Reginald P. Smithers III wrote:
HK wrote:
Reginald P. Smithers III wrote:
HK wrote:

Harry,

When I had a runabout, and kept the boat stored on the trailer, I
ALWAYS kept the trailer propped up using trailer jacks. The reason I
did, was my father (a mechanic engineer) told me to do it. He was
emphatic that the weight of the tires sitting on one section of the
tire over the winter, would cause the tire to become permanently
unbalanced (I think he said a "flat spot". He also said the tires
would crack prematurely, where they sat on the ground. I also
(based upon his recommendations) made sure the tires were covered
with a tarp to make sure they did not dry rot from UV degradation.
Both were very easy to do and took less than 5 minutes.

Now was he correct, heck, I don't know, but the tires were over 20
yrs old when I sold the boat and trailer.


Yes, I'm sure that all the cars sitting in dealer storage lots for
three or four months are propped up on frame jacks so their tires
don't develop flat spots. So are all the new RVs and travel trailers
at the distribution centers. And of course, the 150 boats that my
dealer stores on trailers over the winter, they're all stored on
blocks and jacks, too.

Harry,

As I said, he could be wrong, but I was purchasing his boat and it was
in perfect condition so I followed his maintenance recommendations and
procedure. I not only jacked the tires off the ground, but also put a
jack under the tongue so the adjustable trailer jack was not supporting
the weight.

Whatever floats your boat. You didn't jack the tires off the
ground...you probably jacked the axles off the ground. That might work
with "solid" axles, but I'd be wary of trying it with a torsion bar axle
system, and if you jacked up the frame, the torsion axles would sag, I
would think.