# opinions on a trailer.



## makin moves (Mar 20, 2010)

That sucks about the trailer  I would go with the wider trailer just in case like you said in the future you decide to build another one (always thinking about the next one ). If you have the room why not I know that 6 inches wider in my garage wouldnt happen, my stuff is packed in there real tight. How much more to go aluminum? If there is a posibilty you go with a wider trailer for the future it will be piece of mind to know that the aluminum will last longer for that future project. Let us know what you come up with


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## cutrunner (Jun 8, 2010)

Once you have a quality oil bath hub system youll never go back to the grease crap


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

Well what I found is most of the places I got low quotes on trailers from make them from C channel. The Rolls trailer had C channel that was easily 3 times thicker then my old steel trailer, but seemed only half as strong. I don't want to bash them, but it was funny that when I told the guy at outcast I just had to return an aluminum trailer because it twisted on me, his response was "I bet you I can tell you who made it."
The cheaper I beam trailers start around the $1600 range, but still use alot of galvanized parts. I think I'm going with the galvanized trailer. My gheenoe trailer was just painted over rusty steel with rustoleum and after 3 years it only had a few spots of surface rust on it. Friend still has it, and my wrecked trailer is still in service and looks new, shorter and bunkless, but new. I just feel more comfortable with the strength of steel now, if it starts to rust that badly I'll sand her down and epoxy paint it.
As far as the width, the trailer I returned was 60", so 62" is no problem. It will look a little big for her, but that's ok. The only thing is the 62" only comes in 21ft long, where the 56" came in 18ft. So I'll be adding a swing tongue to it, and honestly that was the one thing I really didn't like about the rolls, couldn't add the swing tongue so I would have had to part it diagonally.

So oil bath is better then greasers ay? Great, the torsion axle looked nice and beefy too.


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## Frank_Sebastian (Oct 15, 2007)

Firecat I am through with float on type trailers. I used break frame trailers for many years without problems. I am going back to them again as I will only get the tires wet.

Frank_S


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## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

dude, get a continental like mine, excellent trailer with absolutely no complaints, doesnt matter if you've got oil bath or regular grease hubs they never get wet !!  s.s hardware says it will last forever. dont let this unfortunate incident ruin your opinion on aluminum


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

Frank we have a tilt trailer at work, while I like the way it unloads in bad ramps and deep shorelines, I think it's much harder to load up on the return trip and really don't see myself using the feature much. Plus it adds a bunch of cost to the trailer and I'm sold on a simple budget model.

SBC is your trailer aluminum? If so it's out of my price range. Also what happened to continental's website? all they have now is some cheesy brochure. It may just be me, but I like to see what I'm buying and outcast seems to be the only place in the area that actually stocks anything. I keep calling places locally and the answer is always the same, we can order you one .
Now I'm not turned off on aluminum, but I can't afford the model I want, and honestly I'm not going to pay more for a trailer then I have into constructing my boat. I was a bit taxed at $1200 for the rolls and I'd like to stay under that now.

On a side note I've been reading up on oil bath hubs and well, I see more negatives then positives. If I can't get this trailer with greased hubs I may have to look elsewhere.


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## topnative2 (Feb 22, 2009)

IMO the Loadmaster's alum are the best in material and strenght if u have the $$$ for it. And, obtaining parts is easy and inexpensive compared to the rest of them. I do not like being held hostage by a company parts pricing.

I would stay away from oil bath cause if it leaks completely out u are sunk..
KISS policy for this dummy...........


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

The aluminum trailer I would want would run me upwards of $2k now, so aluminum is out. I'm going with galvanized. As far as parts are concerned I can get them anywhere around here as there are atleast 30 trailer shops in a 20 mile radius. I think thats really just an issue with fancier trailer and custom parts. KISS I agree, I've decided against oil bath hubs, but I think the only other option in the model I am looking at is a sealed bearing system with 12" tires. Not sure I like the thought of not being able to grease up before a haul.


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## topnative2 (Feb 22, 2009)

x2---grease! baby grease!


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## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

well its all relative, you spend more on a quality trailer you get more out of a quality trailer but if your budget calls for galvanized then it is what it is, galvanized properly cared for will give you many years of useful service


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

Ah well it's been interesting getting this trailer nailed down. Things have turned around some and I'm going with a trailer I didn't expect.

