Looking for an Aluminum Tandem in Tampa Bay area

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

Greetings,

I've really lived on borrowed time with my 2000 26X trailer (manufactured in 1999 and has lived in salty humid Florida its whole life), although I did take very good care of it during the earlier years. I had a goal post rust off a few years ago (repaired by a local welder), and then the fendors went earlier this year. After trailering to Placida in March and out to Clearwater in April, the tread separated off of my tires (5-6 year old Goodyear Marathon radials with hardly any miles on them) so I figure it is time to finally replace it. Almost 12 years on painted steel in Florida is probably doing pretty well seeing as a lot of other folks on this board replaced their trailers 5-6 years earlier.

So I did the Craigslist thing yesterday and drove around looking at used trailers. Hoping to find a bargain on a really nice one that would fit my 26X. I took lots of measurements of the old trailer and looked at several pieces of junk that were misrepresented by their owners. A couple of nicer ones came up just a bit too short. The current trailer is 21 feet from bow stop to end of support and I don't want to go any shorter than that. So now I'll go look at some new ones too, while still keeping an eye out to see if any good used ones come up in the next couple of weeks. I really want to have the trailer ready to go by mid October when the good boat camping season starts down here, so I figure I have about a month to make up my mind.

I know Dave B. has lots of good things to say about his Continental trailer (at the top of my list) and there are lots of good comments about the LoadRite trailers made in the mid Atlantic area. Although we don't have LoadRite here, I think I'm lucky in the fact that there are quite a few other trailer manufacturers right here in the greater Tampa area and that will probably save me a few bucks if I decide to go with a new one. With a new one, I will get a warranty and hopefully some support with fitting it to my boat, etc. But it also looks like the newer ones are a few inches wider than the stock trailer and I might have a problem with that because the alley I go through to store my trailer is extremely narrow and I have had issues with the old trailer before. A new one will not only cost more to buy but will also be taxed higher.

Here are some pros and cons I've noted for some of the various manufacturers/dealers around here:

1. Continental Trailers - http://www.continentaltrailers.com/ - already know someone (Dave B) with a 26X who has one. The guy who knows how to fit Macs is in Port Charlotte but they can build the trailer in Clearwater. They aren't cheap but they look to have the second set of bunks and other goodies that people typically like for in a Mac trailer.

2. LOADMASTER ALUMINUM BOAT TRAILERS - http://www.loadmastertrailer.com/ - I've seen a couple used ones of these, and they look very heavy duty. Haven't gotten a price on a new one yet.

3. MagicTilt - Seems like there are a lot of these around West Central Florida but from what I can tell, they are a bit lower duty than others I've seen.

4. Ace Trailers Inc in Gibsonton, FL - Haven't seen these yet but the guy seems to sell a lot of them on Ebay. Pictures look nice and pricing may be better if I buy one off the lot instead of having it custom made.

5. Another guy named Tim out in Brandon who also sells a lot of trailers on Ebay.

I'll update these notes after I make a decision, but thought I would just ask real quick if any of you have either good or bad experience with any of these trailers or are there any other manufacturers I should look at too?

Dimitri

[Sea Wind]

I also have the Continental and I think it is a great trailer. Here are my observations:

1. I called Ace trailer when I was shopping and they said that the trailer that they sell for the Macgregor is different from the ones on Ebay. It was actually a little more than the Venture and Continental but also seems beefier.
2. I saw very little differences between the Venture, Continental and Loadrite. To me, is one of those GM versus Ford comparisons.
3. All these tandem trailers offer more support to the boats than the Mac trailer; with the Continental, less than a foot of the stern is not supported by the bunks.
4. Second set of bunks is nice to have, but I think that you can add them to any of these trailers.
5. I miss the Mac ladder on the trailer, but gotten used to go over the spare tire. Ace can add the ladder.
6. You can probably adapt a trailer made for 22'-24' boats, but the bunks will extend a lot aft and I don't think it is worth the savings.
7. I drive a Honda Pilot rated for 4500 lbs, I think that the weight of my rig, equipment and people in the car is closed to that, so adding the second set of brakes was worth it as well, not to mention that it is the law.

Sea Wind.

[Catigale]

Dimitri - Jim (c130king) got a new trailer which I drooled over the other week...about 3 boat bucks like the others, but the quality of construction etc was top notch. Pm or EM of course.

[vizwhiz]

Dimitri,
Getting ready to store my boat mast-up at Apollo Beach Marina for a period of learning to sail (instead of learning to trailer)...you launch anywhere near there?

[c130king]

Dimitri,

Several of us here in the DC/Baltimore area got dual-axle Loadrite Trailers. Big difference in the "beefiness" between the old steel trailer and the new aluminum. And it is 400 pounds heavier (1100 vs 700).

I am very happy with it and will get it on the road for it's first real road trip (700 miles) next week. So far it has only done 25 miles empty from trailer store to marina (mast up storage) and then I trailered the boat about 65 miles back to my house.

