Hi David,
Rebuilding a trailer is easy if, ......you have some tools; ....some
mechanical know-how; .....and some time.
I totally rebuilt a trailer for a ComPac16. Everything was rusted out:
wheel rims; springs; axle, .....
As a neophite at trailer rebuilding at that time, my first step was to
find some Know-How, which I found in the excellent GLEN L book - on how
to build a trailer. Get one, and it will answer just about every
question you might have.
With that book as my guide I then bought a good hacksaw (I was in Florida
when I bought the ComPac and away from my own shop and equipment). You
need this to cut through the "U" bolts holding the axle: to cut off the
bolts holding the springs in place; and whatever else has to be removed.
Don't bother trying to undo rusted fittings. Just cut and be done with
it. You're not going to be reusing those parts.
With things taken apart, I took the axle to a trailer shop where they
rebuilt it. They installed new stub axles on the axle tube; put in new
bearings; and new wheel hubs.
I bought the necessary hardware for mounting it all in place again:
springs; bolts; "U" bolts - and a new wiring harness, and lights. I
bought new rims and new tires.
Removing the rusted bolts is the hard part.
Assembling the new equipment is the easy part.
I painted the trailer white, using Rustoleum primer and paint (white so
that you can see it more easily in murky water when loading the boat on
the trailer) The paint has stood up very well, though it's main use has
been in fresh water lakes.
-------------
On my M15 Trailrite trailer, the axle tube was severely rusted when I
bought it,so I had my local trailer shop weld in a new tube after
bringing the boat back to Connecticut from Florida. I put on new rims;
new tires; and added new wiring. (This adds to peace of mind while
trailering - you KNOW everything is in first class condition)
This past summer I built a plastic pipe guide for the keel - see M
archives for pictures and details - which makes retrieving the boat a lot
easier since you are forcing the keel to be centered over the keel
rollers. Side winds might pivot the boat a bit, but as soon as you
start winching it in, the keel guides force the boat to stay in the
proper position.
It's a modification I highly recommend: makes retrieving easy under all
conditions.
My M15 has a winch strap eye in the bow fitting where you fasten your
forestay. The winch strap hook goes into the bow eye.
The winch strap pulls in a straight line, with the winch bolted to the
vertical tube which doubles as the forward mast support (64" - height of
tube from the trailer frame). A rubber "Vee" block is bolted to the top
of the tube which holds the mast.
Connie
M15 #400 LEPPO
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