A boat trailer checklist that assumes nothing
The plug, the straps and the bearings. Everything else is recoverable.
27,549
2,077 of 8,608 published surfaces are gravel, sand or natural ground — the ones this checklist matters most at
Before you leave the house
- Drain plug: in your hand, then in the boat. Not "probably in".
- Lights: brake, indicators, running. Check them connected, not just plugged in.
- Bearings and hubs: warm is normal after a drive, hot is a failure in progress. Salt water shortens their life by years.
- Tyre pressure, including the trailer spare — which is the one that is flat.
- Coupler latched and pinned, safety chains crossed, breakaway cable attached.
- Winch strap and safety chain both taking load at the bow eye.
In the lot, before the ramp
- Transom straps off, bow strap on until the boat is floating.
- Fenders out and bow and stern lines rigged and reachable.
- Battery on, engine trimmed up, keys with you.
- Everything aboard: cooler, rods, jackets, phone. Nothing left to fetch later.
After recovery
- Plug out and the boat draining before you drive.
- On salt water, rinse the trailer as well as the boat, and do it at the ramp if there is a hose.
- Check aquatic-invasive rules for the state you are in: many require the boat drained, plants removed and livewells emptied before leaving the ramp, and the ramp operator is not always the agency enforcing it.
Sources
Figures on this page are counted from the agency records behind this site each time it is built, and every count states the population it was computed over. See the sources.