Rehab Or Replace
 

Ok guys. Here is the situation. I am debating on restoring or replacing the trailer under our 45 Apache.

The current trailer is a 1989 Myco tandem dually with 4 boxes, a drive guard, a fuel tank for a generator and a water tank and pump for washing/flushing. It has the potential to be a really nice trailer. It just needs a paint job, new wiring, a brake conversion from air to electric/hydraulic and a little TLC.

Now, the other option is to replace the trailer with a new Myco. If we go this way, it will be a triple axle with the same options as the current trailer, minus the fuel tank.

As for cost, the complete rahab of the current trailer will cost just a little less than 2/3 of the cost of a new trailer.

Now, if we replace the current trailer, do we go with a traditional bumper pull or a gooseneck? We are considering a gooseneck because of the weight of the boat. The tow vehicle is a 2002 F-450. Your opinions?

Does Myco do refurbs of their trailers?? I have wondered whether they can just blast and repaint.

Gooseneck with torsion axles. Pulls better the truck rides better and it is much safer.

I would buy a new one and give that old one to me.

I would consider how long you are going to keep the boat/trailer package. If you might sell it in the next few years your not going to get the money back. Referbed correctly should be as good as new.

i would by mine if you want a newer trailer

What if you buy the new one, sell the old one, and end up close to the refurbished price?

d-hlaw: As of this time, Myco does not do any rehab work in house. If we rehab the current trailer it will be blasted before it is painted. From what I understand, Myco's painter would handle this part for Martin Marine. After paint, the trailer would go back to Martin for the rest of the work.

Lapse of Reason: If we build a new trailer, we may be able to work out a sweet deal on the old one. :D

Tantrum: I am planning on keeping this boat for a long time. I agree that a good referb will make this trailer as good as new, but for just a little more money we can get a brand new trailer and not a refurbished trailer that will still be 15 years old. This has been a tough decision. That's why I am turning to OSO for some guidance and opinions.

Dave M: That's an idea! If we build a new one and sell the old one to make up some of the difference between rehab and replacement costs, then we get a new trailer and somebody gets a good deal on the old trailer. That may be the solution! Anybody have any interest in the old trailer?

Somebody with the time and resources could buy and refurb the old one themselves and save $$. Where is TOO Old?? :D

p.s. I may book a stay at your hotel this summer. Where is a safe place to keep a boat on a trailer in OC for a few days?

I'd go with the new trailer if refurbishing is going to run you 2/3 the cost of new. I refurbished mine a couple years ago and if I had to do it again my decision would have been different

Dave M : Shoot me an e-mail or a PM a few days before coming to town. I can set you up in one of our overflow lots. If you want to avoid the hassle of trailering in town in the summer traffic, contact Sunset Marina (410-213-9600). They have very nice facilities and are right across the street from the ramp. This may work out best because then you could also park your rig there after launching. If you don't get to the ramp early, parking can be somewhat hard to find in the public lot. Again, if you want to keep it in town on one of our lots, it's not a problem. Just be sure to give me a couple of days notice to arrange it.

hey hot duck what do you have for memeorial day 2004

Considering the price of a new Myco I would do the work myself on the old one. Sandblasting is not that difficult and painting is even easier. The brakes can be done pretty reasonable too. If you have a unlimited budgett get a new trailer , it's only money. BH

that thing wasn;t in the greatest shape.

2/3 the cost to fix it? and you still have a 15 year old trailer that has been dunked in salt multiple times.

spend eth extra few grand and geta new one, you can prolly sell eth old one here for a few grand.

FYI the guy you bought it off of used to haul that boat with an f250.

Slingshot: I honestly cannot tell you right now because I am at home. Special weekends usually fill quickly, but there should still be openings right now. We are closed for the winter (until March) and right now everybody is on Christmas vacation. We will be back in the office the first Monday after New Years. Our reservations number is (888) 289-6166. If you prefer, you can check out our web site and complete an Internet reservation request at www.CommanderHotel.com .

Joker/Too Old: You guys both have valid points. The cost of refurbishing and the cost of replacing the trailer are so close because of two factors. First, Bill quoted me an unbelievable price for a new trailer and, second, the labor rates in Florida are higher than they are here in Maryland. So, the refurb price is a little more expensive than it would be here at home and the price of the new trailer is lower than it normally would be.

Puder: A 250! :eek: I guess that anything will pull it, but controlling it and stopping it is a different story. Around town a 250 would probably be fine, but for long trips with this kind of load I would certainly want a bigger truck. Remember that this is a resin bucket we are talking about! :D

Catmando : I did price a dually as well as the triple axle and the dually was almost 10K more expensive! Don't ask me why, but that is the honest truth. I am guessing that the parts for the dually are more expensive. Does anybody have any idea?

On my trailer the tandem dual option was about $1500 from Manning....Outer42 was telling me the other day that a 200 gallon freshwater tank is another option worth having:)

will i was in the same position as you this summer. i have one of tres old virgin trailers. same yr 89, deluxe myco. one reason you should keep that trailer is, its a heavy bastard. they dont make them like they used to. for a few thousand you would have one nice trailer. im so glad i did not spend the money for a new one, im very happy with my trailer. i had to switch to a surge brake system, so all my trucks can haul the boat instead of only the one that was set up. i needed a stop and a winch and had to fix the drive guard a little. sand blast and paint. repacked the axles and new brake pads, i have a brand new trailer. if you have the time its a great project. if you dont have the time sell it to me.....

when we pulled up to the dock and i saw the trailer behinda non dually i was a litle woried when i saw it was a 250 i was convinced the guy was a retard.

that is avery large very heavy boat WAY too much for a 250 even around town.

