boat trailer advise

[Alinder]

I am looking to buy a new boat trailer for a 16' Lund Rebal. The current trailer is a Spartan and the boat does not seam to load or center very easily. Can anyone give me any advise on what might be a good trailer to look that centers and loads the boat better than the one I have? Thanks Al

[rebelrn]

NOT a Shorlander. RUN AWAY---AS FAST AS YOU CAN!!!!

[mrwalleyechaser]

If I were you , I would get an EAGLE trailer,, with bunks,,, best trailer I have ever owned,, dealer had to talk me into a bunk trailer, but now I wouldn't own anything but. The boat is so much easier to load and unload, I can't believe I used rollers all those years.

[BD]

Spartans are good trailers. I have three of them. Your trailer problem may be that the trailer isn't set up properly for your boat. There are several dealerships in my area alone where the trailer setup is an afterthought. The task may as well have been left to the kid that sweeps up. Try to find someone who can set up your trailer the way it should be before you spend bucks on something you might not need.

[KP]

As BD pointed out, setting up the trailer properly makes all the difference in the world. Add on items to assist loading and centering is also a good, cheap investment for bunk or rollers. I have a Rebel with a Shorelandr Roller Trailer and centering bunks on the side. Perfect load every time for $100 extra bucks whether you drive or crank on.

Where you launch your boat can be an important factor in deciding too. I my case, I could not use a bunk trailer because I put in at many unimproved, difficult to launch areas, or no launch at all. Some at smaller lakes and rivers, and some just to avoid the crowds at the better launches. My roller trailer sits low and allows me to back the wheels to the edge of, or partially in the water, and crank the boat onto the trailer. Can't do that with a bunk.

Eagle trailers are incredible quality trailers but really expensive. To invest that much money to trailer a Rebel is a waste. You'd never get the value back at resale.

[luredaddy]

There have been some recent threads on trailers , including one on Trailmasters, you may want to check. I had a Shorelander roller with guide ones under my 1400 Rebel, I did not like the trailer at all, and it was setup properly. In one season tires were worn , quality of paint was bad, and loading was a headache.
I now have a Rebel 1650 SS with a four bunk Trailmaster, it is a quality trailer that is a dream to load even in a crosswind. If you donot want to pay the price for an Eagle, the Trailmaster is of similar quality and at a price that is very competitive.
As far as getting a return for the extra price of an Eagle or Trailmaster, peace of mind and knowing you have a quality trailer supporting your boat, is more than enough for me, especially if you launch your boat over a hundred times a year, as I do.

[WHAT ABOUT KARAVAN]

What are your thoughts on the Karavan line of trailors all you trailor experts?

[KP]

My original post was not meant to pitch Shorelandr or roller trailers. It was meant to cause though on how the boat was going to be used. If I always had access to good launches, I'd have considered a bunk. But the bunk trailers I've owned in the past required me to back farther into the water. On a sand or dirt launch, that means your stuck.

If your tires wore in a year, maybe you had a bent axle or bad hub that you didn't notice. With as much as you use your boat, I'd have thought the tell tale wear signs would have been revealed well within the warranty period. Unless you put over 10,000 miles on them because that's about all a $25, small trailer tire is good for.

I can believe the problems with loading. Many people have problems loading a boat on a roller trailer. Can't figure out why, but I read it a lot here. I've never had a problem loading, guess I'm lucky or just have a lot of experience with a variety of trailers and boats. If your a first time boater, maybe a roller is not the best to start with.

I've had my trailer 3 years and have never had any kind of problem. Paint, tires, axle, bearings, lights, all good. Although I'm not putting it in the water 3-4 days a week, year round, or every day through the season like Luredaddy. I wish I could. But I do use it once or twice a week, March through November. That kind of use does require me to keep it clean, touched up, greased, and proper tire inflation like anyone should do if they want a trailer to last.

The "Peace of mind" comment kills me though. How dramatic!!! Come on, it's a 500 pound boat. Fully loaded and motor is still around 1000 pounds. Does that justify investing twice a much in a trailer? Neglect an Eagle, Trailmaster, Karavan, Shorelandr, roller, bunk, etc. and it will give you problems no matter what the cost.

In my opinion, any decent trailer, roller or bunk, will work on a Rebel as long as it's setup right and properly maintained.

[luredaddy]

Peace of mind is important, whether you have a 500 lb boat, or a 2500 lb boat. I gave my opinion based upon using my boat and trailer at least 5 days a week from March through November in NE Ohio, which is a feat unto itself!! I have launched in very shallow ramps, and if I can get a foot of the bunks under water, there is no problem, only a little more cranking.
Make your choice based upon input from those who use their outfits a great deal, and do not leave them in the drive way.
Statements like PEACE OF MIND bother KP, peace of mind is what it is all about, to a person that uses their rig, and does not let it sit.

