Thursday, August 20, 2015

The Trailer for Natalie B

So I needed a highway legal trailer to accommodate a 30'3" long, 8'-9" wide sailboat weighing 9000 lbs. with a 4'3" cutaway full keel. I wanted to be able to pull it with a Chevy Suburban so it also needed to be a bumper tow trailer rather than a goose-neck for a 5th wheel. I also was hoping for the option of ramp launching, but that was low on the priority list. There aren't too many trailers that meet all of my criteria, but I was able to find one that came close enough.



 It is a homemade trailer I found online. It is 27' overall, with a sailboat cradle welded to the top. The cradle supports include telescoping inserts and screw jacks (not pictured above). This was perfect since I would have no time to modify the trailer when I picked up the boat. I was told by the seller that he was told it was built for a capacity of 14,000 lbs. I figured I would need to rebuild the brake system, replace the tires,  and add a bow support. So I made the trip to southern California for the purchase. In my haste, I forgot to confirm the details the seller had told me. When I returned to Utah I started working on the brakes and I learned I had been duped, perhaps unintentionally, but caveat emptor. The seller implied that the two axles were 7000 lb axles, thus the 14,000 lb "rating". Since the trailer is homemade, the only official rating stamped anywhere on it is on the receiver, 12,000 lbs. Since that  met my needs, I figured I was good. Unfortunately the axles were only 3500 lb axles.

  









So I had the axles replaced, I added fenders and I reinforced an area between the axles and the receiver where there was a butt joint weld in the 5" C channel frame.



I replaced the tires, added two spares, replaced the 2x12 that the keel rests on and gave it a paint job. I was happy with the results.

 
 
Knowing that the A30 is bow heavy I also had a bow support added. There were screw jacks with pads for each of the four main supports (removed for travel in the picture above), but I needed to create one for the bow support. I figured a scaffold screw jack leg with swivel foot would work. So I bought one and built a pad for it.






                          








The final addition was a weight distribution system with dual cam sway bar control.


I initially didn't use the weight distribution system and sway bars as they needed to be properly adjusted once the boat was loaded onto the trailer. Since I had never used this kind of system I wasn't comfortable making the adjustments myself. We found a trailer service center that wasn't far away and was along our route. I was pleasantly surprised with how well the trailer towed without the weight distribution and sway bars, even at 55 mph.  Once the service center adjusted the system, I was comfortably able to keep up with traffic and I felt I had much better control. However, several hundred miles later, I discovered the trailer frame wasn't up to the added stress caused by the weight distribution system. I didn't think to take pictures at the time, but the original 5" C channel was buckling at the point where the reinforcement ended.


In the picture above, the blue indicates the original frame, the red shows the added reinforcement. Notice the added reinforcement ends at the point where the original frame curves/narrows towards the receiver. I didn't get any pictures, but the frame was bending at that curve and the deflection was approximately 6" over the 6 to 7 feet to the receiver. The trailer at that curve was noticeably closer to the ground. Scary.

At this point in our journey, on a gloomy Saturday morning, we found ourselves at a gas station in Charleston, West Virginia. There was a local biker at the pump next to us who offered to make a few calls to help us find a local welder that might be open on a Saturday morning. Fortunately, with biker Randell's help, we found Joe, a truly master welder willing to make our repairs, even on the weekend. Unfortunately the materials needed would not be available until Monday morning.

What were we to do in Charleston, WV for three days while suffering from a severe head cold?



  


Apparently, the thing to do, is self medicate and go bowling. 


First thing Monday morning, Joe got the necessary materials and set out to straighten and reinforce our trailer, while the 9000 lb boat remained in place. He continued the previously added frame reinforcement all the way to the receiver, overlapping with the receiver mounting plate minimizing the redirected stress at that point (left & blue arrows), added stiffeners to the original frame under the cradle (center arrow), added plates at the curve of the original frame and the added reinforcement (right arrow).


 




As you can see, the final repairs worked great, with no further mishaps along the remaining 1900 miles home.

4 comments:

  1. Looks great, I'm glad everything worked out. Look forward to refit pictures

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  2. Looks great, I'm glad everything worked out. Look forward to refit pictures

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  3. Thanks. Unfortunately the refit is slow going, as I have been busy working extra jobs to cover the unexpected costs from that trip and some other recent unexpected expenses. Extra work, on top of a busy summer schedule for my regular job has left little time for boat work, blogging or even sailing our MacGregor Venture 25. But going forward you should start to see more refit progress. You are a few steps ahead of me, so I'll be watching your projects closely before starting them myself.

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  4. Glad the trailer made it safely! Sounds like quite the experience. Good luck with the refit. I'm looking forward to reading/seeing more about it.

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