BoatMate equalizer is causing shackles to touch the frame. Any ideas?

[Scooter G]

The story that was shared from Boatmate is that they stack the trailers on top of each other during shipping, somehow this helps with efficiency and a bunch of trailers on top of each other bouncing up and down (I did ask).

SilentSeven "From the anecdote shared above that dealers forget to set during delivery prep" -
My Dealer, naw, no way, they wouldn't have missed that step in the process. Oh, wait, you mean the same Dealer that I've been waiting for a Title to the trailer for since last October, so I can license it. That Dealer? Boatmate says it happens all the time, the prep guys pull the red tags and then forget to go back and finish the job.

[bturner]

I would tend to believe the later. I'm sure there's little to no training on how to prep the trailer other that maybe check the brake fluid and air in the tires I'm also sure that some dealers are better than other but I never heard of that so I'm sure if there's turnover at the dealer or they're busy with broken boats this could easily get passed over,

[salbertson]

Thanks again Scooter G! Anyone else notice their trailer suspension is set up like this?

[Cpan13]

My tri-axle boatmate also has the shackles like this.

The paint also peels if I even look at it wrong. Boatmate agreed this was a defect but only offered me a can of touch up paint….

[Scooter G]

Not sure what to think here, doesn't seem quite right. Bolts were not overly tight, the only ones that I would consider snug were the center bolts on the equalizers. I got them all even, snug, and then backed off one half turn as suggested by Boatmate. Also hit them with some spray lubricant. Nothing really changed, different day same stuff.




Good luck with that can of touch up paint Cpan13, gee.

[SilentSeven]

For grins, I'd jack that entire side of the trailer up and let the suspension hang loose. And then set it back down and see if it normalized. It's even possible you need to get both sides of the trailer of the ground as it's a connected system. But maybe you did this in the process of adjusting the torque?

[Scooter G]

That thought did cross my mind SilentSeven, thanks for the suggestion. Couldn't hurt anything and worth a shot. Kind of a mother bear with the boat on, I think I'll grab some stands and a bottle jack next run to the lake, see what happens...
We've got a couple more weeks left in the Season here until you can't feel your feet.

[SilentSeven]

FWIW, a simpler solution may be to just tow for a few miles. That may be enough for it to normalize. Not sure why I didn't think of this last night. If it doesn't clear out with the boat on it, I might also try with the boat off.

[Rednucleus]

I had a '95 Ski Sanger double axle trailer that did this. I was able to move the trailer tongue bar to change where the boat sat on the trailer and fixed mine.

[salbertson]

I got them all even, snug, and then backed off one half turn as suggested by Boatmate. Also hit them with some spray lubricant. Nothing really changed, different day same stuff.

I did the same with our trailer and nothing changed after driving and launching the boat. Bummer.

[BasaltRMK]

Okay, now y'all have made me nervous and I'm going to have to check my trailer. But it's at the dealer now so will wait. Season is over at the 8,000' lake. Dual-axle, btw.

FWIW - I have no faith in my dealer having done the proper prep. They forgot to put the spare tire in the holder when I picked up the boat, and I was in excited new-boat mode and forgot to check. Also just swapped out 3 ballast sensors on the 2024 (I've been waiting since May for them to do this), and they said it didn't fix the incorrect readings on the Linc so they're waiting for a response from Nautique...

- bob