Welding on trailer with boat loaded

[swancer]

I am going to weld a spare tire mount on my ram-Lin trailer. Is it ok to weld with the boat loaded on the trailer or should I make plans to take it off? If I leave it on are there any provisions that is should plan to make like unhook batteries etc?

[DanielC]

I would be more concerned about grinding sparks flying around, than the welding. Having said that, if it was mine, I would take the boat off the trailer.

[2gofaster]

Tape some cardboard to the bottom of the bow. Weld. You won't hurt it. No need to disconnect the battery on the boat.

[swancer]

I would be more concerned about grinding sparks flying around, than the welding. Having said that, if it was mine, I would take the boat off the trailer.

Am i underthinking this, but since I am welding it i should not have to grind anything. I am just going to have to remove some paint from the trailer and the bracket but plan to use a stiff wire wheel on my grinder. My plan it to take a large cardboard cutout and make a barrier around the work area to stove off Any flying debris. Obviously with a fire extinguisher handy just in case.

[AirTool]

There is a pretty good chance you will be okay on all accounts.

On the slim chance that something bad goes wrong that you are going to have to fix ($$$$) or worse live with for the rest of your life, you're going to think "Wow, what I did was really stupid."

Just find a place for the boat or borrow a trailer from a ski club or something.

PS - My factory spare mount on my Ram-lin is clamped on. Why wouldn't you just do that?

[2gofaster]

Am i underthinking this, but since I am welding it i should not have to grind anything. I am just going to have to remove some paint from the trailer and the bracket but plan to use a stiff wire wheel on my grinder. My plan it to take a large cardboard cutout and make a barrier around the work area to stove off Any flying debris. Obviously with a fire extinguisher handy just in case.

You want bare metal. How you do that doesn't really matter. Sander, wire wheel, or grinder. You'll want to grind back about 1 1/2 to 2 inches from where you want to weld, as paint that is too close can contaminate the weld as it outgasses when heated.

[shag]

It only takes a few minutes to protect the area of your hull that you are working on - well worth the time...... Think Garth - in Wayne's world with the air ratchet......

[swancer]

My factory spare mount on my Ram-lin is clamped on. Why wouldn't you just do that?

For me the reason for welding is more for the security aspect than anything else. I would hate for it to grow legs at the launch. . . . .

On the slim chance that something bad goes wrong that you are going to have to fix ($$$$) or worse live with for the rest of your life, you're going to think "Wow, what I did was really stupid."

When it comes to my boat I am extremely anal about making sure it stays in pristine condition, therefore protecting it is going to be my main priority.

When I first posted the question I was more worried about the electrical side of it, and did not think about the flying debris. So I will more than likely drop the boat in the water and weld the bracket on at a buddies house right a few miles away.