DaveH6
Bluejacket trailer purchase
Pictured trailer was built for me by a local Maryland trailer dealer. This DJR house brand aluminum trailer was priced comparable if not less than mass produced entry level trailers but features more durable disk brake calibers as well as alloy wheels and Vault hubs. These hubs are manufactured by UFP and are advertised as maintenance free for five years. New to the market two years ago, Internet searches have yet to reveal any significant bad press on these hubs. Time will tell.
The trailer weighs 1180 lbs and is rated to carry a 9,000 lb boat. I expect my Bluejacket to weigh about 2800 lbs ready to cruise. To get a trailer long enough for a Bluejacket, we end up with a trailer substantially over built in regards to load capacity. The trailer has torsion axles which can be unbolted and repositioned to obtain prescribed tonque weight. I will have to fiddle with the bunks in regards to location and perhaps width. I will need some creative thinking on guides to assist in boat recovery. I anticipate adding guide bunks in the bow area.
I enjoyed interacting with Rick the technician who built the trailer. For a couple of years I have followed boat trailer forums thus was armed with many ideas and conclusions. The sentiment at the trailer dealership was that I was significantly overthinking stuff ("What is the diameter of a link in the safety chain?"). Not the first time this observation has been made in regards to my thought processes. In spite of myself, Rick kept me grounded and encouraged me, based on a total towing package of only about 4,000 lbs, to keep things simple. Always a pleasure when up-sell pressure is nonexistent.
Per the trailer forums, brake caliber corrison is a frequent headache and few folks seem happy with tire longevity/reliability especially those of Chinese manufacture. My trailer has surge disk brakes with a solenoid running off the back up light circuit to dump master brake cylinder pressure when backing. It will be about 18 months before the trailer with boat takes to the Interstates thus I only specified brakes on one axle. When the day arrives for frequent and high speed trailering of my Bluejacket, I may add brakes on the second axle especially if travelling in a state(s) that requires brakes on all axles. No reason today to double the number of brake calipers corroding from age and infrequent use. I had Rick set up the hydraulic lines to facilitate adding brakes to the second axle.
I have been annoyed by the clunking sound that surge brake activators make in response to tow vehicle braking or accelerating. Turns out there is a shock absorber inside the sliding brake activator mechanism on my trailer. I trust that this device will reduce if not prevent the clunking noise (**Edit 11/2013- It didn't.).
I wonder if the immersible LED lights on my trailer will have a lifespan much better than trailer lights featuring incandescent bulbs.
Next week I will construct a temporary platform on the trailer to transport stationary power tools and some furniture for our return to Texas in a couple of weeks.
*Edit 11/28/2012: Without incident we towed this trailer 1562 miles to Austin, Tx. Ann did her share of driving duties and experienced no difficulties in trailer handling. I constructed a 3'x2'x8' storage container loaded with disasembled stationary power tools for my Austin workshop. We also carried furniture which we donated to a cat rescue center in Austin. I estimate the total weight of 2500 lbs for trailer and cargo thus well below my Honda Pilot's 4,000 tow capacity. Per an erratic scale I was using, I ended up with about 70 lbs excess tongue weight than the 7-10% tongue weight rule prescribed. After the scale stopped misbehaving and gave a true weight, I deemed it too much effort to repack the storage container to reduce tongue weight. The Honda was squatting with the tongue weight along with the items in the back of the vehicle. Tongue weight along with the tandem axles eliminated any swaying and the trailer tracked like it was on rails. The trailer was a beast manuvering in gas stations and constant vigillance was required to turn wide and monitor the mirrors. My failure to do so almost resulted in planting a trailer fender into the front of a parked car at a gas station. I have much to learn in regards to large trailer manuvering.
The Honda's normal 20 mpg (flat terrain and 65mph) on the highway went to 14 mpg during the tow. I understand that at interstate speeds on level pavement 1/2 the force the engine must overcome is wind resistance. The blunt front of my storage container was probably the primary culprit in poor gas mileage. With a 20 gallon tank, way too many stops for gas especially with the stress of trailer manuvering.
This experience helped educate me on selection criteria for a larger tow vehicle.
