Saturday, January 11, 2020

trailer month

Unseasonably and incredibly warm these days, but the weather is not good for sailing.  Rainy and gusts up into the 30s, SPARTINA will not be out on the water this weekend.


February has become the annual trailer month for me.  I've placed an order with Loadrite for hangers, leaf springs and bushings.  The hangers on my trailer are corroded.  When the new ones arrive I will coat them a few times with liquid galvanizing.  


The leaf springs are also "sprung".  While the trailer is rated for 1000 lbs, I noticed that the o.e.m. leaf springs - with two leafs and 22" long - were rated for 600 lbs.  I will replace with 22" leaf springs with three leafs, rated at 1000 lbs.


The leaf springs hang from the frame by four hangers, above (which is inverted in the catalog image), and the leaf springs sit on top of the axle.  Should be a simple enough project that could be completed in a few hours.

I'll also drop the hubs off with the nice ladies at Portsmouth trailer and have the bearings repacked.  Then I should be ready to go.

Hoping for better weather next weekend.

6 comments:

Clark said...

Check those tires too, should be less than 6 years old. And the load rating? If your springs were undersized, the tires might be up at their limit.

https://smallboatsmonthly.com/article/trailer-tires/

We like that cold galvanizing spray, works great in our saltwater environment.

Steve said...

Agreed. I upgraded tires a few years ago. steve

Bill said...

Steve, you're a handy DIY guy - if you can replace the springs and hangers, you can re-pack the bearings as well. It's easy. Do you have bearing buddies on the hubs? Makes it even easier.

Maybe in the spring I can make the pilgrimage back down your way and stow away aboard Spartina for a couple hours on a nice day in the river - it's been too long...

Steve said...

You are right, Bill, I can repack the bearing. I've done it in the past. But besides being a DIY guy, I am also a man of means, and choose to pay someone else to deal with that mess. Give me a shout after March and come on down for a sail. steve

Ken said...

Given that Load-Rite is selling those 2-leaf springs individually, wouldn't the 600lb capacity be per-spring (1200lbs per set)? Either way, if your springs are sprung you probably need heavier ones, but Spartina will have a bumpier ride on the stiffer springs, so drive accordingly.

Steve said...

Ken,

I don't know how that works. Is the weight capacity cumulative? Don't know. I do know that I have "sprung" two sets of leaf springs over the years. We'll see how these work out. Hope all is well.

steve