Fab1 Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 Why don't all trailer manufacturers make their boat trailers with bolt on cross members,etc? Mate that I made the fillet knife for just bought a galvanised trailer for his Haines with bolt on cross members. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankS Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 It makes good sense to have at least the rear X member as a bolt on unit so it can easily be replaced when rusted out. With some modern alloy trailers they are all bolted together, the reason the manufacturers state for this is to allow some flex in the trailer so that it does not crack on the welds. BUT this is false reasoning as IF the bolts are tight as they should be , where is the flex ?. A good alloy weld will not crack. Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelm Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 I guess in a really strange way, a fully bolted trailer really has nothing to keep it "square" one side could slowly pull forward (or slip back) making the wheels out of line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smobaby Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 It's easier to fit into a container from overseas. And bolt together when here. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fab1 Posted June 19, 2021 Author Share Posted June 19, 2021 5 minutes ago, Smobaby said: It's easier to fit into a container from overseas. And bolt together when here. Trailers made onsite apparently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankS Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 All Australian roads have a slight angle ( about 3 degrees ) some more going from the center to the edge, so your trailer is always on a lean towards the edge , it's not much but it's there and this lean is constantly pushing the load to the Port side of the trailer which in turn pushes the tyres etc to one side, this is why you should never rotate a steel belted radial tyre from one side to another as the steel belts get slightly pushed to one side, and IF you put the tyre on the opposite side the steel belts get walped and knotted, this camber or tilt also has a slight effect ( as NeilM ) has suggested and is constantly pushing the load to the Port side. Frank 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fab1 Posted June 19, 2021 Author Share Posted June 19, 2021 Roads have all got camber down towards the roadside/gutter as you say.(It's there to shed water into the gutter. Has anyone ever wondered why when a wheel bearing goes,strut,shock or abnormal tyre wear happens it's worse on the left side? It's because more vehicle weight favours the left side especially with road camber combined with left turns. Anyway heres a photo of the trailer like his and I can't see the cross members shifting laterally when they are tightened down properly. Wish all trailers had similar designs and they did away from welding as much as possible. Make crossmenber replacement a no brainer for me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XD351 Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 It would make component storage easier as well , when a trailer is ordered it is just a matter of pulling the parts off a rack and bolting it together . It would also make galvanising easier and possibly cheaper as they don’t have to dip one side then flip it over for the other side - not all galvanisers have baths wide enough or deep enough to fit a trailer into in one go . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankS Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 1 hour ago, Fab1 said: Roads have all got camber down towards the roadside/gutter as you say.(It's there to shed water into the gutter. Has anyone ever wondered why when a wheel bearing goes,strut,shock or abnormal tyre wear happens it's worse on the left side? It's because more vehicle weight favours the left side especially with road camber combined with left turns. Anyway heres a photo of the trailer like his and I can't see the cross members shifting laterally when they are tightened down properly. Wish all trailers had similar designs and they did away from welding as much as possible. Make crossmenber replacement a no brainer for me. From what I can see of that trailer it is very cheaply made but I bet they still charge premium price for it. Frank 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelm Posted June 20, 2021 Share Posted June 20, 2021 Tilt trailers have not been common for decades, years ago, people with their old Holdens and so on with the 14' Pride boat would just reverse in far enough so the trailer bearings were still above the water, the trailer was tilted to allow the boat to come on, but these days, bigger boats, better tow vehicles mean you just dunk the lot in the water, winding a 6.5m boat on with a tilt trailer a foot in the water would be an effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rozza_b Posted June 20, 2021 Share Posted June 20, 2021 I had a tilt trailer for my boat, used it maybe once or twice in 6 years...have a full custom drive on ally trailer now that i made with a mate, comes on and off far easier then