Trip to the Delta

[Patrick Griffin]

Thought I would post some pictures of our trip over the 4th of July. We just down loaded the camera. It was a good trip this year with only a couple bad moments. But it was great other than that. Cruised to areas we hadn't been in a long time and experienced a new marina this year. But before that we had an issue before launching. Here is a picture of us before we left the house.

Towing the six hours up to the Delta was not to bad this year except for two incidents. The first one was fueling the boat. I kept wondering for 6 hours how much gas was going to cost where I typically fuel up. It was high but not as high as in my area. So I thought it would be fun to take a picture of the boat being fueled not with one hose but two. Double the pain. My contribution to the oil companys billions of dollars in profits.

After fueling, it was only a 15 mile drive to the launch ramp and I will be on the water. Well, that didn't happen. I had a blow out on my back left trailer tire. It happen on a two lane road with no real shoulder big enough of the over-wide. So I got off the road at far as possible. We actually were lucky in that the road has swing and lift bridges on it that stops traffic so we were able to get a couple of breaks to safely change the wheel and tire. Not fun though. Here's a picture of the wheel and tire before I had a new tire put on.

Finally we made it to the water and headed over to a new marina we decided to try this year, Eddo's Resort. It had a RV park for our friends class A and a nice covered slip for us. Here is a shot going into the slough leading to Eddo's.

Our boat in the slip. Very quiet.

The view out the front of our slip.

We cruised to several places this year but the main cruise was over to Mandeville Tip and see all the boats that anchor out for weeks, for a good spot, to see the Baron Hilton fireworks that he shoots from a barge he brings in for guests at his hunting lodge. It's a good show every year. Here we are heading into the raft-up off the river.

Picture of the 3,000-4,000 boats who anchor out here every year.

Kayaking around the raft-up to see all the crazies!

Another anchorage we tried this year was Decker Island. It was a nice and quiet area with a few other boats but protected water to kayak around in. Here is a shot of the boat at anchor.

And Tony and I going off to explore while we leave the girls on board.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures. I always enjoy pictures from other members.
Pat
1998 Regal 292
Twin Volvo 5.0Gi SX

 

[Flutterby]

Looks like you had a great trip! Something I have learned the hard way about trailer tires: they wear out as they sit on the trailer not being used. Tread is not an indicator of a good/bad tire. I bet the one which blew gets the most sun throughout the year. You need to rotate the tires a couple times a year; protect all of them from direct sun and change them frequently, depending on how often you trailer your boat. If you only trailer the boat to come up to the Delta once a year or so, you should put new tires on before you start your trip. If you trailer all the time, then you need to keep track on miles towed and change as needed.

Thanks so much for sharing! It is always fun for me to see others enjoying the delta.

 

[Patrick Griffin]

Flutterby,

Thanks for the advice. I do all of the things you mention. I have the tires covered year round, the boat is covered down to the trailer, the boat is jacked up and tires spun every month, air kept up to specs, and the tires are only 2 years old. The way the tire blew, I think it was some defect in the tire or my tires kicked up something and the back tire didn't make it. Who knows though, just one of those things you have to deal with when towing. That's why I always carry all the tools and spare parts necessary to fix it on the road. It didn't ruin my trip, just delayed it for 30 minutes.

 

[yzer]

Great pictures, Pat. Sorry to see that tire, though. Still, if you have to swallow the frog sometime during the trip it's better to get it over with at the beginning.

 

[Comfortably Numb]

Pat,

Thanks for the pic's, although you really have to be there to fully appreciate the size of the event - it's like pictures of the Grand Canyon, you really can't get the full impact!
I've never lost a tire on a trailer - do you "feel" it, or did you see it go?

Thanks,

Jim

 

[Monterey10]

The blown tire doesn't look sun checked. I bet the tire was overloaded or under inflated. Is the trailer riding level?

My boat is similar sized. I always check the temp of my tires and bearings the first few miles on the road. Early on, I found that my tires were getting hot. I found that if I lightened the load a bit, the tires stayed cool and the truck had a much easier time of it. It seems there's a threashold where you're OK. Just a bit more and the wheels are overheating.

I do my best to trailer with the water tank, holding tank and fuel tank empty. I pull the heaviest items and put them in the bed of the truck. I fuel close to launch ramp and water the boat at the first marina..

Similarly, I try to move the boat between marinas with the water and holding as empty as I can manage. It's helped a bit with the gas mileage.

 

[abdiver]

Jim: My experience is that you don't feel a blown trailer tire at all. You might get the sense that the tow vehicle is pulling a little bit but it won't be a "Wow, something's wrong!" type of a feeling.

One time I was driving my dad's motorhome towing the ski boat when a car pulls along side, honks and points back towards the trailer. I asked one of the guys to go look out the back window to check on the ski boat, which is totally hidden from the motorhome mirrors. "HOLY *&^%!" he cried out. When I pulled over the left trailer tire was practically on fire, smoking like crazy and looked about like Patricks......

Rod

 

[Patrick Griffin]

I check the bearings and tires at every stop and more frequently if suspect some possible trouble. The trailer is pretty level. I also tow the boat as empty at possible. I had just fueled up, 150 gallons, so I had added about 700 more pounds. But I have done this many times in the past with no problems. When we came up I-5, they were paving the north bound lanes and at every bridge crossing there was a big bump. A couple were good size even after slowing to 45 to go over them. I must have cut the tire on something and the extra weight put it over the limit. I had no issues on the tow home. Just one of those things I suppose.

 

[westdelta]

Photo #10 - I was anchored in that EXACT same spot on July 4th! I recognize the other boat in the photo as being the one we were next to.