Winter towing....
 

My new outboard arrived at the dealer today. (Santa apparently farms out his freight transport). Taking the boat there tomorrow to get it rigged, high is expected to be 18*...Besides washing EVERYTHING so it doesn't end up looking like one of them Florida scrap heaps (kidding), anything out of the ordinary I need to obsess about?

Based on (extensive) previous experience, I'd be real careful about towing in the winter - especially if there's any salt on the roads. Every single steel trailer I've ever seen that was towed in the winter with salt involved ended up corroding and dying and early death. And don't think Aluminum trailers are exempt either because they have many steel components attached to them. Yes, you can try washing the salt off, but (again, based on experience) I've never seen anybody who has really been successful at getting it all off. I say that because those trailers also corroded faster than similar trailers that were never towed in the winter.

If it were me, I'd either wait until a day when the roads were clear, or wait until spring. It's just not worth it if you value your trailer. Notice that I didn't say anything about the boat and motor. That's because the components and finishes used on them seem to be much more corrosion resistant than what is found on trailers. Just my 2 cents.

Are the roads snow covered/ wet and salted or just cold and salt dust? If it's just cold no big deal. Do they use real salt or magnesium chloride up there.

Waiting isn't really an option... scored a smoking deal on the motor and dealer is itching to put it on, plus I'm tentatively heading south beginning of February. Can't do that with the crank bearing laying in the bottom cowl on the current motor.
My trailer is an aluminum bolt together, and all the steel hardware is galv or stainless (except rotors). Still leary, but I gotta do it. Roads were dry today, but still plenty of salt crust. It'll be there for a week for rigging, and I have a hot water coin wash about a mile from the house.

Michigan uses rock salt, mag chloride, and CMA. Depends on where you're at. Here, it's mostly rock salt.

I wish you lots of luck. The best advice I can offer since you're going to do it is to dump a ton of WD-40 on every single steel component (no matter what finish is on it) after the pressure wash.

I have a bottle of Salt-Away and 2 cans of Fluid Film. One can before it hits pavement, one for when it gets home after the Salt-Away.

I wouldn't be too worried about it....ive towed an all steel trailer to Florida twice in two different years in the winter....each time leaving IL for FL i was going through falling snow with salt trucks on the roads....all i did was spray the trailer down with a silicone spray before leaving here and before getting into Indiana on the way back at one of the truck stops....never had any out of the ordinary rust issues....but then again i was always good at keeping the gear clean before putting it away.... ;)
I think you have it covered with the salt away and fluid film....just make sure your tires are properly inflated and hubs greased...lights working and brakes on the trailer are 100% and get-er-done! :)

Better yet!

Hauling in the snow? Been there done that.

actually tomorrow afternoon I'm leaving Missouri and hauling my cat out to Salt Lake City Utah, I'm sure going over the mountains is really going to suck, the black trailer will probably look light grey by the time I get there. I have pretty much coated everything with wd40 and when I get there I will go to one of the blue beacon truck washes and wash everything to get the salt off and then wd40 again.

Well your boat's waaay nicer than mine, and you don't sound worried, so now I feel better with my choice.

The weather looks great in salt lake. Why you bringing to sal lake?

nearly every equipment, landscaping, construction, utility and car hauler trailer is steel, I've never seen the warning at the trailer dealer saying do not use in the winter.

Had to tow a new boat back to the factory in the snow in December and back home in the snow in January. The high the day I brought it home was exactly 33 degrees. I looked like a fool to my neighbors outside in my driveway hand washing every inch of my new steel trailer but I didn't care. Trailer was fine.

It`s fine man, actually salt is good for the trailer and even better for the boat , just ask any salt boater .

:daz:

Show me a 10yr old steel snowmobile trailer that's not rotted and we'll see it was used for storage only and never moved. But, it is probably starting to rust good just sitting outside.

Best thing ever in sled industry was aluminum trailers. Just have to keep up on the steel axle housings.

Yup, and around here they all turn into rotted messes too...unlessnot used during winter, which many arent...but still rust and rot..just slower without salt.

I guess it depends on the quality of steel, My heavy tags and lowboys are still holding up well. I travel on crappy salty roads and go to the truck wash every 4 to 6 weeks. I have 1 trailer with over 600000 miles on it in 10 years. Most of the others are 300K plus.
Just wash it when your done, Its not like you are dipping it in salt to off load which Kills a trailer

after the boat and trailer get rinsed off i put the lawn sprinkler under the axles and let it go back and forth about 1/2 hour.
better than nothing and better than crawling under there.

Don't trim the drive up any further than you have to.

Lots of discussion about steel trailers when he's already stated he has an aluminum trailer. My aluminum trailer with stainless and galvanized hardware has been dunked in salt water a hundred times over the last 10 years. Does it look brand new? Hell no, but there isn't massive structural damage - my issue is the cheap brakes are rotted away, but the trailer and fasteners are fine. I wouldn't worry.....

and steel cars and trucks pull those trailers.

