Snipe or Rapide Trailer?

[jon_bailey]

Need to buy a new trailer for a 21ft Sportboat. Considering either a Snipe or a Rapide and was wondering whether anyone has any comments because they both appear pretty similar, i.e. 32 rollers, similar weight spec, similar price, etc.

Any help much appreciated.

 

[peterg]

can\'t comment on these but..

we had a new Indespension multi-roller (Rollercoaster 6 I think) trailer for our speedboat a few years ago and it was very well built, having looked around at some others there really didn't seem to be a lot of difference and as we had a dealer near us we went for Indespension.

 

[byron]

Snipe have been around since they first helped Noah move his Ark. I would go for them, if they haven't got the knack of building trailers by now they never will have.

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[jfm]

Both good. At risk of stating obvious (I'm sure you probly know this) the roller coaster rollers are an absolute must, and you need the boat as low as possible when recovering, so out of two excellent brands like that I would buy the one that has keel closest to ground and/or the pivot point of the rear roller cradle the furthest forward. That way you have the best hope of recovering the boat without immersing the brakes of the rear axle.

 

[jon_bailey]

Thanks for the good advice. I think I understand but shouldn't it read 'pivot point of rear roller cradle further rearward' not forward? This would put it lower in the water and make it easier to recover.

 

[jfm]

Re: Geometry!

No, dont think so. The further forward the rear cradle pivot is, the better. Hard to explain in an email, but this pivot is a fixed "hurdle" over which the whole boat must be dragged, until the COG of boat gets in front of it and the bow falls onto the winch post. As the HEIGHT of this pivot is fixed (= the road clearance generally), it is better for it to be as far forward (ie closest to the hitch) as possible, imho. Make sense? Please say if not. Needs a diagram really!!

 

[jfm]

Re: more questions

BTW, is it a 4 wheel or 2-wheel, and what car are you towing it with? (because while 4 wheel trailers are much better, some cars are very bad with 4 wheel trailers imho, eg Volvo 940 estate types, esp if the suspension weights are wrong)

 

[tcm]

Re: 2 wheel

ah but don't single axle trailers set up the wobbles? 2 axle much less so I hear...

 

[jfm]

Re: 2 wheel or 4 wheel

Yes very much. On many cars you get shaken to bits by a 4 wheeler. Passengers get sick. Esp when road surface transfers weight between axles, you get up/down forces on tow hitch, jerking all the passengers. We have a 4 wheel trailer with a 20foot boston whaler type job. It is awful when towed by Omega Estate and Volvo 940 estate (massive rear overhangs) but fantastic behind Galaxy VR6 (back wheels right at the back). Not tried with Merc M class, will do soon, but OK with that I spect

But if you can get ride comfort, 2 axles widely spaced is the way to go imho, 80mph not a prob. Much less snaking risk when passing lorries and no need to worry about a tyre blow (well not so much)

 

[Guest]

I bought a new Rapide trailer for my 3500kg, 28ft sports cruiser 2 years ago. Up to now I have towed it about 5000 miles with no problems. I bought the rapide because at the time they were built by a small engineering firm in Cheshire who were happy to build the trailer to my exact spec at a competative price. This firm (Honkley Engineering ) were bought out by Dixon Bate about 12 months ago so I dont have any experience of new set up. (The trailers are still built to the same specs)

Hope this helps.

 

[jon_bailey]

Re: more questions

The All Up Weight will be the best part of two tonnes so dual axles is practically essential. I will be towing with a Nissan Terrano (Ford Maverick) which should be ok despite the long wheel base with a significant overhang behind the back wheels.

Your comments regarding the geometry are interesting although as you say a drawing would be helpful. Whilst I think I understand what you are saying, to my mind the farther rearward the pivot point the lower it will be, because of the slope of the slipway when recovering. Am I missing something?

 

[boatmad2]

Re: 2 wheel

Please note many towbar manufacturers state that bar is derated to 80% if pulling twin axle trailor due to increased side forces when turning.
My trailor is single axle home built utilising buckshe caravan axle. tows a dream with 20ft dolphin on it. It very much comes down to the set up and weight distribution. Tow car is toyota carina e 1.8.

 

[BarryH]

Re: 2 wheel or 4 wheel

Thing to look out for as well, is your car insurance as to clauses, regarding towing wieghts, I use a range rover for towing. Range rover quote 3.5 tonnes as max trailer wieght. Insurance only covers 80% of cars kerbside wieght(2 tonnes). Also if you go over the 60mph limit while towing your not covered. And anyway IMHO going over the limit is foolhardy and stupid. It takes far longer for the combo to stop/ react to steering inputs. Yeah ok you think you get there sooner, but you cant stop it. Next time you put the boat on the back of the car, find a clear area(off road) drive at 45 mph and try an emergency stop you'll be astounded at how long it takes and the effect the trailer has.