I voted new gooseneck. Go big or go home, and you have a brand new trailer; with warranty. You don't know how many curbs that old trailer hopped, how jacked out of alignment those axles are, or much else about its history. If I was pulling 47 feet of Apache around, I would not cut the corners, (in more ways than one).

However; I would go with a 5th Wheel over a gooseneck ball though. The 5th Wheel systems are very advanced, with suspension built into the platform as well... AND in the event you ever get into a bind, (blown truck, which we have seen a few times)... just about any Semi/Tractor can hitch up to it. Then you would not have to deal with finding a dually pickup truck with a gooseneck ball and enough truck balls to handle it. Add to that, if you ever wanted to ship it, you can easily hire a Owner/Operator Semi/Tractor to move it for you.

For a boat like that $$$$ I'd go new No doubt about it

Hot Duck, if you could get the trailer here to Oklahoma, My best friend has a trailer shop and said he could do everythnig you need very resonable. This is from sandblasting to repairing, packing all wheels and replacing if needed along with the conversion to a goosneck set up. The shops name is precision trailers in Purcell OK Can get you the number to talk tothem if you would like. He has been there for13 yrs and running strong. He does a lot of repairs for barret trailers and 4 star from the horse guys. It would be cheaper than a new one by far

I forgot to mention that you also fall into a diferrent category with dual wheels on the trailer. a triple axle is considered a single wheel. The diferrent style of brakes also make a diferrence as far as the DOT is concerned. I would request 17.5 inch wheels on the trailer and not 16 so you can get a higher load capacity for the trailer also.

Thank you for the info and opinions. By all means, please keep them coming. As of right now I am leaning towards building a gooseneck simply due to the weight of the boat.

Sydwayz has a good point about the convenience of a 5th wheel over a gooseneck, but I have heard horror stories about 5th wheels coming loose. I wonder though, why do all of these stories involve pickup 5th wheels? I have not heard much about semi trailers coming loose and separating from the truck. I have also heard that the 5th wheel setup will not allow enough travel in the hitch for some steep ramps. Any truth to these rumors or horror stories? I am not bashing 5th wheel setups, I am just asking because I have never used one.

One last thing is that with a gooseneck you only have a ball sticking up through the bed, where with a 5th wheel you have that big greasy hitch. No big deal until you go to remove it. The gooseneck ball either comes out or retracts while the 5th wheel hitch has to be removed. Just a thought.

OK. Let's change the course of this thread a little bit. Between a gooseneck and a 5th wheel, which would you guys choose and why?

I would have to go with the goose neck. I have a hideaway ball and as much as the bed of my truck gets used I couldn't stand having to remove something or work around it.

The fifth-wheel hitches I've worked with have plenty of pivot forward and back, but limited side to side. If you had a travel trailer or box trailer, then the bed rails might hit the underside of the "cab over" part of the trailer, but that should not be a problem with common boat trailers. You should be fine on steep ramps as long as you are backing straight, and not with the truck at an angle to the trailer. I think the main reasons the ag industry favors goose necks are better use of the truck bed, and less chance of getting hung up crossing ditches or rough fields. One rancher told me he never attaches the goose-neck lock, but just lets weight hold the trailer on the ball. Claimed that in an roll-over, both the trailer and truck are better off coming apart. (NOTE: I am NOT endorsing not locking any trailer to the hitch). That is not something you could do with a fifth wheel.

Goose neck all the way, your not restricked on what you can put in the bed after the goose is installed. With the 5th wheel hats they take up a lot of room,granted they can be taken out but then you have to store it somewhere, and still have the tracks in the beds floor. with a hideaway system, the ball drops out of sight with a pull of a lever, mounts under the bed so you only have about a 3-5" hole in the floor of the bed.

HEre is my Hideaway it is great

Here it is out. If you have never had one before keep it greased or else it will be a pain in the arse eventually.

Is that the hide away from Draw-Tite? I understand how the ball retracts, but how do you get to the loops for the safety chains?

I can't even remember who the hideaway was by now but they are all fairly similar, at least the one's I'm familiar with.

If you look at the piture you will see a little lever directly in front of the ball. That lever can be lifted and then the rod moved right or left to attach a safety chain and then the lever is dropped back down to lock it.

If they are charging you 2/3 the price of a new one they are ripping you off!!unless the trailer is trashed !!!but I'm assuming that its not too bad if your still pulling it.

That one is a finger crusher! :) there is a newwer one out that the ball is the only thing there no plate system on top its all under the bed. Will get somepics of it to post for ya. I know that redneck supply has them.

There are similar models on the Draw-Tite and Reese web sites. I think that a gooseneck fits the bill over a 5th wheel for the reasons that you guys mentioned. It will make things a little more difficult if we break down or need the boat transported, but we can deal with that when the time comes.

Maybe we can invent an adapter that will allow the gooseneck to be pulled by a 5th wheel hitch. Now there is an idea! Call the patent office. :D

Draw-Tite

Reese

Just look for the duallys hot duck if you should happen to break down(forbid that it happens) usually the horse guys have them. Still trying to find a pic of the one telling about, will have to get precision trailer to send me a pic and post it for you.

Just look for the duallys hot duck if you should happen to break down(forbid that it happens) usually the horse guys have them. Still trying to find a pic of the one telling about, will have to get precision trailer to send me a pic and post it for you. on the draw tite sight, the one called under-bed goose neck trailer tow system is it. And in the installation instructions it shows how it lays under the bed and what is exposed above it.

Thanks guys. I called Myco today, but they will be out of the office until the 5th. I'll keep you posted.

2000 Myco Make offer, like new only used a couple times and stored indoors. All aluminim had a 45 Excalibur on it

10k OBO 24k lb capacity

There you go Will, it's aluminum too because we all know how that salty OC water(and air) can be on steel!!