Here's a lesson in customer service.
I went back to outcast a few days ago and spoke with the older guy who is always outside. Long story short I had to call a different guy on monday to ask some questions and order what I wanted. So I called back today and spoke with the guy who deals with the trailer orders, he seemed less then happy to speak with me. All I wanted to know is if I could order the trailer with bearing buddies instead of sealed bearings. The response was they come in how they come in. So I asked can you check what comes with the model I want, the response was I don't know till they get here.....WTF?  He just lost a $1000 sale and my business.

I called TA mahoney's and got a quote on a galvanized continental trailer. The only issue is there frame sizes, for all the trailers they have they jump around for a 16ft boat, some are too skinny, some are to wide. I was looking for a 60-62" like the others I looked at. Well the only one they had close was a 59". The only thing is it is a tilt trailer (seperating tongue, split tongue, break frame....), But since it is basically the same price as the other trailer I was looking at I'll just count it as a bonus. It doesn't have the torsion axle, but I'm ok with that.

So I'm planning on going tomorrow and placing my order, anyone have any concerns? Or is there any downside to a tilt/ break frame trailer?


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## twitch (Mar 4, 2007)

I've never seen any downside to a tilt trailer. They sure make loading and unloading at less than ideal launch sites easier.

X 3 on staying away from oil bath hubs. I have them on my loadmaster tandem and 3 of the 4 hubs have leaked since new. I finally threw in the towel and bought the threaded bearing buddy for the hubs and filled them with grease.


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## TomFL (Oct 2, 2007)

Man that sucks about the rolls axle. I'm happy with mine but would never go so far as saying it's the best trailer I've towed with. No issues so I'm happy at this point. 

I think you'd do well to stay with bearing buddies. Nothing lasts forever. Bearing buddies are cheap insurance, and the bearings will be easy (and cheap) to repair so you won't delay in doing so when needed. They make the time between needed bearing replacements a lot longer. 

Let's face it; if you're going to haul a boat a lot, it makes sense to spend $20 on bearings once a year whether it needs it or not, right?

I've stuck with continental and other big names for trailers and haven't really had much to complain about construction wise. 

My choice if I were you would be the wider trailer; it'll pull nicer over broken/uneven pavement and offer you more versatility in loading. Also, you may wind up with an easier entry/exit to the boat when on the trailer with wider frame rails. 

Stay with torsion axles if at all possible! Can't say that enough. If you have to go springs, be sure to have the U-bolts to secure the springs to the axles; I lost an axle when the spring perch rusted and I didn't have the U-bolts, learned the hard way. Not good!


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

I ended up ordering the continental, should be here wednesday. It is a tilt trailer with a 59" frame. It doesn't have a torsion axle, the ones that were available to me in the size I needed were rated too high, don't want to rattle my boat apart. Since it is a tilt trailer I can still launch if need be without dunking my hubs. If the springs rust out I can replace them for $40, but I'm not worried about it as I will take care of it well. On a major positive side I won't have to worry about the bearing buddies as the trailer comes with posi-lube hubs. From the info I have reviewed they are 100 times better then bearing buddies and never have to be repacked, it's actually suggested you don't repack and just swap the grease every year.


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## TomFL (Oct 2, 2007)

Good deal. Be sure to give us a write-up/opinion on it when you get some miles on it. I'd like to see how that tilt feature works, have heard about it but never seen it in action. 

-T


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## Frank_Sebastian (Oct 15, 2007)

I am very interested in the same type of trailer. It sounds like you may have a C717 model which I am looking at as well. If you use the break frame I don't think you will have issues with springs for a long time. I am going to put anti-seize on the bolts before I ever load my boat on it. That way I can replace things with little effort.

Frank_S


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

Sitting here in a nyquil induced buzz, I hate being sick,
so pardon me while I meander a bit here...
Break frame trailers are old school. I don't remember
anything but break frames for hulls in the 50's and 60's.
Why do you think magic-tilt was called magic-tilt?
Funny that break frames are no longer in their line-up.
The convenience of being able to balance the hull over the axle,
pop the release, and watch the hull put itself in the water
was simply the way it was done. It wasn't until the era of
deep vee trailerable hulls that float-ons became the norm.
Couldn't drop a deep vee in the water at a normal ramp
had to get that baby way back from water's edge
just to have enough water to float it.


