I had alot of problems with my traveler car. Then while investigating I found a ball bearing on the deck. There were also signs of wear on the ball. I went to my local boatshop and got some new ball bearings with a loading tool. The remainder of the balls fell all over the place, it was obvious that some were missing already. The loading tool once I cut it to fit between our rail and wall worked great. Mike Ellis is having the same problem now. I'd recommend if anyones traveler is beginning to stick or roll rough replace the balls. That's for boats with some time under their belts. I did mine two years ago. The balls and tool are very cheap if I remember right less than $20 dollars. Loading them is just calm work not for a day that you feel tense. It doesn't take much for them to run out of the car and all over the deck.
Clifton Odom -
My traveler became really hard to move. After taking it apart twice I finally traced the problem to a very small (almost imperceptable) amount of sand in the traveler. I cleaned it out, sprayed the track with Mclube, and it has worked great ever since. It is a shock the first time you take it apart and the bearings go flying. Here is a trick for reassembling the traveler. Roll the balls in very light lithium grease to get them to stay put while you insert them into the race. After ithey are assembled, hit the traveler with some mild water soluble degreaser. My traveler has run freely all season just by keeping it clean.
Dave Crall