Trailer Work...What to do with this darn boat?

SantaCruzin

Member
May 4, 2020
47
Boat Info
1989 180 Bow Rider
Engines
4.3 Mercruiser
Howdy all!

While my '89 180BR will be a 95% freshwater boat for me, the previous owner had it mostly in salt water and the 1989 Shoreland'r trailer is a bit worse for the wear because of it. Come fall, I would like to do some repair work and preventative maintenance on the trailer in an effort to ensure it has many years of life left in it.

I am slowly accumulating the parts I will need (adding surge brakes, new rollers, bunks, etc.) but the big piece of the puzzle that's missing is what to do with the boat. I have seen some things online about putting boats on boat stands or building custom cradles from wood to support the boat at the back and the front. If I can avoid spending $200 for each stand I'd prefer it, but...

I have a front-loader tractor which could easily lift the boat (at least one end at a time) and I'm handy with wood...would I be insane to plan to lift the boat with some (properly rated) straps and set it down on some wooden cradles? I have read that holding the boat closer to the rear is best, but any ideas where I should look to support the boat?

I'm hoping it would not be off the trailer for more than a week but with two little kids...who knows how long it will take.
 
Howdy all!

While my '89 180BR will be a 95% freshwater boat for me, the previous owner had it mostly in salt water and the 1989 Shoreland'r trailer is a bit worse for the wear because of it. Come fall, I would like to do some repair work and preventative maintenance on the trailer in an effort to ensure it has many years of life left in it.

I am slowly accumulating the parts I will need (adding surge brakes, new rollers, bunks, etc.) but the big piece of the puzzle that's missing is what to do with the boat. I have seen some things online about putting boats on boat stands or building custom cradles from wood to support the boat at the back and the front. If I can avoid spending $200 for each stand I'd prefer it, but...

I have a front-loader tractor which could easily lift the boat (at least one end at a time) and I'm handy with wood...would I be insane to plan to lift the boat with some (properly rated) straps and set it down on some wooden cradles? I have read that holding the boat closer to the rear is best, but any ideas where I should look to support the boat?

I'm hoping it would not be off the trailer for more than a week but with two little kids...who knows how long it will take.

Last Fall I had the same scenario when I had my trailer painted. I just rented a short-term slip at marina close by and wet slipped it until the trailer was done a week later.
 
I'd talk to a local marina that rack stores and ask how much to rack it for a week. Or find the cheapest transient slip in the area.
 
Unfortunately the nearest harbor is Santa Cruz harbor, with a decades-long waitlist for a slip. I spoke to them about a transient slip but they don't have any availability until winter...plus I'm a bit uncomfortable with the idea of leaving it in salt water. No rack storage anywhere on the coast either, so I'd have to drive a few hours inland.
 
Jack the tongue jack all of the way down. Place blocking under each rear corner of the boat. Jack the boat up and the rear will rest on the blocking. Hook your tractor to the bow eye and lift just enough for the boat to clear the trailer. Pull the trailer out and rest the front on blocks....done....reverse process to reload. Have done this once myself.

Bennett
 
Jack the tongue jack all of the way down. Place blocking under each rear corner of the boat. Jack the boat up and the rear will rest on the blocking. Hook your tractor to the bow eye and lift just enough for the boat to clear the trailer. Pull the trailer out and rest the front on blocks....done....reverse process to reload. Have done this once myself.

Bennett

Perfect! Anywhere in particular I should/should not put the blocks?
 
When I had an 18' years ago I tied it to a tree and pulled the trailer out from under it, to rest on the lawn. Undid the trailer from the truck and that boat winched back on with no sweat at all.
 
Before you do all of this it would be wise to make sure the trailer frame is sound and worth saving.

use a hammer and start tapping around the frame and cross members for rust and fatigue.
 
My first boat was a 18' and I put hay bales under it as I pulled trailer out then winched it back on remove the bales.
 
My first boat was a 18' and I put hay bales under it as I pulled trailer out then winched it back on remove the bales.

That's a GREAT call, and we have plenty of bales around.

The trailer is definitely worth saving luckily. The only rust (for now) is around the rollers in the center of the trailer, presumably where it got less of a rinse and took longer to dry out. Aside from that, just a bit of surface rust in a few small places on the main rails.
 
Buy a new trailer - the old one is likely rotting from the inside out - by the time you get done replacing stuff, you'll be ahead buying new.......then sell the old one to recoup some money.....
 
I put a scope in the frame rails and of course they have surface rust, but not to the point where any chunks of metal schlepping off. That said, it is 31 years old (the last photos shows the worst spot on the trailer).