Bluejacket trailer purchase
Pictured trailer was built for me by a local Maryland trailer dealer. This DJR house brand aluminum trailer was priced comparable if not less than mass produced entry level trailers but features more durable disk brake calibers as well as alloy wheels and Vault hubs. These hubs are manufactured by UFP and are advertised as maintenance free for five years. New to the market two years ago, Internet searches have yet to reveal any significant bad press on these hubs. Time will tell.
The trailer weighs 1180 lbs and is rated to carry a 9,000 lb boat. I expect my Bluejacket to weigh about 2800 lbs ready to cruise. To get a trailer long enough for a Bluejacket, we end up with a trailer substantially over built in regards to load capacity. The trailer has torsion axles which can be unbolted and repositioned to obtain prescribed tonque weight. I will have to fiddle with the bunks in regards to location and perhaps width. I will need some creative thinking on guides to assist in boat recovery. I anticipate adding guide bunks in the bow area.
I enjoyed interacting with Rick the technician who built the trailer. For a couple of years I have followed boat trailer forums thus was armed with many ideas and conclusions. The sentiment at the trailer dealership was that I was significantly overthinking stuff ("What is the diameter of a link in the safety chain?"). Not the first time this observation has been made in regards to my thought processes. In spite of myself, Rick kept me grounded and encouraged me, based on a total towing package of only about 4,000 lbs, to keep things simple. Always a pleasure when up-sell pressure is nonexistent.
Per the trailer forums, brake caliber corrison is a frequent headache and few folks seem happy with tire longevity/reliability especially those of Chinese manufacture. My trailer has surge disk brakes with a solenoid running off the back up light circuit to dump master brake cylinder pressure when backing. It will be about 18 months before the trailer with boat takes to the Interstates thus I only specified brakes on one axle. When the day arrives for frequent and high speed trailering of my Bluejacket, I may add brakes on the second axle especially if travelling in a state(s) that requires brakes on all axles. No reason today to double the number of brake calipers corroding from age and infrequent use. I had Rick set up the hydraulic lines to facilitate adding brakes to the second axle.
I have been annoyed by the clunking sound that surge brake activators make in response to tow vehicle braking or accelerating. Turns out there is a shock absorber inside the sliding brake activator mechanism on my trailer. I trust that this device will reduce if not prevent the clunking noise (**Edit 11/2013- It didn't.).
I wonder if the immersible LED lights on my trailer will have a lifespan much better than trailer lights featuring incandescent bulbs.
Next week I will construct a temporary platform on the trailer to transport stationary power tools and some furniture for our return to Texas in a couple of weeks.
*Edit 11/28/2012: Without incident we towed this trailer 1562 miles to Austin, Tx. Ann did her share of driving duties and experienced no difficulties in trailer handling. I constructed a 3'x2'x8' storage container loaded with disasembled stationary power tools for my Austin workshop. We also carried furniture which we donated to a cat rescue center in Austin. I estimate the total weight of 2500 lbs for trailer and cargo thus well below my Honda Pilot's 4,000 tow capacity. Per an erratic scale I was using, I ended up with about 70 lbs excess tongue weight than the 7-10% tongue weight rule prescribed. After the scale stopped misbehaving and gave a true weight, I deemed it too much effort to repack the storage container to reduce tongue weight. The Honda was squatting with the tongue weight along with the items in the back of the vehicle. Tongue weight along with the tandem axles eliminated any swaying and the trailer tracked like it was on rails. The trailer was a beast manuvering in gas stations and constant vigillance was required to turn wide and monitor the mirrors. My failure to do so almost resulted in planting a trailer fender into the front of a parked car at a gas station. I have much to learn in regards to large trailer manuvering.
The Honda's normal 20 mpg (flat terrain and 65mph) on the highway went to 14 mpg during the tow. I understand that at interstate speeds on level pavement 1/2 the force the engine must overcome is wind resistance. The blunt front of my storage container was probably the primary culprit in poor gas mileage. With a 20 gallon tank, way too many stops for gas especially with the stress of trailer manuvering.
This experience helped educate me on selection criteria for a larger tow vehicle.