Trailer question

[Vince]

The trailer company the boat is at up sold me to a larger trailer which is the one she sits on in the picture. I originally wanted the 7200 # but he suggested the VATB 8025(pictured)
He sent me a this pic and said Looks good see you Sat. Now hes telling me that the tongue weight is too much, he thought the jack stand was bad then said theres to much weight on it.
Hes now suggesting a VATB 10625 which is a triaxle... I feel hes trying to upsell me again. The boat wet weight is about 7000#. Boat is 4600# the 2 motors bout 1200#, 150 gallons of fuel 1200#, then another 30 gallon of water 240.

Does anyone feel as though this boat need such a big trailer? I will be trailering the boat but its use will be limited as I work and live in New England,

Thanks again for everyone input, its all been usefull.

Vince

 

[DennisG01]

What model boat is it?

It looks like the axles are too far back, but it's hard to tell from that angle. Is there room to move them forward?

But, yes, an 8K trailer for a 7K load is perfect. Going bigger isn't always better as it can make for a harsh ride.

 

[Mr.crab]

Hello Vince,
What year and model boat, had 1994 25 sailfish a lot heavier than brochure

 

[Vince]

2001 268 islander

 

[Vince]

I don't know if they can be moved forward, I would think the trailer company would have them in the right place, I also thought I was. Buying a venture trailer, trailer owner telling me that the vantage is the same trailer. WTHell

 

[DennisG01]

It's usually up to the selling dealer to properly setup/position the trailer - including moving the axles if need be. It's a generic trailer, not a custom trailer - so the manufacturer ships it and the dealer sets it up.

Well... I originally saw the "VATB" number and cringed as I thought it was a Venture. The shop I'm at used to carry Venture. But we had so many troubles and issues with them - lot's of quality control issues - some that they wouldn't even stand behind the warranty - that we stopped carrying them. Hopefully, for your sake, they have gotten better!

 

[Vince]

It will be my own fault going with the least expensive trailer I can find. This sucks... over a year to find the right boat , I never thought about research for trailers. Any suggestions?

 

[DennisG01]

We have been carrying a line of relatively inexpensive aluminum trailers called TideWater for about 8 or 10 years. They've been very good. They're made near Philly - I'm not sure where the boat is right now, though, and if that's even a possibility for you to get one of them. I hear lot's of good things about Owens & Sons. I think my uncle may have even had one of those. ShoreLand'r makes excellent trailers - but not cheap, either.

You're kinda limited, though, to the area where the boat is - unless you want to buy it ahead of time and trailer it with you to get the boat - which is certainly viable.

 

[Vince]

Ya , I had the boat delivered to this trailer company so I'm at their mercy at this point. Their 2 hours away from me, plan on picking it up on Friday

 

[DennisG01]

Trailer company... do you mean an actual trailer manufacturer where trailers are made? Or is this a trailer dealer - where they sell trailers?

 

[Vince]

Dealer

 

[Vince]

Diamond trailers in Connecticut

 

[Parthery]

By virtue of where the boat is, your probably locked in to buying from them.

A 7K trailer is nowhere near enough and personally, I don't think an 8600 lb trailer is either.

Boat - 4660 dry (and stripped of options - more on this in a sec)
Motors - 1100
Fuel - 900 (150 gal x 6)
Water - 224 (32 x 7)
Hardtop - 500 (not included in GW dry weight)
Rigging/batteries - 500 (probably conservative here)
Ice/Gear/etc... - 500

So all that equals almost 8400 lbs.

You need at least the 9625 trailer. The 10625 triaxle will tow better but it will be a pain to park.

 

[DennisG01]

If it's at a dealer, then they should be able to adjust things - maybe they did already? I don't know - but it's a good question to ask them. Otherwise, maybe inquire about a different brand? I'm sure there are other dealers - CT is a big boating area. But it comes down to how much hassle you're willing to put up with vs having the proper trailer. Most decent size dealerships will have lot trailers that they could use to come get your boat, fyi.

Parthery is definitely estimating on the high side of some of those things, but it's better to do that than not. Now, if those weights closer match reality, as opposed to your estimate, then you have to make a decision. Do you get the trailer and just plan on never trailering "full" (which is often hard to plan on)? Or do you get a trailer that would be sufficient for all cases?

Personally, I would try and stay away from a triple axle if possible - especially if you're not trailering all that much. The weight isn't that much that a triple is "necessary" (although it's certainly not a bad thing for the actual trailering aspect). Not using the trailer much is also going to equal brake problems just about every year. And in that case, you're dealing with 6 of them.

 

[Parthery]

Dennis...you and I usually agree

Other than gear, batteries, etc... the rest is straight from GW website.

I'd opt for the tandem over the triple, if it were me....

 

[Vince]

Yes he pushing the tri. I told him I didnt want a tri. Then I asked what the tounge weight was on the tandem and he stopped and never answered the question. He wants me to see it on the tri and then on the 8725, I'm told the tongue weight should be 5 to 7% of the boat weight, we will see tomorrow. Thanks people

 

[leeccoll]

Please let us know if it's a good Dealership or Dealers**t

 

[Vince]

I feel hes already the later . he opsells me to a trailer that isn't large enough then try's to sell me an over sized and over priced trailer, but hes been doing this for 35 years. What... hes never put a grady on a trailer before. Come on.

 

[DennisG01]

Dennis...you and I usually agree
.

Absolutely. And I don't disagree with you. And, definitely, I am typically one to err on the side of extra capacity. I was just under the impression that Vince isn't going to be using the trailer a whole lot so a couple hundred pounds may make a difference. For example, I always thought a glass hardtop was closer to 250/300lbs? But I've never found the exact weight of a hardtop listed anywhere, myself. (3) batteries would be 180lbs. Rigging... maybe 50lbs? Ice/gear - there's a pretty wide margin of what that could be. However, we also don't know what other options may be on the boat.

 

[DennisG01]

What... hes never put a grady on a trailer before. Come on.

And, for the most part, a boat is a boat is a boat. There's really nothing "out of the ordinary" with a Grady that would make this difficult.

Yes, typically 5% to 7% is correct for boat trailers. It's higher for 5th wheel type trailers. However, having a little more tongue weight is not necessarily a bad thing if the truck/hitch is rated for it. In the picture, it looks like you have standard surge brakes... which means adding a weight distributing hitch gets a little tricky - it would certainly be easy if you had EOH (and there are other benefits with that).

One thing I'll pass along... don't get caught in "having" to get the boat right away. You're going to have the trailer for a long, long time - make sure it's right. Maybe pay another dealership to come get it?