Outfitting a larger trailer for a Yamaha - anyone done it?

[captainhook]

I have an opportunity to purchase a Float-On aluminum trailer for $850. However, it is much larger and heavier duty than my current galvanized EZ Loader for my 2008 232 Limited. It is about 7’ longer, larger wheels, and has 6000lb torsion axles. This is not the typical aluminum trailer I’ve seen and it alone weighs 1000lbs according to the build plate and can support 10,000lbs. It previously was used for a 25ish’ fishing boat that sank in a storm.

In my estimation, this trailer is worth at least $2500 and my current trailer is in need of work (brakes, fenders, lights, and probably an axle or two soon). However, I’m not sure my boat will reasonably fit on it. The rear cross member is not angled like my current trailer, it only has two bunks, and the bow roller support is not adjustable for a shorter boat.

I’m thinking of adding two more bunks to support the bow, raising the rear bunks to decrease possibility of hitting the trailer with the keel, and moving the boat forward on the trailer. My concerns are that there will be too much tongue weight and it will be hard to launch/recover in the shallow ramps I use. Aside from cost and frustration.

Has anyone done this sort of thing? Does it make sense or am I just better off buying a new trailer? The other issue is this doesn’t have a swing away tongue so will take up a lot more room in the driveway. Buying it to sell to fund a new trailer is not an option due to a family friend type deal.

 

[BlkGS]

A couple thoughts...

An aluminum trailer for pu 23 footers is over 1k pounds off the bat. That has to way at least 1500 on its own, or is lighter duty than you think.

Not sure what your tow vehicle is, but the longer the trailer is, the more it's gonna be a bitch to tow it.

Outside of that, it looks like a lot of work to build risers and bunks to fit your boat. Plus who knows what that trailer needs as well. I'd just fix your existing trailer.

 

[captainhook]

The numbers came from the build plate on the trailer, it’s quite possible it does weigh more than 1000lbs and is just labeled that to skirt regulations (brakes on all axles, etc.).

I drive an F150 Ecoboost 3.5L so towing this boat on that trailer shouldn’t be an issue but good question as I don’t think I’d attempt it with anything smaller.

Your comments are kinda where I’m at; it’s just hard to beat this deal and I wanted an aluminum one anyway.

 

[Babin Farms]

The way the aluminum trailer is built your boat may sit higher while on the trailer. Aside from that I see no issue with using it for your 232. Just do a LOT of measuring for the bunks and hull, place the bunks in the appropriate spots and you should be good.

 

[captainhook]

The way the aluminum trailer is built your boat may sit higher while on the trailer. Aside from that I see no issue with using it for your 232. Just do a LOT of measuring for the bunks and hull, place the bunks in the appropriate spots and you should be good.

My father in law has a lot more experience with boats and said the same thing. The boat that was on this trailer had a much deeper V than mine and didn’t hit the crossmember. The bunks are actually mounted narrower in the back than my existing boat so you both may be right.

That said, my boat is too short to hit the bow roller so I would have to move it forward some. I’m not sure if that will require additional bunks but I’m assuming so.

 

[Babin Farms]

I'd install bunks identical to what's on your existing trailer. That will give you the best support of the boat and you've already got the measurements. You will have to adjust the bow stop with the tongue weight of the trailer and how it feel on the tow vehicle. Other than that it shouldn't be much more than checking it over. Wheel bearings, tires, brakes wiring & lights.

 

[motomandan]

It will beat the hell out of your boat!

 

[Babin Farms]

It will beat the hell out of your boat!

How do you figure? I've pulled many of trailers and the ones with torsion axles don't bounce near as much as a leaf spring trailer. I'd love to have torsion axles on my boat trailer.

 

[motomandan]

The boat will not

How do you figure? I've pulled many of trailers and the ones with torsion axles don't bounce near as much as a leaf spring trailer. I'd love to have torsion axles on my boat trailer.

Torsion axle or spring it will ride rough if not sized properly for the load. That is why trailer are not all made with the same rated springs. The boat will not be heavy enough to allow the suspension to work properly. Compare it to riding in a unloaded large dually truck. Too heavy of suspension with no load = HARSH Ride. working in a boatyard half my life, I have seen damage caused by too heavily sprung trailers.

