trailer on axle stands ?

[fletcher]

hi,my boat is a 14 foot fletcher arrowflyte.when it's not in the water it's on it's trailer on my drive.now the winter is here i will be hardly using it.to avoid 'flat spots' on the tyres i was thinking of leaveing the trailer on axles stands.do you think this is worth doing or not ? how do you look after your boat and trailer during winter ? thanks for any replies.

 

[joed]

Re: trailer on axle stands ?

Mine goes up on blocks for the winter. If nothing else it makes it harder for someone to tow away.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: trailer on axle stands ?

Blocking the axle does prevent flat spotting the tires but why not go one step farther and block up the frame. This takes the load off the springs and prevents them from sagging. Use the same jack stands but place them just behind the rear spring perches on the frame. The springs and tires will now be hanging from the frame instead of the entire load sitting on the tires and springs.

 

[mthieme]

Re: trailer on axle stands ?

Hmmm, this sounds familiar.
I haven't seen flat spots on tires since glass-plys disappeared a few decades ago. Got five trailers, never had that problem with steel belted radials.
As you might guess I don't bother.

 

[hankll]

Re: trailer on axle stands ?

The Carlyle radial tires on my trailer flat spot for about a mile in warm weather, so its still a problem with tires today. Not just a Nylon tire problem like I had when I was a young man.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: trailer on axle stands ?

There are still many bias ply tires around, especially in the higher load ranges. I have load range "E" on my pontoon trailer and for the first block or two you would think the tires are square. They carry 90 PSI by the way. My walleye boat trailer has 13 inch radials and although not as bad as the bias ply tires, would shake a bit after sitting for a week or so.

 

[109jb]

Re: trailer on axle stands ?

I don't bother on any of my trailers (I have 7 in the yard right now, 4 single axle and 3 tandems). I don't have the time or the interest in jacking all these up. Yeah so sometimes they thump a bit starting out but so what. It isn't bad and goes away very shortly once moving down the road.

 

[steelespike]

Re: trailer on axle stands ?

In 40 Years of trailering I've never blocked a trailer. I'm sure I probably had some tire thump for a few miles. Tires appear to hold up well.Bearing maintenance and tire pressure is much more important in my opinion.

 

[bowman316]

Re: trailer on axle stands ?

you may get dry rot after a while, if the tires are on grass or dirt, but if the tires are on pavement, there will be no problem.
My grandfather poured a cement patch to park his riding mower on to prevent this.

 

[mthieme]

Re: trailer on axle stands ?

That's more of an issue I would worry about.
I put 2x10's under the tandem trailer...mainly so it doesn't sink into the pea gravel though.

 

[LongLine]

Re: trailer on axle stands ?

I put mine up on cinder blocks & bricks. I also chain my wheels to the frame. Tires are expensive enough. Rims are ridiculous. Make it hard/noisy for any anyone looking for a midnight free-bies.

Tom B.
(LongLine)