Fleet Captain Trailer

[Capndar]

Hey folks

among the many tasks we are doing to get son Kevin's Mark II "Catch-Up" ready for road warrior service is working on the trailer - a 1977 Fleet Captain. It seems to be pretty solid - surface rust and no real bend like I have seen on some older trailers. The springs, however, are completely flat - horizontal when the boat is on the trailer.

Yesterday we jacked and blocked the trailer and pulled the whole axle/springs assembly out. Going to re pack or replace the bearings depending on how they look, and definbitely adding new springs - likely from Redneck Trailer Supply

Anyway for those who might be in a similar situation, here are the measurements from our trailer (YMMV)

from hub face to hub face, or axle is 89 1/4 inches, with the spring centers set 77 inches apart
The spring hangers on the trailer itself are 24 inches - hole to hole

The spring itself is a slipper design that is 25 1/2 inches overall length, with a distance of 12inches from the front eye to the spring center (the center of where it rests n the axle)

we plan to go back with 1500 spings for a 3000 capacity -

Mike R
#1694 Ragtop

Kevin Robinson
# 1598 Catch-Up

[Ben G]

Hi Mike,
I replaced springs some time ago and recall some concern with over-rated springs. If the springs are too stiff, they will not flex, but instead, transmit the bumps to the boat. Based on what was available that fit the trailer, I spoke with the spring experts and ended up with a stock spring that I modified by exchanging a leaf from another spring I already had (also new).

Of course, if you trailer with a motor, gas, battery, cooler, etc on board, you may need a heavier spring for that load. It was suggested to me to get the actual weight of the loaded trailer as-towed and go from there.

3000-lb capacity may be okay for your boat, but seemed stiff, so thought I'd share what I did for mine.
--Ben

[Capndar]

We ended up going with a 1250 spring for that reason!