Have you looked at our cars in the north lately. Not good. We have to store cars that we want to last.

Didn't have to worry about that, I pulled the lower unit off in the fall. Boat was suprisingly clean but trailer was filthy when I got there, hit it with Fluid Film before and quarter carwash near the shop. Boat and trailer will get another wash/detail when it gets back next weekend.

http://imgur.com/gallery/c7qNh
http://imgur.com/gallery/c7qNh

After reading this thread I got scared and ran out to check my 15 year old aluminum trailer that has dunked in salt water. I was very surprised it was still in one piece. I'm going to go in the back yard and check on it daily now just to make sure it doesn't crumble under the boat.

I live north of you in the same state.
ed

12yrs old they start rotting out. Bad.

Yep. My three Mustangs go into storage every winter along with the boat.

Same here. My boat and '67 Chevy are cellmates from November to March.

http://m.imgur.com/a/Tv8GK


http://imgur.com/a/Tv8GK

I have made it across Kansas, through part of Colorado, and now in the mountains in Wyoming. Trailer is still mostly black, except for the snow on it. Hopefully when I get up in the morning the trailer has not rusted away.

The way it is tilted makes me think that one side of the trailer is already gone! :D

Tyson's pics would make a helluva Christmas card for Peter next year,.....(how many times has a skater seen snow let alone a 50 on a tilt?)

Awesome rig!

have to ask how the lateral weight balance and COG is running down the road like that?

Yep. One side already rusted away and boat is in danger of sliding off trailer!

Leaving laramie wyoming towards Salt lake city. The trailer is still black and did not rust away over night which is good because it would probably be hard to find a trailer for a 50' skater in wyoming. It snowed over night so the roads will be covered in salt. It will be warm enough that it will be slush getting thrown all over the boat and trailer.

Tyson's gonna need a lot more WD-40 or Fluid Film than me. Like, industrial size bottles.

The roads were a little dryer then I thought they would be so it defiantly did not get as bad as it could have. The trailer pulled a Michael Jackson on us and turned grey from black. #blacktrailersmatter.

Note: the ceramic pro coating made the boat slick enough that the dirt pretty much blew off it while I was running. I think I will put it on the trailer when I get home. (shameless plug, #sendmesomematerialformytrailer)

When I was driving towards SLC I started calling truck washes to see if anyone would be open, There was only one that was open and it was going to close at 4 pm and not open till tuesday. It was 9:36 am and my gps said I was 6 hours away. I ask them if they were going to stop washing at 4 or stop the line from adding up at 4. They said if I was in line by 4 that they would wash it. Keep in mind the gps is figuring on speed you would run in a car, not a Freighliner hauling a big boat through the mountains. So I started driving as fast as I could knowing it would slow down going up hills and I would have to make up that time going down hills. I did not stop for lunch, pulled into one truck stop and put in a little fuel as quick as I could to make sure I would make it. While I was driving I called everywhere trying to find a manual car wash that a semi would fit in and could not find anywhere to wash it if I did not make it in time. I ended up calling a guy that I have never met that lives in SLC that is having a new Skater built and was asking him if he knew of any car washes it would fit in. He said there were not any but to just bring it to his house and he has warm water hose hookup and brushes, boat soap, ect. . He said he likes cleaning boats and that he would help me wash it. So I kept trying to make it to the truck wash so we would not have to spend new years eve in the cold washing the boat.

After some pretty insane driving I make it to the truck wash at 3:48 pm and they had yellow caution tape across the entrance and closed signs in the driveway. I went in and talked to them and they said they had told me that so to go ahead and pull around. They washed it and I gave each of the guys in there a tip for staying. They did a good job on the truck (because thats what they do) but did not get the trailer and boat as good as I wanted so I headed over to the Guy that is building a new Skaters house to touch up the trailer and make sure I get the tilt mechanism and air bag suspension system and leveling brackets good because it would be bad if that stuff rusted. When I get there he has hoses strung out to the street a wash bucket with soap and water and brushes ready. He starts scrubbing the trailer and I was following him rinsing it. He is laying on the ground scrubbing the bottom of the trailer and axles, ect. ( keep in mind I have never met him before and its cold and dark out on new years eve, this is what Skater guys do for people) We got it all washed and it looks new again. The trailer is still black again and did not rust away. So to the original question in the post, yes you can haul in the winter, just clean it good when you stop.

Glad you made it safe and sound. Since I've been the primary nay sayer in this whole thread, let me continue. Please come back in a year or two and tell me there's no rust on that beautiful trailer. Oh, and I love the boat too!

That is a helluva statment to the SKATER nation brethren! Great story...

FWIW - Fluid FIlm from a gallon/5 gallon can in a pressure sprayer makes quick work of the running rear on a trailer or under the pull truck