HELP trailer trouble

[Hal Forsen]

Here is the problem; because the trailer needs to be high enough to back up my steep driveway without bottoming out, I have to back the truck right down to the water to get the Bartender floating. The other day swmbo and I took the boat out for a few hours and 2 days later when I went to pull the nearly new truck out of the driveway it made a hell of a racket and I find out from the dealer the brakes had rusted shut. This is my first trailer boat and I'm hoping my WB pals can get me out of this little pickle.
Anybody used the extendahitch?

http://www.xtend-a-hitchnorthwest.com/xt9.jpg


Three hundred bucks is not cheap but it's a lot cheaper then a new rear end for the '05 Tundra
How 'bout it gang? Any suggestions?
HF

[Gary E]

That looks like a reasonable solution to me, but 300$ seems a lot for some tubing and few hitch parts.

You could just use a length of chain..

[pipefitter]

What about just getting the tongue on your trailer extended a little. How much is it lacking? Is there any adjustment to it to begin with? The trailer I have has 2 ft of adjustment at the tongue. A couple of feet? Maybe a tilt trailer might solve this? Seems alot to go thru to put that extension on everytime you want to launch the boat.
Also,there is trailer parts places that you could probably buy that stock and make your own for half of that.

[Thorne]

I've always been able to back my rig into the salt water without any issues, but there are a number of options available.

One that I've seen is a section of trailer tubing (square) with a ball and swiveling dual-wheel dolly at one end, the standard hitch on the other. You hook the ball into the hitch on the trailer and the swivel wheels take the weight while the other end hooks to the truck. Downside is that it has to be transported separately or strapped to the trailer somehow.

If the Bartender doesn't weigh too much you could try the chain or cable option, but the swing-down wheel on the trailer end near the hitch has to really be overbuilt to take the strain of towing up a ramp! You could try a dual swing-down setup I guess, but the plastic wheels on the cheap ones won't work for towing very far on rough concrete.

[Gary E]

One more thing...
Since ya allready know whut can happen to the cars breakes.... whacha think happens to the trailers breakes and or bearings?

If it was me, and I had a helper, I'd make an extension so that the trailer would couple on to it, then under that at the coupling point, I'd put me a big castor, and at the other end goes a coupler to connect to the car. Then as you back down the ramp, the helper steers the bow of the boat so it dont jacknife. Pulling out is simple, dont try much backing up with this articlulated dealie tho...

[Victor]

Guess that means you have drum brakes in the rear, huh? Find a steeper ramp?

[Hal Forsen]

Drum Brakes in the rear , Brand new Trailer w/o brakes. Boat/motor weigh less then 1000lbs.

HF

[ 12-12-2005, 05:18 PM: Message edited by: Hal Forsen ]

[Figment]

Perhaps you could drive the scenic route home from the boat ramp. It sounds like your rear brakes never got hot enough to cook off the water.

Edited To Add: YES! now I remember that I used to drive the first 1/2 mile or so after haulout with the parking brake (operates rear brakes only)set ever so gently to cook off the water. My reason for this was to have dry brakes for stopping power. The whole rust prevention thing didn't occur to me at the time.

Is there no hose at the top of the ramp for rinsing off the wheels and such? Even if there isn't, a quick spritz when you get home should be sufficient. Like Thorne, I've had several cars plenty deep in saltwater plenty of times, and I've not experienced your rusted brake problem.

I'm reluctant to make any modification to the truck or trailer that makes the operation even a tiny bit more complicated. The more complicated it is, the less often you'll use the boat.

[ 12-12-2005, 05:45 PM: Message edited by: Figment ]

[Victor]

One wonders if those brakes weren't looking for an excuse to go bad. Perhaps the truck was sitting on the lot for a long time? I don't know where Tundras are built, but in the days when most Toyotas came over by ship you were in deep doodoo if you bought one that was on the lowest deck, because it was not unusual for them to be awash in seawater the whole trip.

I was gonna say spray some oil in there, but hey, drum brakes, no can do. That's one reason I got rid of my old Explorer. After 95 they had disks on the rear.

Still, even salt water shouldn't do that to drum brakes that are in good shape, at least not that quickly.

[Gary E]

Yeah, you can dry out the drums like that, BUT you WILL FORGET and run to long to far and screwup the breakes and wear them out real fast..