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

Well it should be in by wednesday. It's the C715, only difference from the C717 is it has the 1500lbs springs instead of the 1700lbs. Honestly I would have gone with a 1250lbs if it were an option for a softer ride since my rig is so light. I'll let you know how it works, when I actually use it.


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

I picked it up today and now have some work to do.

The bad. The girl who ordered it was rong, it does not come with a posi lube axle, just a standard so I bought some bearing buddies, not a huge deal. She was also mistaken about them having a swing tongue kit in stock, so I stopped by outcast on the way and bought one. The trailer lights are pretty bad, they are standard cheapo's and you can barely see them when they are lit up. I already planned to upgrade them back to LEDs when the first bulb blew, but looks like I'll do it sooner, again not a huge deal just wish I could deal with it later. Lastly, which is no fault of TA mahoney's, but someone in the continental factory can't read his tape measure. I kept thinking my mirrors need adjusting until I looked at the axle when I stopped at home depot. The thing is like a full inch crooked so it's pulling hard to the right. Really not a big deal and will take just a minute to fix, but a PITA none the less.
So in the end I will need to upgrade my lights and make some adjustments.

The good. The trailer is much lower then my last one. It doesn't have a torsion axle, but it comes from the factory with the springs under the axle so it sits like 3 inches lower already. Couple that with the tilt feature and the bunks can damn near hit the floor. The bunks themselves are pretty long and will work nicely. It also has 3 adjustable keel rollers which is great and will work since I'll have a transom saver. I'll see about posting some pictures later on.


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

I checked and adjusted the axle, it was exactly 1 inch off so someone definately measured wrong when assembling it.

Here is the tilt pin mechanism, very simple to operate, just pull back.









Here is the trailer as it sits. It is fairly low to the ground already.









I did this so you could see how much tilt you can get, it actually has a few more inches it could go.









So far so good. I need to figure out the swing arm, but I'll start a new thread for it.


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## lighting (May 20, 2011)

That used to be a popular trailer up here in Holden Beach NC Had'nt seen in a while


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## Swamp (Jul 12, 2010)

Looks good. Check out the pin mechanism. Mine is not hot dipped, just electro zinc coated. It is rusted badly after many rears of use even though I rinse after every use. When I replace mine I will be spraying the new one with cold galvanization. You might consider the same. BTW I never use my tilt feature, I just drive onto my trailer. I don't have and wonky ramps that I have to deal with either. Nice to have as a back up though.

Swamp


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## cutrunner (Jun 8, 2010)

I got one for my hobie power skiff, i was like "what the heck is this?" my dad laughed.. . It looks like it would b a good option to have for those ghetto boat ramps in the keys ;D


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

Swampy is right. I too have a rusty pin but I do not care. What I have had to do twice is replace the spring. I use my tilt so little that I have a chain around it with a clip just in case the spring breaks and it only takes a couple seconds to undo.

I also do not see how you could put the folding tongue to the rear of the winch stand without a huge hassle every time you wnated to use the boat- does not seem practical.


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

As with my other trailers everything that is not galvanized will get a healthy coating of corrosion-x (or another rust preventer) every so often. I have cold galvanizing compount for the swing arm when I cut it, but I'm not sure if it will work on the pin.
I've seen several guys use the swing arm right behing the winch stand, all they had to do was unhook the boweye and it swung away, when they are towing they just hook the boweye back up and tighten it down. Problem is that the winch stand that came with the trailer is much longer then my previous 2, I'm afraid if I cut it in front of the winch stand it will still be too long to fit in the garage. And if I build a slightly bigger boat I then can't move the winch stand up any because of the hinge...... I'll have to do some more major thinking on it, as it has to be cut by this afternoon!


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## TomFL (Oct 2, 2007)

Never saw that kind of trailer in action. The pics are worth 1,000 words, thanks for posting them. 

Pretty danged cool.


