What to look for when buying a boat trailer?

Ardelia Liptow: 1

Babette Deloe: Rust. Whatever the other issues you find with any trailer if the metal has dissolved then you have something that will always require a huge effort to repair. Bearings, tyres, the winch and it's cable. Springs, the condition of the hangers and any bushesLights - are they working, or even fitted at all.It will help if the trailer is not too much bigger than the boat, but that is preferable to the other extreme, any trailer that is a little too small will be easily overloaded.While rollers are good along the keel, and frankly there you cannot have too many I don't care how many you have any where else on the hull they will never distribute the load as evenly as slides and bunks. Apart from the keel the only other part of any hull with really good strength is the chine - unless the hull has a round bilge.Having repaired a couple of hulls now that suffered impact damage on the resting points of the rollers - I can assure you that tha! t type of trailer (with lots of rollers all over the hull) is fine on smooth roads, but not much good on rougher and remote surfaces.Depending where you are in the world you must ensure the title is free and clear - without a title in many cases you cannot actually own the object legally, so that is an absolute necessity....Show more

Somer Distilo: Best way is if your boat is 16' long get a 17'long trailer.Weight and the bunk configuration has to fit your boat. Single axle or double axle. Guide tubes help for launching and retrieving the boat.

Dan Seen: Obviously, you need to look for a bigger boat. If you had bought a much bigger boat, then you could save all that money you have to spend on a trailer. lolHappy & Safe boating,John

Helen Zafar: Make sure that there's a place to put your boat on it

Idell Syed: Buy Used Boat Trailer

Vickie Sterbenz: 3D Boat Design Software : http://BoatPlans.NaturallyGo.com/?hdU

Oren Eskelsen: It depends on! your boat, of course. I’d recommend check the frame of the ! boat trailer first. You can replace wheels, rollers, winch, etc as they are quite cheap but you cannot replace the frame!

Clemente Schoeck: If your looking at a new one, they are all pretty equal these days. If its a fibreglass boat, the more rollers the better, as it supports your hull better. If it's an aluminium you want skids instead of the rollers.Make sure its galvanised and the lights are water tight.If buying second hand, check for rust, then again check for rust. Make sure everything has been maintained, look for new grease etc. Check the condition of the tyres springs shackles etc. How are the brakes, are they rusty? Look inside the rear channels is there rust? Is there any signs of stress cracks on the welds? Hope it helps and good luck...Show more