my previous trailer and could not justify the need for a tilt, just my opinion though. As for bolt on cross members wish they would do it for all gal trailers would make a trailer last way longer and could just replace the rusted cross members as needed, to make it as strong as welded might require a bit more strengthening around the bolt holes but still seems like a great idea, was planning on doing it to mine before i just decided to replace the whole thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fab1 Posted June 20, 2021 Author Share Posted June 20, 2021 5 hours ago, frankS said: From what I can see of that trailer it is very cheaply made but I bet they still charge premium price for it. Frank Anything these days is pretty much made as cheaply as possible with the highest profit possible in mind. All trailer manufacturer regardless of how good they brand themselves will do it. I've never had the need to make a trailer but I've often wondered when you factor in your labour,materials,galvanizing,tools,etc how much you actually save if anything other than the satisfaction of making it yourself for a given sized trailer? What looks cheaply made?How it's not welded everywhere and bolted? I would think galvanised bolts/washers and nuts would increase the price compared to a bit of weld. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fab1 Posted June 20, 2021 Author Share Posted June 20, 2021 2 hours ago, rozza_b said: I had a tilt trailer for my boat, used it maybe once or twice in 6 years...have a full custom drive on ally trailer now that i made with a mate, comes on and off far easier then my previous trailer and could not justify the need for a tilt, just my opinion though. As for bolt on cross members wish they would do it for all gal trailers would make a trailer last way longer and could just replace the rusted cross members as needed, to make it as strong as welded might require a bit more strengthening around the bolt holes but still seems like a great idea, was planning on doing it to mine before i just decided to replace the whole thing. I'd rather replace bolt on crossmember/s than welded on ones any day. The beauty about custom anything is you get exactly what you want at the end of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fab1 Posted June 20, 2021 Author Share Posted June 20, 2021 6 hours ago, motiondave said: I could be wrong, but I see a lot of newer trailers turn up at ramps with no tilt. Mines an old trailer and has tilt , that I restricted with a bit of chain so it tilts maybe 2-3 deg angle and it makes launching the boat so much easier. I've watched people with newer boats, even aluminium boats have trouble or have to really push their boats off, and they comment to me that they wish they had tilt on their trailers... They may not have backed in far enough, crappy trailers with seized rollers,straps still on,etc,etc. My tinny is only light and it will take off on you as soon as you realese the winch hook if you ain't holding it or have a loop around the winch post. The bigger/heavier boats would be even worse on a well maintained trailer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelm Posted June 20, 2021 Share Posted June 20, 2021 I have built lots of trailers, big and small, and (without labour) buying material and parts at "home handyman" prices it's no cheaper than buying one from a dealer, BUT, the one you build is much better than most mass produced ones. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingie chaser Posted June 20, 2021 Share Posted June 20, 2021 11 minutes ago, noelm said: BUT, the one you build is much better than most mass produced ones. I think that can be said for many things you can do DIY if you have the knowledge & the capacity to do the job. Unless you actually know someone 1st hand who is reliable & honest which is a bit of a rarity these days. We all know how hard it is just to get a decent honest motor/boat mechanic who's main purpose isnt just to take money out of your wallet & do work that is unnessacary or say do work & charge for things they haven't even done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fab1 Posted June 20, 2021 Author Share Posted June 20, 2021 2 hours ago, noelm said: I have built lots of trailers, big and small, and (without labour) buying material and parts at "home handyman" prices it's no cheaper than buying one from a dealer, BUT, the one you build is much better than most mass produced ones. Thought so.If you think about it most people's trailers that they have bought brand new are long gone before they rust out as they are sold off with boats as people move on. I like to take my labour/time into account on big projects. Say it takes 4 days of my labour to build something to save 2k I'd rather go to work doing o/t to make 4k.It's a no brainer for me. 1 hour ago, kingie chaser said: I think that can be said for many things you can do DIY if you have the knowledge & the capacity to do the job. Unless you actually know someone 1st hand who is reliable & honest which is a bit of a rarity these days. We all know how hard it is just to get a decent honest motor/boat mechanic who's main purpose isnt just to take money out of