trailer questions

[Skegemog]

Hoping for some knowledgeable input...

I have a Holsclaw trailer I got off of Craigslist model # A-900. I'm thinking about how I want to set it up for the Coquina I am finishing up. A couple of questions:

1) as it is now the distance between the winch and the axle is about 10' which is 60% of the length of the Coquina. Is this sufficient forward bias or do I need to move the boat further forward on the trailer? The boat should weigh around 450 lbs all in and the trailer is about 300 lbs I think

2) the trailer has some rust but seems sound. It is a tilt-trailer which should allow me to keep it out of the water as I hope the previous owners had done. I have been over it carefully with a hammer tapping and it rings clearly everywhere. I will have to replace the shocks and the bearings and was going to strip it and repaint it but wondering if there are other ways I can check for structural issues before I take the whole thing apart?

[Thorne]

Congrats on getting an excellent trailer! Posting photos will be a big help, as it can be hard to picture it otherwise.

How much trailer is aft of the axle? You may be dealing with a boat-support issue as well as a trailer-balance issue. Extending the tongue is fairly easy, and having used an old Holsclaw for a few years, I don't think it will impact the way the suspension operates. I go for over the usually-recommended 10-15% tongue weight, sometimes hitting 20%, as I find the trailers seem to track better at speed, but YMMV. You will want a rolling swing-away jack, and if you operate in salt water get a salt-water jack and lube it full of waterproof grease, as otherwise it will rust and jam -- don't ask me how I know this...

Are the shocks really blown? On my trailer which was falling apart due to rust, the shocks still functioned perfectly. Be careful of replacing anything that is still working, as I'm not sure if the modern shocks will match the size and weight ratings of the originals. Several Forumites have restored Holsclaw trailers, so try a search and perhaps contact them with specific questions.

Here's how to post photos on this forum:


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(In Flickr - You usually have to first click the photo to bring up the black-framed viewer, then click the "View All Sizes" link near the top right. Then you can get the image URL by right-clicking the image. Alternately you can go to the Actions menu on the upper left, then select "View All Sizes".


FOURTH - DO THIS EVERY TIME TO POST IMAGES IN THREADS:
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[Woxbox]

If the all up weight is 750 pounds, you want at least 75 pounds on the tongue. That's 10% of the tow weight. I much prefer to get it to 15%, so you'd want 120 pounds or so on the hitch. Put the tongue on a bathroom scale -- making sure the frame of the trailer is parallel to the ground. (Put the scale on a stool or something.) This is also how it needs to set on the hitch. With lighter boats, sometimes all you need to do is stow the miscellaneous gear forward to get the weight distrbution right. Or you may have to shift the boat forward. Or you may have to move the axle aft -- which can be done pretty easily on most trailers.

If the tongue weight it too low, the boat will fishtail on the highway. If the frame isn't parallel to the ground, all bets are off when you hit the brakes hard.

[Skegemog]

thanks for this input! much easier to extend tongue than move axle on this trailer, boat support not an issue, almost 4 feet of support aft of axle. may just ballast front of trailer if not 15% of overall....

[Ben Fuller]

My guess is that you will be pretty close to decent tongue weight but load the boat and check. Not often having a scale around, I figure if I can barely lift the tongue I have 150 pounds on it or so. If it is an easy one hander, then 50. A hard one hander 75.

What is the boat now sitting on? If it in the shop a sling instead of a forward horse makes like much easier and if you have a couple and some tackles or an old trailer winch you can go up and down easily as you will need the boat off and on a number of times and build the bunks. One of my friends who has a boat somewhat like a Coquina set up removable after bunks that went on after the boat went on the trailer, then came off before the boat went into the water. Neat rig. And saved lots of fussing.

[Skegemog]

Boat has lifting eyes so I can hoist it out of cradle and off and on trailer when the time comes to work out the bunks etc. my biggest concern is whether or not to invest time in revamping the trailer itself before fine tuning the setup. Seems like it will be close enough to right to be worth the effort

[Oldad]

I put 80 grit in my RO and took off most of the rust on mine, got the rest with hand sanding, actually fun to see it improve step by step. Not likely you will find the right shocks but maybe, if it anit booke, dont fix it. I used John Deere tractor paint over good primer to finish mine off. Replaced bearings and seals as well.

[Brian Palmer]

I put new shocks on my 600 lb capacity Holsclaw last year. I got them off of Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Monroe-555002-...words=holsclaw

You can probably also get them through a local auto parts store, but they may need to special order.

Brian

[Skegemog]

That's great, I have heard the rev shocks make decent replacements.

[Skegemog]

Thinking about extending the tongue on my trailer: because it is a tilting trailer the tongue is easily removable but there is a latch mechanism welded onto the tongue near the pivot point that locks the tilt mechanism and the winch and coupling are at the other end of the tongue. Would it be dangerous to just cut the tongue( 2 x 3 steel tube) in half in the middle and telescope an extension over both of the cut ends to pick up an addition 2' or so of length? If I could find some tube with interior dimensions that are slightly larger than the outside dimensions of the tongue I would think I could just weld or bolt the extension piece to both halves of the tongue and be done.

[Dan Richard]

If you do decide to strip the paint off the trailer, I would recommend using Ospho on any places that you have rust after you've wire brushed as much rust away as possible. It will turn surface rust into a black inert substance. It won't hurt to use a light coat of Ospho on any bare metal before priming. Ospho is a diluted acid so be careful with it; it's the consistency of water so a little goes a long way.

Also, and I don't think this is ever mentioned in ads, you can put a little Ospho on a rag and wipe it over a painted surface (works especially well on white paint) that has rust and it will remove the rust stain making the paint look like new.

http://www.jamestowndistributors.com...etal+Treatment

[Woxbox]

On the tongue extension. I've done a similar job. Just make sure the wall thickness of the new piece is equal to the existing tube, and build in generous overlap.

[Eric Slosser]

One of my friends who has a boat somewhat like a Coquina set up removable after bunks that went on after the boat went on the trailer, then came off before the boat went into the water. Neat rig. And saved lots of fussing.

How are those aft-bunks attached?

I'm going to do the same, and came to the forum looking for a better idea than mine.


My current plan: a pad, connected to a leg (2x4 or thick plywood?), connected to wooden platform on trailer with galvanized hinges. Not yet clear how I'll lock them in the upright position (a wooden key that slides into a slot in the leg?)

[Ben Fuller]

That was quite a long time ago. My recollection was that the legs / pad structure was not hinged. Some kind of base with pins, rather than trying any kind of hinge.