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Trailer Design - Welcome to my CRAZY

LaurencetheAdventurer

LaurencetheAdventurer

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Ok, boat ordered, now working to get the ideal trailer to go along with my Perfect Boat. LOL. Figure this is my last boat, and will be trailering a lot, so might as well get it right. I have read a lot about trailer fails, and have experience a myriad of issues boating with friends over the last 15 years. So, looking for any input on key features - see My Crazy as I have researched options and summarized the data I have found in the attached. Key Issues:
  1. Ladder / Winch Design (I want to be boating when I am 90, a good ladder & handrail seems KEY). Can't figure out why so few builders get this right?
  2. Guide Rails (my docking places can get really windy and no dock to pull it up on - horizontal guides about 1/3 from back edge ideal?)
  3. Bunks - Carpet or Poly?
  4. Transom Savers (so much data and no clear answers). Seems with trim down ideal, but still a lot of weight on Transom. Connecting boat to trailer seems jolts & bounces transfer to Motor. Motomate best solution, or is this really just a hydraulic saver and does NOT protect the motor from trailer bounce?
  5. Can I squeeze in my Stand Up Jet Ski between the Ladder and Toons?

Appreciate any input and pictures if you have them!

Larry
 

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  • Trailer Builld Specs V3 Research Summary.pdf
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Wow! That's pretty intense research! Too bad there isn't a trailer manufacturer that would take your specs and build you exactly what you want. (Or is there?!?) We have had 2 pontoon boat trailers. A painted Yacht Club trailer for 12 yrs. and a galvanized Venture trailer going on it's 2nd year. Both have served us well with regular maintenance. Both have the built in ladders and have fit our boats like a glove. The only difference is the 1st one had carpeted bunks, incandescent lighting and drum brakes. Our current one has poly bunks, LED lighting and disc brakes. We'll see how the appearance of the galvanized trailer holds up over time......
 
Mid-America has a good reputation. My boat lives on a boat lift and only sees the trailer for maintenance so I don’t have anything fancy. I can’t remember the users name but someone on here built their own trailer from scratch and it looked amazing.
 
All I'm going to say is that if you think you've found an adequate trailer, then find one even better. Never have understood why anyone wouldn't buy the best trailer they can buy if they are going to haul an investment like a tritoon. Especially if you are trailering significant miles to a lake every time you go boating. If I buy a new truck, and a new tritoon, and build a garage for it, then plan to average 200 miles round-trip every weekend or day trip, I'm not sure there's a trailer out there that will satisfy me. I'm speaking from current experience. Lol
 
My mid grade trailer survived the 1300 mile move from Michigan to Florida, then back to Michigan and to Florida again. So I probably have 5000 miles on mine and it’s doing good. Key to anything is maintenance of the hubs, lights etc.
 
I had a POS trailer for the 25' boat that literally fell apart on the road. I spent the money and got a Boatmate trailer that is so much better(took 14 weeks to get). 8,000lb weight capacity, disk brakes on all 4 wheels, oil bath wheel bearing, front ladder that works, plastic slip pads on bunks. I now can safely tow a 6,000lb boat. Don't buy a trailer on price. Get a trailer that can SAFELY tow your boat.
 
I was told not to get a trailer with brakes if you're going to be using it in saltwater, that it causes brake failure
 
Remediation said:
I had a POS trailer for the 25' boat that literally fell apart on the road. I spent the money and got a Boatmate trailer that is so much better(took 14 weeks to get). 8,000lb weight capacity, disk brakes on all 4 wheels, oil bath wheel bearing, front ladder that works, plastic slip pads on bunks. I now can safely tow a 6,000lb boat. Don't buy a trailer on price. Get a trailer that can SAFELY tow your boat.
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Sound advice!! Do you happen to have a picture of your ladder / bumper design?
 
