As most boat owners would know, there are plenty of companies producing boat trailers and there is a ready supply of used boat trailers. However, nearly all the easy to find trailers were designed for moving smaller boats and/or jet skis. Such boats do not have massive weight and only require a few support pads to cradle the boat safely on the trailer without damage to the hull or keel.
Larger Boats
To tow a larger boat, especially one with some depth to its keel, requires a trailer with more than just a beefed up frame and suspension. The hull of the boat must be correctly supported to avoid damage during transportation. V-shaped supports along the center of the trailer are fairly easy to put into the correct position(s) and can function whether the boat is lifted up and placed down onto the trailer or winched onto the trailer in a horizontal fashion.
But, those supports only take the downwards weight of the keel and are not designed to rise up the height of the hull. This means that they provide only minimal support against sideward loads, particularly when the trailer is moving.
Depending upon the draft of the vessel to be placed upon the trailer, these side supports for the hull may need to be positioned several feet above the chassis of the trailer. If in a permanent fixed position, they could interfere with the initial loading of the boat onto the trailer. In any case, fixed supports would restrict the use of the trailer to one particular boat design.
Adjustable Supports
To avoid the complications mentioned above, the side supports should be capable of being moved away from the hull during loading, then repositioned and extended for supporting contact with the hull at precisely the correct points. This is achieved by incorporating hydraulic rams into the side arms. A trailer fitted with these is referred to as a hydraulic boat trailer.
Price
Hydraulic trailers for large boats are a fairly sophisticated piece of equipment and quite expensive to manufacture. New hydraulic trailers can cost several tens of thousands of dollars or more and this is for a piece of equipment that an average large boat owner is not going to use all that often. Boat yards would use these trailers more often but, even they may balk at the price.
Although it is a specialised item, it is possible to find a Used Hydraulic Boat Trailer for sale. Since such trailers are rarely, if ever, submerged in water, they do have a long lifetime and considerable savings can be made by purchasing a Used Hydraulic Boat Trailer – assuming that the hydraulic type is what you actually need.
HOSTAR Marine Transport Systems, Inc manufactures a wide range of hydraulic boat trailers and associated equipment. They also stock a good selection for anyone seeking to buy a used hydraulic boat trailer.
