New Order question: Trailer Axle(s)

ThorSen

ThorSen

Active Member
Aug 17, 2017
219
Western North Carolina
Boat Info
2018 SPX 190 OUTBOARD 150
Engines
150 4-stroke Mercury outboard
As mentioned in a thread sister to this one, we're in the process of putting our order together for an SPX-190 with the Mercury 150hp OUTBOARD.

Question is, should I go with the "standard" - single axle - trailer or, does the extra weight hanging off the back end of the boat (and trailer) necessitate (or even just, "make it advisable") that I upgrade to a double axle trailer?

Background: I need to go back and see if I can find the individual post but, in a recent thread in one of the other forum-discussions here, a 190 outboard owner mentions his suspicion (after experiencing excessive "whip and sway" on the highway) that Sea Ray designed the trailers for their 19-foot boats -- based on the weight distributions of the Inboard or Inboard-outboard (I/O) crafts.

That member is actually going to move the axle on his trailer which is NOT an option for me!

So, I am wondering if I should simply kick in the extra money for a dual axle trailer? (We won't be trailerjng the boat often; however; if we do need to take it to the dealer it'll be an 1-hour+ highway trip with posted limits of 65 + 70mph!)

Either way, my ASSumption is that I am better off with a galvanized trailer as opposed to a painted one -- since we can leave our boat on a lift under cover 24/7/365, the trailer will sit without any cover or protection from the elements and may go a year or more without being moved or used ...

Thanks in advance for your experience and valued input!
 
I've got a 20 footer that lives on a lift as well. I don't even own a trailer, more of a pain in the butt owning it than the convenience of using it on the rare occasion. I borrow or rent 1 when it's nessasary
 
Hmmmm, that may be appropriate for us, as well . . . short of needing to return the craft to the dealer during any warranty period for any things that tend "pop up" (or, "off!" :-O I imagine the onlt time I'd need to pull the boat out is to do any preventative type maintenance I can't (ro shouldn't) do over the fresh water reservoir we're on . . .

Def. food for thought . . .
 
I made a platform that spans my dock out of 5 / 12' 2x4's and a sheet of plywood. I back the boat in and lift it high enough to slide the platform under the engine. Plenty strong enough to R&R the lower unit
 
ThorSen said:
As mentioned in a thread sister to this one, we're in the process of putting our order together for an SPX-190 with the Mercury 150hp OUTBOARD.

Question is, should I go with the "standard" - single axle - trailer or, does the extra weight hanging off the back end of the boat (and trailer) necessitate (or even just, "make it advisable") that I upgrade to a double axle trailer?

Background: I need to go back and see if I can find the individual post but, in a recent thread in one of the other forum-discussions here, a 190 outboard owner mentions his suspicion (after experiencing excessive "whip and sway" on the highway) that Sea Ray designed the trailers for their 19-foot boats -- based on the weight distributions of the Inboard or Inboard-outboard (I/O) crafts.

That member is actually going to move the axle on his trailer which is NOT an option for me!

So, I am wondering if I should simply kick in the extra money for a dual axle trailer? (We won't be trailerjng the boat often; however; if we do need to take it to the dealer it'll be an 1-hour+ highway trip with posted limits of 65 + 70mph!)

Either way, my ASSumption is that I am better off with a galvanized trailer as opposed to a painted one -- since we can leave our boat on a lift under cover 24/7/365, the trailer will sit without any cover or protection from the elements and may go a year or more without being moved or used ...

Thanks in advance for your experience and valued input!
Click to expand...

Single torsion axle aluminum trailer with a minimum of 120 pounds of tongue weight with boat on it. For that boat you need nothing more; dual axle trailer is not required for that and even more weight and will do nothing but be a hassle moving it around not to mention the cost of four tires and wheels etc.
 
if the single axle is rated legal for your boat, I would just order the single. Get the heaviest axle if you have a choice, If you were trailering every weekend 50-300 miles, then double axle.
 
scofflaw, ttmott, Escape22: Thank You, all :) -- experience takes the day!

I am very glad I asked; my wife and I are both very, very new to boating ... we tend not to let our exuberance about trying something eclipse our humility and eagerness to Learn!
 
My kids have an 18' I/O Bowrider that we use a single axle trailer for. It works fine. No need for a double axle.
 
