Don’t Let Snowmobile Tilt Trailer Maintenance Slide

It’s exciting to go through your snowmobile with a fine tooth comb in preparation for the upcoming season, but have you given any thought to your snowmobile tilt trailer? Commonly used, abused, and ignored, your hauler needs a little TLC too.

No Trailer – No Ride
As essential to the sport as the sled, overlooking snowmobile trailer maintenance is unwise. Luckily, the fall is a great time to tackle any pre-season maintenance issues that could leave your slick snowmobile high and dry. 

Get Ready to Hit the Trails with Essential Snowmobile Trailer Maintenance
Truck dirty with road salt and grime? Your snowmobile trailer is likely worse, covered in chemicals that can corrode hubs, wheel studs, wiring, and more. Now is the time to maintain essential components to ensure snowmobile fun:

●        Trailer Hubs
Check hubs for leaks, ensuring they are properly sealed and have adequate grease. Replace worn bearings and repack hubs now to avoid becoming stranded roadside in the snow.

●        Jack
Also look to auxiliary jack gears and bearings, which also need lubrication.

●        Lighting & Wiring
Ensure the main wiring connection is in good shape, checking for worn/rusted connectors. Also check turn signals, stoplights, and emergency flashers. Bulb changes are much easier in warmer weather.

●        Tires
Check tires for wear, pressure, and damage. Ensure any replacement tires ordered match necessary specifications, adding air pressure as required for heavy loads to ensure hauling ease and safety.

●        Coupler
Verify the coupler is not bent or in need of adjustment. Does it latch securely and properly?

●        Pin Lock
If you use a pin lock, determine if it needs lubrication.

●        Tilt Beds
Tilt beds need proper lubrication to keep movement free and easy. Plus, making sure clamps and bed retention devices are in proper working order can prevent your toys from sliding or rolling off onto the freeway.

●        Body
Check enclosed trailers for roadside abuse like dents, dings, chips in paint and even corner notching. Ensure rooftop vents are clear and in good working order, and latches and ramps are fully functional. 

●        Accessories
Check chains and lubricate clips. Muck out center rails on models with sliding tie downs. Did you struggle with anything last season? Now is the time to add ease-of-use accessories like adjustable tie-down clamps, plastic guide strips, and auxiliary winches to make loading easier.

Letting trailer maintenance issues slide turning into an avalanche of problems? The professionals at Ainsworth Trailer Repair are here to help – even roadside. Prep for emergencies by plugging us into your phone, and schedule your seasonal trailer maintenance today. 

This post was originally published at http://www.trailerrepairdenver.com/dont-let-snowmobile-tilt-trailer-maintenance-slide/

Is Your Small Trailer Axle System Putting You in Danger?

Regular maintenance to small trailer axles can prevent a mountain of woe. Daily wear, unknown damage, and overlooked or ignored repair and maintenance needs can take a toll on the complex geometry of the system, potentially resulting in a slew of expensive situations.

It’s Typically Not the Trailer Axle Beam that Requires Maintenance
While the axle is indeed a major part of the axle system, all its attached components work together to keep the system running straight, true, and safe. When a part of the axle system is out-of-whack, symptoms are rarely seen in the beam. What components are most often in need of attention?

●     Bearings
A large percentage of trailer problems stem from failure to perform this simple and inexpensive maintenance procedure. Ungreased and neglected, bearings will overheat, destroying spindles, hubs, shaking tires, and eventually causing wheels to fall off, resulting in extensive trailer damage. Bearings should be greased once a year or every 3,000 miles. In-between, keep an eye out for wobbly tires and grease on the back of the rim, which indicate a leak.

●     Oil Seal
Leaks from the oil seal typically point back to wheel bearing issues.

●     Spindles
Uneven tire tread wear could indicate spindle misalignment. Scratches or nicks on spindle components could also lead to bearing damage. 

●     Wheel Hubs
Wheel runoff crashes are often the result of improper/ignored maintenance. Lack of lubrication and axle nuts that are too tight or too loose are typical causes. Most times, your trailer will give you signs of impending failure via steering feedback, tire wear, sounds and smoky smells. As with other components, it pays to be aware of trailer operation.

●     Castle Nuts
Castle nuts should only be slightly more than hand-tight. Anything further puts excess pressure on bearings, and can lead to premature bearing failure.

●     Tires
The end of the road for the axle system literally and figuratively, issues in the system are often felt and seen in the tires. If you’re eating through tires, seeing odd/uneven tread wear, experiencing poor fuel mileage, or having difficulty controlling your trailer in-motion, look to the above component issues, as well as axle alignment in relation to the frame, to detect the cause. Ignoring the situation could eventually lead to tread separation or failure by blowout.

Reduce downtime and repair costs with regular trailer axle inspection and maintenance. Get off to the right start and ensure a smooth journey with the help of Ainsworth Trailer Repair today.

This post was originally published at http://www.trailerrepairdenver.com/small-trailer-axle-system-putting-danger/