Boat Trailer Mileage

[hauptjm]

Another thread on the topic tire size and trailering miles made me pause and think about my own boat trailer, its setup, and how often I have used it over the 15 years I have owned the trailer.

The setup: Sport Trail brand aluminum frame, torsion axle (single) with Turbo Lube hubs, with 14 inch tires, holding a 1985 Outrage 18.

I bought the trailer new in June 2005, two months before Hurricane Katrina. That's important, because my boat was on the trailer for the hurricane and consequently sat submerged with my boat strapped to the trailer in front of my house for roughly 30 days in brackish water. It took roughly 30 days for the City of New Orleans to pump the water out from the failed levee system. Once, I could access the boat, I moved it to a safe location about 50 miles out of New Orleans. From that date in September 2005 to today, I have driven that trailer quite a bit on the open road. Multiple trips to South Florida (Jensen Beach - four times at 1600 miles round-trip), Kemah, TX (six times at 800 miles round-trip) and various regattas all around the Gulf Coast states, I have amassed what I calculate as about 15,000 miles. In all of those miles I have never touched the hubs (they are exactly as they came from the manufacturer), even so much as not having to add more gear oil to the reservoir. They have been dumped into salt water almost exclusively and have performed flawlessly.

Tires are another story. I find between drying out, sitting for long periods without a lot of movement and other factors, they just don't last that long. I currently have Goodyear Marathons on the trailer now, and they have lasted the longest. I also believe how the axle is setup (in true angles) also provides a better wear on the tires by providing better tracking. The slightest amount out of true can really eat tires.

In all, I am very satisfied with my trailer and frankly a little surprised about my mileage. My off-the-cuff guess was that I put 30,000 miles or more, but when I put pen to paper, it really has been about half that amount. I'm guessing I have replaced tires three times. Again, it sounds odd with what we get out of our automobile tires but that is not the case with boat trailer tires.

[jimh]

I am impressed with the durability of your trailer after much immersion in saltwater. I attribute that to the three elements you mentioned:

1. aluminum frame; aluminum won't rust like steel, and may tolerate saltwater better;
2. torsion axle: no leaf springs and their associated hangers, U-bolts, and other steel parts to rust;
3. Turbo-Lube hubs; these are apparently very well sealed and have not lost lubricant and have not had water intrusion.

Being now an exclusively freshwater boater, I tend to think of immersing my 1992 E-Z-Loader boat trailer in saltwater as akin to immersion in a highly corrosive fluid. My trailer has been in saltwater many times, but I have tried to be very diligent about flushing and rinsing it after any such use.

As for total towed mileage, I don't have a good figure for my current boat trailer. It has made several long distance hauls to the South (1,500-miles or more) for some early Spring boating in the Gulf of Mexico and in the Carolinas, but in the last five years or so it has not left the Great Lakes.

Re tire life, I have never had a trailer tire fail on the road. I have used radial tires for most of the miles, and initially used Goodyear Marathon Trailer Radials. Lately I have been buying Carlisle trailer radial tires due to better availability at my local tire store. For many years my boat and trailer were always stored indoors when not in use on the water. I think being out of the sun and its ultra-violet rays has helped avoid damage to the tires. Since our new summer location has the boat trailer about one-mile from the launch ramp, the trailer has not been racking up much highway mileage. The trailer is now 28-years-old, but it spends about three months outdoors in the Summer now. Fortunately, that time is north of 45-degrees-Latitude, so the strength of the sun is not as great as in Louisiana.

[biggiefl]

I had a 2005 Sport Trail under my Donzi. Nice trailer and it had some miles on it.