I have the single axle trailer that was sold with the boat from Searay. I think you were referring to me when you spoke about someone moving the the axle back. A single axle is the right set up for this boat IMO. Dual axles adds to twice the complexity with more brakes to deal with, more tires to replace and so on.
The problem I was having was trailer sway, from the factory the axle on the trailer was too far forward. The factory trailer had the fender and spring mounts welded to the frame so I had to buy Adjustable bolt on mounts from Shorland'r and cut off the welded on mounts. I never actually weighed the boat and trailer and measured the tongue weight but now that I have moved the axle back 12" the trailer pulls straight and true. I have towed it over 1200 miles since moving the axle back and it has made all the difference in the world. The trailer I have is a Shorland'r so if that is what is being offered on the OB boat I would skip it and buy a trailer with an adjustable axle so that you can adjust it as needed.
 
JVM, Jeremy: ahoy and thank ye both, much! Yes, Jeremy, I tried but couldn't find that post but, no matter, thank you for finding this, my query. We meet with the dealer tomorrow so, I will add trailer questions to our list. Maybe even see if they have any trailers there on any customer's boats, etc. In all honesty, I don't see us trailering a lot (which has me working on a 'scaffold' to go across our very private slip, ala 'scofflaw') but, after scraping more than a few victims up off interstate asphalt, cutting corners on carrying or towing loads is a pet peeve of mine. I have buddies who weld, etc. who'd love this kind of project but, for the foreseeable future, I got enough projects (to put it mildly)!
 
ThorSen said:
JVM, Jeremy: ahoy and thank ye both, much! Yes, Jeremy, I tried but couldn't find that post but, no matter, thank you for finding this, my query. We meet with the dealer tomorrow so, I will add trailer questions to our list. Maybe even see if they have any trailers there on any customer's boats, etc. In all honesty, I don't see us trailering a lot (which has me working on a 'scaffold' to go across our very private slip, ala 'scofflaw') but, after scraping more than a few victims up off interstate asphalt, cutting corners on carrying or towing loads is a pet peeve of mine. I have buddies who weld, etc. who'd love this kind of project but, for the foreseeable future, I got enough projects (to put it mildly)!
Click to expand...

I don't think I would buy a 19ft boat without a trailer. Even if you don't have a vehicle that can pull it you can always rent one at Uhaul for the day. I think the trailer was $1200, it seems like fairly short money in case you need to move the boat for repairs or anything like that. I supposed if you are at a full service marina then maybe it isn't needed.
If you are not going to be trailering too much then the factory trailer that I have, (the dealer I bought mine from has a new 19spx OB on their lot with a different trailer under it) would be fine but if you are going to pay for the factory one then why not just buy an after market one that has some adjustment. I don't think buying one and then paying for the parts and someone's time to modify it makes sense.
 
Sea Ray is now using Karavan for the small boats, instead of Shoreland'r. But the swap had nothing to do with the issue Jeremy was having. To date, I haven't heard of any of our customers having swaying issues but I'm not saying that to negate Jeremy's issue. But I will add... if you have sway issues, you should be having your selling dealer check it out and work on fixing it for you. You shouldn't have to foot that bill.
 
Lazy Daze said:
Sea Ray is now using Karavan for the small boats, instead of Shoreland'r. But the swap had nothing to do with the issue Jeremy was having. To date, I haven't heard of any of our customers having swaying issues but I'm not saying that to negate Jeremy's issue. But I will add... if you have sway issues, you should be having your selling dealer check it out and work on fixing it for you. You shouldn't have to foot that bill.
Click to expand...
Almost all sway issues are simply due to not enough tongue weight on the hitch. Either move the boat forward on the trailer or move the axle further back. For a 3000 pound boat you should have no less than 120 pounds on the hitch.
 
Lazy Daze said:
Sea Ray is now using Karavan for the small boats, instead of Shoreland'r. But the swap had nothing to do with the issue Jeremy was having. To date, I haven't heard of any of our customers having swaying issues but I'm not saying that to negate Jeremy's issue. But I will add... if you have sway issues, you should be having your selling dealer check it out and work on fixing it for you. You shouldn't have to foot that bill.
Click to expand...

I agree that it should be brought back to the dealer, if I knew that I could tell them I had a problem with the sway and that I was going to drop it off and a few days later they would call me and tell me they moved the axle back and it is all set then I would have done that. The problem is, it would not have happened that way. They wouldn't have wanted to cut the welds on the trailer and then warrantied and then they would have had to get Shorland'r involved so that would have taking more time and phone calls. I am not saying they wouldn't have gotten it right in the end, It so it is just less hassle and money (time is money) for me to do it myself As they are 45min away from me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,163
Messages
1,427,599
Members
61,072
Latest member
BoatUtah12
Back
Top