LaurencetheAdventurer said:
Ok, boat ordered, now working to get the ideal trailer to go along with my Perfect Boat. LOL. Figure this is my last boat, and will be trailering a lot, so might as well get it right. I have read a lot about trailer fails, and have experience a myriad of issues boating with friends over the last 15 years. So, looking for any input on key features - see My Crazy as I have researched options and summarized the data I have found in the attached. Key Issues:
  1. Ladder / Winch Design (I want to be boating when I am 90, a good ladder & handrail seems KEY). Can't figure out why so few builders get this right?
  2. Guide Rails (my docking places can get really windy and no dock to pull it up on - horizontal guides about 1/3 from back edge ideal?)
  3. Bunks - Carpet or Poly?
  4. Transom Savers (so much data and no clear answers). Seems with trim down ideal, but still a lot of weight on Transom. Connecting boat to trailer seems jolts & bounces transfer to Motor. Motomate best solution, or is this really just a hydraulic saver and does NOT protect the motor from trailer bounce?
  5. Can I squeeze in my Stand Up Jet Ski between the Ladder and Toons?

Appreciate any input and pictures if you have them!

Larry
Click to expand...
Sounds like with all the thought you put into this you just need to find a shop to build it for you. You might even be able to get them to market it and sell it thus becoming independently wealthy. If nothing else you would have a very nice trailer.
 
THAT would be dreamy! I will certainly post my final specs and pictures once I figure it out. I tow a 10K lb toyhauler alot and understand the importance of a well designed, balance rig and the importance of the little details.
 
The boat is in a tobacco barn in KY right now. I looked at the Boatmate web site and they don't show the ladder well in the pictures. They specialize in wakeboard boat trailers but are now building pontoon trailers. They built the trailer for the 30' 10' wide Bennington with 2 Merc 400R that showed up at the lake last year. The boat is jaw dropping.
 
State law will dictate brake requirements. Also, disc brakes are the preferred choice for saltwater applications over drum.
 
Myco Trailers can build you whatever you want and get it to wherever you want ... for a price. They build them for DCB on the west coast, among many others. This is my trailer, obviously not for a pontoon though. They do a ton of offshore cats, custom race boats, anything is possible. They use the best of everything, Dexter axles, electric over hydraulic brakes, EZ Lube spindles with Air Tight pressurized hubs, all aluminum welded bunks, LED lighting, etc. My 30' boat with twin outboards goes on and off like butta. Love it.

Myco Trailer - Axopar - 1.jpeg
 
TomS said:
Myco Trailers can build you whatever you want and get it to wherever you want ... for a price. They build them for DCB on the west coast, among many others. This is my trailer, obviously not for a pontoon though. They do a ton of offshore cats, custom race boats, anything is possible. They use the best of everything, Dexter axles, electric over hydraulic brakes, EZ Lube spindles with Air Tight pressurized hubs, all aluminum welded bunks, LED lighting, etc. My 30' boat with twin outboards goes on and off like butta. Love it.

View attachment 28764
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Much appreciated! That is a sweet rig. Those aluminum beams are HUGE. Now I want to see that boat.....
 
I was quite pleased with my second EZ Loader Custom Executive Trailer. I liked the ladder design as it lifted and stored flat (vertical) while trailering. I was going to figure out a way to change the mounts for the transom tie downs as they were below the box welded on the back of toon, which means you couldn't ratchet it REAL tight. It had poly bunks, which I recommend. Going with the 15" tires you will be able to have the motor in the full down position, which will be substantially less force on the transom and personally I would think it would negate the need for any other support.

One thing to note, if you are trying to mount your jet ski in the front, you are going to need a trailer that has adjustable axles so you can try to get your tongue weight correct. That or have one custom built.

Boatmate does make some very nice trailers for the tow boat crowd!
 
BulldogsCadillac said:
I was quite pleased with my second EZ Loader Custom Executive Trailer. I liked the ladder design as it lifted and stored flat (vertical) while trailering. I was going to figure out a way to change the mounts for the transom tie downs as they were below the box welded on the back of toon, which means you couldn't ratchet it REAL tight. It had poly bunks, which I recommend. Going with the 15" tires you will be able to have the motor in the full down position, which will be substantially less force on the transom and personally I would think it would negate the need for any other support.

One thing to note, if you are trying to mount your jet ski in the front, you are going to need a trailer that has adjustable axles so you can try to get your tongue weight correct. That or have one custom built.

Boatmate does make some very nice trailers for the tow boat crowd!
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Thank you, excellent insight. Really like the idea of having adjustable axels allowing me to fix tongue weight if/as I change jet skis.
 