your wallet & do work that is unnessacary or say do work & charge for things they haven't even done. Agree.Nothing beats doing things yourself but sometimes you need to draw the line somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelm Posted June 20, 2021 Share Posted June 20, 2021 There's a lot to home building, lots of people scrounge stuff for free, and use odds and ends bought cheap, but, if you're building "new" then everything has to be bought from a shop. Most of us know someone who can get us a discount, but there's a lot of stuff goes into a trailer, then there's galvanising and lights and stuff, that's without consumables and electricity, but, the end result can be satisfying and quality can be guaranteed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelm Posted June 20, 2021 Share Posted June 20, 2021 Just to add, most home builders could not build a trailer in 4 days (unless you have everything at hand, and are a tradesman boilermaker or similar, working weekends or nights, it will take a week or two at a minimum. Remember you are building without plans as such, you need to buy stuff as you go, unless you have a full on workshop at your disposal. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankS Posted June 20, 2021 Share Posted June 20, 2021 (edited) It's taking me about 2 months so far to build my alloy boat trailer. but I don't work on it every day, sometimes it sits for a week or more without me even touching the welder. When I used to build trailers on a regular basis I had a jig and everything was easy, I could build a trailer to take say a 5 metre boat unbraked in a couple of week ends, I used to have a job back then. For me to build a galvanized boat trailer now it would cost me approx $1000 for all parts except the gal steel OR black steel and then would have it galled. Last time I had a trailer galvanized was about 30 years ago an for memory it cost around $250. God knows how much it would be now. With people getting $100 + per hour these days if you put that into account, NO it would NOT be worth building a trailer. My labor costs nothing and I would feel guilty if I was to charge $40 per hour for my labor. even IF I was still fit. When I do the odd job for anyone these days I think I earn about $2.50 per hour. It takes me that long to get things done. Frank Edited June 20, 2021 by frankS 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankS Posted June 20, 2021 Share Posted June 20, 2021 16 hours ago, Fab1 said: What looks cheaply made? The winch post , although the actual post looks sturdy enough the tiny little bit of bracing is pathetic and what the winch itself is sitting on is less than ideal, the roller supports for the winch, which you pull the boat tight against , just 2 skinny long pieces of flat metal will bend with just a slight touch to the side. If you were to drive the boat on and bump that roller with any sort of force, ( which is not hard to do ) it will bend. Your friend should have this section of the trailer re-enforced before it causes him hassles. Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffb5.8 Posted June 20, 2021 Share Posted June 20, 2021 17 hours ago, Fab1 said: They may not have backed in far enough, crappy trailers with seized rollers,straps still on,etc,etc. My tinny is only light and it will take off on you as soon as you realese the winch hook if you ain't holding it or have a loop around the winch post. The bigger/heavier boats would be even worse on a well maintained trailer. I have Blue Skids and centre rollers and if the ramp has a good slope then i cannot undo the safety or strap until I'm ready to launch and then its just a gentle push and away it slides. Pretty sure my trailer had a bolt on rear cross member, will have to stick my head under again, being alloy I just use a scotch brite pad once every now and then to clean the salt off the under side, but never had a issue, the axle is the worst part. Also i hate that mine has holes drill in the cross members top and bottom, why not sealed tubes, its hard to wash out properly since the ends are sealed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelm Posted June 20, 2021 Share Posted June 20, 2021 There has to be holes for galvanising. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fab1 Posted June 21, 2021 Author Share Posted June 21, 2021 (edited) 5 hours ago, noelm said: There has to be holes for galvanising. He mentioned it's alloy.Weird. Even with galvanised trailers you'd think they could have the holes for galvanizing but plug them afterwards. Edited June 21, 2021 by Fab1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankS Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 Most Gal places refuse to do 2nd hand trailers as there is too much risk with Warranty work, people take rusted out trailers in and expect them to be in new condition once they are galled. Trailers rust from the inside out, as most on here would know. Yes should be plugged maybe with rubber grummet so that water does not get inside the metal. C channel is becoming more popular these days for good reason. Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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