195 DC trailer under rated ?

[Aussie Triumph]

Hello all, I am very seriously considering the 195 DC. These boats havnt been around for very long in Australia so not a lot is known about them. The info on the Web and especially this site is very good though. One of the concerns I have is the single axle trailer that comes with this 195 DC appears to be under rated to the weight of the boat, mtr, fuel and gear. IM wondering if anyone else has the same concerns or experiences with this ?

[OspreyVic]

Aussie, sorry I can't answer that directly because we have a 2005 model 210CC.

BUT, in this country, you can purchase the boat without the trailer. We did that and love our boat.

The Triumph factory provided the specifications, and we had our trailer made to those specs. In fact, we believe that our trailer far exceeds the specifications that were specified.

Sometimes there is more than one answer to a problem.

[Aussie Triumph]

hi all, I am a new member in West Australia and very seriously considering buying a 195 DC. One thing i am concerned with is the trailer supplied is only single axle and appears to be under rated to carry the weight of boat, mtr ,fuel and gear. trailer capacity = 1406 kg, boat dry = 909 kg, Mtr = 186 kg, full fuel tank = 227 kg. This doesnt leave much room for electonics, batteries fishing gear etc.
I do like the fact that its single axle as I will need to physically manouver the trailer into a tight storage location. Also the choice of 15" wheels or 13 " wheels- I am leaning towards the 13" wheels as a lot of boat ramps here are fairly shallow. I would appreciate any thoughts on this stuff from you guys. thanks

[Putershark]

Gday Mate,
Knowing that most items made today have some kind of built in engineering "fudge factor" for saftey, I agree that is not much of a difference. Here again, what is the condition of the roads you are going to be traveling on, and how far to your nearest boat ramp?

If left up to me, I would go with the larger tires since they will run cooler and as such, the tires will last longer. That extra axle height may also come in handy when you hit a pot hole I also agree with the single axle thinking which makes the boat easier to pivot and park....

I would though, also take into consideration how much weight the BMT combo is as compared to your "local laws" about needing trailer brakes much less how much can you "safely" tow (and stop) with your automobile / truck? You may find out that going with a double axle trailer with disk brakes "may" be the best choice in the long run for your needs

If I had it to do over again I would not buy the triumph trailer. I love my boat but this trailer would be the deal breaker for me. Read my post today under trailer problems.

[Allied]

Here is an interesting coincedence on this topic. Last Saturday my wife and I went to see our daughter in Raleigh and stopped by Merritt Marine on the way to talk to Carl Merritt and look at the 195DC. While the 2008 models are out, Merritt does not have any yet. One of the things he mentioned to me was that for 2008 the 195 will come with a dual axle trailer. I would assume that there is a reason for this and it isn't to cut costs. As far as handling the boat in the driveway and pushing it around in the garage the single axle would definitely be preferable, but when going down the highway a little extra capacity on the trailer is much better than not enough. I am actually interested in finding out more about the Rolls Axle trailer that OspreyVic has.

[OspreyVic]

Allied, just send me an e-mail. Will try to answer any questions I can.

Without our Rolls Axle, the boat would not sit low enough to get into the garage. Besides, without their swing tongue, we could not close the garage door.

Love our trailer and our boat.

[Aussie Triumph]

Thanks for the advice fella's, its all much appreciated. I am going to see about modifying the trailer - a couple of options maybe 1. Beef up the anxle and springs of the single axle trailer or 2. A tandem with a big jockey wheel and slipper type springs that may allow the front wheels to lift and the back wheels take the weight for easier manouvering.
I live very close to a boat ramp thats fairly shallow so I think I will go for the 13" wheels.

[Aussie Triumph]

Still looking at finding ways for easier manouvering of a tandem trailer. I checked out the Ratchet jockey wheels- there is a heavy duty one ( 2 wheel set up ) that is supposed to be used for heavy loads / trandem trailers, however upon asking questions in the store the salesman said he wouldnt want to sell me one as it wouldnt work. He reckons it would roll the tyres off the wheels before turning the trailer even slightly. Anyone got some experience with these ratchet jockey wheels and a tandem trailer ?

[Troll]

I have a 2002 170 Bass with the E-Z Loader trailer that has 13 inch tires and a single axle. After complete bearing failure on one side, I was forced to replace the axle due to galling of the spindle and hub. The axle supply company said that my original axle was only rated at 1500 pounds due to the size of the bearings and the thickness of the metal of the axle.

I replaced the axle with a 3500 pound rated axle that has bigger inner bearings, beefier hub and 1/8" thick steel walls (as opposed to 1/16"). The cost differential between 1500# and 3500# was minimal. I got everything wholesale, but had to pay a welding shop to weld on brackets, but the total cost to me was $150.

E-Z Loader uses a special "short" hub on their axles so replacement parts are virtually only available from them. Axles from other manufacturers use standardized parts that are available all over.

As far as tire size, a 15" tire will have to make fewer revolutions per mile as compared to a 13" tire so less wear and tear on the whole system. 15" tires also have a higher load capacity than the 13" tires.

Troll