Back in 1993, Skipper (Audrey) had a boat and was in search of a first mate with a towing vehicle. I stopped by with my Ford Explorer and, after passing a few tests to see if I could grease trailer bearings and swap out rusty fenders, she let me tow her boat, and then took me sailing. A trailer mechanic and a small-boat skipper—two people meant for one another. We were married six months later.
Over the years, our fleet of small boats and trailers has grown. We currently have seven trailers, and…well…a good number of boats.
To keep track and ensure that we are taking the best possible care of everything, we have checklists. There are lists for when we put boats away; lists for when we get boats out; lists for refitting; lists for gearing up to go afloat.
We have a list that we use any time we are hitching up a trailer to take a boat on the road. This “PreTow Checklist” has saved us from several embarrassments and even some catastrophes.
Photographs by the authorsSmaller, lighter boats can be stacked if the trailer and hitch are strong enough to support the load. Tie-downs are essential, keeping the boats well located on the trailer, both side to side and fore-and-aft. The tail of the overlong lower aft strap will highlight the end of the load for vehicles approaching from behind. If a spar is substantially overhanging the end of a trailer, tie a bright-colored rag to its end to increase its visibility.
The PreTow Trailer Checklist
The items with asterisks (*) can cause serious injury or loss of boat and/or trailer if not properly attended to.
Receiver/draw bar/pin/ball
Check that all of the hitch and coupler components are in good condition and rated for at least the weight of the trailer and boat plus any gear. All weight ratings should be given in the tow vehicle’s manual, on the hitch components, or on the hitch’s packaging.
*Coupler latched
Either do a physical touch to check that the under jaw is engaged beneath the ball, or take out your phone camera and get a visual—the camera saves having to lie down on the ground to look back up. The lever on the top of the coupler should be down, latched, and secured with a hitch pin or padlock.
Chains
After checking the coupler connection, hook up the chains—if something goes awry and the trailer becomes unhitched from the vehicles those chains will, at least, prevent the trailer from running away. They should be crossed under the tongue to catch it if it disengages and falls.
Jack stowed
Make sure the trailer jack is raised, swung back, and stowed securely—if you don’t, your drive will be loud and bumpy. We left the jack down once; luckily, we had a light trailer, but we had to replace the jack’s nylon wheel.
The jack is a useful addition to any trailer, taking the forward weight and greatly enhancing the trailer’s maneuverability when not hitched to a towing vehicle. But it’s important to raise and stow it securely before going on the road.
*Boat straps and winch hook
A winch hook and/or bow strap, plus two or three other tie-downs are essential for keeping the boat on the trailer and preventing the boat and trailer from beating each other to death. Get a good marine-grade strap, like those from CustomTieDowns. You can also use Dyneema for a winchline—it doesn’t rot if left damp, isn’t affected by sunlight, doesn’t rust, and is much kinder to your hands than wire. Inspect the straps and winch for wear and tear, and check that everything is snugged down correctly. Remember to engage the locking mechanism on the winch.
*Tire condition, pressure, date
Check the tires for uneven wear, tread depth, cracks, or bulges. Regardless of their visible condition, it’s sensible to replace tires at least every six years (see “Trailer tires: Age before wear”).You can check the date on the sidewall of the tire: the last four digits of the DOT code represent the week and the year of manufacture. For example, 2921 means the tire was manufactured in the 29th week of 2021. With a gauge, check the tire pressure; use maximum recommended pressure for paved roads, but reduce it slightly for unpaved roads. The recommended pressures are marked on the tire sidewall.
*Lug nuts
While you’re checking the tires, take a look at the lug nuts: make sure they’re all there and that they’re all tight. I didn’t tighten a set once and almost lost the wheel—we were down to two severely worn studs when we pulled over to check the bad vibration.
*Bearings greased
Give the top of each wheel a tug. There should be some play, but no more than about 1⁄8″. If the play is as it should be, but you hear squeaking or grinding when you head off, pull over and add some grease. If the noise persists, you should turn around and go home, prepared to overhaul the bearings and their seals.
