Trailer Servicing - My Top Tip

[Neil R]

If you are, for example, taking the trailer wheels off for e.g. brakes / bearing servicing, then I'd suggest:

1. making sure you've got plenty of 'footplate' area under your axle stands

2. you don't use the stands when your tarmac driveway is heavily softened by the hot weather

3. your outboard is tilted up slightly, so that when your boat and trailer fall off the aforementioned stands, it doesn't all land on, and so mangle, the skeg and prop. (Hubs etc can apparently survive such an ordeal).

4. Castle Marine in N Wales seem to be decent people to deal with for skeg and prop repairs.

All hypothetical of course. You wouldn't find me doing something so stupid , oh no ....

Oh go on then - it was me - the bleedin thing had been sat on the said stands pretty much all winter - nothing had been touched for days when this all happened.

[Louise]

Sorry to hear about your mishap. Hope you get it sorted really quickly and reasonably cheaply.

[Bilge Rat]

I was taught that when you jack the trailer up stick the wheel under so if it falls off the jack while your underneath you wont get crushed by the axle or anything else under there (like the boat) you may however damage the wheel rim or tyre but i suppose its easier and cheaper to replace a wheel than your head or brain....... !

One other alternative would be a few bricks pilled up to take the weight should it fall....come on guys this ain't rocket science

[Biggles]

One other alternative would be a few bricks pilled up to take the weight should it fall....come on guys this ain't rocket science

Actually the term is "Rocket Engineering" !!

[Bilge Rat]

Biggles.....you work for the MOD....so what the hell would you know about Engineering !!

[Scary Des]

Don't use bricks, they break if you drop big things on them Use a log, lump of wood, boy scout etc Des

[Jeff]

I have every sympathy with Neil - wait until you try to change a wheel on the side of a motorway and find the "heavy duty" scissor jack is as stable as a blade of grass in the wind !

I did try to use the "helpful" boy in blue as a wedge but he wasn't having any of it - must carry a spare boy scout in future !