What is the longest distance you towed your boat...

[skyski_tige]

600 miles round trip for me on longest tow.

Don't forget to cover your boat! I did not last trip and my center windshield was broken.

[Shamus]

We go about 650 miles (one way) to Shuswap/Okanagan Country at lease twice a year...sometimes 3. Rock tamers are a must!

[Ewok]

600 miles round trip for me on longest tow.

Don't forget to cover your boat! I did not last trip and my center windshield was broken.

How did that happen? Rock hit it? Vibrations? Not locked down? Could just the cover have prevented it?

[chadster2]

450 miles Orlando... ST Johns river. (I'll do it again in a few years)

[Nobody]

Heading to Douglas Lake for 2011 July 4th week. That would be my longest ever, which is bout ???? 700???? from Tampa I guess.

Anybody from Douglas Lake BTW?

[whitlock87]

When we go on our trips, we use the boat for storage. (Not much extra room in the expedition)
I make sure to balance out the weight as I load it into the boat. After we add all the ez-ups, suitcases, firewood, and other junk, we have the floor of the boat filled with stuff.

[Bakes5]

14 hrs to bear lake. NEVER again. The jackass who I took my trailer to before I left to make sure everything was in working order left the retaining pins out of the spindles and did not lock-tight my disk brake caliper bolts. I when I put the boat in, I noticed that it made a funny noise in reverse. Quick look and I saw that 3 out of 4 of my brake calipers were sitting free in the rims. The rims had nice grooves in them. While taking the wheels off to get the calipers free, I noticed that 2 of them were very loose/wobbly. I had to go find some cotter pins and then retension pins pin the bearings on myself in the sticker infested dirt at bear lake Drove all the way back without brakes trailer brakes. Fortunately, the shop made it right with new rims, calipers and disks. Still......the one thing I have learned this summer is if I want to go boating I do it on my home lake.

[Dave S]

WOW, I did not expect so many posts in less then day, thanks for all the input and keep it coming. I just want to be sure I can be as prepared as possible for the trip.

To answer a few questions - New boat and trailer October 2009. This past year I purchased a spare tire, tie down straps, home made version of rock tamers and boat came with road a cover. I bought a 4-way lug wrench also to make sure I have a lug wrench that fits the trailer since my truck lug-wrench did not fit. The trailer hubs are sealed and has no grease fittings. Anyone know how reliable these hubs are. I have spent many years greasing and repacking wheel bearings but I am unfamiliar with these new style hubs.

DUMB question-can I syphon most of the gas out of the gas tank to have less weight? Or maybe just run it almost dry before my trip.

Location=Pennsylvania from Texas. We are originally from PA, relocated to Houston about 6 years ago, and are thinking of going to PA with the boat to vacation with friends and family up there or maybe meet half way at some lake, but I was looking at longest distance scenario. I am familir with the waterway we would be going to in PA as I grew up on those waters.

[whitlock87]

Bring a floor jack if you can.
also there should be cap that you can pull off to grease the bearings on the trailer (center of the hub)

[whitlock87]

DO NOT OVER GREASE. it will blow out the seals

[dingleberry]

What are your hubs? My Extreme trailer has "The Vault" sealed hybrid oil system. The only recommended actions for the first five years are to jack up the trailer and check if they rock side-to-side. I don't really know what their track record is like.

[whitlock87]

The hub is the center of the wheel.
I have an extreme trailer with bearing buddies. There is a cap that you remove and add a few squirts of grease ever year
I my opinion, Extreme makes the best trailers

[dingleberry]

Sorry for my poor terminology use. All I know is that mine are not grease bearings and the manual for them says no maintenance for 5 years other than the rocking test.

[whitlock87]

To be honest, I am not sure what the technical term really is. I have always called it a hub. I also know it as an axel, but not sure if that one part has a true name. I am sure we will find out soon though.

My trailer is a 2004.
I know the guys at extreme do a lot of testing before they use anything. (They are about 30 min from where I live)

[Dave S]

As far as the trailer, the best I can tell you is that it is a boatmate traielr and the hubs are non-serviceable. I will have to get more info on the hubs.