Trailer lights
Check that all the lights—taillights, brake lights, turn signals, side marker lights, and license-plate light—are working. If you’re alone, and getting in and out of the car is annoying, set up your phone camera behind the trailer to record the lights. Once you’ve run through the sequence, watch the video.
The transom saver keeps the lower unit of the outboard away from the boat, not only protecting the transom but also reducing the strain and load on the outboard’s bracket.
Transom saver and bunks
If you haul your boat with its outboard motor in place on the transom, you should invest in a transom saver—a bar that connects to the trailer frame and supports the lower unit of the outboard in a V brace. Bunks, too, will keep strain off the hull as you drive over every pothole and poorly maintained railroad crossing on your route. Make sure your bunks are in good condition and correctly placed—a bunk in the wrong spot can cause more damage than no bunk at all.
When you think you’re done, do one more walk around to confirm that all is as it should be, or better yet, have your boating companion check everything. Then, hit the road, confident that you’re leaving with boat and trailer in the best possible condition for the journey ahead.
Audrey and Kent Lewis have trailered boats from the Gulf to the Pacific to the Gulf and now to Tidewater Virginia. Their land and sea travels are logged at smallboatrestoration.blogspot.com.
You can share your tips and tricks of the trade with other Small Boats readers by sending us an email.
Great check list, especially “check to be sure the under jaw is engaged beneath the ball.” I experienced the lack of engagement one time but at slow speed and no traffic. The safety cables worked as advertised.
I towed a UHaul car trailer home behind a 26 foot Uhaul once, and when I went to load the car, the trailer lifted off of the ball! The UHaul folks had hooked it up wrong, and I did not crosscheck.
Now I check every time, regardless of who hooked up the trailer, with one exception, Eddie English, who makes fantastic boat trailers in Milton Florida.
Skipper crosschecks me.
Memory aids are excellent. This is a great write up. I would love to see the rest of your checklists!
We’ll get a few more published.
Some key items to remember
-Drain plugs
-Bumpkin
-PFDs
-Sails
-Motor safety key
Each has a story, some stories are ours, the names redacted to protect the Masters and Commanders.
We read a story once where a Capn towed his Lugger hundreds of miles to the Gulf of Mexico, only to find he did not have the rudder. He was confused for a bit, then reset and went into a nearby shed to see if there was something he could use for a temporary rudder and lo and behold, there was his rudder! He had inadvertently left the rudder during pack up the previous year and a kind soul had moved the rudder to the shed until the owner returned.
Boat trailers around here are double decked. I didn’t have the benefit of the metal guide on struts for the start of my uprights. Instead a couple of 4×4’s out to the full trailer width with deck hard ware for 4×4 up rights. X bracing between them and some diagonals. Cross beams of 2×4 go on when the double deck is needed. Lights go up on the posts. Additional benefit of the wooden 4×4 cross pieces is that I’ve set a trailer up to do double duty as a flatbed.
I love the utility of small boat trailers. We can slide a boat off and go get 16 foot bits of lumber for deck projects, and have tied on decommissioned floorboards to make a flatbed to haul bags of rocks.
Semper Gumby!
Nice article and great advice. I’ve had an under inflated tire shred at 60 mph and an axle rust out completely. Fortunately, the axle failure occurred while the trailer was parked.
Underinflation – sidewall flex = heat = tire failure.
Square tube frames and axles need to be rinsed out with fresh water and the trailer angled so that water can drain, and drain holes on axles are a good idea. When rust appears, more times than not it has started from the inside and the outer patch of rust is only the tip of the rustberg. Time for a new axle.
Fast way to check trailer lights when alone is to use the 4 way flashers.
Very true. Turn on the headlights, which activates the tail lights and marker lights on the trailer. Then as you mentioned the flashers will show that the brake/turn light portion of each light is working.