New Aluminium Trailer ?

[Versatile]

Hi !

Is it realy legal to tow a Mac with a brand new aluminium trailer ?

The boat sits on the centre the tiny single wheel axle … sags the axle … pulls the wheels inward … wearing the inside tires …

Not to say that the strap on the winch pulls the boat downward … which makes the boat virtually impossible to position to rest on the V knuckle … bends the towing pole …

MacGregor should have put electric tape to hold the brake lights in place !

Have you ever seen another boat trailer that had to perform an emergency break to position the boat properly on it’s trailer ?

Very disappointing ...

[TAW02]

I bought a 07 Mac26 out of DelRey Cal. Brand new.

I don't know what you are talking about, but they were real rubust and towed my boat well all the way through the desert where the tires should have exploded and the trailer hub grease should have sizzled out and made toast out of the bearings ... but it didn't. It was July of 07 and it was being towed at an average speed of 65mph.

It made it to Central Florida in less than 3 days. Since then, I have towed it to the Florida Keys (upper Torch Key) once and Pine Island several times for a total of about 8,233 miles so far. Blew one tire and when it blew I barely knew it. The boat swayed back and forth gently ... and I was doing 60 mph at the time!

My trailer axle is 4 inch box steel galvanized. It has disc brakes and torsion block suspension. Basically able to tow twice over what the MAC weighs!! Safely. Period.

And your Aluminum trailer is bowing at the axle to the point that you have wheel castor issues?

You, my friend have been sold a bill of goods.

It ain't a MAC26 Trailer.

Who sold that junk to you?

Big T

[Versatile]

That junk was bought brand new from Roger MacGregor, along with all the certificates of origin … Would not be worse being made in China.

How do you winch the boat so it rests right on the V rubber knuckle ?

With just a little tension on that winch, that pulls the nose downward, and the weight of the fore end of boat … the tong bends !



I will show you soon, photos that demonstrate how the axle bends on the aft boat support, pulls the wheels inward and wears the tires badly ... brillant !

That 3 years old trailer will have to be re-design and repair to be safe.

[Paul S]

Hi !

Is it realy legal to tow a Mac with a brand new aluminium trailer ?

The boat sits on the centre the tiny single wheel axle … sags the axle … pulls the wheels inward … wearing the inside tires …

Not to say that the strap on the winch pulls the boat downward … which makes the boat virtually impossible to position to rest on the V knuckle … bends the towing pole …

MacGregor should have put electric tape to hold the brake lights in place !

Have you ever seen another boat trailer that had to perform an emergency break to position the boat properly on it’s trailer ?

Very disappointing ...

Don't like it, buy a different trailer. Many owners have.

Many of us have issues with different parts of the boat and 'upgrade' it, including the trailer.

The factory trailer is acceptable. Don't like it? The replace it. There will be a steel trailer Mac 26m owner ready to buy your trailer in a heartbeat.

[Versatile]

What would you do if the frame your car would start to twist and bend and fall apart, after such a short period of time and utilisation ?

You have to design and produce at a minimum standard of quality if you want to keep doing business in this very competitive world … which is far the case for the MacGregor aluminium trailer.

I am sure that I am not the only one on the planet to address that problem. MacGregor has the knowledge of it and should take the appropriate measures to correct it and preserve his reputation.

[Paul S]

They did address the problem. They went from steel to aluminum.

After years of complaints about the steel trailers.. they finally went aluminum. If it wasn't up to standard, it wouldn't have got DOT approval. That said, I believe the factory trailer is not acceptable in other countries.

Go look at a 5-10 year steel mac trailer. You will thank your maker that you have an aluminum trailer!

Look at the rest of the package.. everything on the Mac is the minimum standard. It is still a pricepoint package. Sure they could make a better trailer, heavier duty hardware, but the pricepoint would go up...and people would complain about the price of the package.

If you feel it is unsafe - sell it. If you are near MA,I will buy it. Take the $ and put it toward a loadrite or something else others here use.

[kmclemore]

I will say that the Mac trailers are indeed minimum standard... it's actually a shame, since the boat is pretty dang sturdy.

On mine, the axle beam bent in a sway (down in the center) such that the wheels were substantially cambered out at the bottom and it pretty much ruined the first set of tires I had on it. I had to manually re-arch (bend) the axle beam with a bottle jack, and using a spirit level at the two wheels I managed to get them reasonably vertical. Not sure how long the fix will last, but so far (about 3000 miles) it seems to have worked. But the axle should never have been so flimsy... it really was marginal for an unloaded boat, and once you get stuff on board and any mods, you're way over what it was designed to handle.

[TAW02]

I will say that the Mac trailers are indeed minimum standard... it's actually a shame, since the boat is pretty dang sturdy.

On mine, the axle beam bent in a sway (down in the center) such that the wheels were substantially cambered out at the bottom and it pretty much ruined the first set of tires I had on it. I had to manually re-arch (bend) the axle beam with a bottle jack, and using a spirit level at the two wheels I managed to get them reasonably vertical. Not sure how long the fix will last, but so far (about 3000 miles) it seems to have worked. But the axle should never have been so flimsy... it really was marginal for an unloaded boat, and once you get stuff on board and any mods, you're way over what it was designed to handle.

APPLES AND ORANGES!

I owned a MAC25 and the trailer it came with was a bit less a quality trailer than that of an

It actually flexed the axle to the point that it did bend and cause the wheels to camber-in.

Besides that, an trailer has a much smaller STRAIGHT axle. It has LEAF SPRINGS and FOURTEEN INCH TIRES.

on the other hand gentlemen ...

