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

SantaCruzin said:
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.
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Driving a few hours inland seems like far less hassle than trying to construct a cradle, lift the boat off the trailer, and then reverse the whole process. Check out the Sacramento River Delta area. Dozens of marinas with lots of available transient slips, in fresh water.
 
In case anyone stumbles upon this and wants to know: for the most immediate repairs I was able to just do a quick job of getting the boat off the trailer. I needed to reposition the boat, replace a roller at the rear and the bow roller. I did this by:
1. Lowered the trailer jack all the way.
2. Positioned a bottle jack under the rear crossmember of the trailer and slowly jacked it up (just to the point when the wheels were about to lift, but did not.)
3. Put jack stands with 2' long 2x4s along the chines of the hull.
4. Removed the bottle jack.
5. Raised the trailer jack, this lifted the rear of the boat off of the bunks.
6. Placed bottle jack with 2x4 under the bow of the boat and lifted the boat about an inch off the bunk and roller.

This was enough to allow me to pull the trailer forward a few inches and replace the rollers. I then slowly reversed the process to get the boat back on the bunks.

I am awaiting a quote for a new trailer before going all-in rebuilding mine. I did find a bit more rust than I would like at the bottom of the rear cross member and while it's still serviceable, it was enough to make me consider a new one.
 
Thanks for following up, great post!
 
The trailer for my 220 was $2500 in 2018. It’s an aluminum I beam dual axle Trailer with torsion axles, Kodak disc brakes(surge), bunks, and leds. Really happy I went new, haven’t had a single problem so far.
 
ColoSR said:
The trailer for my 220 was $2500 in 2018. It’s an aluminum I beam dual axle Trailer with torsion axles, Kodak disc brakes(surge), bunks, and leds. Really happy I went new, haven’t had a single problem so far.
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Great, thank you for that insight! Funny enough, $2500 was kind of my "limit" on what I could justify for a new trailer. What brand did you go with?
 
Well, I am waiting on a quote from the second place but the first place quoted me $4500 for a single axle EZLoader with surge brakes. It was galvanized which I don't absolutely need, but I'd guess painted wouldn't be THAT big of a savings?
 
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That’s a solid trailer under a 180br. Tandem is nice, especially if you trailer a lot. Seems a little overkill though.
 
Mine is for a 220, just providing cost for context. I would think a single axle for a 180 should be significantly cheaper unless there is some Covid pricing for trailers as well.
 
Haha! No worries at all. Thanks for the link! I wonder if a shorter single axle would be much cheaper?

I just got the quote from the second place, $4980 out the door. Ouch :(

While I LOVE our boat, I can't imagine it being our forever boat. We are a family of 4 and while both kids are tiny (2 years and 3 months) they won't be that way forever. They'll have friends they want to bring along and a 6 person boat just won't cut it. If/when we sell it, I can't imagine we'd ever come close to recouping any meaningful portion of the trailer investment and I know our current one will (should) last us the next 4-5 years until we're ready to move on to a bigger boat

I started another thread on trying to track down the crossmembers. That's the only place the rust has come through and is where 90% of the surface rust can be found. If I can replace even just the rear crossmember I feel more comfortable with the thought of investing $500 into surge brakes on ours.
 
ColoSR said:
Mine is for a 220, just providing cost for context. I would think a single axle for a 180 should be significantly cheaper unless there is some Covid pricing for trailers as well.
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Yeah ADD got me confused.
 
SantaCruzin said:
Haha! No worries at all. Thanks for the link! I wonder if a shorter single axle would be much cheaper?


While I LOVE our boat, I can't imagine it being our forever boat. We are a family of 4 and while both kids are tiny (2 years and 3 months) they won't be that way forever.
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Formative time for the Kiddos! Boating can make for more adventurous and daring children, great job!

if you don’t plan to keep it, are there any used options?
 
You can treat the rust areas with Coroseal or other conversion coatings and repaint and the trailer will long out last your likely ownership. I seriously doubt that the corrosion has compromised the integrity of the frame.
CD
 
Thanks all! Yes, watching my two year old fearlessly launch herself into the water is a true joy...and terrifying. As long as she follows the rules about when she can/can not do it. :)

The only corrosion which seems it might be to the point of concern is on the rear crossmember at the bottom of the vee (see photo). The front crossmember is getting there, but I think is certainly salvageable.
IMG_0973.jpg IMG_0976.jpg
 
Take good care of that trailer..... I've seen so many boats along side the road this year during my weekly travels from Nashville to Atlanta.
 
That looks rusted thru pretty bad. Did you do the hammer test? If you keep that trailer it would be wise to cut that out and weld a new piece in. If you aren’t an expert welder or know one it could get expensive.

also consider the trailers age. The rust you see on the outside is usually the tip of the iceberg.

Id buy a new trailer for the security of knowing it won’t fold up going down the road and damage the boat or yourself.
 
That trailer is garbage. Rear cross member needs replaced. rusting from inside out, can't paint inside. Call McClain trailer in houston. call shore lander . I would imagine single axle trailer $2000. Find used galvenized or aluminum. Your trailer is a cancer zone of rust
 
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