 

[Babin Farms]

With leaf springs yes, with torsion axles it’s different. All of them I’ve pulled loaded or not don’t bounce or rattle around near as much as a leaf spring suspension loaded or not. The torsion axles are more forgiving when it comes to a lighter load on a heavier trailer.

 

[motomandan]

With leaf springs yes, with torsion axles it’s different. All of them I’ve pulled loaded or not don’t bounce or rattle around near as much as a leaf spring suspension loaded or not. The torsion axles are more forgiving when it comes to a lighter load on a heavier trailer.

Best of luck!

 

[captainhook]

I’m in Calvert. We launch in Benedict or St. Leonard. I don’t think I’ve seen your boat around.

 

[motomandan]

I’m in Calvert. We launch in Benedict or St. Leonard. I don’t think I’ve seen your boat around.

Used to live on St. Leonards Creek years ago. I sometimes launch at Benedict. But usually launch on base at Pax or Calvert under the bridge. Also hit the Potomac often. We need to have a Yamaha jetboat get together on the Patuxent!

 

[captainhook]

Used to live on St. Leonards Creek years ago. I sometimes launch at Benedict. But usually launch on base at Pax or Calvert under the bridge. Also hit the Potomac often. We need to have a Yamaha jetboat get together on the Patuxent!

For sure. I see Yamahas around sometimes but haven’t run across any of them on the forum.

 

[captainhook]

Well I never updated this but I did end up buying the trailer a couple of years ago but salvaged another couple of years out of my old EZ Loader trailer. Unfortunately that trailer now needs tires as the old are dry rotted and original in 2009 and I am not comfortable trailering even the 10ish miles to the ramp I use. So now it needs fenders, tires, brakes, lights, leaf springs, and probably axles. This to me is too expensive to justify on a 15 year old trailer used in brackish water.

I never did anything with the Float On aluminum I bought and am now noticing that the brakes are in worse shape than I remembered and look like they have 0-1 year life left. I’m having a real hard time deciding if I should set the aluminum up for my boat knowing it’ll need more work in the relatively near term in addition to it being too large or just biting the bullet and buying a new trailer which is about five grand. $2500-3500 they were going for a few years ago was much easier to justify but at these prices I’m at a loss. I’m guess I’ll have this boat at least another 2-3 years unless I find some screaming deal I can’t pass up. A center console is better suited for this area but I’m just not willing to give up the Yamaha features to do so. A newer Yamaha looks nicer and is a bit bigger but I’m just going to do the exact same thing and have the same amount of fun for more money.

 

[BlkGS]

Seems to be you're in the same situation you were last time except you have the trailer and less desire to do anything.

A few thoughts. No body is gonna buy the boat with a trailer that's unsafe. Well, nobody that isn't buying their first (and likely last) boat at least. Barring the liabilities of selling someone a known bad trailer, it's also just not right, and to get the 2-3 years out of your boat, you gotta do something.

When you go to sell the boat, if it comes.on this crazy huge trailer that was just made to work, that's gonna limit your buying audience to people with big trucks and lots of space. Someone with an adequate tow vehicle for a 23' might not have a vehicle to support the big boy trailer.

So my take is, fix up the oem trailer, or bite the bullet on the shiny new trailer set up for the boat. You're probably looking at $2k to fix up your trailer (I think I spent a bit less than that when I redid mine with much of the same parts, but that was in 2019). I suspect that the $5k you think your new trailer will cost will quickly turn into more like $7-8k.

Or, you can buy my boat, have my trailer, swap my boat onto your old trailer and have my nicely redone trailer for your boat

 

[Babin Farms]

I’m going to be in a similar situation eventually, steel trailer in salt water. The used aluminum trailer that I bought needs axles, wheels & tires, brakes, bunks, brackets and 2” coupler(basically I have the frame & crossmembers). I don’t mind putting the work and $$ into it because that the type of work I like and in the end it’ll be cheaper going this route. Also, It might be a little long for my AR230 but not by much. You could always cut the rear frame of the trailer to the desired length and slide the axles forward to get it setup as close to the OE trailer as possible. If you can get a new trailer for $5k right now I’d jump on it because that’s what I’m seeing good used ones go for. It sounds like $$ is not the issue, it’s how much time & effort you willing to put into a trailer.

