Toledo Bend

[Buckrub]

Long trip.........and didn't catch the crappie we thought we would have........but did fair.

Didn't get out of town and blew a fuse in truck for trailer lights. Light socket was very wet, probably the cause. Put in new fuse, no more trouble with that. 6 hour drive......made it Sunday night.

Monday morning was supposed to meet guide at 7:00 a.m. But you couldn't see four feet for the driving rain. It was after 2:00 pm that we finally got on board for our 5 hour guided trip. Party barge, he's set up for a bunch of fishermen. But it was bad choppy and tough fishing. Tightlining minnows, in 28 feet water over brush he had put out. First day we caught maybe 28 or so, second day 35.......then we went on our own Wed and caught about 35, and Thursday dodged more rain off and on, and caught about that many. Some catfish thrown in.

Had a bit of drama........sometimes I guess it's hard for 67 year old men to act their age. But just kept my head down and mouth shut best I could, and got through it. We ate well......as long as I cooked!

On way home, had a blowout south of Mansfield, LA. Every square inch of that truck was packed, and getting to the jack was going to be hard. So, I called Good Sam and they sent a wrecker. Had to wait it out for an hour or more, but he got it changed, aired up both tires, and we somehow made it home. Now I have to go buy two trailer tires. Thinking of upgrading from 13" to 14", just a thought right now.

Blew the fender off (it had the license plate bolted on) and had to walk back and retrieve it. Jerked off the wires to the lights embedded in the fender, and broke the circuit so I had no lights at all. Have to have all that fixed.

Here's a few pics.
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk131/Buck7088/Fishing%20Pics/Bill2_zpsek67il9j.jpg (http://s279.photobucket.com/user/Buck7088/media/Fishing%20Pics/Bill2_zpsek67il9j.jpg.html)

http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk131/Buck7088/Fishing%20Pics/TB%20Guide_zpsklipsbzc.jpg (http://s279.photobucket.com/user/Buck7088/media/Fishing%20Pics/TB%20Guide_zpsklipsbzc.jpg.html)

http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk131/Buck7088/Fishing%20Pics/TB%20Guide_zpsklipsbzc.jpg (http://s279.photobucket.com/user/Buck7088/media/Fishing%20Pics/TB%20Guide_zpsklipsbzc.jpg.html)

http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk131/Buck7088/Fishing%20Pics/Mike4_zpskzihphuy.jpg (http://s279.photobucket.com/user/Buck7088/media/Fishing%20Pics/Mike4_zpskzihphuy.jpg.html)

http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk131/Buck7088/Fishing%20Pics/blowout_zpslgvqmm6y.jpeg (http://s279.photobucket.com/user/Buck7088/media/Fishing%20Pics/blowout_zpslgvqmm6y.jpeg.html)

[BarryBobPosthole]

Well, glad you made it home safe and sound and have some fish stories to tell. That's a nice sac au lait in the pic!

The guys in the other truck on our Canada trip blew out both trailer tires year before last on the way up there and also blew out the spare. Somehow, I think its probably Trav's fault.

BKB

[Thumper]

Pic #3 looked familiar. ;)

Glad all worked out fairly well. It sucks to have long-term trip plans, only to have the weather turn on you.

Welcome home.

Question ... are those U-bolts for the fender mounts? Or the spring shackles? (adjustable?) If you go to a larger tire, make sure the fenders clear with total spring travel or you'll be blowing out some more tires!

[No-till Boss]

Sounds like a big old time, and those fish look nice !

[BarryBobPosthole]

Bet ten bucks they're Carlisles.

BKB

[Thumper]

Bet ten bucks they're Carlisles.

BKB

I'll bet'cha $20 they're Bucky's! :D

[Buckrub]

U bolts.

One fender blown up, have to replace it anyway. Still thinking. Have to go to 15" tires to get 10 ply........may just redo it all, if I'm going to go on long trips, might be good insurance.

Towmasters, I think. Have to go look. Too lazy to do it now.

[Buckrub]

Sorry. THird one shoulda been this one.

http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk131/Buck7088/Fishing%20Pics/Sam1_zps2caqkx1l.jpg (http://s279.photobucket.com/user/Buck7088/media/Fishing%20Pics/Sam1_zps2caqkx1l.jpg.html)

[Captain]

Hahahaa now THAT guy has the long arm fish hold down to a tee....

[Buckrub]

Yeah. I just snapped it. Those two were 15" fish, about as good as we caught. I think we missed the best time on that lake.

I wish you were here to redo this boat trailer for me. I'd give you fourteen dollars and ninety two cents. I'm sick of the thing, great boat, sorry trailer.

[Buckrub]

Bet ten bucks they're Carlisles.

BKB

Tow-Master 185/75R13. Send the ten bucks. I need it.

Load range ZERO it appears! :)

I want to get 8 ply tire min, but there isn't one without going to 14" tires. Then new wheels..........then new fenders.........then have to match hole pattern...........then probably have to raise the bunks somehow............ danged ST rated tires are ALL 65mph max!

