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Shorelandr vs. Mid-America trailer

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Dale Benson

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Location
Grand Rapids, MN
Do any of you have input as to pros or cons between a Shorelandr brand trailer and a Mid-America? My local dealer carries Shorelandr and is 'specing' one out for me.
Many people seem to hold the Shorelandr brand in pretty high regard. ​
But I'm quite impressed with what I've read about purchasing a Mid America from 'trailersforpontoons.com'. At the very least, their website is extremely informative. It is clear to see details of the construction and impact of various options about the Mid-America trailers. But the
Shorelandr website is pretty weak, with little detail, and ​
I haven't been able to learn much about them.
 
Many on here have the Mid-America and love them.
 
I have a Mid-America and really like it. I have had it for a year and their customer service has been excellent. I had an issue with one of my LED tail lights getting water in it, they sent me 2 new ones.
 
Mid-America is a much higher quality trailer. One of the best made in my opinion.
 
H2GO said:
Mid-America is a much higher quality trailer. One of the best made in my opinion.
Click to expand...
Higher quality than Shorelandr? Or do you just mean that it is your opinion that it is better than most, in general? I'm already pretty impressed with Mid Am after studying info online. But a purchase from 'trailersforpontoons.com' will require a 13 hour drive - ONE WAY, whereas my local Bennington dealer can get me a Shorelandr. I'm real eager to find out the pros and cons between the purchase of one of these two brands.
By the way, I see by your signature that you have a Champagne with Smokey Granite trim color combo. I just ordered one with that same combo but with the 'black out' option. Do you have pictures posted anywhere?
 
Dale I looked at most brands including shorelandr and thought the MId-America was the best fresh water trailer in my area. Unfortunately my dealer couldn’t get one in for months so I went with the Phoenix brand. I wanted something heavy duty for long hauls. I just added some pics to the gallery so hopefully they show up.
 
Mid-am here, been pretty happy so far.
 
I bought a Mid America after doing a lot of shopping. It's the only power boat trailer I've ever owned, so I can't say that I have an effective basis for comparing it to others, but it is really solid. Now, every time I see a trailer, I do a visual comparison and they always come up short of the Mid America.

As for delivery, I used Uship to get it delivered to Houston. Very easy to do. $700 total cost to deliver.
 
Shorelander trailer would be fine. Many people think they need a really heavy duty trailer for a tritoon, but a moderate weight trailer is just fine. When you strap down a tritoon on a trailer with the V bunks, the boat itself becomes a big part of the structure of the trailer--not letting the trailer flex. Most of the popular brands does fine. If you're going 22' or longer, I would go a tandem axle with surge brakes on one axle.
 
Bamaman brings up a good point - what's the intended use. Some on this forum just tow to/from marina in spring/fall. The other extreme, like us, is 50-mile (each way) minimum tows with lots of ramp launches... sometimes 150-200 miles each way. Heavier duty would likely be worth incremental dollars.

We got 3 axles just for stability in cross-winds and 18-wheeler traffic. Probably overkill, but she tows rock-steady on the highway.
 
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I’m the guy who normally puts as much investigation into the trailer as the boat. For some reason I just bought another Karavan trailer for this boat as that’s what came with my Bayliner and I had no issues. My weekend trips are 305 miles one way and three years later seems to be holding up fine. Take note I have 14” radials and disk brakes on both axles. :)
 

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I had a shorlander under my last boat and it was a good trailer. I ordered a galvanized mid america HD trailer from trailersforpontoons for the new boat and must say it is very well made and has a higher carrying capacity than most stock pontoon trailers. I chose to go with the better trailer as i do about 1000 miles a year with mine.
 
I'm pretty sure I've narrowed it down to the Mid America from trailersforpontoons. I'll go with the HD version. A bit of over-kill, but even all tricked out (alum rims, load guides, plastic bunk wraps, stern center toon extension, etc.) it will cost less than going local with a Shorelandr or Karavan. About 1400 miles round-trip from home in northern Minnesota. ROAD TRIP! :)
 
Dale, check out Uship. Worked great for me!
 
Tin Diesel said:
... check out Uship. Worked great for me!
Click to expand...

I've received one auction quote through uShip for about $650. I'm considering it, but more likely I'll just make the road trip myself. We enjoy driving and really won't mind such a trip.
We'll be returning to MN
in about three weeks ​
after having spent the winter in Tucson. Routing home via Jackson Center, OH for minor warranty work on Airstream and get a factory tour. Realized a couple weeks ago that that would put us relatively close to Elkhart so I've arranged a tour of the Bennington factory, too. Our recently ordered 22GFS will likely already be made by then but maybe I'll get lucky and it'll still be in production.
Trailersforpontoons has a physical location in Elkhart not far from Bennington, but unfortunately I won't be able to tow a pontoon trailer back with the Airstream already in tow. Hence, ROAD TRIP.
 
I am a big believer in larger trailer tires. Larger tires means slower wheel RPM = longer bearing life & lower tire temps.
That said, taller tires means having to back into the water farther to launch & load.
Give these factors thorough consideration when making your choice.
 
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