[rebelrn2001]

Shorelander told me 'we already have one of the most expensive trailers on the market and if we put on a third keel roller on the front, we would have to charge more'. That was their response to my problem with me having to buy one to get the boat on straight. My 'waterproof' tail lights were in fact not waterproof as they had listed on their brochure. They burned out within 2 months. My 2 month old hubs were hot and needed to be redone. I would not call these types of problems this early in owning a trailer 'routine maintenance'. I would call this a CHEAP trailer that deceives its potential customers and charges way more than it is worth. I would also like to challenge SHORELANDER to respond to these posts like the good people at LiquiLube and GUEST do. They are the good people to do business with.

[IaDude]

Here we go again......another Shorelandr' bashing extravaganza.......

[KP]

Unplug your lights before you launch...no more burned out bulbs. You should do that to protect your vehicle as much as your boat lights anyway.

Check and replace your grease monthly and maintain proper tire, inflation no more hot hubs. With Bearing Buddies, it's a 5 minute job.

Complaining about a product becuse you don't do common sense stuff is not really fair to the manufacturer. As I said before, neglect any trailer and your going to have problems.

I guess if you don't fish or boat everyday, you must not be a real fisherman or boater. I admire Luredaddy's ability to do what I'm sure most people on this board would like to do. The frequency of my fishing doesn't mean I take my hobby any less seriously.

[Bob G2]

One other thing I would suggest is going to a galvanized trailer. They may be ugly, but not as ugly as most painted trailers after 3-5 years of use, or less if you frequent gravel roads alot.

[NC]

The Shorlandr Roller I had under my Rebel could not have been better. Nearly perfect loading everytime. Trailered very well and was looked nice for the 3 years I owned it.

Guess not everyone has had a the same experience as me, but I would certainly consider one again.
Good luck,
NC

[rebelrn]

EXCUSE ME. I do unplug my lights. I do keep the proper pressure in my tires. PLEASE do not lecture me on how to take care of my trailer. I fish at least 100 times per year and take exception to your belittling me. You do not know me and I do not know you but I can guess what kind of person you are. As I said in my post, my trailer had MAJOR problems after 1 month. I had 3 Shorelanders and if I am guilty of anything it was to own 3 problem trialers of the same brand.

[rock2me]

My personal experience with a Crestliner Fish Hawk on a Spartan roller trailer was not a good one. I hated that trailer, not only did it load crooked most of the time it also rusted way too fast.

I paid the money and now have an Eagle custom matched trailer with quad bunks. If it goes on a little crooked no big deal. Drive down the road for a block or two - a couple of bumps - and it centers perfectly. Life is good again

I won't make that costly mistake again... BTW, I had many conversations with Spartan directly, after the dealer could not resolve the issue. They said I would have better luck with a bunk trailer but it would cost me almost $300 for the conversion and no guarantees that it would load better. I paid the $1K to upgrade to a real trailer and do not regret it.

[moreyes]

Sparten trailers where do I start. Do not buy a Sparten I have one and hated it, I converted it to bunk myself and it loads great now. Just have to make sure no motorcycles are behind so when there great powder coating system flakes off when I am driving down the road it doesnt take a eye out.

moreyes

[Shorelunch]

I believe you can't unplug your trailer if your trailer has brakes, KP.

[KP]

Good point. Do you need the trailer brakes when launching? I've never owned a boat trailer with brakes so I wouldn't know.

Even with unplugging my lights, I did have one of those #### Shorelandr bulbs burn out on me :) The bulb and socket had a layer of corrosion. Bought me a GE bulb and the salesman recommended I use electrical anti-corrosion compound (grease) on the bulb socket and bulb. Haven't had a problem since. Use it on the plug too.

With all the sitting in my driveway the boat and trailer do, at least it's always ready and working for the embrrassingly few days a week I get out fishing.

[Trlrdlr]

On a 16 Rebel you have two choices. You can get a trailer that is plenty adequate with a 1200 or 1400lb carrying capacity and you winch the boat on. Or spend big bucks and get a drive-on style trailer.
The 16 Rebels in the world are not generally sitting on a drive-on type trailers.

[rebelrn]

Are we talking surge breaks or electric? I have surge and unplug every time. No breaks unless emergency stopping for a person from Illinois cutting me off while passing on a 2 lane highway and not putting on his directional signal going 75-80 mph heading up to his cabin in northern Wisconsin. Sorry, that happended this morning and couldn't resist.

[szopster]

A few years back, while in need of a new trailer myself, I saw a Clark Boats (Bellevue, Ia) custom trailer in a lot at a launch below one of the Iowa dams. After checking around what was available for my 17 ft Sylvan, I ended up having Clark custom build one for my boat. I had them build me an all welded galvanized drive on with roller bunks (40 rollers), self centering keel roller, vulcan torsion axles (no springs), surge brakes, the works.

This is the third year that I have had the trailer and I couldn't be happier. I've compared my Clark to Eagles at the ramp, there is comparison. The Eagle looks like a weakling next to my Clark. They even took my (not so) Easy-Loader as a trade in!

[szopster]

Reading the posts concerning "power loading restrictions" reminded me why I have roller bunks instead of carpeted bunks.... Many of the ramps I use have the power loading restictions. It is a whole lot easier to crank up a boat on rollers than it is carpet.