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

I ended up using the swing kit in front of the winch stand after alot of thinking and measuring. I called Fulton and spoke with an engineer there, they said there was no problem doing it behind the winch stand as long as it was within the spec'ed 48". However because of the rediculously large winch arm, when I measured everything out, if I wanted it to work correctly and swing the winch out and away I was at 49-50". So my choices are to get a new winch stand, not gonna happen, or cut it up front and hope it fits. It's gonna be close once I put the motor and TNT on, maybe within 2 inches or so of the door. 

The hinge kit is a pain to put on, but I finally got it after a drill bit failure and some scraped knuckles. I just have to finish the wiring, but the thunderstorm put an end to my woorkday. I did get to use the tilt feature when loading the boat onto it, worked like a charm and much easier then if it was stationary. I also remembered to wax the bunks this time .


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

If you ever do build a bigger boat and need to move the winch post you can simply buy a new tongue post and replace the existing one and start from scratch again.


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## cutrunner (Jun 8, 2010)

Firecat: what are the dimensions on the trailer tongue that you installed the swing tongue on?it doesnt happen to be 2"x3"??


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## Taterides (Nov 10, 2008)

It is a 2x3.


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

Yes it is a 2x3, why?


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## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

just a comment concerning your new taillights, i had a continental trailer similar to yours i bought brand new back in 2001 with what looks like the same exact lights and they were the best lights i ever had, dunked them many a times in the salt and after a number of years of trouble free use they finally secumbed to the pressure of being backed in to by my buddy who wasnt looking where he was going and whacked one good cracking the housing  it was a good run while it lasted  ;D


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## cutrunner (Jun 8, 2010)

#1- Im asking because i need one to fit my hobie skiff in the garage. I didnt know they made them for the smaller trailers. Who makes it, whered ya get it, and how much $? #2 im with southound, my oldschool original continental lights Will Not Die!!. I have replaced millions of led lights, cuz they are sealed and one tiiiiny crack and water gets in and the leds are dead. I would keep the originals or get pipe lights. Im aware why you want bright lights as to what happened to your last skiff :'(


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

I undertand some are fans of typical lights, but I never had an issue with my LED's on my old trailer, 3 years with no problems at all. I have never known anyone to have a failure with LED's, but I know many who will never use conventional lights again.
The last draw for me was when my boat got hit, I had to change one of the bulbs after and it disintegrated in my hand. Turned out the socket was corroded after only about a month of use . So on top of everything I had to dig glass out of my fingers and superglue my hand back together. Outside of that the LED's are much much brighter, in both day time and night time. 
Anyway I think the reason some people have failures with LED's is because there are regular and submersables. The submersables cost more but are well worth the money IMO. I have side guides so pipelights aren't gonna work.

As far as the swing tongue goes, it's made by fulton and available everywhere, I paid $108 because I didn't have time to order it online, but have seen them for $70 before.


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## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

man i have had the worse luck with led failures on boat trailers, doesnt matter where i get them if they get dunked they are distant to fail, my new continental trailer lights started flaking out after only a few weeks due to dunking them as i didnt have the trailer set up yet so the dealer sent some new ones, unfortunately i had to dunk the new ones a few times back when my boat was stuck to the trailer after waxing the bunks :-[  and now have one of them thats starting to fail because of this, as long as i dont dunk them they are fine but get them wet and their days are numbered


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

Maybe the trailer companies just use cheaper LED lights? I've seen kits for as little as $25, the ones I have been using on my last few trailers (boat and non boat) were the submersible kits from walmart, About $50. I'm happy with them, so I'll be sticking with them until something happens to change my mind. The biggest thing to me is they are BRIGHT! 
The standard bulb lights are bright at night, but thats it.


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## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

you are right about the leds being brighter, i'm gonna have to replace the one light again so i mite replace both with those from walmart and see what happens


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## topnative2 (Feb 22, 2009)

put some silicone sealer where the wires go into led's box----should help the problem


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

I finally really got to use the trailer and the tilt feature. It launched it beautifully! I just backed up until the tires were int he water then unlocked the pin, pushed it about 6 inches and gravity did the rest, faster then I expected.

However, the tilt was usless for loading the boat back on since the ramp wasn't that steep I still had to sink the tire. I'll adjust the trailer a little more but I doubt it will make a big difference unless I go to a unimproved ramp, not likely.

However I do see an upside here. This means I can launch the boat with the hubs out of the water when they are hot from driving. Then they will be cool when retrieving when I have to dunk them.


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