Who trailers a 260DA?

[charlieft]

Hello All,

We have a 260DA and no trailer ... this is the first boat we've had without a trailer and I don't like the feeling of being at the mercy of my marina for everything. I didn't plan on all the extra maintenance costs for things I used to do myself (or at least I could shop around)

I would really appresiate it if you could tell me:
- What kind of trailer do you have?
- Are you happy with it?
- What would you do differently if you got another trailer?
- Anything else that you think I should consider.

Thanks,
Charlie

 

[MAKC]

Ive got the 240DA which is about 1200lbs lighter in dryweight (give or take a few hundred pounds). I bougt a new Venture Aluminum bunk trailer and have been extremely pleased with it to tow my Sundancer. A few things to consider; aluminum flexes more than a galvanized steel trailer that holds the same weight. Its also lighter to tow than the same galvanized steel trailer. Ive got a dual axle setup with brakes on both axles. I recommend you do the same because the amount of weight you tow is also the amount of weight you have to stop. Dont get talked into a double axle trailer with brakes only on one axle. I'd also get a trailer rated to hold a boat of at least 8500 lbs since yours has a dry weight between 7000 and 7500 lbs.

The only thing i think i might consider is going with a strap versus the cable that you winch the boat onto the trailer with. The cable can get snagged and be difficult to deal with sometimes on the loading ramp. The strap is neater and less maintenance. Just make sure you get a strap with a high capacity. Other than that, i think hunting for a great price is all i would say for you to do. Good luck with you 260DA. You're gonna love it

Mike

 

[Aarrhh & Aarrhh]

We trailer our 260da all the time. I have a road king triple axle trailer. We have been very happy with the trailer. I really like the triple vs. a double. I think the biggest consideration when towing is the truck you are using. I have a F250 diesel and would not tow this boat with anything smaller. Make sure that the trailer that you get has brakes on every axle. It makes stoping a lot easier!!!!!

http://www.roadkingtrailers.com/index.htm

 

[lorenbennett]

We trailer our 260da on a metal craft trailer. It has 4 wheel electric brakes and is great. Would not mind if it was a little lower to the ground. Only change for me would be electric over hydraulic brakes.:thumbsup:

 

[jwfoster4]

I trailer my 270DA on a Seahawk by Nextrail. It is a 2-axle w/ 10,500 capacity. I bought the trailer new this past March. I bought the boat separate from the trailer and was concerned about getting it set up right. I had to move my winch stand forward and lower it all the way and cut off the remaining aluminum so that my bow pulpit would clear, but other than that it did great. Here is the site.

http://www.nextrailofamerica.com/

 

[Hampton]

I trailer my 270DA on a Seahawk by Nextrail. It is a 2-axle w/ 10,500 capacity. I bought the trailer new this past March. I bought the boat separate from the trailer and was concerned about getting it set up right. I had to move my winch stand forward and lower it all the way and cut off the remaining aluminum so that my bow pulpit would clear, but other than that it did great. Here is the site.

http://www.nextrailofamerica.com/

I had a '97 250 for 10 years on an aluminum trailer. I took the support bar that held the wench off. Then, I rotated the 1st cross beam 180 degrees so that it would hold the support bar from there to the front of the trailer instead of from there aft (From very front to 1st cross member instead of from 1st to 2nd crossmember). I re-installed the wench at the very front of the trailer on the support beam that I had moved forward.

Then, I had a local steel shop build a support arm to hold the bow of the boat. I designed the support arm so that it could be lowered after pulling a pin. It was on a pivoting bolt. End result: Wench moved forward of bow pulpit. Swing arm to hold bow where wench used to rest. To launch, I would pull the pin, lower the swing arm out of the way, and launch the boat. It made it very, very, very, very easy.

We went from destructive driving on and off to floating on and off single-handedly. It's called the "Hampton Arm."

 

[Sea Ray 300]

Charlie,

On the flip side of the coin, why not have your boat hauled to your house, where you would normally keep the trailered boat, and put her on stands.
Then you could do whatever maintenance you'd like, or bring in a mobile mechanic.

Although hauling would represent about $250 + or - each way, it would alleviate an expensive trailer, the required maintenance on the trailer, the fairly expensive anual registration (at $12 per thousand pounds), and a gargantuan and very expensive tow vehicle, not to mention the additional expenses and fuel mileage associated with a large powerful truck.

