353 Aluminum Trailer
 

Hey guys, I am buying a 353 and want to know who makes the best overall ( price and quality) aluminum trailer. I've owned Nextrail , Venture and South Florida and found them all to be good. Bunks will need to be built to spec. Is there a vendor that does a better job on that than others. It will get some use ( fresh only, but road miles ), so needs to be solid. The boat has an Eagle trailer that is in pretty good shape overall, but needs some rust bubbles refinished, etc. Awfully heavy. Thanks for the help.

if your in fresh water spend some money and refinish the eagle

Manning .....

http://www.manningmarine.com/photogallery.html

As said though ..if the Eagle is serviceable . you wont find a better trailer ....

where you located ? ............m

Mike, I'm in New England. The Eagle is nice, just shows bubbling and some rust thru the paint at the base of each cross member and a couple other places ( pads under the bunks, minor rust coloring on the springs). I know its a fresh only trailer, so this seems strange unless it is normal after 11 years. Use was very light . I am assuming it is serviceable and would seek to have the areas blasted and recoated. Have you seen this on other fresh only Eagles? Thanks

If I could sell my Eagle Trailer, I would buy a Hi-Tech Marine aluminium trailer made especially for my 353. They can built it right for you.

http://www.aluminumboattrailer.com/

sounds to me like it has set over grass or a floor that gots damp. My bet is it's just surface rust.
Mine is always in a dry building and just for kicks spends the winter entirely over old sheets of particleboard as well as tires/brakes on/over wide planks. My rotors hardly get rusty...

A hammer at those critical locations will tell you alot.
clean it up and have it painted, or buff it up and touch it up.

since this thread I have added a custom 5 light ID bar to the back, bigger diam weatherstrip on the boxes (water tight now)
and a power jack.

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/t...iler-redo.html

Nice job . I would love to be able to get it inside this winter to do that work, but no space to spare. What did you use for bunk wood? I have a piece that is tired and should be replaced. Thanks

pine

Rippem, just noticed your avatar and it makes me long for my 292 painted in those graphics. It was the only 2004 done that way ( 2003 was the last year it was offered and I special ordered the paint. Even went to the factory while it was built and saw it in the spray booth. I lost it two years ago in a fire during storage. Was a great boat and it really scooted with the 6.2's. The 353's in that graphic are absolutely awesome.

I have a Myco with electric over hydraulic on all three axles and love the trailer. Combined with the Chevy Duramax it is a great rig.

in my efforts to find a trailer i have discovered the following...

first decide if your going aluminum (more expensive) or steel (painted or galvanized)

if you are going to keep and refinish the eagle, is it a boxed steel frame? if so you may be disappointed in the long run as you cannot properly flush out the internal beam on box design. should the trailer hit salt water in the future corrosion is imminent.

should you choose aluminum there are a few manufacturers to choose from. obv myco but if you want to save a few dollars check out: rocket, float on, fast-load, south florida, and nextrail.

for a boat this size i would stay away from the run of the mill stuff (load rite and venture)...

if you want to go steel i have heard good things about manning but again may be on the pricey side.

most places will setup the trailer to fit your stepped hull. i ended up buying a used trailer and cutting the bunks myself. a painful process even with the use of a lift.

good luck

elec over hyd
 

Rippem, (or anyone else that uses them) how do you like the electric over hydraulic brakes? Any issues? Did you use the 1000psi pump for the triple axle discs?

Thanks!

Don't even consider a steel trailer unless you are going to have the boat lifted off each time you use it.
I had a steel trailer, used approximately 800 pounds of sand, sandblasted it top and bottom. Primed it with a good quality primer, painted it after sanding it again, and in two years of salt water use,it was rusting again. Went to an aluminum trailer a huge difference.
The issues with the aluminum trailer are wheel bearings and brakes. Depending on how often you dunk it, will define your bearing and brake life. Probably every two years in salt or maybe every three years in fresh water. But you will have to play with the brakes and bearings.
I run a Boatmaster Aluminum Trailer I'm not sure they are stil in business. It is a descent trailer .
Post what you decide to do!

Good information guys, thanks.

If you brought the trailer to a car wash after a salt dunking would that help the brake issues at all?

Bringing it to a car wash will extend the life, however when you are trailering you dunk the trailer in to get the boat off and it sits all day baking in the sun, then you dunk it in again at the end of the day. Now seriously you have been out all day having a blast in the boat, you may have had one or two coctails, now off the the carwash NOT. Many people only wash the boat when they get home and give the trailer a light rince. That seems to be the way it is. On some of the newer trailers I think they actaully have a flush connection that forces water in the brake areas. Drum brakes are much more sensative to salt water and die sooner than discs. Many people opt to say the hell with the brakes because they are sick of playing with them so they just rip them off and replace wheel bearing from time to time. And otheres make it a policy to tear them down every second year and replade pads, and all wheel bearings. Salt water is pretty aggressive!

That makes sense and your right about some cocktails and a day in the sun THEN going to the car wash.............probably will not happen!

Just proves there are no dumb questions.