The good, bad and ugly of Boat Trailers

We have sold boat trailers for many years.  We have tried several different styles and manufacturers.  Boat trailers have had the least increase in prices over the years it seems. Dyna-Ski pretty much settled in on a custom welded trailer and up until last year we sold the same brand of trailer with rare exception. The customer paid a little more and got a trailer that should last a long time with minimal maintenance we felt. My how times have changed.

Dyna-Ski 20' Closed Bow with 3 Mercury 150 Pro XS Motors.  

Now living in Canada.

Phoenix Dyna-Ski 20' Tandem Trailer for a triple.

Keep in mind that our hull shape has not changed at all as we use the same pair of molds.  The difference between the 20' and 17.6 model is 2' 6" of length and nothing else.

Notice how far back the two rear axles are located. 

We do this do to the weight of the motors all hanging on the back of the boat.

Last year I started selling tandem Phoenix trailers under the ski team models.  They trailer like a dream even with a heavy ski team triple.  The tandem Phoenix trailers we sell have four bunks including full length bunks. The full length bunks do an excellent job of supporting the gas in the large front mounted tank as well as the counter weight added by all ski teams. Sometimes it is lots of weight like 850 lbs. There are some other nice features which add to the cost of a Phoenix but seem to be well worth it.

Vertical Side Guides
Front loader style bow stop
LED Light Package
Swing Tongue
Aluminum on Fender Tops
Keel Roller on nose cross member
HD Fulton Jack
F2 Fulton Winch

One of the secrets to good trailer towing performance is towing with the boat nose high.  I tow with the tongue almost as high as the trailer jack can raise it.  The higher trailer coupler means less bouncing and better, smoother hydraulic brake performance. This also seems to make it easier to back the trailer without the brakes locking in most instances.

If you look at the brake actuator in the tongue when the hitch ball is lower you should be able to see that bouncing might cause the brakes to go on. When the tongue is high this does not happen unless you step on the brakes.  It is hard to explain but the difference can be felt when you drive down a rough road much quicker than on a smooth interstate highway.  The higher tongue while towing means improved MPG as the boat has less wind resistance and seems to stay cleaner.  The higher tongue even seems to help when towing an empty trailer.

The boat trailer brand we settled on in the past couple years have decreased in quality levels a great deal.  Most notable is the quality of the carpet on the bunks and bow stops.  The bunk & bow stop carpet has a very short life if it gets much use at all.  To help out our custoners I will sell you at cost a higher grade of carpet to recarpet your trailer bunks if you contact me. You can just put the new carpet over the old stuff if you want a quick fix.  Use lots of staples on the side and bottom.