Is my Trailer safe?

[jjmeow8]

Is my trailer safe to tow my pontoon boat (20-23ft with a 40hp Johnson, it's not heavy) about a mile on a 25mph residential street to get to the boat ramp? The trailer only needs to be used once to get the boat into the water, and the mile trip back. When we (me and my dad) got it around 2 years ago, the guy we bought it from towed it a few miles to my house on 35-40mph roads and it arrived safely so I'm not too concerned except that it's been sitting since we bought it; however it doesn't seem much worse than like we bought it. The boat is resting on a wooden frame (We bought it like that) bolted onto the trailer beams which are solid; with surface rust. The old crossmember things that connected the left and the right sides of the trailer had rotted completely and fallen off so they're wood now. The part I'm concerned about is the axle and leaf springs. They aren't flaking or rotted but look bad. An hour ago I hit all of those areas a lot with a lot of force with a hammer and they seemed solid, so I just need to know if they're solid enough to survive the short trip to the boat launch and back.

The front of the trailer also is perfectly fine, almost no rust and the only rust there is surface in a few places. And both tires are good, no dry rot and were made in 2014. Sorry for the bad pictures, that's the best I could get without crawling deep under the boat and getting bitten by something. If I can, I'll try to take better pictures later, especially if they're needed.

Left and right sides of the trailer are looking the same.

 

[alldodge]

No further then your going and what's being shown, I would use it to unload then fix

 

[jjmeow8]

No further then your going and what's being shown, I would use it to unload then fix

Ok, thanks for the response. I'll try to get it into the water soon then; and be extremely careful.

 

[JimS123]

Your pictures aren't clearly showing the rest of the trailer, but based on what I see i wouldn't move that trailer unit even a foot in my back yard for fear of the boat falling on the ground. That's more than surface rust. Post more pics so we can make a better recommendation.

 

[jjmeow8]

Your pictures aren't clearly showing the rest of the trailer, but based on what I see i wouldn't move that trailer unit even a foot in my back yard for fear of the boat falling on the ground. That's more than surface rust. Post more pics so we can make a better recommendation.

Ok, thanks for the reply, I’ll also take that into consideration. I’m having problems uploading pictures because they’re all above 2mb.

 

[ahicks]

More pictures aren't going to change a thing. It's time to start trailer shopping, or possibly better yet, start renting one when you need it. For what it would cost you to rent twice a year, it's would be difficult to justify spending a dime on the trailer you have, OR buying one, even if you could find a used one.

 

[Truckguy701]

My personal suggestion would be find a bad rusty looking spot or several and drill a hole in it. If it is just surface rust you will know right away. If it just punch thru like thin paper just scrap the trailer. Just a 1/8” or 3/16” bit should tell the story of how thick your steel is vs the rust.

 

[jimmbo]

Too bad the camera appears to have focused on something other than the Trailer Frame, thus rendering it not too Sharp and/or easy to see what the Metal really looks like.

 

[Silvertip]

In my view the only questionable area is the springs and supporting hardware. But then the pictures do not tell all! The "C" channel frame rails are structural steel and the rusty surface by no means it will fail. Structural steel is very strong and provided the welds were done correctly the trailer will survive. Cross members and other hardware that we can't see would be of greater concern.

 

[JimS123]

What I see in the pictures is a spring and shackles that no question need replacement, a C-frame that has so much rust and probable pitting that its not serviceable, and even an axle that has more rust on it than I ever saw on a trailer in use.

Not under my boat!

 

[alldodge]

about a mile on a 25mph residential street to get to the boat ramp?

......

 

[Silvertip]

That "C" channel is not cold formed - it is structural and is a lot stronger than would appear. Anything cold formed welded to it is another story.

 

[JimS123]

The frame isn't the only thing in the picture that made me worry. But then again, I'm just a worry wart.

I've seen in person too many accidents caused by trailer failures.

 

[sphelps]

The C-channel frame looks like it would make the trip if that’s the worst of it ..
Careful inspection of the mounting points is needed . If you go with it do it when low traffic is expected very slow .
Have someone follow you with flashers on ...A backup plan with another trailer would be wise . Even if it’s like a reg flat trailer . Have everything needed to make the repairs or trailer replacement ready before you retrieve the boat .

 

[garbageguy]

It might be - for your situation. Aside from the other input on things to consider here FIRST, check the wheel bearings and re-pack them. Their condition may tell you more about the trailer, and factor into your decision

 

[Cdwill0108]

No. Plz don’t kill someone from a junk trailer

 

[gsh]

It's hard to tell what the metal is actually like because of the visible rust.

I would get your boat someplace you can put it in the water for an extended time or drop it in your yard while you take the trailer to get sandblasted. Once it's sandblasted and all rust is gone it will be easier to fully inspect. If there are holes or the metal is very thin anyplace, it time for a few repairs. Most welding shops will be able to handle basic repairs by cutting out bad metal and welding in new.

After that, do some primer and paint to keep it from rusting and get to work on fixing up the suspension. Most of the parts can probably be found at local trailer shops.

As a final step, get some Duplicolor bed liner and spray your axel and anyplace that had paint worn off from use. It will take the beating of rocks and other crap better than paint.

I did my entire trailer for my 14' Alumaline with Duplicolor bed liner and it hasn't chipped yet.

.

 

[JimS123]

It's hard to tell what the metal is actually like because of the visible rust.

I would get your boat someplace you can put it in the water for an extended time or drop it in your yard while you take the trailer to get sandblasted. Once it's sandblasted and all rust is gone it will be easier to fully inspect. If there are holes or the metal is very thin anyplace, it time for a few repairs. Most welding shops will be able to handle basic repairs by cutting out bad metal and welding in new.

After that, do some primer and paint to keep it from rusting and get to work on fixing up the suspension. Most of the parts can probably be found at local trailer shops.

As a final step, get some Duplicolor bed liner and spray your axel and anyplace that had paint worn off from use. It will take the beating of rocks and other crap better than paint.

I did my entire trailer for my 14' Alumaline with Duplicolor bed liner and it hasn't chipped yet.

.

All good ideas.

Till you get all that done, you could probably buy a new trailer. Find a good used one and you could save half the cost.

In any event, we still don't have pictures that will enable a proper recommendation. There are many ways to downgrade high MB pics to web size.