Progress? Trailer out from under the boat.

[Shorefun]

So I got the boat off the trailer. I got some nice foam blocks from the trash the other day. So I used a heavy metal medical O2 tank holder and the foam for the rear. I cranked the front way down, jammed in the foam and cranked it up.
I used the come along to lift the front and out the trailer came. I rested the front down on a wire spool with some foam on top and have the weight split between the come along and the block like 100lbs or so each.
The trailer has a wobble where the straight front piece is held by the 2 side pieces. I hope to fix that some.
I am debating if I should go through the trouble of taking the winch apart and getting the rust off and then cold galvanize the bare metal. I have a glass bead booth so that is not much trouble for me.
I am going to take the axle off, looks like 2 front bolts at the springs and I can take the hole unit off. I want to get the rust off the springs, paint and grease them up or something. I also am going to pull, clean and inspect all the bearings.
Then the wiring needs a redux. They use unsealed splices and just twisted together wires.
Last is new bunk covers.

 

[Shorefun]

Just a bit of an update.

So I took the square section out of the area where the 2 side meet. I then used a big hammer and a pry bar. Not to pry mind you but to transfer the force of the blows. I moved the bent in section of the starboard side rail. Now the front box section does not rotate back and forth and the front ends of the 2 side rails have full contact.

Found the winch was not attached very good. So that is all apart, rust blasted off, and painted with cold galv. Also needed to get the spool off cause it was cheaper to buy a flat strap with the hook on the end then to buy the hook and the line.

Ordered some new tires, well mounted on the rims for the extra $17. I do not like mounting tires plus now I have a spare.

Found the bearings were very rusty. Funny cause the guy I bought it from I ask if the grease was brown and such. The guy regreased them before we picked it up. Well he did add some grease, he clearly did not know how to pack bearings. Anyway no big deal new bearings are on their way and some bearing buddies too. That will keep new fresh grease flowing.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Bearings are 1.98 inch or two inche. Replace racers as well.
Inspect bunk board wood for rot and if found buy new treated lumber.
Stay away from polypropylene winch line as it will deteriorate in the sunlight quickly.
Include balancing of new tires as well.

What are you referring to as redux?

 

[Project_Mayhem]

• Bunks: If they need to be replaced I'd recommend outdoor carpeting from Home Depot fastened with screws. Screws are far easier and better than using a staple gun
• Bearing Buddies: I've found different tolerances between different brands. I like the ones Reese makes because it has a weep hole that tells you when it's filled and lessens the likely hood that it'll be overfilled. They were harder to tap into the axle but they didn't fall out like other brands.
• Don't use wire spools to support weight. I've seen 6' wide spools wobble like crazy when turned on its side. We only had 100lbs on top of it
  
• As for splicing, it's a very opinionated topic. There's a lot of different techniques. I would recommend using butt splices with built in heat shrink or the following method with a dab of solder in the middle (not across the entire splice)

Western Unions Splice

 

[Shorefun]

I am getting new races, it is the full kit. The races were just as bad as the rollers. Was just out and used gift card I got ages ago to get some marine grease and I have to dig up the grease gun from when I had the sit on ski trailer.
The races are kind of deep in the hub. So I turned down some bar stock I had on my lathe. Now I have a nice tool to press the races down into the hub. Any excuse to run the lathe. I will just press them in on my vice. Before you all worry, you have to see my vice to appreciate it. It is huge, you can do some amazing stuff with a huge Prentiss vice. You can even properly squish rivets properly. The kids love squishing the soda cans.

I have 2 wire spools. One wobbles a lot and the other was solid as a rock when I stood on it (I am 200 lbs). I do not trust it anyway so the boat is also suspended from joists on the ceiling with about 100lbs on each. It was easy to do and be extra safe.

Bunker carpet was on sale at WestMarine this weekend and it would have cost me about the same to get the other carpet by the time I drove out to the other store. I have Monel staples. A friend does boat cushion work. He got them at a garage sale I sent him to along with a pile of stainless and other good staples for upholstery work. Honestly, the crappy thin wire type staples originally used by the factory were still holding fine even though they were half rusted away. Seems they hold up longer then the carpet.

As for wiring, I have a bit of experience with that. Between wiring up aircraft for test work and all my home stuff I have done it a few times. Nothing like trying to get old arcade games working again. Seems those guys are clueless when it comes to wiring work. My issue is not knowing what are the proper practices for sealing the connections against water intrusion in the marine environment. Airplane stuff does not get put under water much so the sealing of that is different.

What has surprised me in this trailer work is just how crappy the trailer parts are and it appears to be the standard. The nuts and bolts were not galvanized, just plated. The factory wiring with quick splices- not sealed, and the poorly formed threads on the axle like the machine did the OD too small and then cut the threads. They hold, but first I thought they had been stripped, but even the area beyond where the nut goes was flat.
I was thinking I needed to bring this whole thing up to my normal level of build. The would be expensive and apparently WAY overkill since the way it is has worked for a pretty long time.