Another seldom mentioned reason is peace of mind.
A trailered boat the size of yours is allot of weight to stop under less than ideal traffic conditions or situations.

We stopped towing when we sold our 22' Sea Ray, and I've never been sorry.

 

[Presentation]

hauling would represent about $250 + or - each way.....

Wow, that is a very good rate….that or….hauling is the one thing that is out of line in my area.

Where I boat I am stuck. I’m on a great chain of lakes that is connected via two main rivers. One of those rivers, the Fox River, has a system of 17 locks that connect the chain of lakes to Lake Michigan. However some of the locks are closed. A group is raising funds to get them reopened however at this time you can not voyage form the “Winnebago pool” chain of lakes to Lake Michigan via boat.

I have checked and checked on pricing. At the lowest possible end is this $500 wall. This is the lowest minimum hauling fee, one way that I can find. This means that even if you are going across the street, the minimum professional hauling fee is $500. That is one way. So round trip you are talking $1,000. If you rent stands + blocks this would be extra. There may also be additional fees to have the boat put onto the stands and removed come spring.

Your area may be different.

 

[Hampton]

One of the happiest days in my life was when we bought our 250. One of the very happiest days in my life is when we sold the trailer.

 

[Sundancer]

Do you guys get tired or bored going to the same marina, next to the same dockmate, on the same lake and then going to the same spots? I couldn't do it. I'd quit using the boat! Maybe if we were moored in the San Juans that would be OK. We load the boat up and when we hit the first stop sign we determine which lake we are headed too. With so many lakes to choose from, I'd hate to be stuck on one for a whole season. Priest Lake, Lake Pend Oreille, Lake Roosevelt, Flathead and the obvious one which we avoid, Lake Couer d'Alene are great places to visit at various times of the year.

I think trailering gives you a lot of options and the marina cost/higher maintenance is probably close to a wash with the trailer/vehicle costs. Plus you save money on gas for the boat which is partially used towing the boat. I think you could justify the numbers just about any way you want to. The other big plus trailering the boat is you can do maintenance even if it's just polishing or waxing at at home. It's also easier to load your stuff into the boat at home rather than loading the car, driving to the marina and then carting everything to and from the boat.

I know there are places that don't allow boat parking where you live. That's not the norm in most of the U.S. I'd never live in one of those places because they would dictate the color I paint it and the type of dog I could own!! I guess it's all personal preference and in this great country, we can choose the option that gives you that warm and fuzzy feeling!!

Oh yeah, we have a HOMEMADE trailer for the 300 DA! Scary huh? We'll be addressing the hubs this spring, but it's identical to an EZ loader in design with triple axles for the 300 DA with electric brakes. The 250 DA has an EZ Loader two axle, hydraulic surge and bunks. It's low maintenance and 20 years old.

 

[comsnark]

Different strokes for different folks.

I have a 280SS, and no trailer. And no truck. For bad mechanical stuff, or winterization, I have to haul the boat. In my area, for a 28' boat, the one way fee is $168. Round trip is $250 for a short haul. Ramp fee is an extra $30 each way. There is no charge for blocking, other than the fact that *I supply the blocking material*. Last year, I spend $30 on wood and cinderblocks. This year, I splurged and spent $450 to add four boat stands.

There is competition in my area. Last year, my hauler blew me off for a relaunch. Very annoying. The admiral started raising Cain at 12:30pm on Saturday afternoon. I Finally picked up the phone to find someone else at 1:00pm. Boat was in the water at 1:45pm (I was impressed!)

In my case, trailering the Seayray makes NO SENSE. Last year I had mechanical "issues" and had to haul the boat out twice in August. Total times out of water was therefore THREE. No way I could justify buying a truck to save that level of boat hauling.

But I could see trailering. Personally, I wouldn't trailer anything larger than a 240DA -> but that's just me. If I trailered, I would have a smaller boat!

 

[Newbie]

Getting back to the question, I trailered my 260 about 3000 miles since July with no probs. About the only things I would change would be electric over hydraulic brakes and an electric winch. With the surge brakes, if you park facing downhill, even on a very slight incline the lockout just locks the pressure in the lines making it hard to back up. Forcing it backwards breaks the caliper brackets :smt021 I now carry wheelchocks for the times I can't avoid backing uphill to hold the trailer still while rolling the truck forward to let the pressure out. I HATE surge brakes SB

 

[Quint4]

With surge brakes you also have no trailer braking while backing down the ramp....not good.