LaurencetheAdventurer said:
Thank you, excellent insight. Really like the idea of having adjustable axels allowing me to fix tongue weight if/as I change jet skis.
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One other thing to keep in mind, that would make one heck of a long trailer too!! My 22' RCW was 33'6" from the back of the motor to the hitch ball, adding in a cradle for a jet ski will increase that significantly, since you will definitely still want to keep it quite a ways from the front so you still have tight turning maneuverability, which when launching a boat in new places can be critical to having a stress free dock experience.

One other thing , because I always think the worst thing first, is it something that if you went out on the Benny and left the jet ski on the trailer, that someone might try and steal? I'm not sure on the weight, probably 4-500lbs I'm assuming? Also, how do you launch and retrieve it off the trailer with the Benny still attached? I think you'd have to launch the Bennington first any time you just wanted to use the ski. Also, now that I type it out, to have 500lbs that close to your tongue, you'd have a heck of a time getting proper tongue weight on the hitch. Balancing it would be like teeter-tottering.

What are you towing with?
 
LaurencetheAdventurer said:
Much appreciated! That is a sweet rig. Those aluminum beams are HUGE. Now I want to see that boat.....
Click to expand...


full
 
BulldogsCadillac said:
One other thing to keep in mind, that would make one heck of a long trailer too!! My 22' RCW was 33'6" from the back of the motor to the hitch ball, adding in a cradle for a jet ski will increase that significantly, since you will definitely still want to keep it quite a ways from the front so you still have tight turning maneuverability, which when launching a boat in new places can be critical to having a stress free dock experience.

One other thing , because I always think the worst thing first, is it something that if you went out on the Benny and left the jet ski on the trailer, that someone might try and steal? I'm not sure on the weight, probably 4-500lbs I'm assuming? Also, how do you launch and retrieve it off the trailer with the Benny still attached? I think you'd have to launch the Bennington first any time you just wanted to use the ski. Also, now that I type it out, to have 500lbs that close to your tongue, you'd have a heck of a time getting proper tongue weight on the hitch. Balancing it would be like teeter-tottering.

What are you towing with?
Click to expand...
Thank you Derek - excellent details!

Yes, overall length is a concern, however the trailers I have seen have a decent amount of space between to Toon and Winch Post. If you place the winch properly and use triangle supports at the Winch beam base (vs an extended arm), it seems I can get away with adding between 12 and 18", at least that is my dream - LOL. These stand ups are only 31" wide at the MOST.

Stand ups range 300 to 550 lbs. I have seen some bunks with angled load bunks (roxom) plus adding rollers would allow it to be pushed / winched up easily enough if/when I could not get the trailer deep enough. Yes, the Benny would have to launch 1st. Friends have simply locked them up when not going out, never an issue (and hey, that's what insurance is for...right?). It would be rare I would want to take the Jet Ski out and not the Benny.

Balancing, per my research, is a relatively straight forward math equation, it getting/estimating the variables that is the challenge. Seems a few builders actually have some fancy software that helps them with this issue. I assume the Benny's weight is reasonably constant through the length of the toon, adjusted for the Extra Transom Weight, Engine, Gas Tank, and Toon Points @ bow Reduction, plus weight of stuff (especially anchors and locker stuff). Easy, right....LOL. I am also using existing trailers as a starting point, then just play with the gas tank full vs empty (already an interesting issue with a 52 gallon tank) and then adding the weight of the Jet Ski plus a bit of trailer weight. My buddy puts two of them on the front of this VHull trailer, hangs them off the side Beam centered with the boats front end nose, thus my inspiration (and that has worked well for him for over 10 years).

I tow with a Ford Expedition. With a few upgrades, I have not had an issue pulling my almost 10K Toyhauler/Occupants/Stuff over the last 7 years. I figure my Benny, Trailer and Jet Ski plus trailer totals 7,100lbs, 8K with family. Rated capacity is 9K, though I have never been able to figure out why the similarly equipped F150 is 11K (same frames, axels, gears). Even after adjusting for the extra SUV weight, I should be closer to 10K plus.

Truly appreciate the thoughts, really helps solidify and adjust my thoughts and expectations as I strive for a dream!
 
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