Lifted the trailer

[arrowheadsaver]

Well, I did it.  It gave me 4 inches. (wish I could say that from that pill I bought from the int... ) It was quite simple really. I just put the leafs on top of the axels.  The hardest part was getting off the u-bolt nuts due to the paint that is on them. Broke one and stripped another.  But it is done, and I don't scrape any more going in and out of the drive way.  Enjoy.

[cyclone]

COOL

[flyn2001]

How did you make sure that they were aligned straight?  Will you post a play-by-play of the mod?  I think I would like to do the same. Thanks.  Flyn.

[Johnny B]

how does it ride now? 

[arrowheadsaver]

Flyin, it was easy.  I just measured from the welded piece that is attatched to the axle to the center of the hole that is on the bottom of the axle and drilled a hole on top of the axle. You can weld on a cradle, but I called a trailer place and they said drilling will not hurt anything.  You just have to drill a drain hole in the bottom of the axle so it does not crack when it freezes. Once you get the leaf off, take out the pin that keeps the springs together, and put it in the oppisit direction.  Drill a hole big enough for the pin to sit back down on top of the axle.  Put it back together and ride.  I did both axles at the same time while I had all the equipment on that side.  I just left one of the tires attatched so if the boat decided to fall, (always use jack stands) it would only squish me and not cut me in half.   Let me know if you have any more questions.


Johnny B.  It rides just as good as it did before I did it.  The benifit is I DON'T SCRAPE ANYMORE, woo hoo.

[flyn2001]

Thx arrowhead,

That could quite possibly be the most neccessary mod I need to make and service my trailer at the same time!

[arrowheadsaver]

I like it, and it only took about 5 hours.  May take you less time, maybe a little more, just depends on the condition of the bolts and the tools you have.

[Johnny B]

i need to overhaul my whole trailer and when i do, I think I will try your trick. cheap and effective, I like it.  only problem is finding a place for my boat while i work on the trailer...

[arrowheadsaver]

I did it with the boat on the trailer.  A little scary, but just use your head for saftey reasons.  Always use jack stands and a good solid area to work on.

[masonlk]

If you want to be really safe...rent a 2 ton engine hoist, remove your swim platform, and pick the back end of the boat up off the trailer bunks. Support the boat with some large padded blocks to take the weight off the hoist but leave it hooked up as a safety precaution. Our boats weigh 3000 pounds so you'll have a 1000pound safety factor. I would line the blocks up with the stringers.

In the photos under boat pics, page one, there is a picture of a boat on jack stands...note the wood used to spread the weight so you don't damage the hull.

Sailtl, is that your boat? If so, how did you get it off the trailer?

[ScarabEpic22]

This is one of those mods that Ameritrail should have done for us, but I guess its up to us to fix their mistakes.

I dont know if Ill do this now though because I no longer have any ground clearance issues dragging my Epic from storage to my cabin (30mins) on all hwy and dumping it in the water for the summer.  Regardless, if I do this Ill wait until after Memorial Day when the E22s sitting pretty in the bay and I can easily work on the trailer.

[sailtl]

Yes that is my Epic 21 in the pictures sitting on jack stands. What we did is made up a spreader bar and hooked to the rear of the boat. We then had a farm tractor and pulled the boat about 3 feet off the trailer. Then we lifted the rear of the boat with the bucket of the farm tractor and got the rear jack stands in place. Then we moved the tractor to the front of the boat off to one side and hooked the chain to the front bow lifting ring and lifted the boat until we could pull the trailer out and then lowered the boat down. Just take it easy and slow and it worked fine. We also did the same for my buddy's Mastercraft. We had a polishing weekend. When we were done we just reversed the procedure. While I had the boat off the trailer I also redid the bunks with new pressure treated lumber and new Bunkaps http://www.bunkaps.com/ I tow about 2,000 miles per year so my trailer has to be in good operating condition at all times.

[Johnny B]

I lost faith in my lifting eye when it popped off last year trying to release a stuck anchor.. nearly took my hand off.   I have since replaced it and it is threaded on good but I'm not sure what happened that day.  I don't think I trust it now to be lifting the boat with it..   
I'm sure I can use a friends boat dock or something to tie too for a day of trailer maintenance.

[ATXChris]

I did this mod to my trailer over the winter and have been happy so far, no more ramps to get the trailer in/out of the driveway.  I do have to back the trailer a few more inches to get the boat off the trailer at the ramp but no big deal.  I also chose to have extra pads welded on the other side of the axle at the local magnum trailer shop instead of drilling.  Here's some pics...