Josh of Longmont, CO on Dec. 10, 2009
My wife, my late father-in-law and myself purchased a pontoon boat and boat loading trailer from Colorado Boat Center in 2004. In Sept. 2007, my father-in-law passed away from a long illness. After his passing, my wife and I assumed complete ownership of the boat and trailer. In Feb 2006 the boat trailer had gone to Colorado Boat Center service dept. for warranty work due to the rear axel on the trailer overheating. It was stated in the repair invoice that the wrong hubs had come in twice from the boat trailer manufacturer EZLoader, but after 3rd shipment the correct hubs had come in and they were replaced under warranty.
Over the next 2 years, I noticed on trips that I had taken over 50+ miles(appx 2-3per year) pulling the boat trailer that the rear axels would overheat and "spit grease" on the rear wheel of the trailer. Our boat trailer has twin axels front and rear with surge brakes on the rear axel. I had assumed that the rear axels needed more grease and by greasing them it temporaly solved the overheating problem. Most of our boating trips were less than 20 miles from our home, which was not enough to cause the rear axels to overheat. I had also observed in July 2009, that the left rear tire on the trailer had appx. 1" of wearing on the inside tread.
On July 18, 2009, we had taken a trip a trip about 75 miles from our home with our with our boat trailer in the Lairmie, Wyomong area. We had noticed in our rearview mirror that our left rear tire and wheel bent outward and was about to fall off. We pulled over immediately pulled over and had our trailer towed into Lairmie for repair. The towing company completed the repair by replacing the spindle on the axel and we returned to our home in the Berthoud, Colo area. On Aug 18th, 2009 our rear axel on the right side was overheated.
I contacted Colorado Boat Center to see if they could make the repair. Their service dept. informed me they could not get to it for over 3 months due to high volome of other of other customers. I then took our boat to Mountain Truck and Equipment in Longmont, they specialize in trailer repair. It was determined by the service manager for Mountain Truck that the wrong hubs were on the axel and grinded down washers were used as spacers to hold the incorrect hubs in place and allow the wheels to turn. Given our relatively short trips, I believe we have only put 1500 miles since the 2006 replacement of the hubs. This is what caused my overheating problems for the last 3 years on the rear axels on the boat trailer. This had put my trailer in an unsafe condition for highway travel. I am grateful we did not have a serious highway accident.
It seems to me the wrong hubs were installed when Colorado Boat Center replaced the hubs in 2006 while the warranty was in effect. We have contacted Tom S the owner of Colorado Boat Center and requested $1200. reimbursment for the repairs done by Mtn Truck & Equipment. Mr S has been very evasive and has denied any wrong doing. He has discredited my wife and I and accused us of having the wrong hubs put on elsewhere.
I feel our complaint not only has a safety factor, but a trust factor given the evasive behavior by Tom S and his service manager. They have been very unfair in thier business practices and have used scare tactics against my wife and I in addressing our concerns. I have filed a BBB complaint and sent a letter of intent for a small claims court case. Mr. Smith replied with a letter of intent to counter sue in the county court with an attorney.
