cig1988

Your taking a huge risk in my opinion. Just way too much can go wrong. Think of the liability and murpheys law if a tire files off and causes injury, damage or death. Why not just take a extra day off from work and have piece of mind? If the owner of this boat has the serial number of the trailer contact the manufacturer and they should be able to supply you with the part numbers. If that don't work find a marine/trailer supply store close by.

wildhorses

It sounds like you have already made up your mind to buy the rig and start home. Listen to these guys and get the dam thing fixed before you head out on the road.

Indy

I can't agree more...if it were me, I'd change my plans around to accomodate bearing inspection and repair (all of them). The dangers of being caught with a breakdown on a highway don't make the gamble worth it. Big bucks are at stake here between the truck, boat, trailer, all of them secondary to your saftey and those of your fellow motorists.

Jupiter Sunsation

You didn't mention bringing along a spare tire or two. If the boat has been sitting you can count on a bad tire or two along the way. You also never mentioned the distance you intend to pull. Going 3000 miles across the country or 300 miles across the state?

LV

have them replace 4 tires and 4 sets of bearings, it will add a year to your life just not having to worry about it for hours and hours on the road, b/c its not if one of those eight things will go wrong but when.

Name That Boat.com

Just checked into AAA RV Plus and they don't cover boat trailer issues unless you're in Minnesota or Iowa.

MDSmitty

Hmmm ... that's not what their Web site says. I should get my upgrade papers this week. I'll see what they say.

Here's what the Web site says after putting in my Zip (not in Minn or Iowa).

Vehicles and services covered under Plus RV

Duel-rear-wheel campers/motor homes, motorcycles, travel trailers and boat trailers will be provided towing, extrication/recovery, and tire service.

Sydwayz

iTrader: (1)

That's news to me. Thank you for checking. I will be all over them in a few minutes.

Sydwayz

iTrader: (1)

Both MDSmitty and I belong to AAA Mid-Atlantic (Region). They DO cover boat trailers when you have Plus RV membership. I just confirmed.

http://www.aaamidatlantic.com/
http://www.aaamidatlantic.com/CarDri...#anchor-plusrv


Also, check into Boat US' Trailering Club:

http://www.boatus.com/trailerclub/tatow_tr.asp

MDSmitty

The boat hasn't been sitting. The owner doesn't remember the size and he is not at the boat's location to look, so I can't bring a spare. Supposedly they are in very good shape. I'll have to make that decision when I get there. However, there are 3 West Marine stores in the area, so at least I have a known source for replacements, and I can pick up a spare there when I start heading home. I've also plotted a few West Marines on my route. I carry a tire repair kit for nail holes. And there's always AAA as a last resort.

~950 miles.

In the short term, I don't have any plans to use the trailer again after this trip. The boat will be going in a boatel.

In the long term, I may use the trailer a maximum of twice annually for a 1/2 mile trip on 25MPH streets to the community boat ramp. (where the boat will be driven to my boat lift for the summer as soon as my community lifts its pier-replacement moratorium).

So I'm obviously a little reluctant to put a lot of money into the trailer unless it's absolutely necessary. From my research it looks like I could easily spend in excess of $1,000 on tires and bearing replacement. That's over a buck a mile ... or over 1/3 the cost of a new trailer. Instead I'd probably just tow it to a local marina and spend an extra thousand or so to have a flatbed transporter come pick it up and save me the stress of that long tow.

But I'll weigh all the information in this thread and elsewhere and apply it to the situation when I see what I've got when I get there.

Thanks again for the advice.