I'm going to buy (or factory order) a new trailer for my old 20' o/b
in the next few days and I'm being told by not one but TWO local
manufacturers some things that don't sound right to me.
First, they don't build anything but "float on" trailers anymore due
to liability risk and other bogus sounding excuses. Ok, so I'll go
with the modern day flow and buy a float on.
Second, nobody worries about supporting transoms with the frame of the
trailer anymore. They see no problem with hanging a transom and its
400 lb o/b way back past the rear trailer cross brace, supported only
by the extended wooden bunks (the ends of which aren't supported by
anything but air ... looks like the makings of a hook in the hull to
me. Did I mention I tend to keep my boats longer than most guys keep
wives?)
Third, the axles are all bolted directly to the frame these days and
can't be adjusted forward or backward without drilling new holes in
the frame. Weight distribution is accomplished by moving the boat fore
and aft which can mean the transom may end up even further back than
the ends of the bunks (see #2 for my humble opinion on that).

Like I said, I don't have much choice so I'll go with what's available
and make do, and btw, I'm seeing more and more new boats in the
showrooms on trailers like this. But does the new way of
designing/building trailers sound like a step backwards to anybody
besides me? Or am I being shot with B/S by BOTH manufacturers?

Rick

wrote:

I'm going to buy (or factory order) a new trailer for my old 20' o/b

What is the boat? Is if fiberglass?

First, they don't build anything but "float on" trailers anymore...

I assume "float-on" means the boat floats on to (above) the trailer and
the trailer comes up under it when the tow vehicle pulls it out of the
water? What would non-float on be, powering it on??

Second, nobody worries about supporting transoms with the frame of the
trailer anymore. They see no problem with hanging a transom and its
400 lb o/b way back past the rear trailer cross brace

This is one of the reasons we looked for custom welders and then finally
built our own trailer. The "off-the-shelf" trailers would likely have had
our
transom hanging out past the end. We have a 50 galon gas tank right there.
I didn't want all that weight leveraging on my wooden stringers constantly.


If you do have to get a trailer where the transom hangs off the end,
consider
blocking up your transom when the boat is not in use for extended periods
of time.

lid wrote:
I'm going to buy (or factory order) a new trailer for my old 20' o/b
in the next few days and I'm being told by not one but TWO local
manufacturers some things that don't sound right to me.
First, they don't build anything but "float on" trailers anymore due
to liability risk and other bogus sounding excuses. Ok, so I'll go
with the modern day flow and buy a float on.
Second, nobody worries about supporting transoms with the frame of the
trailer anymore. They see no problem with hanging a transom and its
400 lb o/b way back past the rear trailer cross brace, supported only
by the extended wooden bunks (the ends of which aren't supported by
anything but air ... looks like the makings of a hook in the hull to
me. Did I mention I tend to keep my boats longer than most guys keep
wives?)
Third, the axles are all bolted directly to the frame these days and
can't be adjusted forward or backward without drilling new holes in
the frame. Weight distribution is accomplished by moving the boat fore
and aft which can mean the transom may end up even further back than
the ends of the bunks (see #2 for my humble opinion on that).

Like I said, I don't have much choice so I'll go with what's available
and make do, and btw, I'm seeing more and more new boats in the
showrooms on trailers like this. But does the new way of
designing/building trailers sound like a step backwards to anybody
besides me? Or am I being shot with B/S by BOTH manufacturers?

Rick
Why not make your own "new" trailer?

--
A significant part of courage is realizing that only you need to know
how terrified you are..

jabadoodle wrote:
What is the boat? Is if fiberglass?

Yep. Fiberglass '71 Thunderbird Comanche.

I assume "float-on" means the boat floats on to (above) the trailer and
the trailer comes up under it when the tow vehicle pulls it out of the
water?

I prefer a trailers with rollers. You have much more flexibility with
them. Launch/retrieve in shallow water, over the top of bulkheads, off
the beach, off a river bank, or just dump the boat in the yard when
need be (see the thread "Removing boat from trailer" further up the
line). A "float on" is really nice when you have a steep concrete
ramp available and deep enough water, but you're pretty much limited
otherwise.

What would non-float on be, powering it on??

Float on trailers are designed to be powered on. You can power onto a
roller type trailer too but you have to be a little more careful.
Plus, with a roller type trailer you can winch it on when need be.
I've even winched mine a couple of feet up the side of a clay bank
when I couldn't quite get the trailer to the water.

If you do have to get a trailer where the transom hangs off the end,
consider blocking up your transom when the boat is not in use for extended
periods of time.

Good suggestion. In fact, I've been doing that for years in addition
to the support my transom's been getting from the trailer's rear cross
member. Might have been overkill but what the hey ... I don't have a
hook in my bottom ;-)

Rick

dazed and confuzed wrote:
Why not make your own "new" trailer?