Aluminum main beams with galvanized cross pieces, everything is easily adjustable, big beefy winch, big beefy hitch/brake mechanism, brakes on front axle only (option for back axle also), all LED lights.







VERY HAPPY with my new trailer.

Cheers,
Jim

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

Hi Jim, that is a great looking trailer, congratulations! Loadrite doesn't seem to deal in Florida so I've been focusing on local dealers and manufacturers since there happen to be a lot of them in this neck of the woods. What I'm doing is looking at these nice trailers like Loadrite which you guys (owners) are happy with, and then making sure that I get the same type of trailer built locally. That should save me a few hundred bucks and I will have a local place in case I need any support. So far, from what I can tell, Continental, Loadmaster, and Ace trailers all seem to have that big beefy Aluminum I-Beam construction like the LoadRite does. But I'm also still toying around with the length and width issues. Certainly, getting a longer trailer than the original Mac trailer makes good sense for multiple reasons. Also, if the boat sits higher on the bunks, you need the longer tongue to compensate for that and make sure you don't have to dunk your tow vehicle. But what I'm not sure about is the width. The stock Mac trailer is about 95-96 inches wide where as these beefier tandems are about 102-104 inches wide which is going to make it more difficult for me to put the boat besides my house where I have a narrow alley. Do you think that extra 7-8 inches of width is important seeing as the trailer is already so much better than the original?

And with these bigger trailers, comes more weight as you have pointed out. Maybe good from a stability point of view but it probably burns more gas and also decreases the payload (ie. if my SUV tows 6000 lbs, then that is 400lbs less boat I can pull). So, I'm trying to resist the need to just buy the biggest honkin trailer I can find due to that as well. Clearly, in addition to braun, the quality of the components which go in the water is extremely important. Ie, I don't want to have to buy another trailer in 10-15 years because everything rusted out from the salt water exposure.

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

Sea Wind,

Thanks for your comments and glad to hear you are another happy continental owner. I'll need to add Venture to my list it sounds like. If there isn't much different betwen these, then I suppose it will all come down to price and service. I've also thought about the ladder issue, although people have told me that they don't have much problem stepping down on the winch post and possibly spare tire to get down.

Viz Whiz,

I sail pretty much all around here although I've not been out to the Eastern Bay areas like Apollo Beach in quite a few years. I know there are a lot of good marina's and such out in those parts that have most reasonable rates, etc. Most of my sailing is out on old Tampa Bay (the North Western Part) and out in the Gulf. I'm also getting the new trailer because I'm making more and more trips with the WCTSS these days which is a very active Florida West Coast Trailer Sailing Group that goes to many destinations. And also one of these days, I'd really like to take my Mac out to the Bahamas but not being retired and raising children has not given me the opportunity yet to find those 2+ weeks you would really need to make a trip like that. So far, the longest trip I"ve been able to manage was 6 days up and down the FL west coast (out to Cayo Costa which is a barrier island for Charlotte Harbor). If you ever want to get together, let me know, I have 8 years experience in my 26X now and close to 4 decades in other types of boats so I may be able to help you avoid some of the common newbie oversights.

Dimitri

[DaveB]

Dimitri,
I have the 102 inch Continental trailer and weighs 999 lbs plus the front stainless steel front brakes (about 40 lbs). With the Tandem I would think pulling the Boat theTrailer is much easier than the single axel tho I find it about the same pull as pulling my much less weighted Potter19 and Compac 19. This should result in better fuel milage.
I measured space from the fender to the boat and 4 inches clearance on each side. If you go with the 95inch trailer you may only have 1/2 inches each side but I don't know if fenders are in same location. You could always have them install the fenders 1/2 inches outboard at facrory and put self stick vinyle on side of fenders, the fenders will also help keep the boat in position when retriveing and hauling.
The toung is also about 3 ft. longer than the stock trailer makeing it easier to launch without getting tires in water.
Dave
PS: you going to the Cayo Costa trip with the WCTSS this Nov. ?

Hi Jim, that is a great looking trailer, congratulations! Loadrite doesn't seem to deal in Florida so I've been focusing on local dealers and manufacturers since there happen to be a lot of them in this neck of the woods. What I'm doing is looking at these nice trailers like Loadrite which you guys (owners) are happy with, and then making sure that I get the same type of trailer built locally. That should save me a few hundred bucks and I will have a local place in case I need any support. So far, from what I can tell, Continental, Loadmaster, and Ace trailers all seem to have that big beefy Aluminum I-Beam construction like the LoadRite does. But I'm also still toying around with the length and width issues. Certainly, getting a longer trailer than the original Mac trailer makes good sense for multiple reasons. Also, if the boat sits higher on the bunks, you need the longer tongue to compensate for that and make sure you don't have to dunk your tow vehicle. But what I'm not sure about is the width. The stock Mac trailer is about 95-96 inches wide where as these beefier tandems are about 102-104 inches wide which is going to make it more difficult for me to put the boat besides my house where I have a narrow alley. Do you think that extra 7-8 inches of width is important seeing as the trailer is already so much better than the original?

