jetski trailer

[blazinmoto]

I have found a jetski trailer in great shape cheap but was wondering if it would fit a 1440 jon?
Any problems with using one? Thanks for the help

 

[bassboy1]

It'll be too short. Tongue weight will be off. Boat will hang too far off the back, possibly causing a hook in the hull. Extending bunks back well past the trailer frame won't gain you anything, as they aren't stiff enough to provide support cantilevered so far past the frame. Now, many of the jet ski trailers I have been around have been tilt trailers. The nice thing about tilt trailers is the tongue is usually removable with bolts only, so you could extend the trailer forward without welding, just by purchasing a new piece of steel tube. Merely drill a hole in the back for the back bolt/pivot pin, bolt the coupler on the front of the new tongue, and walla.

 

[BottomDweller]

BassBoy,

I don't have a jetski trailer but I do have a rather short trailer that I am extnding the bunks on for my boat. Do you think I will have any issue with this trailer not providing enough support when I extend the bunks?

 

[ober51]

Not ideal, but if you make the bunks longer both backwards and frontwards and connect them to the cross members you should be fine.

 

[bassboy1]

BottomDweller,

When I extend trailers for smaller aluminum boats, I always head forwards, not backwards. Now, being a proficient welder with access to quality equipment does help, but I personally would be heading forward. Problem being, the wood just doesn't have the strength when cantilevered. Clamp a 2 x 4 to the trailer cross bars, with the same amount of overhang the boat has, hook up to your truck (so the trailer doesn't tip back), then stand up on the back end of the bunk. See how much deflection you have. On your boat, a lot of the downward load is going to be concentrated right on the transom (outboard hanging there). That bunk is merely going to give, as opposed to really provide support.

Furthermore, I would reckon that the tongue weight will probably be fairly light with the axle that far forward. Having a motor hanging back there will often offset the weight of the whole bow of the boat. Then you have to take into account the fuel tank and battery, if it will be back there. Towing with a tongue light trailer isn't all that much fun, once it starts swaying.

Not saying you will see these problems - some hulls have been on improper trailers for years without showing so much as a minor hook, but of the boats that do have a hull hook, just about all are caused by hanging the back end past the trailer, unsupported.

 

[BottomDweller]

Thanks for the info BassBoy. It is much appreciated. I wish I had experience welding and had equipment but I do not. If I were to extend the bunks, is there anything else I could try? I am going to try what you suggested and stand on the attached bunks to check deflection. Is there anything else I can do to make this work better? Would it help any if I used 2 2x4's bolted to each other, running parrellel as bunks?

 

[huntinfool]

2 2x4's would make it stronger but would add more weight on the back and possibly cause it to fish tail. If you have a sawzall you can cut the tounge and then bolt on a new piece and move the boat forward. If say you have a 4x4 piece for your tounge you could get a welding shop to weld two angle irons together and make them fit snug inside the 4x4 tounge piece and then drill it and bolt it to the trailer and then you can just add a new 4x4 piece to the front. Remember with aluminum boats your not talking about much weight. (we have done this on several Nitro and Mako boats for Bass Pro's customers)

 

[BottomDweller]

huntinfool,
If I were to take this to a welding shop, how much would they charge to do this (cut the tongue, weld, and bolt on)? If I have to get a welding shop to do all, would it be worth my while to just get a new trailer b/c of the cost associated with a welding shop?


BassBoy,
I'll test the deflection if I decide to extend the bunks. If there is an issue, could I just resort to taking the motor off when trailering and shifting my battery a little closer to midship?

Thanks to both of you for the responses.

 

[huntinfool]

While I would have no idea what a shop in your area would charge we have done them for $150-300( but we are a fiberglass repair shop not a welding shop). But the one's we have done were on $2000 trailers. What size is your tounge? Can you measure the inside diameter? If your inside diameter is a common size you could just buy a piece of square or rectangular tubing and slide it in and bolt it on. I would put at least 6"in and if you could get 8" that would be better. Say a 16" piece that you slide inside and use as just a coupler. Then you can bolt both pieces on.

As for you other question, Yes leaving the motor off and moving the battery would help, but it is aluminum and any bump you hit is potentially a chance to dent the bottom.

 

[BottomDweller]

Huntinfool,
I can measure this when I get home. Thanks for the info.
From what I can remember it is square and is pretty small ( say 3-5 in in diameter).
Where would I get the Square tubing?

I am assuming that I would need to cut the tounge, add the tubing (bolt it on where the cut was) and then add the hitch back to the front. Can I bolt both of these pieces without welding?

 

[Troutman3000]

While I would have no idea what a shop in your area would charge we have done them for $150-300( but we are a fiberglass repair shop not a welding shop). But the one's we have done were on $2000 trailers. What size is your tounge? Can you measure the inside diameter? If your inside diameter is a common size you could just buy a piece of square or rectangular tubing and slide it in and bolt it on. I would put at least 6"in and if you could get 8" that would be better. Say a 16" piece that you slide inside and use as just a coupler. Then you can bolt both pieces on.

As for you other question, Yes leaving the motor off and moving the battery would help, but it is aluminum and any bump you hit is potentially a chance to dent the bottom.

This happened to me recently on some train tracks. Got a nice little know where my moitor and batteries made it jump. Now I am gonna fix my trailer the right way.