Trailers and Salt

[j3r3m7]

This year I'm planning on using the trailer a bit to take Bob on a roadtrip or two... having only dropped boats into lakes do I need to wash my trailer after every dip in the sea? Is it worth pushing some grease into the bearing after a dip too?

[marcuskg]

My parents tell me to try and clean out every bit of salt that has touched the boat, and I always give the trailer a quick spray with the hose.
Not sure about the bearings but it sounds like a good idea, worth doing it just in case.

[lord.jim]

I wash my trailer after every use in sea well worth it as we all know the damage salt water does. But if its fresh water lake i dont bother.
I check the grease most trips but normally only top it up mid season.

[jayjames]

yes, defo wash thoroughly everytime , we always do and even then you can see that some of the brackets for the rollers are rusty already after 1 year of salt water

[Tower_boy]

Yup, the trailer will always need a good rinse.

Rule of thumb is that you need ot get the salt off within 15 mins.... now some say you should wash your trailer after launching, and then recovery.. but I can really not be arsed with that so it just gets the 1 really good scrub down.

I wouldn't worry about bearing grease too much... top up all the grease nipples once in a while and repack the bearings once a year... biggest annoyance on a trailer actually is the brake cables - these need particular attention and as much WD40 as poss... when replacing them always look for ones with grease nipples on them - these outlast the normal kind 5 times over i reckon.

[saltwater_cowboy]

You can pretty much give up on your brakes working if you regually dip in salt water.

Also keep an eye on your jockey wheel, they seize up real quick without plenty of lube.