Boat trailers with deep rust spots and cracked or broken welds need to be inspected by a pro.

Almost anywhere there is a cottage, you will find one of these. Its frame is rusted, overgrown with blackberries and waist-high weeds, and its tires are flat. It is a forgotten boat trailer. There is a family of them in the public parking area adjacent to our lake. I’ve been trying to figure out whether someone owns them or if they’ve been abandoned to become someone else’s problem. My theory is that they were used to haul boats up to the lake, and those boats have remained here ever since. The owners left the trailers in the parking area with the thought that one day they might be needed again. Before tackling a tow, using a trailer that’s been sitting for more than a couple of years, I’d be seriously thinking about stripping it down and rebuilding.

Neglected trailers, however, are the exceptions more than the rule. Regardless of whether a trailer is used to haul the boat back and forth to the cottage once a year or used every weekend, trailers — like the boats they carry — need regular maintenance. It doesn’t take much time or money to keep a trailer in top shape. Unless a serious problem is uncovered that demands the attention of a mechanic or welder, maintenance can be done by the average do-it-yourselfer in a couple hours.