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Boat trailer over winter: avoiding damage to tyres, brakes and wheel bearings
Short answer
A boat trailer left standing over winter suffers in the tyres, the brakes and the wheel bearings.
Raising it onto stands, releasing the handbrake and servicing the bearings first avoids most of
it; damage from standing is wear and tear and normally not insured.
A boat trailer often stands in one spot for five or six months over winter, usually with the boat still on it. That is exactly what hurts it. The tyres carry the whole load on one patch and develop flat spots, and the rubber ages and cracks. A handbrake left on can let the brake shoes rust onto the drums, and wheel bearings that took in water at the slipway corrode quietly. Laying up a boat trailer over winter properly avoids damage to tyres, brakes and wheel bearings, and costs far less than new tyres, freed brakes or new bearings in spring.
Take the weight off the tyres and axle by putting the frame on solid stands, or move the trailer a little now and then. Release the handbrake and chock the wheels. After salt water, rinse brakes and bearings with fresh water and have the bearings checked and greased before winter. Check the age of the tyres from the date code on the sidewall; tyres age even when the tread still looks fine, so replace old ones before the season. Damage from standing, rust and ageing counts as wear and tear and is normally not insured.
What insurance is there for is damage from outside. Many policies only cover theft of a trailer when a hitch lock or wheel clamp is fitted, in winter as at any other time, so read the security condition in your schedule. Storm and fire damage to the trailer are covered only if the trailer is named on the policy. In spring, check tyre pressures, brakes, lights and the coupling before the first trip, and look again at the bearings after the first long run.
Worth remembering
Standing damage
wear and tear, prevent it
Theft, storm
insurable, with a lock
Care prevents standing damage; a lock and the right cover deal with the rest.
Questions
What owners ask us about this
Should I leave the handbrake on over winter?
Better not, as the brake shoes can rust onto the drums. Release it and chock the wheels instead.
How do I stop the tyres getting flat spots?
Put the frame on solid stands so the tyres carry no load, or move the trailer a little now and then.
Does insurance pay for damage from standing?
Normally not, because standing, rust and ageing count as wear and tear. Insurance is for damage from outside, such as theft with the required lock, storm or fire.
Related
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