The reason for that is that as I was cruising down the interstate at 75 mph Friday morning my hub and bearings got the bright idea to go ahead and blow out. So instead of fishing on Friday and Saturday I got the pleasure of having my boat and trailer towed to the shop which was not cheap as well as it won’t be cheap to fix. The two good points out of this was there was no damage to my truck or boat and the guy that will be fixing it said that there was nothing I could have done to prevent it since there was plenty of grease everywhere and i do mean EVERYWHERE. Oh well I am leaving for Belize on Saturday to fish for bonefish for a week so that should be better.
That definitely will ruin your day. I am pulling my boat down to the Keys in a few weeks and am trying to prepare for everything just in case. I already put new tires on the trailer, taking two spares with me and also a complete spare hub assembly. Pulled the hubs off the other day and inspected the bearings, regreased them so hopefully I will be ok. We are stopping in Melbourne to spend a day with the in-laws on the way down so we are looking at 6.5 hrs there and then another 4 hours the following day. I feel like the new tires and the hub assembly are a good investment to minimize any issues.The hub assy is only $40 and takes 20 minutes to take off the tire and swap the hub out and get back on the road.
They are definitely a good investment. I found out afterwards how much cheaper they are than getting towed 30 miles to the shop that works on the trailer. My only thing was I had no warning of what was about to happen so I didn’t really think about it and have made the trip many times this year already with no problems.
Towed boats to the keys several times. Last trip blew three tires and two hubs. Last hub went out 8 miles from our house on Marathon Key and right in front of a trailer repair shop 10 min before they opened. The store owner showed up drunk and didn’t want to sell us anything so we had to disconnect and backtrack 20 min to the next store. Awesome day.
My boat now is stacked but that is expensive so there really is no way around it. Boats are money pits. Awesome, fun, money pits.
26 Seahunt
Angler’s Dream
I have been towing to the Keys every year for the last 4 - 5 years. I have always tended to my hubs/bearings before going but, even then, there is no guarantee you won’t have problems. Two years ago I felt a shimmy, stopped and checked and found grease all over the inside of the trailer rim. I had a spare hub/bearings so I switched them out and was on my way in less than 30 minutes. We went down in April and did all our maintenance and are heading down again and will do it all over again. It is probably a bit obsessive on my part but I don’t want to be standing on the side of the road wishing I had…
You may want to consider trailering insurance either through Towboat U.S. or you insurance company. My boat insurance covers towing issues.
“Apathy is the Glove in Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”.
yessir I have lerned to keep a spare hub assembly in my toolbox at all times… good investment for sure…
It sounds like I was with you. That’s how all of my posts start.
BG
That does stink, I just changed out my hubs and springs. luckily we were a quarter mile from the house when the bearings went.
Good luck with the bonefish
I cancelled my vacation day to go fish in Beaufort, and ended up sitting at work for 9 hours because someone’s hub blew out…2 weeks vacation is definitelu un-"Merica"n
14’ Tin Can
18hp welfare motor / black anchor
There’s a fine line between fishing and sitting in the boat like an idiot
You were probably more productive sitting at work than fishing, however, since it wasn’t a tournament we probably woulda torn them up
I have never had a problem with my trailer but I don’t want to be on the side of the road trying to figure out where the closest trailer parts store is or do I want to leave the boat on the side of the road while I go find parts. I typically leave real early in the morning so then I will have to wait for a store to open once I find one. There is nothing wrong with a little preventative maintenance and being prepared to the best of your ability for a situation. I know on these trips anything can happen but I try to do my best to minimize the risks and be able to be self-supportive if something does occur.