Trailer Fender Advice

[TallRedRider]

I need some advice from the smartest dudes on the interwebs, so here I am.  Unfortunately, the Centurion specific FB page was not so helpful.  And their forum page gets next to zero traffic.  

I bought a 2021 Centurion Ri237 in February.  The boat has been great, but I would like to bling up the trailer a bit.  The 15 inch rims just aren't quite doing it for me.  So I am going to upgrade the rims to some 255/55r18 rims and new tires this winter.  They will fit just fine, except for I will need some wider fenders.  The current fenders are just 8 inches wide, and the tires I will get are 10 inches wide and will stick out of the side of the current fender.  

The current fenders measure 66 inches wide and 17.25 inches tall.  I am unable to find a matching fender anywhere.  The trailer is an Extreme tandem axle trailer and Extreme has not been very helpful.  

Here is the closest I can find: https://www.boatmateparts.com/product_details.php?itmId=1519 But this is 65" wide and not quite as tall.  I suspect I can stretch it, but am not sure I can count on it. I would also like the additional height to keep debris within the fender, our roads have a lot of small rocks around here.  Almost all of the fenders around here have the teardrop in the middle, which I am not a fan of, but will consider if I have to.  

Any ideas?  

And of course, no thread is good without pictures.  This is the boat and trailer we are talking about.  

 

Edited December 14, 2021 by TallRedRider

[justgary]

10x66x17:

https://www.trailerandtruckparts.com/Tandem-Steel-Trailer-Fenders-10x66x17-inch-Flat-Top-sold-as-a-pair_p_358.html

[justgary]

Ooooh, stainless!  And they'll only cost you your firstborn make child:

https://pacifictrailers.com/products/stainless-steel-fenders-10-x-66-1-pair-flat-top

[Cole2001]

I would give boatmate a call, they obviously make a wider one it's just not on the parts site. 

Here you can see the boatmate fender for 18s. On centurion only stopped doing the tread drop, I'm guessing just to simplify and copy extreme. I will say the older boatmate and extreme were running 255/45 (I think... part of me wants to say 225/55) which might fit better for you, hard part is finding one with the proper load range. I have found the 18s do tow better, way less bounce. 

https://wizardlakemarine.com/brands/ri230-centurion-new-boats/2022-centurion-ri230-white/

Also, nice boat. Love the penny flake!

[justgary]

And call these guys for pricing on part F10066:

https://pacwesttrailers.com/catalog/trailer-fenders-parts.php

[TallRedRider]

I swear that I googled...

Thank you!  That gives me a few great places to start.  I will likely just get steel and paint them black.   They will not see salt water.  

[justgary]

8 hours ago, TallRedRider said:

I swear that I googled...

Thank you!  That gives me a few great places to start.  I will likely just get steel and paint them black.   They will not see salt water.  

I used "tandem fender 10x66" in case you want to find a whole lot more. 

I say you spring for custom copper ones to bling that thing.  That really is a nice looking rig.

[TallRedRider]

15 hours ago, Cole2001 said:

I would give boatmate a call, they obviously make a wider one it's just not on the parts site. 

Here you can see the boatmate fender for 18s. On centurion only stopped doing the tread drop, I'm guessing just to simplify and copy extreme. I will say the older boatmate and extreme were running 255/45 (I think... part of me wants to say 225/55) which might fit better for you, hard part is finding one with the proper load range. I have found the 18s do tow better, way less bounce. 

https://wizardlakemarine.com/brands/ri230-centurion-new-boats/2022-centurion-ri230-white/

Also, nice boat. Love the penny flake!

I called Boatmate.  They said they put all of their fenders 65 inches apart.  Also said that although there is a little flex, they would not risk it.  The height of their fenders does not match up well either.  

 

Thanks for the compliments.  I do feel this is the best looking boat I have owned.  It is almost impossible to capture on camera, but the flake sparkles orange, red, and a hint of green in direct sunlight.  

[jjackkrash]

It would be the bomb if you can get "AU 1" for the trailer plates and hired Oddjob to drive you.    
 

That is a sweet rig.  

Edited December 14, 2021 by jjackkrash

[TallRedRider]

I thought I was on to something when I went higher up at Extreme Trailers and talked to Tony Ramirez, who is their lead guy for customer service.  He told me to call the parts department and that they would get me a pair.  He also recommended 11 inches wide instead of 10.  Then parts told me they barely have enough fenders to make the trailers they are committed to make right now and to try back in 4-6 weeks.  

I then found this: https://www.trailerandtruckparts.com/-Steel-Tandem-Trailer-Fenders-11x66x17-inches-Flat-Top-sold-as-pair_p_5562.html   So those are on the way.  There is always a little bit of fingers being crossed on these sorts of things.  I will have a local body shop paint them black for me and then be in fat city.  

Anyone have any idea if I can spare the SeaDek pads on top of the old fenders?  I suspect with a heat gun and some gentle teasing, I can get them off in one piece, but I have never tried to remove them before.  Is there anything that will adhere enough to the new fender, or is all of that just not worth the effort?  

[justgary]

1 hour ago, TallRedRider said:

I thought I was on to something when I went higher up at Extreme Trailers and talked to Tony Ramirez, who is their lead guy for customer service.  He told me to call the parts department and that they would get me a pair.  He also recommended 11 inches wide instead of 10.  Then parts told me they barely have enough fenders to make the trailers they are committed to make right now and to try back in 4-6 weeks.  