And why is it required to get the breakes wet in the first place?... all the times I ever used a trailer the cars rear tires were not even in the water.

[sdowney717]

If you launched that boat out of Willoughbay in Norfolk VA using the extender, your trailer wheels would fall RIGHT OFF THE END OF THE RAMP under the water. Then when you goto pull the trailer out of the water, the trailer would be stuck with the wheels caught on the edge of the cement.
It almost happened to me on my trailer. I have tandem axles so I was able to pull it out but just barely.

[Hal Forsen]

Gary, reread my initial post....
Paul, the trailer has no adjustment for the tongue.
The local ramp is, what I guess you would call heavily corduroy to provide traction and there is no way in hell the front wheel on the stand would roll down it. I really only need a couple feet....
HF

[ 12-12-2005, 06:31 PM: Message edited by: Hal Forsen ]

[Gary E]

I did read it and I still say that if you have to get the rear car tires wet your in to dam far...FIX IT.

[Donn]

"because the trailer needs to be high enough to back up my steep driveway without bottoming out, I have to back the truck right down to the water to get the Bartender floating."

What have you done to get the trailer "high enough?"

[Victor]

Yeah Hal, fix it! Glad I'm on the only one to get an answer that's both snotty and totally without information. I don't know where you launch Gary but you must be the only guy in the world who's never gotten his rear brakes wet.

If you pull the drums off and spray the components with WD40 that might work for a while. Drum brakes are a pain - too many moving parts, esp in the rear with the parking brake mechanism. Something to consider on your next purchase. The Explorer has a cute little drum assembly for the parking brake, but it's not integrated into the disc brake.

[Gary E]

Victor,
I offered several solutions, cat help much more than that.
And yes... IF you have to get the tires wet your in to dam far..ya keep the tires out of the water the brakes will never get wet. If thats imposible, somethng is wrong that will not be solved without looking at it.

[Donn]

Ole Gary must live in a perfect world. I've launched from a trailer in spots which required me to sink the truck up to her skirts, all 4 wheels completely submerged, in order to float the boat. Weren't nothing wrong with the truck/trailer rig, it was wrong with the launch site.

[Figment]

Originally posted by Gary E:
Yeah, you can dry out the drums like that, BUT you WILL FORGET and run to long to far and screwup the breakes and wear them out real fast..

Toyota parking brakes are hand operated. Less opportunity to set-and-forget than with a foot operated brake. Holding two fingers' worth of tension for the first five minutes (until you feel like letting go) without ever actually setting the brake is fairly idiot-proof.

And I've yet to meet the pickup truck that didn't go through three sets of front brakes before the rears required attention.

[Hal Forsen]

The '86 truck had a hand brake; the new '05 tundra has a foot operated emer. brake.
The trailer is HIGH Gary because it needs CLEARANCE to keep from BOTTOMING out on my STEEP driveway. Consequently it has to go FARTHER into the WATER before the boat will FLOAT. Savvy?
HF

[Figment]

well, I learn something new every day.
I wonder why they went away from the handbrake. It's one of those "toyota things" I've always found so endearing.

[willmarsh3]

I would think it not be the salt water that did the brakes in - if you drive through areas just after it snows there would be salt from when they salted and sanded the roads. Surely brakes are designed to withstand some salt for some time so they can stand a quick submergence in seawater followed by cook off from normal driving back home from the boat ramp. Just my two cents.

Cheers,
Will.

[Thorne]

Baacccck to the tongue extension -- you could buy one or make one. I googled several threads on other boating forums, and this topic comes up frequently.

One group had directions on how to make one from a 4x4, but I think I'd rather have a metal one.

As mentioned above, don't try to back down the ramp very far with this rig -- get the trailer partially in the water, then hook up the extension.

The one my friends have is like the one below, but has a swivel with two heavy rubber dolly wheels just below the ball mount. It also doesn't extend under the trailer frame, so it ends at the ball and wheels, no "rabbit ears" on the trailer end.

[Canoeyawl]

The extendable hitches work great. You can extend the rig up on the level and then back down the ramp…the longer the tongue the easier it is to back. Get the longest one you can use.

[Ron Williamson]

As above, those hitch extensions are great.
We've launched 4' draft sailboats with one.
R

[ 12-13-2005, 06:43 AM: Message edited by: Ron Williamson ]