 

[captainhook]

Seems to be you're in the same situation you were last time except you have the trailer and less desire to do anything.

A few thoughts. No body is gonna buy the boat with a trailer that's unsafe. Well, nobody that isn't buying their first (and likely last) boat at least. Barring the liabilities of selling someone a known bad trailer, it's also just not right, and to get the 2-3 years out of your boat, you gotta do something.

When you go to sell the boat, if it comes.on this crazy huge trailer that was just made to work, that's gonna limit your buying audience to people with big trucks and lots of space. Someone with an adequate tow vehicle for a 23' might not have a vehicle to support the big boy trailer.

So my take is, fix up the oem trailer, or bite the bullet on the shiny new trailer set up for the boat. You're probably looking at $2k to fix up your trailer (I think I spent a bit less than that when I redid mine with much of the same parts, but that was in 2019). I suspect that the $5k you think your new trailer will cost will quickly turn into more like $7-8k.

Or, you can buy my boat, have my trailer, swap my boat onto your old trailer and have my nicely redone trailer for your boat

All good points. I considered how it would be for resale visually if I had a clearly-too-large trailer for my boat. I didn’t think about limiting the audience with tow vehicles, down here in Southern Maryland a ton of people have trucks so I hadn’t considered this aspect.

I was thinking $2k to fix up the old trailer too, and frankly I just don’t feel like doing it, nor do I have any inclination to pay a trailer shop the outrageous labor prices and parts markup. Aside from this I feel like I’m putting two grand into a trailer that I shouldn’t be. I can’t specifically point to why but it just seems like I shouldn’t put that much into an old trailer.

I did find a 2022 trailer for $3600 that was apparently barn stored for the past two years after being used once to bring a boat home. It’s only slightly larger than I would buy new (+300lb capacity over what I would buy) and he wants $3600. New this trailer is about $5k or so at the trailer place like 90 minutes away which is the cheapest place around, matching what I am seeing in Florida. Other dealers sell this same trailer for $6-7k which is way outta consideration. I first offered him $2750 hoping to sell on $3000, but he declined. Then I went up to $3200 but he isn’t biting. $3k was the max number I kinda had in my mind so this winds up 20% more than I wanted to spend, not just the $400 we are apart. It doesn’t help that I’m also doing some work on the house so I’m just really tired of writing checks.

I don’t plan to sell this boat any time soon but I don’t know for sure, sometimes I do crazy stuff. It’s not beyond the realm of possibility that I would randomly find a good deal on a waterfront piece of property or boat slip, then I would need a different boat. Who knows. ?

 

[captainhook]

I’m going to be in a similar situation eventually, steel trailer in salt water. The used aluminum trailer that I bought needs axles, wheels & tires, brakes, bunks, brackets and 2” coupler(basically I have the frame & crossmembers). I don’t mind putting the work and $$ into it because that the type of work I like and in the end it’ll be cheaper going this route. Also, It might be a little long for my AR230 but not by much. You could always cut the rear frame of the trailer to the desired length and slide the axles forward to get it setup as close to the OE trailer as possible. If you can get a new trailer for $5k right now I’d jump on it because that’s what I’m seeing good used ones go for. It sounds like $$ is not the issue, it’s how much time & effort you willing to put into a trailer.

I’m surprised a painted trailer is lasting at all in salt. Mine is all galvanized and still went to shit even though I was spraying it down thoroughly after every outing. I guess dipping it in saltwater and then letting that dry during the day while we were out was what did the damage. I don’t know how you reasonably avoid that.

 

[Babin Farms]

I’m surprised a painted trailer is lasting at all in salt. Mine is all galvanized and still went to shit even though I was spraying it down thoroughly after every outing. I guess dipping it in saltwater and then letting that dry during the day while we were out was what did the damage. I don’t know how you reasonably avoid that.

Lots of Salt Away!!! Rinse out the inside of frame, underside, backside and everywhere I can. It’s a lot of work but worth it.