[BarryBobPosthole]

Were you very loaded down? Of course, I'm not a fan of 13" tires on a trailer unless the load is very light. When you're going 70 that trailer is going like 90.

BKB

[Buckrub]

Yeah, loaded to the nines. Three guys stuff for a week, cooking stuff, etc. Too much weight.

But........I still want something way more robust and heavy weight. Found a trailer fabrication and parts place just north of me. Gonna call 'em Monday and see what it'd take to upgrade.

[BarryBobPosthole]

If you are going to load that much, beware of your springs. you may want to overbuild that instead of the tires. Just MO.

BKB

[johnboy]

If you have to replace all the running gear it might be cheaper in the long run just to buy a new, heavier duty trailer than to upgrade the one you got. If you do decide to upgrade you might also want to look at new hubs or even a complete axle swap (might be cheapest way to go).

[Thumper]

I'm with Johnboy ... most trailer manufacturers match their springs and tire load ratings. Why put Volkswagon tires on a trailer with Mac truck springs installed? If either rating is much higher than the other (tire vs spring), the trailer manufacturer is throwing away money. Instead of modifying, I'd think a heavier duty trailer would be the way to go, especially IF you commonly overload it. Springs/tires should be a matched package. But then, I have no clue how OLD your trailer tires were either. I've been told not to go over 7 years on a set of tires regardless of wear. That said, the tires on my trailer are 14 years old! :hair

BUT .. the only thing I use it for these days is to ocassionally haul a load of yard trash to the dump. I no longer have my 4-wheeler and don't use the trailer for long hauls like I used to. Still, I always watched my load weights when I did. To me, I'd almost rather take an ice-pick in the eyeball than have trailer problems on a trip.

[BarryBobPosthole]

I think I might the most paranoid trailer puller ever. I have to remind myself to not get stuck looking in the rearviewsso much. I can detect minute vibrations. And I feel my hubs at every gas up and pee stop. You couldn't pull a pin out of my ass with a log truck.

BKB

[Thumper]

Yeppers, I'm right there with you on the "hub feeler" thing P-hole. ANY time I stop for ANY reason ... the first thing I do is walk around the trailer and feel the hubs.

When I drove my "big truck" ... tires became the issue. I'd walk around with my "tire thumper" and whack all 18 of 'em (AND check the tread) at every stop! 'Course, that's pretty much SOP with any decent driver anyway.

[Buckrub]

I hear all y'all. I'm with ya.

Got two things to try. One is calling a friend in W. Memphis that has a boat dealership.......he said call him tomorrow and he had some suggestions. I will probably investigate a new trailer. Too many Lowe trailer owners are telling me they have same stories on their trailers. I have X years left, and I plan on fishing a lot, and trailering it a lot.......and when camping, the wife pulls the boat, so...... The other thing is a trailer place north of me that has fixed several folk's major trailer issues, and come highly recommended.

Not sure what I'm going to do. But something has to change.

OH, and I could see this tire 'vibrating' ever so slightly in mirror before it blew. I knew something was wrong, but tried to make it a few miles to Mansfield, LA before checking it. Wrong decision. However, it wouldn't have mattered if I had stopped, other than the fender wouldn't have blown off. I'd still have had to change the tire either way.

[Thumper]

That's a common mistake people make with boats. The trailers are generally matched to the weight of the boat they haul, but people (and I've been guilty of it a bazillion times) tend to use the boat as a "utility trailer" and pile elebenty-bazillion pounds of coolers, water, gas and camping gear in the things. The trailers ain't made for those loads. I think I asked above, but you didn't answser. Just out of curiosity, how old are .... errrr, WERE the tires? You haven't had that boat all that long, have you?

[Buckrub]

Missed that.

Boat and trailer are 2007. First, a hub messed up........I now carry a spare hub. Had to get a new axle. And tires. Those wore out, and I got radials about........um...........4 years ago.

And boat was weighted down too much, yes. We had too much stuff to get home somehow!

[BarryBobPosthole]

One time coming back from Saganagaw Lake up in the arrowhead of Minnesota after fish camp for a week Bassdog managed to break a leaf spring on his trailer. Was a combination of overloading and a rough as a cob dirt road for about 30 miles. God, I can still remember how great the air smelled there. Anyway, he limped it in to Grand Marias with the tire smoking on the fender on a friggin Saturday. Believe it or not we found a guy who had a spring leaf and the tools to fix it. He still had to buy a new tire.
Another time he forgot to take his plug out (same boat) and on I44 between here and St Louis he ran through some thunderstorms. He didn't know he was in trouble until it was damn near too late. Doesn't take much water to make the trailer heavy enough to yank you off the road.

Adventures in trailering! Didn't McManus have a story about that?

BKB

[Buckrub]

Yes, he did.

After interviewing me.

[Thumper]

Ha ha! For some reason, anytime a conversation turns to anything about a boat's buttplug ... a certain Canuckian fisherman comes to mind. :D

Note: I NEVER mentioned a name ... but I think a few of you might know of whom I am speaking! :D