Tips from a Recent North Carolina Coastal & Piedmont Chapter Workshop
By Judy Hills, North Carolina & Coastal Piedmont Chapter
When the North Carolina & Coastal Piedmont Chapter gathers in John Justice’s workshop, AKA The Piglet, you know it will be a good time. It was a rainy day when the Chapter recently got together for a trailer maintenance workshop, so there wasn’t much to do outdoors anyway. Of course, some may have also been enticed by the low country boil our hosts prepared for lunch—something a little different from what is normally served at these workshops.
Alan Hills, Chapter President, instructed the group on trailer maintenance using resources available on the Chapter’s website as informative guides. He went over the “how tos” of each “what to” item, like how to apply dielectric grease to bulbs and connectors and how to use a grease wheel bearing packer.
Here are some important points to remember as our boating season approaches:
- Always take the time to go over your trailering checklist. The old saying about an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure is especially true when trailering. You don’t want to be that guy on the side of the road who lost a wheel, or worse yet, his boat.
- Be sure your tongue weight is sufficient to prevent your trailer from yawing from side to side at high speeds.
- Tires have date codes embedded in the sidewall. Average tire life is 5 years, shorter if the trailer is stored on grass or soft ground.
- If your trailer has hydraulic surge brakes, be sure your tow vehicle is equipped with a 5 pin plug that is wired to block the brakes when you are backing up.
- Check your mirrors frequently when towing; you can usually see something is amiss before it becomes a major problem.
- Every time you make a pitstop, take a minute to check on the boat and trailer and make adjustments as needed.
Of course, most of the guys had one or more trailer stories to relate. Some funny and some serious, but all informative—things we need to be aware of. Stuff happens!
Our thanks again to John for hosting, to Jeff for cooking, to Alan for teaching and to all who attended and made this another great chapter workshop! And the bonus was getting to see all the boat projects underway at the Piglet.