And with these bigger trailers, comes more weight as you have pointed out. Maybe good from a stability point of view but it probably burns more gas and also decreases the payload (ie. if my SUV tows 6000 lbs, then that is 400lbs less boat I can pull). So, I'm trying to resist the need to just buy the biggest honkin trailer I can find due to that as well. Clearly, in addition to braun, the quality of the components which go in the water is extremely important. Ie, I don't want to have to buy another trailer in 10-15 years because everything rusted out from the salt water exposure.

[parrothead]

I also purchased a new Load Rite trailer this spring from the same Baltimore dealer as Jim and several others - taking advantage of the modest Boat Show discount - but I opted for the unconventional --- rollers rather than bunks.

The trailer dealer [the owner himself was at the Boat Show] was familiar with the Mac, and felt that its weight is low enough and its hull motorboat-like enough for rollers to work just fine. The result, so far, is a great package. No need for a long tongue to keep our Jeep's wheels out of the water, because as long as the rear trailer rollers are wet, the boat rolls off and winches on easily. As with any non-MacGregor trailer, the winch can be adjusted to exactly the right height for the bow eye, and the 2-speed winch on the Load Rite makes the cranking easy. Another springtime plus associated with the roller trailer is the ability to roll the boat back 12", paint the bottom, let it dry, then simply roll it forward and paint the roller patches.

The question, of course, is... Was the trailer dealer right? Can the Mac live on a roller trailer over time? I truly believe the rollers' total contact patch is equal to that of the skimpy bunks on the MacGregor trailer, and since it is possible to wiggle any of the rollers with one hand while the boat is loaded, they do not seem to be bearing excessive weight.
Only time will tell.

[Catigale]

ill swag it

on an , the stock steel trailer has three bunks running horizontally. Ill neglect the front one in this calculation.

The mass of the boat is supported by two bunks. approx 8 feet wide, of standard 2x4 wood...actual wide dimension 3 1/2 inches

Total surface area is approximately 96 inches x 3.5 inches x 2 bunks = 672 square inches

Pressure on the load points is thus 3500 pounds/672 square inches or about 5 pounds per square inch

The contact area of a roller bunk is pretty small (so that the boat will roll.... ) but maybe yoou can swag that from a picture?

[parrothead]

Hi Catigale,
I don't have an , but I suspect that more of its hull may actually rest on the transverse MacGregor 2x4" bunks because of its flatter hull shape.
In the case of our , the bunks on the steel '05 Mac trailer each formed a "V" shape, while the hull shape - particularly off center, was a curve, more like a "U". There was no contact at all between the center section of the hull [where it is nearest to flat] and the bunks because that was the point of their downward "V". Similarly, the boat's chines curved up and away from the outer portion of the bunks.

All of the other bunk trailers that I've seen, Load Rite included, run their bunks longitudinally, so they provide much greater support [lower PSI] than the Mac design. The actual contact patches between the and its Mac trailer were pretty small. The rollers' individual contact patches are small as well, but at least there are 32 of them.

In any event, I'm happy with the roller trailer so far. If any long term problems do crop up, I will certainly share them.

Doug

[Catigale]

Okay...you have 32 contact points, and 3500 pounds, so about 100 pounds per point

If each point is more than 20 inch ^2 , then you have the same hull loading. Can you try to get a feel for how much roller touches the hull with a sharpie marker maybe? If you use blue it will slow your hull so use an off white.

[parrothead]

Blue sharpie = slow.. That's great!

Actually white will probably show up better, since my anti-fouling is black.

I'll try a measurement tonight. The boat is at my house instead of in her slip, because I had some engine service done and re-launching with a hurricane headed this way seemed stupid.

[raycarlson]

ive never seen a steel X trailer,but the aluminum M trailer that came with my 08 was totally inadequate with the bunk support provided.it had two supports on the back half of boat from LH to RH side in a V shape.of the total 8' width the boat was only supported in three tiny 1"X3" contact patches.so total sq inches of support with 2 rear and one small bow support were approx 24sq inches total for 4000lbs of boat.thats not even good for storage much less trailering on rough roads.i would guess 32 rollers are much improved over factory set up but i personally am sitting on a little over 1500sq inches of actual contact area on my modded M aluminum trailer.rides very nice now,i don't wince if i hit a pothole now.

[parrothead]

Well, here's the tale of the tape... My Load RIte trailer has 3" wide rollers.

Each has a hull contact strip of 1", so that's 3 sq. inches per roller... x 32 rollers [since their mounts pivot in two planes, all are in contact] = 96 sq. inches, for a loading of ~ 36 psi.