If you’re like most people who have a boat trailer, you just can’t wait to get your boat out on the water. That might mean that you’re waiting for the lake to thaw so that you can get it out there in spring, or maybe you’re getting antsy for Saturday morning because it’s been five whole days since you’ve pulled your boat trailer to the water!
There’s a certain amount of prep that goes into getting ready to fish. You’ve got to get the right gear together, think about where you’re heading, and make sure that you have the right bait with you. But one type of preparation that you should take seriously is your boat trailer. After all, you don’t want to get out there on a Saturday morning to find out that your trailer isn’t road-worthy.
Now it’s not very likely that you’re going to go out one morning and find that that boat trailer has completely collapsed. If that’s the case, you should have noticed the problems long before now! But there are some problems that can keep you from getting out on the water, or even to it. Be sure to check all of these so that you aren’t kept at home when you’d rather be fishing.
Bad Lights
One of the most common repairs that both small and large boat trailers need is in the lights. Lights can go out for many reasons, including pinched or cut wiring and water getting where it shouldn’t be. Hot bulbs can go out because they come in contact with cold water, or they can simply fail with age.
The fact is, it’s illegal to drive your trailer if your lights aren’t working, so you’ll want to check the lights the night before so that it doesn’t come as a surprise on the morning you want to drive off.
Flat Tire
Checking your tires is one of the smartest things you can do the night before your trip. First of all, you want to make sure that they’re not underinflated, especially if you haven’t used your boat trailer for a while. Underinflated tires on a car is bad enough, but underinflated tires on a boat trailer are especially bad because of all that weight on fewer tires. Properly-inflated tires can prevent wrecks due to jackknifing, so make sure that the tires are at the right pressure before the morning of the fishing trip.
See That Rust
It’s always a sad day when you realize that you should have bought a galvanized boat trailer instead of one that was more susceptible to rust. (Should have gone with LoadRite!) And while a little bit of rust isn’t going to make your trailer disintegrate on the highway, finding it might just preoccupy you while you’re fishing and ruin a perfectly good day.
Bad Brakes
Check your brake lines thoroughly before you head out on the road. Give them a visual inspection first, because you don’t want there to be any pinching that could cause them to fail. As you get on the road, give them a good testing again and again. As long as you’re not going too quickly, your truck will have the stopping power for itself and the trailer. But if you get going too fast, you’ll never be able to stop fast enough if they fail. Sure, finding out your brakes don’t work might mean you can’t go fishing, but it’s better to get things fixed up for next weekend.
Take care of your boat trailer and it will take care of you for years. Click here to find the perfect one that won’t rust and has the latest in brakes and brake lights!