Trailer advice, 2 or 4 wheels

Manoeuvring a twin axle trailer with the towing vehicle is no problem although the tyres can scrub a bit.

Manhandling the empty trailer is best done by winding the jockey wheel down until the front wheels are off the ground then it's no worse than a single axle trailer.

Possible to tip a single axle trailer over backwards if you climb on board without some support under the back end.

Four wheels, tyres, hubs, brakes suspension units to worry about with a four wheel trailer. Only two with a two wheel trailer but bigger and more expensive.

Actually a bit surprised that at that weight 2 wheels is an option but not looked at trailer specs for a long time.

Don't scrimp on trailer capacity. Be generous with the trailer spec. The boat will most likely be quite a bit heavier than the makers displacement figure
 
Agree with VicS's comments.

Look at Indespension web site for info
http://www.indespension.co.uk/b2c/app/I00800?ZNPANO=640&slnk=1

The Roller Coaster 8 has GVW of 1,500kg and will carry a boat weighing up to 1,050kg.

The biggest single axle is the RC 10 GVW 1,800kg, max boat weight 1,300kg.

I would want to check carefully that a 23ft boat and contents don't go over the 1,050 capacity of the trailer max GVW 1,500kg.

I have had both twin and single trailers and if I was sure the capacity was OK I would go for the single axle on cost grounds, especially tyres and brakes.
 
I would always go for the single axel set up, if its safe, legal and fit for purpose.

They are easier to move around by hand, they are cheaper to service and the trailer its self will be lighter. But I dont think I have seen many 23ft boats that are legal on a 1500kg trailer, they are all too heavy. Remember to leave at least 200kg spare capacity for the usual boating junk.
 
MrCramp said:
I have had both twin and single trailers and if I was sure the capacity was OK I would go for the single axle on cost grounds, especially tyres and brakes.
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I need a new trailer for my Jouster. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the RM trailers quote was less than 10% more (an extra £150 or so) for a double axle. I was less pleasantly surprised to see how much it was in either case.

The plan at the moment is therefore to "built a yard trailer" myself. Or maybe "repair the old trailer with a surprisingly large amount of new metal" myself. But not build a new road trailer, oh dearie me no.
 
Tricky one really. If you can get a single axle trailer to carry that weight, then the wheels are likely to be pretty big - light truck sized, perhaps,so your boat will sit that bit higher and be that bit harder to launch. Also check out the cost of tyres, you miht find one for a sigle axle trailer of that capacity hard to come by. I also think the components on a 4 wheel trailer are not working as hard as those on a 2-wheel one, giving you a bit more longevity - assuming they are sharing the load more or less evenly (which is much harder to do with a 4 wheel trailer than a 2 wheel one).
 
I need a new trailer for my Jouster. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the RM trailers quote was less than 10% more (an extra £150 or so) for a double axle. I was less pleasantly surprised to see how much it was in either case
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.FWIW I know someone who bought a trailer for his Jouster from RM . He has towed it from the south to Scotland and back and also across France to the Morbihan and back
Very pleased with it, but I do not remember if it's 2 or 4 wheels.
Tows with a Transit sized van.
 
j24's all up are 1500kg plus the odd bit of gear plus the trailer weight and the class seem to be equally devided between either single or double axle.
i have towed with both and prefer the double axle just jockey up the front for manual moving
 
Trailers!

Having, over the years, moved all sorts of boats up to the 40' size, with a max wt of 20t. I would always go for the 4 wheeler...Whilst tyre scrubbing is an undoubted hiccup, the overall balance & weight distribution on the twin axles is significantly superior, and on road performance, far less likely to cause a problem.
My present trailer is a 35' 14" I beam sitting on two 16t Atkinson Ft axles (1100x20 wheels) with 12"x 9" U section cross beams and other assorted metalwork to support the Acrow hull supports. But, it is not a trailer that you are able to tow with anything less than an Artic unit. or V.large tractor!
 
VicS said:
.FWIW I know someone who bought a trailer for his Jouster from RM . He has towed it from the south to Scotland and back and also across France to the Morbihan and back
Very pleased with it, but I do not remember if it's 2 or 4 wheels.
Tows with a Transit sized van.
Click to expand...

Thanks very much. Do you know if it was a fin or lifting keel one, by the way?
 
Thanks very much. Do you know if it was a fin or lifting keel one, by the way?
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I don't know.
That's silly. It's been in the yard for years with various owners. I think it must be a fin keel 'cos it sits quite high propped up when ashore.
on the other hand it has a drying mooring!

and I was there the day they first hauled it out on the trailer.
 
Wheels tires axles

There is a lot to be said for small wheels on a trailer bu this will almost certainly mean having 4. Tyhe smaller wheels means the whole boat can be lower which means you don't have to go so deep into the water and c of g is lower when travelling. Plus of course less height when climbing on board on the trailer.

My trailer has large wheels but has a drop axle. That is the axle itself goes across the trailer with leaf springs but on the end of the axle is a plate onto which is bolted car stub axles. The wheel centre is ten about 6 inches higher than the axle. It makes the hull fairly low especially with no keel exposed under the hull. I confess I probably would feel more confident on the open road with 2 axles. My boat is about 1 tonne with a few hundred Kg of trailer. good luck olewill
 
VicS said:
I don't know.
That's silly. It's been in the yard for years with various owners. I think it must be a fin keel 'cos it sits quite high propped up when ashore.
on the other hand it has a drying mooring!

and I was there the day they first hauled it out on the trailer.
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The lifting keel one has a fairly big stub under it ... and I don't think I'd want to dry mine out on the flat regularly. I've done it once, not entirely intentionally, and it wasn't very comfy.

I think the fin and lifting keels ones were very similar in weight, thought, so I am sure your very welcome information will apply whichever it was. RM now at the top of my list if I buy one. Unfortunately it will cost about 2/3 of what I hope to sell the boat for, but that's life.
 
VicS said:
I think it must be a fin keel 'cos it sits quite high propped up when ashore.
Click to expand...

There are a couple of lifting keel boats in my yard that are nevertheless up high on a cradle as if they were fins. I presume the owners want to get at the plate for maintenance / antifouling, which seems only sensible.

Pete
 
There are a couple of lifting keel boats in my yard that are nevertheless up high on a cradle as if they were fins.
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This one does not have cradle, and I didnt remember seeing it perched on oil drums etc

However I found out today (170 mile round trip plus a 1 hour hold up on the M25 specially to get the answers for you :D ) That it is a lifting keel. I'd forgotten that it swings up under the boat rather than lifting straight up into a CB case

And the trailer is a 4 wheeler.
 
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