Boat trailer mods/improvements for expedition

[Shayterbug]

Hi there,
My GF and I are planning a trip through the PNW and Alaska this summer in our Mitsubishi Delica and we'll be hauling our 16ft SHIB to explore a lot of the coastal areas we visit. I'm looking for any generic mods/upgrades to make the trailer more robust for thousands of miles on unpredictable roads. Love to hear some advice and opinions from this community.
cheers and thanks,
Simon
www.simonhayter.com
http://instagram.com/tattooadventureclub

 

[AZ_Ray]

Depending on how difficult the roads you plan on going on, depends on what the trailer needs.

I would make sure all the wiring is well protected along with some sort of protection for any light that "stick out".

Other than that just make sure trailer is good shape and well maintained.

 

[verdesardog]

Wheel bearings for trailers are cheap, how old is the trailer? pack the old ones or get new ones. Grease all the spring bushings and check for cracked springs. Good tires including a spare or two would be a good idea. I used to tow a trailer for the forest service for inserting and retrieving rafts in the Verde river. We broke several springs on rough dirt roads. But that was always when the trailer was empty going to retrieve the boats. Shock absorbers on the trailer will go a long way toward preventing broken springs.

 

[LuckyDan]

In addition to the above advice I'll add the following:

-Like Versadog, the only time I have had a spring issue is from bouncing an empty trailer out of the woods. If truly rough or dirt road is in your future I would look into shocks.
-Fenders, as it's a boat on there you want really good fenders to keep gravel from impacting your hull. Make sure it will keep gravel from rooster tailing off the tread spraying your boat rear of the tires. Same applies to your van spraying the front of your boat.
-Tires, If you have small diameter ones consider taller and if lots of sand will be involved maybe wider. I suggest this as IMO a lot of bearing/race issues people face, after maintenance or the lack of, is due to tire revolution speed and the resultant heat. I suggest wider from my experiences at my work. We drag a couple ATV/UTV trailers and utility trailers around on two tracks or off road fairly regularly. We found that the wider tire float factor in loose sand is easier on everything.
If funding is an issue, (And for whom isn't it?) we drag narrow tired trailers around the hills just fine too.

Good Luck with your endeavor...