I then found this: https://www.trailerandtruckparts.com/-Steel-Tandem-Trailer-Fenders-11x66x17-inches-Flat-Top-sold-as-pair_p_5562.html   So those are on the way.  There is always a little bit of fingers being crossed on these sorts of things.  I will have a local body shop paint them black for me and then be in fat city.  

Anyone have any idea if I can spare the SeaDek pads on top of the old fenders?  I suspect with a heat gun and some gentle teasing, I can get them off in one piece, but I have never tried to remove them before.  Is there anything that will adhere enough to the new fender, or is all of that just not worth the effort?  

Good job so far.

I don't know how SeaDeck is applied, but heat is always a good idea.  I would try from the fender side so you are heating the right side rather than trying to heat through the material.  I expect that they use something like 3M pressure-sensitive adhesive (either as a spray or tape) to install it.

[Cole2001]

Try heat and fishing line. That is how car emblems are removed with what I'm guessing is the same 3m backing. Do you have textured paint? If you do it might be a bit of a challenge threading it off.  

[csleaver]

I have removed a couple dozen EVA Seadek style pads from trailer fenders.  They almost always come off in several pieces and are not reusable by any stretch of the imagination.  If you come up with a way to remove them in one piece and get them to stick to the new fenders, let me know.

[Bird]

Be prepared to make a few adjustments to the step pads as the new fender may not be an exact match of length and radius. You may need to fill a small gap if new fender is slightly shorter. If it is longer you may need to move the front step pad to fit. On my trailer the step pads are welded to the frame.  Also the fender inner liner that is carpet covered plywood may need to be replaced.  I replaced mine with 3/8” marine plywood with 2 coats of resin. New carpet and used room coat truck bed liner on the under fender side and Dino under fenders. Make sure the new fenders have attachment points for attaching plywood before painting. I would suggest a full assembly then remove for painting.

[TallRedRider]

12 hours ago, Bird said:

Be prepared to make a few adjustments to the step pads as the new fender may not be an exact match of length and radius. You may need to fill a small gap if new fender is slightly shorter. If it is longer you may need to move the front step pad to fit. On my trailer the step pads are welded to the frame.  Also the fender inner liner that is carpet covered plywood may need to be replaced.  I replaced mine with 3/8” marine plywood with 2 coats of resin. New carpet and used room coat truck bed liner on the under fender side and Dino under fenders. Make sure the new fenders have attachment points for attaching plywood before painting. I would suggest a full assembly then remove for painting.

I am hoping that they are the same.  This project may end up being much more than I had hoped for.  If it comes to removing the welded on steps, I would probably just abandon the process.  

[TallRedRider]

15 hours ago, csleaver said:

I have removed a couple dozen EVA Seadek style pads from trailer fenders.  They almost always come off in several pieces and are not reusable by any stretch of the imagination.  If you come up with a way to remove them in one piece and get them to stick to the new fenders, let me know.

It sounds like your experience is a lot more than most, thank you for the insight.  Then I won't invest a lot of time trying to preserve them if heat and dental floss doesn't make them come easy.  

[TallRedRider]

It must be my lucky day.  I was able to peel the pads right off.  I am suspicious that I won't be able to get them to stick with some heavy duty spray adhesive, but it is worth a try.  I am pretty sure SeaDek will charge me a ridiculous sum to get new ones, or tell me to work through my overworked dealer to get them.  

Speaking of overworked businesses, I called my favorite auto body shop to get my fenders painted.  They first told me that they might be able to get me in late February.  Then the lady on the phone, said to hold for a sec and came back and told me they are too busy to deal with a small job like painting boat fenders.  I am worried it might be that way everywhere.  It is often the price we pay for living in a fast growing area.  Businesses are often slower to grow than the general population.  It is great for almost every business to thrive, but stinks when you want something done right away.  Anyway, I am debating just hitting them with a rattle can of high gloss Krylon spray paint if a couple other shops I know can't get it done.  Anyone ever do that for their boat trailer?  The trailer is black, so matching the trailer itself is not such a big deal.  Also because it is the fender, a slight mismatch is not going to be noticeable.  Thoughts on the spray paint?  

[hunter77ah]

You might ask the shop if they know of a guy that does small jobs on the side. My mechanic friend gave me the number of a guy who works out of his garage when I needed a set of fenders painted. It’s not a hard job, but experience helps, especially if you want a clear coat over the color. 

[justgary]

Sure you can rattle can it, and you can even put clear over the color coat if you want to.  You can also probably buy the two-part primer, paint, clear coat, thinner for cleanup, a small compressor, and spray tool for less than you would pay the body shop.  The difference will be the amount of dust and bugs that show up in the job, but enough clear coat and sanding will fix that.  Sand it well to begin with, and wipe with thinner before you spray.  Wait for a clear blue day to spray and you should be good enough.

[TallRedRider]

After getting another body shop that gave me a 6 week window and a cost of $600, I asked if they knew of anyone that takes on smaller jobs like this that might be quicker.  The fellow asked if I had considered getting them powder coated.  He said it would probably be a lot cheaper and he knew a guy.  I called his guy and was able to get them dropped off right away.  They are confident that it will look great and be plenty durable.  It will also be a lot less money.  The more costly part will be the prep, because it looks like my fenders were probably left outside for a while stacked on top of one another.  So one of them has some very light superficial rust that will require some mild sandblasting.  

I got to see a lot of their work in the shop and it looks like they do a great job.  They powder coat a lot of aftermarket parts for UTV's in these parts and have a pretty good volume of business going, so I hope that bodes well.