 

[boltman]

Sorry I can't offer that much help, but to mention that your trailer is the most important part of your boat, when trailering. I as you can see trailer a 320 dancer, we have a triple axle Fifth wheel trailer and I wouldn't have it any other way.
We trailer because In Michigan, I can be anywhere in 3 hours or less to put it in any lake that can handle her, on less then half the fuel of I were boating to get there. As like our Sea Ray rendevous in Elk Rapids, the bog boats spent triple what I did getting there. Ahhhhh the savings rack up fast, paying for the trailer in less then a year.

Bottom line, do not skimp on anything, it's too important. ours is biult out of 8" steel channel with a 3" reinforcement bar over that..... I have no worries going down the road, and yes I have a F350 deisel chipped up to performance and enough gauges on the truck to resemble the cockpit of an F-14, i'M dialed in to my Truck every moment of every haul....keeping brakes in tip top shape and using Synthetic Oil and trans Fluid...... it runs so mcuh cooler then regular trans fluid and Oil.

Go get'em Oh and one more thing, If I didn't have electric brakes........... We'd be Truckin in the Marina ever visit.... the boat will pull the truck right into the water...It's a scarey feeling, thank GOD for electric brakes on all 3 axles...

 

[Presentation]

...... I'd never live in one of those places because they would dictate the color I paint it and the type of dog I could own!! ....

If it’s a big dog you could paint it with black and white stripes. If someone asks tell them it’s the offspring of a pony that mated with a zebra.

 

[lorenbennett]

I did see a guy towing a newer 260 and each time he had to stop you could see him bracing for the surge brake to catch. For that much weight no surge!:thumbsup:

 

[charlieft]

Thanks for all the advice.

I'm not planning any long-range towing. I just want the ability to haul the boat whenever ... without ponying up the $500+ and without a lot of pre-planning and scheduling.

I already have a 1999 dodge ram 1500 4x4 V8 with towing package. It will be satisfactory for my purposes.

Thanks,
Charlie

 

[beachcombersc]

Getting back to the question, I trailered my 260 about 3000 miles since July with no probs. About the only things I would change would be electric over hydraulic brakes and an electric winch. With the surge brakes, if you park facing downhill, even on a very slight incline the lockout just locks the pressure in the lines making it hard to back up. Forcing it backwards breaks the caliper brackets :smt021 I now carry wheelchocks for the times I can't avoid backing uphill to hold the trailer still while rolling the truck forward to let the pressure out. I HATE surge brakes SB

Surge brake systems built today should have a backup lockout solenoid. Its connected to the reverse lights. When in reverse, it locks out all pressure. If your having trouble backing, You may be missing this solenoid or the correct wiring to your auto...

As far as the electric over hydraulic brake system, All is great untill you have any problem with it. Then it means you most likely have NO brakes at all... Surge brakes tend to be more reliable overall. I find the only problem is the slight slam when jumping off the line after a heavy stop.

 

[Newbie]

Surge brake systems built today should have a backup lockout solenoid. Its connected to the reverse lights. When in reverse, it locks out all pressure. If your having trouble backing, You may be missing this solenoid or the correct wiring to your auto...

As far as the electric over hydraulic brake system, All is great untill you have any problem with it. Then it means you most likely have NO brakes at all... Surge brakes tend to be more reliable overall. I find the only problem is the slight slam when jumping off the line after a heavy stop.

The problem with the surge brakes comes into play when I'm facing downhill with the tongue already pushing on the hitch and need to back up. Since theres already pressure in the system, the lockout just locks it in the lines. I try to avoid those situations but when towing 3-4k miles a year, it happens. The off the line jerk doesnt really bother me too much but the wife hates it. SB

 

[beachcombersc]

The problem with the surge brakes comes into play when I'm facing downhill with the tongue already pushing on the hitch and need to back up. Since theres already pressure in the system, the lockout just locks it in the lines. I try to avoid those situations but when towing 3-4k miles a year, it happens. The off the line jerk doesnt really bother me too much but the wife hates it. SB

What are you driving again??

You may want to add a switch to flip on and off in those situations. You could flip the switch instead of blocking the trailer wheels, then after creaping forward flip off, then on again leaving you with the pressure locked out while backing...