What type of trailer?

[doodlebug]

Even works as a park bench for Doodlebug, Skipper-T &
Bushwacker..

I recall it being a breakfast booth

[pelican]

i have 4 "service" trailers,all roller.all urethane rollers too,never a problem with rollers,upkeep is minimal,give 'em a squirt with the hose...bearings hold up longer,due to the fact,the wheels are never submerged.bunk trailers in an area with a good tide swing,make it just about impossible to load and unload in a low tide.also,the aluminum trailers,these will float.personally,i would never own,nor do i reccomend bunk style trailers to customers...

[gman1001]

My 'new to me' trailer is aluminum "Magic Loader." I think it came with the SC.

If your ramp is in a strong tidal area or a river - forget about an aluminum unless you outfit it with weights. I found out the hard way the trailer floats!

Royal pain if your by yourself and the trailer starts heading out to sea with the tide.

[Bushwacker]

It all depends on the ramps you use. The only advantage I can see to the aluminum float-on type is less weight and possibly faster loading IF you're not by yourself. On some ramps, they don't allow powerloading. The disadvantage is potential for water in the bearings and need to check them often.

As Ken said, with a good roller trailer and a power winch, you can launch anywhere, anytime, by yourself! I personally prefer the EZ-Loader design. They use aluminum shafts, and nylon bushings in the rollers, so NO lube is required! They use so many rollers that the load per roller is only about 150 lbs, and the design is such that all rollers balance against each other, insuring even load distribution. The cross members are designed to rotate as boat goes on/off trailer, providing a "tilt trailer" function without the sloppy tongue/frame joint common to tilt trailers. Bought my trailer new in 1985 and it's still going strong 25 years later! The only thing I've done to it is change the rollers from black rubber to urethane to eliminate black marks on the hull. The washers and hog rings do tend to rust but I bought stainless washers for mine and coated the hog rings in grease to eliminate that problem.

Note that only the TIRES get wet! I've only pulled the hubs once in about 25 years and they were fine. The 16.5" wheels don't spin very fast and the bearings never get wet so they'll last a long time. I believe a well designed roller trailer requires LESS maintnance over time, and allows you to launch at virtually any ramp.

[cdavisdb]

Which is better? Kind of like a preference for "blondes or brunettes." The rest of the package makes a whole lot of difference. I've had several non-float on trailers that varied from poor to adequate, but I never intentionally went out to find the very best available and never found a good one. Lots of people fall into the same category. My next(and last) trailer is an aluminum float-on from Owens, one of the best makers. I did the research before buying. Its outstanding. Low maintenance, super easy launch even alone, reasonably easy retrieval, you don't know its behind you on the highway, could not be happier. I also live in an area where the ramps are designed for float-ons, that makes a big difference.

[makade]

I gotta agree, Owens and Sons are great! Great product and outstanding service. I was lucky enough to find a lightly used one earlier this year. I was decided on buying a new one from them, but I stumbled across a 2008 that saved me a few bucks. Even though I didn't buy from them directly Jeff Owen still went out of his way to help explain how to set it up/modify it for my boat. Really great people!