Boat supply in Huntsville/Decatur area

Can anyone recommend the best boat part supply in
Huntsville / Decatur? No mail/web catalogs please.

I'm looking for...

1) Hub grease seals (double-lip preferred).

2) Synthetic water proof grease.

3) Spare wheel and tire.

The wheels and hubs are in my garage. The boat and trailer
are on jackstands at my Dad's house. I'm trying to get all the
hub parts so I can reassemble the hubs and bring the boat
home with me next weekend. I need to compare the seals
at the parts store to guarantee I get the right parts.

Thanks!

Have you tried Guntersville boat mart or there is a place in Decatur on central parkway that sells bearings and seals go to 14th street over the overpass,turn left at central parkway and it is about a block or two on the left.I believe it is called Bearing supply.

Tractor supply probably has it. Auto zone used to. May still carry bearings.

Thanks. My big hurdle right now is a lack of a part number.
The trailer is an Ezy Ryder made in 1986. I got the VIN and
model today and will try to contact the original maker for
help. I think they're still in business.

My fallback is to mic the axles and hubs, then try to find
seals that will work. I was hoping someone would know a
parts house with an expert willing to help in that search.
I'm looking local for that reason.

I installed new wires and LED lights on the trailer this weekend.
The trailer was made by Ezy-ryder (aka Gene's Marine) in
Clanton AL back in 1986. I think old Eugene Cleckler is retired,
so my fallback method of finding a seal is my only option.

Last I heard Backwoods Landing had a great deal on a spare wheel/tire combo. I think they have the 175/80R13 size in C load range (I think) for $80. Most places would charge well over $100. The spare tire carrier was also about $10 there as opposed to $20-30 elsewhere.

Thank Scout! I've never heard of Backwoods Landing, so I'm
very thankful you posted. I'll give them a call and see what
tires and bearing seals they have before I buy elsewhere.

I'm headed to Cabelas tonight to buy what I need minus the
spare tire. They do sell spares, but they're about $110. They
don't appear to have individual bearing seals. I can buy a full
bearing kit, so I'll probably get one for backup.

I drove to the Boat Wrench yesterday at lunch. Nice guys. I'll
probably take my motor to them when needed. Traffic wasn't
absolutely horrible on South Parkway at 12pm...ahem. What
I learned from my 1-hour trip is that boat shops don't carry
parts for boat trailers or know much about them. They referred
me to a local trailer builder for parts and a spare tire. I looked
up the owner of the trailer company and what I found was...
um...interesting. So I'll probably find a different trailer company
if needed.

In the end, it looks like Napa, Tractor supply, AutoZone,
O'Reilly, etc. is probably my best bet to source individual
bearing seals. Go figure.

Forgot about the bearing grease. I got two tubes of Amsoil
Synthetic Water Resistant Grease from Johnson Foreign Auto
on Putnam Drive. I can't find reviews from boat hobbyists,
but the specs on this grease are pretty good, I like Amsoil
products, and price wasn't bad. We'll see how it goes.

Cabelas had Bearing Buddies, tie down straps, and that's about
it. The web site is totally wrong about what's in stock at the
local store. The selection of crappie jigs was disappointing too,
especially the Bobby Garland stuff. Didn't see any Charlie
Brewer Sliders either. Hmm.

The big shock was a lack of Cabelas employees on the floor to
answer questions. One lady was working the checkout, and
one was at the service desk. That was it. No other employees
visible in a mega-store the size of Walmart. It was really weird.

Oh well, off to visit Backwoods Landing at Moorseville exit to
buy a spare tire. I hope.

I was in the Academy store in Decatur today and they had a pretty good supply of bearings and seals if you`re still looking they might have what you need,they also had the complete bearing kits bearing, seals,looked like it had everything you need.

Thanks! I didn't even think about Academy. I've got one near
by house in Madison on Hwy 72. I'll go there this afternoon.
If they're out, then I'll hit the local auto parts stores.

I got a spare tire from Backwoods Landing for $80. Very nice guys.
The grease seals are the only item I have left to find. With luck, I'll
have to boat home Sunday.

Bearing Distributors in Decatur will have the seals for trailer. Take old one with you. (256) 308-1216

I can vouch for Cabelas no having nothing but the very basics in crappie plastics as well as jigs and you can beat the prices for the jigs at most of the bait stores as I get Bobby garlands for $2.99.
And the check out people have no clue. I told one that they needed to stock Bandit 300,s in awesome pink and black and all I got was what is that?, while looking like a deer in the cars head lights. The only good thing I can say is that if you are close enough run by,you can order anything from them online and you get free shipping to the store and they call you or email you when it arrives so if you do not have to travel to far it saves you shipping.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by love2fish

Bearing Distributors in Decatur will have the seals...

---

Thanks! That'll be my first stop then. For anyone who
cares, here's the full info on BDI. I'll report back on
the results...

BDI
Bearing Distributors Inc.
3070 Finley Island Circle
Decatur, AL 35601
Phone: 256.308.1201
Bearing Distributors (BDI)
[email protected]

Okay, I got two CE Smith bearing kits at Academy. The seals
mic to the correct dims, so I think I'm good. But I drove down
to BDI anyway a spoke to Darrell who was super helpful.
Unfortunately, they don't stock small items like seals. They
can order the parts and have them inside of a few days. They
can also get American made bearings, so I'll probably get
some later for when I need them.

Overall, I think I was over-thinking things. I may be wrong,
but any 1" straight trailer axle probably takes the same
seal, races, and bearings. My old seals don't even have
a part number.

Thanks for the help.

I got my bearing/race and seals at O'Reilly Auto Parts when I rebuilt my hubs 2 years ago. Typically there are 2 sizes of bearings for most boat/utility trailers.

Thanks. The CE Smith seals fit perfect. Stinks that I
had to buy two kits just to get two seals. At least now
I have some cheap bearings and races for backups.

Anyway, I got the boat home okay Sunday afternoon.
I stopped and checked the hubs twice, and they were
cool to the touch the whole trip. So I didn't botch the
job. The Bearing Buddy covers even stayed on. I found
that Bearing Buddies are a pain to install. They need to
include a Bearing Buddy Alignment Tool and Press to
perfectly align the silly things before you try to tap
them in.

I had Rocket City Trailers in Huntsville put new tires and inspect/repack the bearings on my car hauler. I'm getting ready to take my boat in for the same. They have good prices and service along with parts. It wasn't worth the hassle for me to try to figure out what I needed and do it myself for all the more they charged.

There is a trailer supply and repair on highway 53 I think the name is p&h or something really close to that. They helped me with my trailer.

Thanks. I've got everything and the trailer's home.
Now I just have to restore it.

I was referred to P & T Trailer Sales, Inc. on Hwy 53.
I researched the owner Paul Pencola and discovered
he also owns Rocket City Trailers. I eventually decided
to do the job myself. I've replaced wheel bearings tons
of times, but I'd never done a trailer hub. Not a big deal.