DBBRanger
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2013
- Messages
- 262
- Fluid Motion Model
- R-25 Classic
- Vessel Name
- Still Crazy
We've made the 2300 mile trip between Colorado and Florida over 10 times. Unfortunately we have had issues on many of them - tire blowouts on four, broken hatch, bent radar support, dinged prop and trailer issues. It's the latter that has just occured again. On an earlier trip this year while changing drivers, I noticed that one of the four bolts holding the full weight of the boat broke on my E Z Loader trailer. I thought I was lucky because, although the front port side bolt sheared off, it left about 1/8" of bolt that supported the boat. I say lucky because I thought it would have been all over had the bolt half not been left - leaving the front quarter of the boat unsupported. Well, this year at a driver change we found that the starboard front bolt broke and was entirely gone leaving the cross member dangling and the boat unsupported. Although I do have a roller under the bow, because it is relatively long, it is easily bent under the weight of the bow. I carry my spare tire flat on the tongue of the trailer such that when the bow is cinched down, it rests on the tire. That was the only thing holding the starboard bow up at this point. When the first bolt broke, I got a replacement from the factory for the temporary one installed on the side of the road plus an extra one. So, with my 2 bottle jacks I carry, I lifted the crossmember and installed the leftover bolt without a complication although it was disconcerting to lift the boat up some 6 inches on the side of the road. The new bolts were grade 5 - I'm not sure what the originals were but I plan on replacing all four bolts with grade 8 bolts even though all of them have had no sign of corrosion or stress.
I rationalized the first broken bolt since it happened only 4 hours after having all 4 tires replaced thinking the techs did something wrong while lifting the trailer with their floor jack or because the bow strap maybe wasn't tight enough to keep the bow from moving while going over large bumps. This time I have no explanation. It now feels disconcerning that there is only 4 bolts taking the entire 8000 pounds or so of boat.
I would never have expected to replace those bolts prophylactically.
I rationalized the first broken bolt since it happened only 4 hours after having all 4 tires replaced thinking the techs did something wrong while lifting the trailer with their floor jack or because the bow strap maybe wasn't tight enough to keep the bow from moving while going over large bumps. This time I have no explanation. It now feels disconcerning that there is only 4 bolts taking the entire 8000 pounds or so of boat.
I would never have expected to replace those bolts prophylactically.