Converting EZ-Loader swing keel sailboat trailer to deep keel sailboat trailer?

softdown

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Apr 2, 2017
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Bought a deep keel sailboat and trailer at auction a couple weeks. The sailboat has a 4' draft.....so not a very deep keel. I figured the trailer was boat specific, it is not.

This 24' dual axle EZ-Loader trailer utilizes eight 1/2" thick x 6" wide x 21" tall steel plates to support 64 rubber rollers. It was made for a swing keel sailboat, or a regular motorboat. It is a very good trailer so I am resisting starting over again with a different trailer.

The most logical way to adapt this trailer to accommodate a 4' draft is to replace the 21" steel plates with 48" steel plates. Easy, peazy right? That costs about $1000 with shipping! Used salvage plates would work just as well but I live in remote country. It would take a trip to Denver to visit many salvage yards. Also thinking that 1/2" thick plates might not be easy to find. Then I would have to cut into eight 6" x 48" strips. That might costs a couple hundred dollars by itself? I can't have cutting torch bulges on the edges of the plates.

I can solve this problem if I can find: Eight 1/2" x 6" x 48" steel plates for a couple hundred dollars or less.
 

tpenfield

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Sell the roller trailer and use the proceeds to buy a keel boat trailer. The keel boat trailer mighty be more $$$ than you get for the existing trailer, but also the retro-fitting of the existing trailer will cost a bunch of money, time, effort.
 

softdown

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Got a Vegas steel contact that just came through at $333. I can live with that. This allows me to adjust the height of the 64 rollers up to ~4' 6".

I made the huge mistake of building a large shop in a very remote area that later got surrounded by poor thieving potheads. Everything that is not bolted down walks away. Terribly, terrible location for selling. Great location to have stuff stolen about every time I leave. Every week.....find something else was stolen.
 

Powerstroke in a Prius

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Apr 8, 2017
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I took a roller trailer and removed all the boat support hardware. I also moved the axle/center support to fit under the proposed keel location. I took the roller mounts and stripped them, then rotated the mounts 90 degrees and attached them to the frame. I then mounted bunks on the vertical mounts, and modified the bow stop to take the added height. I think I used about $600 worth of hardware for the modification, $600 for the used roller trailer, and it was a vast improvement in how it handled on the road vs the Karnage Kit that came with the boat.

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softdown

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Apr 2, 2017
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102
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Related to deep keel trailers. These tires will allow me to use a strap and get the trailer much further down the ramp. High tide also helps.
 

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GA_Boater

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Where are the caster wheels mounted on the trailer? Hard to tell from the photo.
 

softdown

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Apr 2, 2017
Messages
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Where are the caster wheels mounted on the trailer? Hard to tell from the photo.

Good question and the reason this will not easily work for most trailers. A large iron plate was attached to the trailer. Dimensions ~ 4" x 1/4" x 18". Kind of begged for my modification. It does require a tallish trailer ball on the tow vehicle. I am still concerned about my newly attached 10" tires hitting in certain spots. While pulling out of parking lots for example.

I think 8" tires would do the same job. Both 10" and 8" tires tend to be rated at 300 lbs and 295 lbs. I just figured the 10" tires could handle more weight. Bigger tires usually do.
 
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