For a couple hundred extra bucks, one of the manufacturers here will
build it exactly the way I want it so I might do that ... maybe.
Problem though is time. It'll take several weeks and I want a trailer
NOW LoL! (I have a trip planned and didn't get started with my
trailer shopping early enough).

Rick

"dazed and confuzed" wrote in message
...


Why not make your own "new" trailer?


We are in the final stages of doing this. Lots of work. Lots of
time. Not saving much, if any, money. I'm glad we did it because
for our boat it probably the best option we had. Plus it was a
learning experience and fun. But it's not an option I'd reccomend
lightly.

See pics or building it at:
http://tinyurl.com/3apc6

Gary Warner wrote:
"dazed and confuzed" wrote in message
...


Why not make your own "new" trailer?



We are in the final stages of doing this. Lots of work. Lots of
time. Not saving much, if any, money. I'm glad we did it because
for our boat it probably the best option we had. Plus it was a
learning experience and fun. But it's not an option I'd reccomend
lightly.

See pics or building it at:
http://tinyurl.com/3apc6






Nice. I'll be doing that myself in about 6 weeks. Hint: save EVERY
receipt for every trailer part, so you can get a title for it. The
bureaucrats at the DMV want to see proof that you built it.



--
A significant part of courage is realizing that only you need to know
how terrified you are..

On Sun, 25 Apr, 6:17cst jabadoodle wrote:
See pics or building it at:
http://tinyurl.com/3apc6

Nice work.
I went ahead and just bought one. The boat fits it like a glove and
it's cradled lower than before, thus lowering the center of gravity. I
like that. It does extend past the frame's rear cross member, and I
don't like, but at least it's not past the bunks. I'll feel better by
bracing it and taking the weight off the transom when it's in storage
though. It trails great with no sway at all on the Interstate.
Doesn't follow as well around corners as the wheelbase is longer, but
good enough. And as I suspected, the tongue weight turned out to be
much more than I care for. Makes the front of my tow vehicle feel
light. The dealer tells me to call the manufacturer on Monday so we'll
see where that goes. I'm guessing they'll drill more holes in the
frame and move the axle forward. Moving the boat aft isn't an option.
It's already to far back imho.
Anyhow, that's my update.
oh! speaking of adjustments, I'm reconfiguring my old trailer as a
general hauler for a skiff. a dory, a small sailboat, and anything
else that may turn up.
I'll be interested in watching your construction progress.
Rick

Unless you are buying the components at very high prices, you should be
saving a lot of money. The price that I usually charge for a trailer is at
least 3x material costs...sometimes more depending on design and building
time.
Unfortunately, most home builders start with a poor design or no design at
all except for what they have in their head. I've been fabricating most of
my life and I rarely build anything without making a plan first! I try to
do my thinking and make my mistakes on paper rather than on metal. (computer
screen actually) Sometimes it takes me longer to make the plan than to
build the project. Look here to see how I figure axle placement so that I
can get the load as low as possible while keeping the components from
running into each other.
http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/qlw...1f.jpg&.view=t

I once had a customer that insisted on a fender placement that would not
even allow the wheel to be mounted. I tried and tried to explain it to him,
but he insisted. So I welded the damn thing on and then charged him
overtime labor to move it after he finally could see that the wheel could
not be fitted. A good drawing eliminates that kind of mistake.

"Gary Warner" wrote in message
...

"dazed and confuzed" wrote in message
...


Why not make your own "new" trailer?


We are in the final stages of doing this. Lots of work. Lots of
time. Not saving much, if any, money. I'm glad we did it because
for our boat it probably the best option we had. Plus it was a
learning experience and fun. But it's not an option I'd reccomend
lightly.

See pics or building it at:
http://tinyurl.com/3apc6

"QLW" wrote:

Unless you are buying the components at very high prices, you should be
saving a lot of money.

The two representative prices we got for custom was $2200 and $4000. The
$2200 guy
was OK and the $4000 uy made a beautiful trailer. Ours will probably be
about $3300
all done and painted. So we will probably save $500 to $700.

The comparison also isn't totally fair. We are using better more expensive
components
than would have been on these trailes, particularly the $2200 one. We are
using torsion
axels, LED lights, very high quality and larger tires, a spare tire, disc
brakes on both axels
and probably a really quality paint job. If we were to compare "apples to
apples" the costs
of the other trailers would probably have been higher, so we might be saving
$700 to $1200.

And while we're trying not to pay too high prices for our parts, we probably
don't get the
discounts that these custom shops get.

As for planning: YES it took me forever to plan this thing. My dad and I
would talk, plan, then
I'd draw stuff up. Then we'ld talk. Plan. Look. Measure. Talk. Draw up
another. Plan. Etc, etc.
The good news is the trailer is coming out exactly how we planned it, no
mistakes, and no
problems. At leat so far. We haven't actually dragged her down the road at
speed yet...so
hopefully our design is all good.

There is only one thing I would do diferently. No time to explain that
now...but I'll come back
in a bit and do it.

Gary

PS: Thanks for the comments.