What to do, boat on wrong trailer. Dealership advice.

[Yeaitsslo]

Okay, so not going to say where just yet. Need to see how this all plays out and any advice would be great.


Me and and my wife fell in love with a nice Sport Nautique 200v. We went to look at it over the winter, boat is about 5 hours away. Agreed upon the price and provided my own financing and got that all taken care of. We were pending water test (still ice on the lake) but the dealer has been paid and all financing done. Something about how the boat was sitting on the trailer didn’t look right, so i sent boatmate the vin for the trailer and they say it’s for a direct drive. The axle is 10in too far forward. Obviously being a vdrive this puts a lot of weight past the rear axle. (Single axle trailer). I’m waiting on a call back from the dealer to see what they tell me. But what do you guys think? I’m obviously all in on the boat at this point, but also scared to do any sort of long distance towing with it.


Obviously the options are to get a new trailer $$$$

maybe have the axle moved?

have the dealer figure out the weight difference and offer me some sort of lead wake or ballast bags?


this is my first “newer” boat purchase and also first time ever dealing with a boat dealer.


What do you guys think?

[cedarcreek216]

Make them put it on the correct trailer or bail on the deal. Trailers are expensive and hard to come by and not only is towing unsafe with the wrong trailer, loading it could be difficult and cause damage very easily. If they won’t switch it or give you a deeply discounted correct trailer I would move on.


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[ScooterMcgavin]

You definitely want the correct trailer built for your boat. To unsafe and risky.

[Adrenaline1]

Make them put it on the correct trailer or bail on the deal. Trailers are expensive and hard to come by and not only is towing unsafe with the wrong trailer, loading it could be difficult and cause damage very easily. If they won’t switch it or give you a deeply discounted correct trailer I would move on.


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I agree with this.

[Yeaitsslo]

Make them put it on the correct trailer or bail on the deal. Trailers are expensive and hard to come by and not only is towing unsafe with the wrong trailer, loading it could be difficult and cause damage very easily. If they won’t switch it or give you a deeply discounted correct trailer I would move on.


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It’s not so easy to just move on, since all the loan stuff has been processed and dealer paid. I don’t know what the process is to cancel it all.

[Neptune442]

I can't imagine a dealer can knowingly sell a boat, used or not, with a trailer that could potentially be unsafe. Imagine the liability if something happened on your 5 hour drive back home. If they were unaware of the mismatched trailer when they took this boat on trade, then that is a miss on their part. And it should be up to them to make it right. A compromise may be to have them deduct the price of the current trailer the boat is sitting on from your agreed upon sale price, and then have them sell you a new trailer at their cost. You'll end up with a brand new trailer, which would be nice, and they can sell the old one.

[ScooterMcgavin]

I can't imagine a dealer can knowingly sell a boat, used or not, with a trailer that could potentially be unsafe. Imagine the liability if something happened on your 5 hour drive back home. If they were unaware of the mismatched trailer when they took this boat on trade, then that is a miss on their part. And it should be up to them to make it right. A compromise may be to have them deduct the price of the current trailer the boat is sitting on from your agreed upon sale price, and then have them sell you a new trailer at their cost. You'll end up with a brand new trailer, which would be nice, and they can sell the old one.

This is a good approach to the situation, and fair for everyone.

[Yeaitsslo]

I can't imagine a dealer can knowingly sell a boat, used or not, with a trailer that could potentially be unsafe. Imagine the liability if something happened on your 5 hour drive back home. If they were unaware of the mismatched trailer when they took this boat on trade, then that is a miss on their part. And it should be up to them to make it right. A compromise may be to have them deduct the price of the current trailer the boat is sitting on from your agreed upon sale price, and then have them sell you a new trailer at their cost. You'll end up with a brand new trailer, which would be nice, and they can sell the old one.

So they sold the boat and trailer brand new, in 2014. Never had to register it or trailer it because it just got moved from their lot to 1 mile down the road to the launch. That is why they never noticed the trailer didn’t match. I also didn’t think it was right that they are trying to blow it off as a minimal difference. But there’s obviously a reason why boatmate made 2 different trailers.

[Neptune442]

The dealer may blow it off as a minimal difference, but Boatmate's opinion is Paramount. I'd strictly go by Boatmate's recommendation

[Yeaitsslo]

The dealer may blow it off as a minimal difference, but Boatmate's opinion is Paramount. I'd strictly go by Boatmate's recommendation

this is the response from boatmate. I’m going to call them Monday and see if they will use the words safe or unsafe.


“

I have pulled both build sheets of a 2014 200v vs a 200 Ski Single Axle Trailer for comparison. The ONLY difference in the two is that a the 200 Sport Trailer will have the axles 10 inches back from that of the Ski Trailer. If you were to put a 200v on a 200 Ski Single Axle trailer, then the tongue weight will be considered light and could cause some walking at higher speeds. However, that is the only difference whereas the frame width is the same, bunk brackets are the same, bow stand is the same, so basically the platform is the same. The 200v and Ski 200 share the same hull bottom and share the same bow eye hook. With that said, both boats (sport and ski) can both sit properly on the overall platform of the trailer as those are easily interchangeable. Again, the only difference is a 10 inch axle location difference from one to another. I have no real hard data that could represent at what one would consider “higher speeds” to determine when a walking situation may occur. I hope this data is what you are looking for and hope you have a great day. If I can be of any further assistance, don’t hesitate to let me know. Have a great day! “

[Lakejackson]

Absolutely do not pull this boat on that trailer unless the axle is moved (if possible) to the correct location to Boatmate’s satisfaction. If your not familiar with what Boatmate is referring to as far as”walking” at higher speeds, let me try to clarify. With to much weight behind the trailer axle (i.e. not enough weight on the tongue) the trailer could start swaying at high speeds. Once it starts it is uncontrollable and could result in loss of vehicle control and cause an accident.


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[Lakejackson]

https://youtu.be/i2fkOVHAC8Q



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[Yeaitsslo]

https://youtu.be/i2fkOVHAC8Q



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This is the video that’s been playing in my head since i discovered that it was the wrong trailer.

[Cpan13]

Get the dealer to take it to a reputable welding shop and have the axle moved back 10”.

[Yeaitsslo]

Get the dealer to take it to a reputable welding shop and have the axle moved back 10”.

That was a thought, i always wondered about having an axle added.