Trailer Tongue Catching

[BassCatKev]

Got the pivot pin out no problem last night. PB Blasted in the hole, cleaned the surface rust off the pivot pin. It was nothing bad just washed right off. Pivot pin smooth after cleaned. Applied bearing grease to pivot pin and put back in. The removable pin hole that used to catch doesn't now. That pin falls in like butter. But now the center hole takes a little work. But I JUST NOW remembered I didn't tighten the strap like a usually do since I wasn't taking the boat anywhere. I bet that's all that was.

I hindsight. I wish I would have turned the tongue the OPPOSITE direct on the removable pin while I had the pivot pin out. I'm thinking that would have allowed me to clean any small amount of rust/debris that would be between those surfaces. Maybe the PB got in there anyway.

[skennedy]

Looking at the pictures I say yes it needs some lube . But from the one pic showing the pin not going in all the way the round lugs that the pin slides into is all beat the hell . There is only one way they will look like that as I’m am guilty of this . It was a Friday night I got home from a tuff week I was hooking up my boat to take to town to gas it up as I had tournament the next morning 2 hrs away . While hooking it up I got a very aggravating phone call about my project . After the call I went to town 7 miles away . I kept noticing a thumping noise but it felt real small like no big deal . When I pulled into the gas station it dawned on me that I just f#$##ed up . I forgot to put the pins in ,luckily my whence strap was real tight . My pin lugs look exactly Like yours with the edges all beat to hell . It use to work like a browning shot gun now it’s more like a moss berg pump . If your boat is used I’d say the original owner did the same as me .

[BassCatKev]

Looking at the pictures I say yes it needs some lube . But from the one pic showing the pin not going in all the way the round lugs that the pin slides into is all beat the hell . There is only one way they will look like that as I’m am guilty of this . It was a Friday night I got home from a tuff week I was hooking up my boat to take to town to gas it up as I had tournament the next morning 2 hrs away . While hooking it up I got a very aggravating phone call about my project . After the call I went to town 7 miles away . I kept noticing a thumping noise but it felt real small like no big deal . When I pulled into the gas station it dawned on me that I just f#$##ed up . I forgot to put the pins in ,luckily my whence strap was real tight . My pin lugs look exactly Like yours with the edges all beat to hell . It use to work like a browning shot gun now it’s more like a moss berg pump . If your boat is used I’d say the original owner did the same as me .

I don't think the first owner ever opened the trailer. I believe he stored it in a barn type area that had the length to make opening the tongue unnecessary. That gray stuff you see in the one pic is Anti-Seize I used at the beginning of this issue. I've since cleaned all that up and the holes look pretty clean and smooth to me. But thanks for the story. I've never made that mistake and hopefully never will.

[cd4th]

You would not have been able to swing the tongue using the removable pin as a pivot. The tongue is just not made to allow it. If you want to really clean things up then you would need to remove all the pins and pull the tongue out onto some jack stands or similar to hold it up. Glad you got it working better.

[BassCatKev]

You would not have been able to swing the tongue using the removable pin as a pivot. The tongue is just not made to allow it. If you want to really clean things up then you would need to remove all the pins and pull the tongue out onto some jack stands or similar to hold it up. Glad you got it working better.

Wow I wouldn't have known that. What if I'd put the pivot pin in the side I had the removable pin in (port side of tongue)? Wouldn't that have allowed me to open tongue the other direction (port side of boat)? Or is it truly only made to swing only to the starboard side of the boat?

[cd4th]

I'm betting that the notched piece of metal that goes inside the trailer frame would hit the sidewall and stop it from swinging outward to port.