1500 mile road trip with a trailer

[thompson1031]

I have a tandem trailer for my SAN 230. Has anyone trailered 1,500 miles recently? Will the tires and bearings hold out for such a long trip? I have to trailer it back another 1,500 miles 7 days later.....

Its our yearly family reunion and they want me to bring the boat! (no rentalal boats nearby or I would do it)

any suggestions?

[shag]

What year and model trailer? How old are the tires? All things that determine the trip outcome. If it is a rather new boat/trailer, then you should not have to do much. I would be sure to have at least one spare tire/wheel for that long a trip, with a jack and tools to change a tire/and hub if needed. (maybe even get an extra hub, complete and greased up with bearings) in case you need it. And, when ever you stop for gas, put your hand on the hubs - if they are way too hot to touch, could be sign of a bearing issue. Also check the lug nuts occasionally. If you don't have LED's, I would also carry and extra tail light/brake light bulb.

Just my .02

[ers906]

I just did a round trip with my single axle ramlin of about 1500 miles. I periodically stopped and greased the bearings, especially after heading down the grapevine (downgrade of about 5% for an extended period). Other than that, just made sure I bled the brakes, filled with fluid and checked tire pressure. Made it with no problems whatsoever.

[sstexan]

Well, the oldest that trailer could possibly be is a 2007, unless you put a different brand trailer on it.... I have 2007 236 and I tow it 3,000 miles every summer.(1,500 each way) Most trailers have the tie down turbo lube system which is money. All you have to do is keep adding new grease until you see new grease come out. Find out which bearing system you have and follow those instructions. I lube it before each trip and I was just fine. I also carry a spare tire. At every fill up I check the temp of the bearings with my hand. They should all be the same, warm, not hot.

Frankly, your biggest concern is your tow vehicle. Make sure your trans temp and coolant temps are good. That boat demands an external trans cooler on any truck/ suv. I dont know if you have the z5 cargo, but I have noticed that alone costs me 2-3 mpg. On my long trip I put it down under the cover wrapped in towels to help with the slip stream. I think it is better for it anyway, so it does not get pounded in the wind for 40+ hours.

Always worth towing my Nautique... It is such a cool feeling to have your own boat on a lake far away from home...priceless....