It is pretty common for those ubolts to get rusted or loose and shear off, but you want to make sure that it isn't a symptom of a larger problem. Often times, when those ubolts work themselves loose, they will eventually shear off, luckily it happened in a parking lot while the boat was off the trailer. This is an easy fix. Go to a local trailer supply store and make sure you get the same outer diameter ubolt that has the same inner diameter (distance on the inside of the ubolt, it must match the outer diameter of your axle) as the old ubolt (this is the most important factor on replacing ubolts). You also need to make sure that the threads on your new ubolts are the same or longer than your old ones. It might be tough to find the exact same one (length wise) but you need to make sure that you have the same thread distance. What I would recommend is a couple things: - First, make sure you are getting the highest quality ubolts, there are different grades of metal and the ubolts are often labeled with the quality of the metal. - Secondly, move to a much larger nut. Most of the trailer bolts use the 1/2" or 3/4" nuts, I would recommend using a 1 or 1 1/4" nut because it gives the nut more threads and has a lesser chance of working itself loose. - Get high quality (thick) lock washers, this is the key to keeping those nuts tight. Don't be afraid to throw some Lock-Tight on there as well. - Since this has happened, I would recommend changing out all of your ubolts so you do not have this kind of failure in the future. Quality ubolts are not cheap, but are a sound investment. PM me with any questions.
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