Trailer review - 240 sundancer

Reed Sirinek

Member
Jul 20, 2022
34
Boat Info
2007 Sea Ray 240 DA Sundancer
Engines
Mercruiser 350 MAG MPI
A friend with more boating experience thinks this isnt the right trailer for a Sundancer 240, no specifics. Just heard that was a comment under his breath from my other friend after launching the boat. Not sure if he mean bunk arrangment, bunk length, no idea. I bought boat & trailer from a broker deal.

Do you members, 240 sundancer owners have any thoughts? Pic attached.

*** edit I'm asking because the broker's lot attendant did this the day of the closing, 2 pics added. I'm thinking the scratch on the cross beam could be the damage to the hull. IMG_2777.jpg IMG_2789.jpg IMG_3820.jpg
 
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From those pictures, I can't tell if the trailer fits the hull correctly/fully. There are no good pictures of the boat sitting on the trailer, from multiple angles, to get a better perspective.

The scratch in the trailer is not in a spot where the boat would contact during normal loading. Somebody loaded wrong by not centering the boat.

Is the carrying capacity correct for the boat when it's fully loaded? Add your dry weight plus gas, batteries, water, gear, etc. and compare to the trailer specs on the VIN plate.
 
Can I move the boat up on the trailer by sliding the bow/keel roller forward? There is lots of bunk left (circled) and the transom is hanging about a half-foot off the bunks in the back.

Boat on the trailer pulls straight and smooth, but it's easy to lose traction at up hill stop sign and sways a little under medium braking
 

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Can you post a better picture? Can't see the back end.
 
That year 240 is 400# heavier than my 250. 5600# dry for that 240, trailer looks to small for any safe handling IMO.
 
That year 240 is 400# heavier than my 250. 5600# dry for that 240, trailer looks to small for any safe handling IMO.
So I dont know sh*t, but it looks like yours is pushed all the way back too, like it could be moved forward....
 

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Don't compare to Nash's setup - he has an aluminum trailer and they are different in that their bunks extend BEHIND the back of the trailer - so it's a bit deceiving when comparing things.

Did you check on the weight rating of the trailer and compare to your boat's weight, yet? Remember to add in the things mentioned above.

I have a feeling the trailer is too small - but if you're only going a few miles in the Spring and Fall then you can probably get away with it. As long as the carrying capacity is grossly underweight.

It sounds like you have too little tongue weight (this is the thing I was hoping to look at with a better side picture). Yes, you could move it forward on the trailer a bit - but you start to run the risk of the truck hitting the boat when making a hard turn.
 
here you go
 

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Yup, that's definitely too far back on the trailer.

Still gotta check your weights, though.
 
A friend with more boating experience thinks this isnt the right trailer for a Sundancer 240, no specifics. Just heard that was a comment under his breath from my other friend after launching the boat.
There’s a special place in hell for people like that at a boat launch watching a new person launch a boat and they see something is wrong lol …like, if someone sees it’s the wrong trailer, they could at least warn a person that their truck could slide into the water or they smack a group of orphans crossing the road at a stop sign… and not wait till you find that out on your own so they can laugh and say they called it.
Or maybe he just didn’t want to have the argument with someone else that because of the particular breed of algae and angle of the launch, everything is fine and he’s wrong lol
So, short story long, yes, only a dumbass slides their new boat into a stop sign or sinks their truck, but having the wrong trailer setup makes those two things much easier to do and may be something want to turn your mind to while you fix that :)
(And if it needs to be said, having kids or passengers in the truck while launching is bad-news-bears).
 
I posted to give reference to where tandem axles were located roughly on a similar boat. The trailers are totally different as far as bunks and how they are positioned but the weight in relation to the axles should be similar. As Lazy Daze mentioned there seems to be more room to move forward and get the transom inside the ends of the bunks. if that doesn't cause high tongue weight and vehicle interferrence you should be alright for short trips.
 
I posted to give reference to where tandem axles were located roughly on a similar boat. The trailers are totally different as far as bunks and how they are positioned but the weight in relation to the axles should be similar. As Lazy Daze mentioned there seems to be more room to move forward and get the transom inside the ends of the bunks. if that doesn't cause high tongue weight and vehicle interferrence you should be alright for short trips.
Correct.
 
Yup, that's definitely too far back on the trailer.

Still gotta check your weights, though.
So what I gathered from this is AND SINCERE THANKS TO YOU ALL.... my set up is precarious but could be intentional to avoid excessive tongue weight. Being new and reading the feedback here - I'm thinking it's so hard to get the boat against the keel roller because the boat is slightly or way too large for the trailer. So keeping it against the roller is difficult because there's not enough spare bunk to create friction at the stern (where most of the weight is) and the extra bunk space at the front is unusable (per balancing the boat bow-to-stern).

We're only using trailer for storage. And at the beginning and end of the season we'll tow it 5 miles each way to take it home to work on it. Empty gear out, clean hull etc.

But in future had hoped to tow it from PIT airport area to a few lakes (Raystown) and reservoirs... maybe Lake Erie
 
One last comment on your above usage. I don't know if Sea Rays are immune from hull "hook" which can occur on trailered boats that don't have the bunks past the transom during periods of on trailer storage. "Hook" is when the hull just in front of the transom can get a bow in it and add a permanent upwards curve creating a boat that porpoises.
Just something else to consider. I have seen this on bass boats on occasion, not sure about larger boats like ours.
 

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