An Aluminum trailer has a PRE-STRESSED ARCHED 4" BOX GALVANIZED AXLE, with 15" TIRES. IT has NO LEAF SPRING SUSPENSION!!!!!! It has FULL TORSION SUSPENSION

What puzzles me gentlemen is what PILOT is talking about. How is his claims possible? This trailer is an excellent hauler for this boat.

PILOT Sir. Please do me a favor and open your gate valve and dump your ballast tank.

then ...

tell us not that you bought your rig from Mr Macgregor, but rather by whom you actually purchased your rig (dealerwise).

Tell us about that experience and how all this dissenchantment evolved.

Thank you

Big T

[Paul S]

I will say that the Mac trailers are indeed minimum standard... it's actually a shame, since the boat is pretty dang sturdy.

On mine, the axle beam bent in a sway (down in the center) such that the wheels were substantially cambered out at the bottom and it pretty much ruined the first set of tires I had on it. I had to manually re-arch (bend) the axle beam with a bottle jack, and using a spirit level at the two wheels I managed to get them reasonably vertical. Not sure how long the fix will last, but so far (about 3000 miles) it seems to have worked. But the axle should never have been so flimsy... it really was marginal for an unloaded boat, and once you get stuff on board and any mods, you're way over what it was designed to handle.

APPLES AND ORANGES!

I owned a MAC25 and the trailer it came with was a bit less a quality trailer than that of an

It actually flexed the axle to the point that it did bend and cause the wheels to camber-in.

Besides that, an trailer has a much smaller STRAIGHT axle. It has LEAF SPRINGS and FOURTEEN INCH TIRES.

on the other hand gentlemen ...

An Aluminum trailer has a PRE-STRESSED ARCHED 4" BOX GALVANIZED AXLE, with 15" TIRES. IT has NO LEAF SPRING SUSPENSION!!!!!! It has FULL TORSION SUSPENSION

What puzzles me gentlemen is what PILOT is talking about. How is his claims possible? This trailer is an excellent hauler for this boat.

PILOT Sir. Please do me a favor and open your gate valve and dump your ballast tank.

then ...

tell us not that you bought your rig from Mr Macgregor, but rather by whom you actually purchased your rig (dealerwise).

Tell us about that experience and how all this dissenchantment evolved.

Thank you

Big T

Don't give him any ideas.. i WANT his trailer

[TAW02]

Don't give him any ideas.. i WANT his trailer

The gentleman offered a picture of what appears to be an aluminum trailor. Difficult to tell from the angle. Trying to ascertain if he got ripped-off from the dealership, (obviously he did). A bait and swithc perhaps.

If it is truly an aluminum trailor, I suspect he is trailoring with a loaded ballast tank. I've done that myself until I stopped to eat, then realized the mistake when I was looking at the trailor on my way back. The tires looked very low. But I can't recall if the wheels were cambered in. I didn't trailor it more than 50 or so miles. Didn't seem to hurt the trailor though!

Big T

[Versatile]

I will say that the Mac trailers are indeed minimum standard... it's actually a shame, since the boat is pretty dang sturdy.

On mine, the axle beam bent in a sway (down in the center) such that the wheels were substantially cambered out at the bottom and it pretty much ruined the first set of tires I had on it. I had to manually re-arch (bend) the axle beam with a bottle jack, and using a spirit level at the two wheels I managed to get them reasonably vertical. Not sure how long the fix will last, but so far (about 3000 miles) it seems to have worked. But the axle should never have been so flimsy... it really was marginal for an unloaded boat, and once you get stuff on board and any mods, you're way over what it was designed to handle.

On the opposite of the brilliant mind of TAW02, the statement of kmclemore reflects knowledge and experience. That’s exactly the problem I encounter … but should not be.

Three quarter of the boat’s weight rests on the centre of weak axle … bends … etc !

The support of the winch structure bends as well …

And finally, if you have to break “hard” at 30 mph … downhill … on asphalt … so the bow finally rests on the safety v rubber knuckle … There’s something wrong somewhere !!!

Any ordinary seaman would understand that, but it seems that there are exceptions to that rule !

[Paul S]

of course the X trailer and the aluminum M trailer are 2 totally different beasts.

I, too, wish they offered a better (ie loadrite trailer) but I doubt many of us would offer up the $5k or so for that option.

It is what it is. I have had plenty of emergecy stops with my trailer. Never had a problem in anyway.

Again, could they have made a better trailer. Sure. But that isn't the Mac way of doing things! It is a balance of quality and price. They usually error on price with the minimum level of quality they can get away with. If they didn't, we wouldn't have affordable boats to buy!

So the deal is, live with the trailer and and percieved and actual issues with it.. or change it to something more durable.

Still not sure if there ever was a question in the opening post, other than is it legal. Obviously yes it is legal in the US.

If it is to complain about quality issues. Join the club. we have jackets and t-shirts!!

[Versatile]

I forgot …

I may not possess a 250 QI as TWA02 … but don’t worry, the water ballast is always “out and dry”, the air vent plug and gate valve always opened, the tire pressure, safety equipment ... double checked prior towing !

There is not extra weight to be considered as well …

The boat is pulled by a Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 2007 ... and I always look in the mirror to see if the boat is still on that f… trailer !

[pokerrick1]

The boat is pulled by a Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 2007 ... and I always look in the mirror to see if the boat is still on that f… trailer !

I don't think you are allowed to say:

"Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 2007" on this portion of the bulletin board

Rick less in Las Vegas

[Versatile]

They usually error on price with the minimum level of quality they can get away with. If they didn't, we wouldn't have affordable boats to buy!

But when you cut the price, thence the quality, to a such a substandard level which then becomes a safety issue … I strongly do not agree. I would easily pay an extra ... so we would not have these arguments today !

I would be surprise that Roger MacGregor even cares …

If it is to complain about quality issues. Join the club. we have jackets and t-shirts!!

… I buy 2 of each !