boat trailers?

[Andy1972]

How many years should I get from a prestige or for that matter any boat trailer? 300 miles per year lets say. 6 month season.?

[NCH2oSki]

RE: boat trailers?

I would say it depends on the environment it is used and stored in. My Prestige was stored in the garage, and it had no rust or issues, just rock chips from the many miles of use.

[882001]

RE: boat trailers?

lots of variables. my mclain is 10 years old with salt water use, still fine

[jmo]

RE: boat trailers?

Keep the bearings greased and it should go a long time, I have put atleast 1,500 miles on my trailer over the past 3 years without an issue.

[Andy1972]

Sorry, but mine is drenched in surface Rust. It is stored outdoors in the summer and indoors during the winter. It's 7 years old. Maybe it's normal, but this seams excessive.

[DWhitt]

If it's rusting because it was scratched/chipped then it seems like you can't really blame them. Although, mine is rusting where the removable tongue slides in but there's not much you can do about that. I wish it hadn't taken so long for manufacturers to figure out that wood rots when it is covered in carpet, submerged in the lake and then put in a garage. One of my winter projects is to have my trailer retro-fitted with steel steps.

[jmo]

Well, my ramlin trailer (and the boat for that matter) stays in the garage with the exception of a few weeks every summer, I also only run in fresh water. finally, it's painted with a black matte finish, so I would guess all of these factors account for the difference... What is the finish of the trailer itself?

[Andy1972]

It''s rusting underneath, from bow to stern. It's a gloss black finish.
It's carpeted, but underneath is another issue. I wonder if you could cover your trailer in spray on bedliner when its new to avoid alot of this wear and rust.

[ag4ever]

Or get a galvanized trailer.

The problem with painted trailer is the parts that are not exposed enough to get paint will rust as soon as the air hits it. This includes the center of tube constructed trailers. those are the worst since the trailer can look great from the outside, but the rust has eaten almost all of the structure away leaving you with an unsafe trailer.

That is the main reason i opted for the more expensive galvanized trailer when i got my boat. Sure it does not look as cool, but how cool would I look with a boat in the middle of the road because the trailer rusted and brok into pieces.

[Fast351]

Prestige's quality has left me less than impressed.

A month ago, one of the front bunks FELL OFF the trailer as I was pulling it out of the water after launching my boat. Fortunately I saw it laying on the ramp. I can't image if I hadn't noticed it and missed it when I came back (when it was dark) and tried to load with just a piece of angle iron sticking up. Talk about massive damage.

Did I mention the trailer is only 2 months old?

Called Prestige, and their answer was "you have to periodically check the fasteners". My previous trailer was 4 years old, I NEVER checked the bunks, and they were solid.

Of course, the problem was the brackets are not aligned. This puts stress on the threads the lag bolts cut into the bunks. Waterlog those stressed threads, and the bolts simply fall out, which is what happened. Prestige did send me two new front bunks free of charge, which I installed with larger diameter lag bolts, after straigthening the brackets. I'll keep a close eye on it from now on. Not impressed with a "premier trailer" though.

Check those lag bolts boys and girls!!

(Oh, my trailer has rust already too, but that's my fault. The crossmember scrapes slightly on the ramp on my lake. Bare metal = rust).