Every trailer sailor will tell you how important a good trailer is. I decided it was time to put some effort into mine. It was the original trailer (1979). Previous owners had kept paint on it, but it had quite a bit of rust. It safely carried my boat over 1500 miles when I brought the boat home to Washington from Minnesota, but I wanted to ensure many more years of service.

The first thing I did was buy new tires and wheels. The tires on the trailer were at least 10 years old. Some were much older. While the tires brought me home from Minnesota to Washington, I didn't trust them. Five tire and wheel replacements (including the spare) were about $500.

I replaced the bearings and races as appropriate. About half of the races and bearings showed signs of rust and pitting. They didn't produce heat, but I still replaced them anyway.

I had a trailer shop install new brake assemblies, brake lines, hydraulic hitch assembly, springs, u-bolts, and rockers. This was the most expensive part of the project. It was about $1500 for everything. After forty years, however, I figured it would be good to replace some stuff.

Next, I needed to tackle the rust. Power coating is an excellent way to protect a trailer. You won't have to worry about painting your trailer any longer, but there is some effort required....

At my house, I removed EVERYTHING other then what was necessary to tow the trailer to the powder coating shop (fenders, electrical wiring, tongue extension, lights, bunks, keel boards, brake lines, winch, adjustable bow stop). The only thing left was the hubs, bearings, wheels. I towed the trailer without working brakes for the short 15 miles to the shop.

Once it was at the powder coating location, they sandblasted the trailer and then powder coated it. They did a fantastic job. I made sure they powder coated everything including the adjustable parts of the trailer (bow roller and bow stop). Power Coating and blasting was $1200.

After sandblasting, it was clear that there was some serious rust on the trailer. I'm glad I took it down to metal and got rid of every bit of rust.

Finally, once the job was done, I towed the trailer back to my house and had to re-install everything.

Total cost was about $3200. Much cheaper then a new trailer, but it took some hard work. I spent about 40-50 hours of my own time to get the job done in addition to the cost. The trailer is basically new and should be ready to go for many more years.