What would a new single axle trailer even cost? Something basic with brakes.

My only frame of reference was when I was looking to replace the rusty mess for my 23 foot Proline walkaround. I got quotes from a few places but they were all around $5,000 for a galvanized dual axle trailer. Admittedly a larger trailer, but still...I can't justify that much for a new trailer when mine would be serviceable with a bit of elbow grease and $500-$700 in parts.

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Why would you need trailer brakes to tow an 18' boat ? Honda civic tow vehicle? having a hard time following along.
 
Why would you need trailer brakes to tow an 18' boat ? Honda civic tow vehicle? having a hard time following along.

I have a 2015 F250 diesel for most towing, but we take a few trips per year to a lake with our 24ft Class C RV. We cross the Santa Cruz mountains to get anywhere and most local lakes involve at least a few grades/passes. Slowing a 12,000 lb RV is hard enough without 3,000 lbs of boat pushing you. The RV has the E4OD transmission with no tow control and limited manual gear selection options. The last trip over the mountains had us stuck behind a slow moving semi and my brakes got very soft.

With two kids in the RV, I'd prefer to err on the side of safety.
 
How can you handle the screaming engine and shifting towing with that thing over mountains?

I had a 4R-70W in an F150 which is the later 90’s version of that transmission. Durable mostly but nothing compared to what they have now.
 
How can you handle the screaming engine and shifting towing with that thing over mountains?

I had a 4R-70W in an F150 which is the later 90’s version of that transmission. Durable mostly but nothing compared to what they have now.

Nope, the E4OD is a much bigger and robust trans. than the 4R70W/75E. The 4R100 is an up grade for the E4OD vehicles.
 
4R-100 is more robust transmission which shares its heritage built on the E4OD and was the replacement for the C6 I believe. I didn’t get the 4R-100 in my 5.4 F-150 because production of the 4R-100 was not able to keep up with demand. Ford saved the 4R-100 for the super duties v10 and 7.3 diesel first. The mix in the F-150 was due to availability.

the 4R-70W is built on the AOD-E(W) and used in the modular engines.

I was not accurate in articulating my point.

I’d never question you Mitch.

the shifts and gearing on the 4 and even worse, 3 speed transmissions is nothing compared to a new PowerStroke 6.7 with a 6R140 the OP has.

I’m no expert I just had to listen to copious levels of intoxicated blabbing from a transmission guy who loved Fords.
 
I have a 2015 F250 diesel for most towing, but we take a few trips per year to a lake with our 24ft Class C RV. We cross the Santa Cruz mountains to get anywhere and most local lakes involve at least a few grades/passes. Slowing a 12,000 lb RV is hard enough without 3,000 lbs of boat pushing you. The RV has the E4OD transmission with no tow control and limited manual gear selection options. The last trip over the mountains had us stuck behind a slow moving semi and my brakes got very soft.


"I had a 4R-70W in an F150 which is the later 90’s version of that transmission. Durable mostly but nothing compared to what they have now."

With two kids in the RV, I'd prefer to err on the side of safety.
Nope, the E4OD is a much bigger and robust trans. than the 4R70W/75E. The 4R100 is an up grade for the E4OD vehicles.
4R-100 is more robust transmission which shares its heritage built on the E4OD and was the replacement for the C6 I believe. I didn’t get the 4R-100 in my 5.4 F-150 because production of the 4R-100 was not able to keep up with demand. Ford saved the 4R-100 for the super duties v10 and 7.3 diesel first. The mix in the F-150 was due to availability.

the 4R-70W is built on the AOD-E(W) and used in the modular engines.

I was not accurate in articulating my point.

I’d never question you Mitch.

the shifts and gearing on the 4 and even worse, 3 speed transmissions is nothing compared to a new PowerStroke 6.7 with a 6R140 the OP has.

I’m no expert I just had to listen to copious levels of intoxicated blabbing from a transmission guy who loved Fords.

#
 
The screaming engine drowns out the screaming toddler and infant... :)

I'm a huge Ford guy, but gotta admit I'm not impressed by the E4OD. The 460 on the other hand...I'm pretty amazed by what that thing can do. Pulling 15,000+ up the mountains seems to be a relatively simple task for it unless it's extremely hot out and then the temperature climbs a bit more than I'd like.

Does anyone have any thoughts on what a new single axle trailer would cost? If I can sell my current trailer for a reasonable amount and save the $700 I was going to put into it getting me close to the price of a new trailer, that seems reasonable.
 

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