outwards when its getting close to full. Check leaf springs for broken leafs or hardware. Air all tires up including spare. Make sure you have the tools that you would need for installing spare tire. Check the lights and wiring and make sure that your lic. plate is fastened securely. Hopefully this helps

 

[2kwik4u]

BoatUS membership is cheap insurance for a long tow. They will typically cover sending roadside assistance out to help, and then a necessary tow for both the vehicle AND trailer back to the nearest repair facility. I want to say a yearly membership is around $400.

Have a good spare tire and the appropriate tools to change it. Including jack and lug wrench.

I usually take a small tool bag with me as well. Small supplies to fix electrical issues (tape, strippers, cutters, splices, few feet of spare wire), pair of pliers, couple screw drivers, hammer, cheap pocket knife, length of spare rope. Get a cheap head-light (for your human head, not the truck) from Wal-Mart and put new batteries in it. This will save your butt if you have a flat/issue in the dark/rain. Cheap pair of work gloves, or spare latex gloves to keep your hands somewhat clean. Fast Orange soap, and a roll of paper towels works wonders with a water bottle after a roadside repair. Oh yea, roll of duct tape in your color of choice. This can fix SOOO many things for the remainder of the trip. It's cheap and easy to toss in the tool bag.

You can get MOST of this stuff from harbor freight for not much money. Ideally, it only has to work once or twice to get you out of immediate trouble, so it doesn't have to be the highest quality, or nicest looking stuff. Just has to work in the moment.

I've spent years both trailing fast cars around, and driving fast cars around to various car shows/events all over the country. Often times we would have just put them back together the night before, to drive them 8+hrs the next day so we could drag race them, and then attempt to drive them home on Monday. I've developed a certain "MacGyver" style tool bag that I can toss in the truck and take off and know that I have "most" of anything I would need to get me to at least the next town/truck stop.

Speaking of truck stops, there are often diesel repair shops nearby the really large truck refueling gas stations(like Pilot rest stops). If you find you're on the road and have lost a bolt, or need a special tool, those places are a godsend. They usually have all kinds of tools, and a bolt inventory sitting around. Might not be the "right" fix, but it'll usually get you home until you can get the proper fix.

 

[—Яiвs>]

Great points above from Babin and 2kwik. In addition to that I keep extra retaining pins, clips, and a few ratchet straps.

 

[tabbibus]

Any recs on jack? My only jack is what comes with the expedition, and I don't think that will be enough to lift the trailer with the boat on it!

 

[tim h]

Cheap bottle jack will do..
throw in a couple blocks of wood to put under the base of the jack.

I have a triple axle trailer so I bring enough blocks of wood to drive on, to lift the blown tire off the ground.
I also bring a “second spare” just in case.

 

[tim h]

And I’ll add...
trailer tires don’t like excessive heat, so I keep it at 65... and make sure they are inflated !

 

[tabbibus]

And I’ll add...
trailer tires don’t like excessive heat, so I keep it at 65... and make sure they are inflated !

Oh I’ll be going 60 max

 

[AZMark]

Great points above.
Has the trailer been sitting out in the weather unused? If so your brake rotor surfaces are probably pretty rusted and might take a few good stops to get rid of the rust and start working right.
@Babin Farms is right on the bearing buddies, just don’t overfill them, you want a little give left in the springs. Shouldn’t need much if you don’t use the trailer.
I’d at least take the trailer for a test drive of several miles before you put the boat on it. Listen for weird sounds and make sure none of your wheels is getting significantly hotter than the others.

 

[tabbibus]

Great points above.
Has the trailer been sitting out in the weather unused? If so your brake rotor surfaces are probably pretty rusted and might take a few good stops to get rid of the rust and start working right.
@Babin Farms is right on the bearing buddies, just don’t overfill them, you want a little give left in the springs. Shouldn’t need much if you don’t use the trailer.
I’d at least take the trailer for a test drive of several miles before you put the boat on it. Listen for weird sounds and make sure none of your wheels is getting significantly hotter than the others.

thanks. And thanks to all. Yeah I've been driving the trailer around with and without the boat to get a feel for it. I'm both looking forward and scared shitless about this trip ha!

 

[tim h]

Leave a fair “gap” between you and the vehicle in front of you. In case they jam on the brakes.

where ya headin ? The gulf ?

 

[tabbibus]

Leave a fair “gap” between you and the vehicle in front of you. In case they jam on the brakes.

where ya headin ? The gulf ?

yup, Orange Beach. Nice VRBO with a dock

 

[Beachbummer]

Have you ever inspected/replaced/repacked your trailer wheel bearings? This may be a good time to do it, specially if you have had a lapse in greasing your bearing buddies. The most common trailer failures are wheel/tire/wheel hub related. You can carry a spare hub with you and the needed tools for a swap if you think it might come to that. Check Hub/Wheel temperature at every stop.

 

[tabbibus]

Have you ever inspected/replaced/repacked your trailer wheel bearings? This may be a good time to do it, specially if you have had a lapse in greasing your bearing buddies. The most common trailer failures are wheel/tire/wheel hub related. You can carry a spare hub with you and the needed tools for a swap if you think it might come to that. Check Hub/Wheel temperature at every stop.

I haven’t. This trailer has not seen any action since delivery last year.

 

[scriz]

I have had more issues with my trailers than with my watercraft. The biggest problem areas are bearings and spindles for me. I don't care what anyone says they did to maintain their trailer, I am going to take a full tool set and take apart the trailer the next time I buy a boat. Jack, battery operated impact, gloves (for the grease), and a roll of paper towels. Oh, and fuses for the tow vehicle as I had a wiring harness that kept blowing my fuses due to a clipped hot wire that was shorting on the frame. Of course I buy cheap stuff on cheap trailers and fix it up, so that may be half my problems. With a 2018, you should be fine. When you make pit stops along the way, just take a second to look over everything to make sure it is working well. I had a buddy who would toss a little water on the trailer wheels to see if they were getting hot. I thought he was crazy until a had a bearing fail.

 

[JetBoatPenguin]

If you have your spare mounted on the trailer - make sure to check the tightness of the lug bolts on the spare carrier. Mine were loose when I refreshed my trailer. Could have been an issue if it came loose.

On long trips as well I also carry a floor jack . .. you can get cheap ones at Harbor Freight . . . I know you can get bottle jacks etc but on the side of the highway/road I typically don't want to mess around.

I would also check to make sure your trailer hitch is at the correct height so the loading is accurate. It will drive and brake better (and be safer) . . . if it isn't already.

Another tip . . . if you store your trailer and don't use it very often it may be helpful to raise up the trailer off the tires so they don't get flat spots (on blocks or wood on the frame). Eventually flat spots will go away as tires heat up . . . but initially they may be rougher. I also have heard others balancing their boat tires with positive results. I don't . . . but if you're traveling a longer distance maybe its a good thing to do.

 

[tim h]

I hope your vacation doesn't get interrupted by the storm and heavy rainfall !