The bolt together my Top Gun came with worked just fine. The bunks were flexed over to the side a little from the weight of the boat but it worked.... I got a smoking deal on a myco that I couldn't pass up so I am using that now. The myco loads 10 times faster and the boat sits on it solid, no flexing, like the bolt together deal.

I am having an ACE trailer built now. Will be using it mostly to drag my boat out of the water to have service performed. I called several trailer manufactures but had a better feeling about these guys based on our conversation and Ebay rating. Should be built by Thursday and delivered the following week. Good Luck

My thoughts:

Trailers are tools, very expensive tools that accompany a boat.
Do you buy your tools at WalMart or Craftsman/SnapOn/or-better?

Having owned both bolt-together and welded aluminum trailers under the exact same boat, the welded trailers made by Myco and Manning ARE better in these areas:

Boat support
Maintenance
Loading and overall fit
Towing
Tire wear
Less flex

Thanks for the input. I will consider both.

What about McClain since they are local??

They are "OK".
I used to be a fan, but crb76 had one of their earliest welded aluminum trailers. It didn't age well and the bow stand was a poor design that damaged the keel of the boat.

I think they have gotten better over the years, and if you are going to remain local to them for ongoing support, I would say they are still "OK". They are not the quality of Myco and/or Manning though.

I had a bolt-together aluminum McClain trailer under my boat when I got it. It was better than the average bolt-together trailer, definitely not stellar.

There must be some really crappy bolt together's out there because I have a 1999 Continental that is pretty solid. Very little flex. Maybe because I made a drive brace / protector and it has 6 cross bars??? Has no one ever had a welded aluminum trailer crack? I've loaded my boat by myself multiple time so i'm not understanding this loading concern either? Sounds like a setup issue. Maintenance and tire wear. Really??? Are you suggesting bolts come loose? Sorry from my experience towing 10,800 (scaled trailer weight) to Florida and back multiple times, don't agree.

There ARE some really crappy aluminum bolt together trailers. Rocket comes to mind. I've seen some Nextrail trailers that are falling apart as well with minimal use. Continental is on the better side.

It all depends on what you spec, what the builder sources/installs/supplies, and how much you invest.
Not many people walk into a trailer deal with the mindset of "give me the best thing you offer."

Often, the trailer under a boat that was ordered by the dealer is the cheapest thing they can put under it to move it off the lot. They ALL look great when new, and no one really pays attention to the trailer when buying a boat. Now that people are buying used boats and those who buy new boats typically custom order them, we are having a lot more conversations about trailers. We didn't have these conversations 10 years ago.

Just had my new ACE Trailer delivered today and I can tell you so far I am very happy with the trailer and the experience with the company. Looks like it will do the job I need it to do and if I decide to sell it then you can adjust the bunks to fit a lot of boats.

Nice to know you can adjust the bunks. Pictures would be nice!