Maiden voyage, few issues arose

[freshturk]

So after months of waiting, we finally got our 2012 lsv in the water, everything ran smoothly and worked well for the most part with the exception of the ballast. The center sac filled completely in the 3 minutes the pump was ran however the rear sacs only filled about 1/2 to 3/4 in the allotted time. They did fill completely after flipping the fill buttons again. Timing on the sacs are set to 4.5 minutes on the rears. After filling we emptied, closed the rear hatches and took the boat back home. When i got her home to clean, i noticed that the right rear emptied to the point that i could still move some water around in the sac but not completely empty, id say maybe 90-95% empty whereas the rear left only emptied to about 80-85%. So sitting in the driveway with the left rear sac still holding a decent amount of water i decided to attempt to empty the sac, being that there was still water in the sac I didnt think this would hurt the pumps (i know the pumps should not be ran dry, but thought this was ok, please enlighten me if I'm wrong) and then proceeded to drain about 1.5minutes worth of water.

This is my first vdrive as well as my first boat with ballast so im relatively clueless about both areas. These sacs also have twist off caps labeled air which I imagine are to purge trapped air in order to fill completely and I was wondering how often this will be necessary if at all.

Only other issue i had is the trailer paint. After towing twice(one to take the boat home from the dealer, and one to take boat to the lake) roughly 3hrs total trailer time I have a significant amount of rock chips down to the aluminum to the point where you can see them from atleast 20ft away. Mainly on the fender flares but also on the sides of trailer. Roughly 2 hours of the tow time has been on the highway. Is this something a lot of people are seeing because it seems like unacceptable wear to me, at this rate my trailer will be back to raw aluminum by the end of summer.

Planning on taking the boat back to the lake tomorrow to chip away at the break in period and will evaluate the ballast more than and get some pictures of the paint chips.

Any help is appreciated

[dru1974]

Well I guess if it's a gravel road u take to the lake . Well yes you will get chips on the trailer and chips in your gel coat.

[KRAK]

You should phone these guys
14164
And get one of these if your doing a lot of trailering.
14165
There are no chips on the trailer or boat, yet....

[freshturk]

All paved roads, no gravel. There are no chips in the boat whatsoever just the trailer

[freshturk]

14173 this is the left fender after 3hrs total of towing all on good paved roads with roughly 2hrs being on highway.

All that you see there are chips down to the aluminum.

[mmandley]

Well the chips are comming from somewhere. If your not towing off road then the chips are from your tires throwing things.

I personaly use a rock guard on the back of my truck. I have some small chips in my front cross memeber on the trailer but not that bad after 3 years of towing. I dont want to down your day but you have to be honest here, chips dont just appear. So where are you driving that your picking up rocks.

http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/IMG_0812.jpg
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/IMG_0810.jpg
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu114/mmandley/DSC_0737.jpg

[lsvboombox]

As far as the draining of your sac, just slap some check valves on your vent lines. I had the same problems with a decent amount of water sitting in the bags. If all the water doesnt have a clear shot to the drain plug it just sits in there cause the vent line lets air in. Once you put the check valve in the pumps start sucking out all the air and water and leave the bAgs bone dry.

[bzubke1]

I never had chips on our old boat and trailer when I took it to out normal spots which was 40 miles round trip about 3-4 times a week for 2 years. I took a trip to broken bow lake in oklahoma last summer, never touched a gravel road but by the time we got back my trailer looked like yours, maybe a little worse.

[freshturk]

I understand with the rock chips that they obviously come from somewhere, but with our last trailer, after 3.5 yrs of trailering, it didnt look even close to this bad, which lends me to believe that paint thickness is not up to snuff. Gonna see what boatmate has to say, and if they deem it normal might just add some of the rubber traction pads that are on the top.

I've looked into the check valves for the vent lines briefly, but as i said before I'm new to ballast so would appreciate some more help with the install. How do i tell which lines are the vent lines? As for install is it as simple as cutting the vent line, adding the check valves and reattaching the lines to the check valves with the steel hose clamps? Also would i add one for each of the 3 bags. The center ski locker sac seems to fill and empty better than the other two, but while I'm adding these would i be better off adding them to all three? Also are the stocks lines 3/4"?

Thanks for the help guys

[mmandley]

I understand with the rock chips that they obviously come from somewhere, but with our last trailer, after 3.5 yrs of trailering, it didnt look even close to this bad, which lends me to believe that paint thickness is not up to snuff. Gonna see what boatmate has to say, and if they deem it normal might just add some of the rubber traction pads that are on the top.


Thanks for the help guys

Good luck with Boat mate. Even when my trailer was less then a year old i made a claim, i have cracks in the paint infront and behind my fenders where the welds are. They painted over the welds and air got traped under it somehow. This caused the paint to crack and it going to chip eventually. I talked to them and they basically said we dont offer paint warrenties of any kind. I was like WTF MAN.

I understand your frustrations with the chips brother, i do. I hate paint chips of any kind as well.

[freshturk]

Any thoughts to better alternatives than the traction pad i posted? Also anyone know where to get the stuff. Just frustrating that the fenders look like shit already on a brand new trailer. Ughh the pains of a black trailer.

[mmandley]

I would seriously look into Rhino Liner. They can spray it on with the boat on the trailer, takes less then a day and shouldt cost but 100 bucks tops. You can get the lower fenders, and the front cross member done in black. This is seriously the route id go if my trailer starts taking ona lot of chips.

I would get the real spray on by a dealer. Not the Home Depot do it your self deal. This way you know its dont right.

[wolfeman131]

I would go to the dealer first, boatmate second. And, if you really feel the paint isn't up to spec, find a used auto inspector. The guy I use had a paint meter that measures the thickness of the paint. It helps to easily identify when/where a car has been repaired.

[jpetty3023]

100 bucks for a trailer, no way bro. If so I need to move to Oregon. Took my truck in while back to have the bed sprayed and I was quoted 350.00


Sent from my home phone..

[mmandley]

100 bucks for a trailer, no way bro. If so I need to move to Oregon. Took my truck in while back to have the bed sprayed and I was quoted 350.00


Sent from my home phone..

100 bucks for the lower section of fenders and cross bar only Bro. Not the entire trailer LOL.

[dusty2221]

I think this has already been covered but here is my solution for rock chips:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/dusty2221/20120318_134605.jpg

[bzubke1]

I think this would look pretty sweet on your truck dusty.

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k58/bzubke1/supratruck.jpg

[jpetty3023]

Yo B, where's the full review write up on the new supra? I'm sure you been busy breaking her in but let's here it and see some more pics

[dusty2221]

The red bumper? I hope you are right, it's in the future plans, as well as the entire front end, minus a black billet grill. KG hooked it up with an 18" Supra sticker for the rear glass.