Off the Trailer

Boat talk and general conversation.

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Art Haberland
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Re: Off the Trailer

Post by Art Haberland »

Things are progressing! My new rims and tyres came in yesterday. Now I need to get the trailer ready to accept them. In keeping with the "whole British" theme I have going on, I went with rims and tyres more in keeping with an MG Midget.

The Midget uses a 4 on 4 bolt pattern like my new suspension. This did lead to some very tasty aluminum rims and tyres, but it did mean a change in rolling diameter, which is a good thing in my opinion. Larger tyres spin slower, thus create less bearing wear and less heat. I do intend on taking this boat down to MD a few times for sailing on the bay, so all good things.

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Now to get the welding done! I have the specs drawn up, it's time to get my buddy to do the dirty work!
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wdscobie
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Re: Off the Trailer

Post by wdscobie »

Art Haberland wrote:The Midget uses a 4 on 4 bolt pattern like my new suspension. This did lead to some very tasty aluminum rims and tyres
are your new tires trailer tires or automotive/car tires?
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:: Dave Scobie
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Art Haberland
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Re: Off the Trailer

Post by Art Haberland »

They actually are car tyres. The boat weighs 300 pounds and the trailer is all of 125ish. I know illegal not to use trailer tyres, but I wanted a smoother ride and balanced tyres so I do not rattle my 54 year old boat to pieces
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wdscobie
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Re: Off the Trailer

Post by wdscobie »

Art Haberland wrote:They actually are car tyres.
be careful!!!

trailer tires and car tires are VERY different. trailer tires have different sidewalls. this difference is even more noticeable on double axle trailers where the tires get twisted more when turning. there are also the issue, single or double+ axle, that you will experience more trailer sway because of the weaker 'car tire' build. there are even warning that a car tire on a trailer are more prone to blowouts, especially at highway speed, because of the different strengths.


https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech ... techid=219

https://www.etrailer.com/question-170625.html
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:: Dave Scobie
:: Liveaboard: Baba 30 DEJA VU
:: Owner M6'8" dingy
:: Former SWALLOW - https://saulboatswallow.wordpress.com
:: Former M17 SWEET PEA - https://m17-375.com
:: Former M15 SCRED - https://m15namedscred.wordpress.com/
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wdscobie
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Re: Off the Trailer

Post by wdscobie »

Art Haberland wrote: I wanted a smoother ride and balanced tyres so I do not rattle my 54 year old boat to pieces
the tires for my boats are all balanced ... i've found, usually, you do need to ask the tire shop to balance them but they do it with no questions.
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:: Dave Scobie
:: Liveaboard: Baba 30 DEJA VU
:: Owner M6'8" dingy
:: Former SWALLOW - https://saulboatswallow.wordpress.com
:: Former M17 SWEET PEA - https://m17-375.com
:: Former M15 SCRED - https://m15namedscred.wordpress.com/
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Art Haberland
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Re: Off the Trailer

Post by Art Haberland »

with the light weight of the boat and trailer combined, I am none too worried about it. I can literally pick the trailer wheels up off of the ground with the boat on it, when it is still attached to my truck.
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PAR
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Re: Off the Trailer

Post by PAR »

For a boat that light, you'll have few worries with the choices you've made. In fact, I'll bet unless you've gone off road at high speed, you'll never test the sidewall flexibility on those tires.
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Re: Off the Trailer

Post by Art Haberland »

tyres and rims or not. I may still be waiting on the welder, but I got some solid progress in on the trailer. As I am trying to make it look as old as it is (even if most of it will be new) I have been working on the taillights. I almost have one of the plinths done to hold the MGA taillights and bee hive turn signal.

This is what I started out with. A cardboard shipping tube and some balsa, roughly cut to fit the curvature of the fender.

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Nothing special, the balsa was trimmed to be slightly larger than the outline of the MGA taillight and then another piece was hot glued into place at a slight angle to better match the fender's curvature.

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And I not only cut the tube, but trimmed it to (mostly) fit

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I honestly surprised myself on this: A few days ago it was roughly cut balsa and a cardboard tube: now it looks sort of like a trimmed down MGA 1600 taillight Plinth.

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I am done with the Bondo for now. I still need to do some very minor filling and sanding, but that is what they make glazing putty for. At the moment I am putting a couple coats of straight epoxy over it for strength. Once all that is done, I can primer, paint, and start on the other side

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Cr4fterz
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Re: Off the Trailer

Post by Cr4fterz »

Would like to take note of what truck parts you have to help transport the boat. I wonder what towing hitch are you using for your trailer.
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Art Haberland
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Re: Off the Trailer

Post by Art Haberland »

Because I hate Rattling trailers, I went a little overboard on the hitch. When I finally get the central spine back from the welders, this will be on it.

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The truck itself is a Land Rover, it's receptacle is stock land rover and if it can handle my 5000 pound boat and trailer combo that is my big boat, it can handle a little 400lb GP14 and trailer combination
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