Is there a Boatmate recall currently?

[Kidder]

I thought I remembered reading that there was a recall on Boatmate trailers recently. I searched but couldn't find anything. Is there one?

[LSM]

I'm not aware of a recall but Boat Mate does have some defective axles that went out on trailers over the past 4 or 5 years. I had one fail, contacted BoatMate and they were aware of the issue. They replaced the axle at no charge.

Personally I think it is a dangerous situation on a single axle trailer. The axle will break and the weight of the boat will fall on the fender well. It happened to me....

[davinci]

Ed check this out


http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65921/80670.html?1062826097

[Kidder]

I have a single axle Boatmate trailer that came with my 08 LS. Should I pull the serial # and send to Boatmate to verify it is okay?

[davinci]

I would, why take a chance

[davinci]

Didn't mean to scare , I was just googling around about boatmate and stumped on to that.

[Kidder]

Why do I want to check that out? It's a thread from 2003.

The sky ain't falling in.

Send in you trailer VIN's to boatmate if it helps you feel better , but lets not spread panic.

Didn't we just go thru this same stuff 10 days ago?

Agreed. I definitely don't want to throw Boatmate under the bus. I did a search but couldn't find anything. I won't worry about it. Although, I wish I had a tandem trailer in case I have a flat. :)

[davinci]

PLEASE Kidder don't start throwing people under the bus, I spent two days there, not very pleasant.

[skiyaker]

If you look over your trailer as part of your "pre-flight inspection", there should be no surprises down the road.

I have single axle too; I have a tight driveway and like to back the boat in the garage and sometimes have to rotate it a little by hand- so for that I like the single axle. But I also to a lot of trailering .

What am I looking for on the "pre-flight insepction" I always make sure the tires are inflated properly and give it a look over, but I'm not sure I know how to evaluate welds for integrity. Is there anything in particular that I'm looking for besides obvious cracks and loose bolts?

[phospher]

If you sent boatmate your VIN they are going to tell you "yes" or "no" as weather it could be affected or not but they ARE NOT going to send you a new axle unless it fails. They are only fixing ones that break, this because they are so far and few between.

[you da man]

Axles fail, it just happens. Yours can fail completely all at once or it can gradually go out. In retrospect, the torsion in my axle failed over a period of time. I recently organized my boat photos and to my surprise noticed that photos of the right side of the boat and trailer showed the front right wheel gradually getting closer to the fender over the course of a couple months worth of photos. If you have an issue with your torsion axle contact Jerry at Boatmate and if it's a warranty issue he will take good care of you. Have these things in your email to Boatmate: Trailer VIN, axle part #, date of trailer purchase, if tandem was it front or rear, photo of trailer with defective axle, your name, address, and phone #.

[Kidder]

PLEASE Kidder don't start throwing people under the bus, I spent two days there, not very pleasant.

Don't worry, I can handle it. :D

I'm not going to worry about it. If something does happen, I have insurance.

[sandm]

something else to keep in mind that I never thought of until a post on here a while ago:
when going camping or taking a lot of stuff to the lake, if you have the single axle, stow the stuff in your tow rig, not the boat. quickest way to overload a trailer is to add another 500-1000lbs of camping gear, or 2 big coolers full of "soda" and ice, etc....

I do have to say I'm slightly concerned with the trailer issue, but if it happens, it happens. I have gotten into the habit of tilting my mirrors down to have a clear view of the trailer tires and watch them as I tow..

[Kidder]

something else to keep in mind that I never thought of until a post on here a while ago:
when going camping or taking a lot of stuff to the lake, if you have the single axle, stow the stuff in your tow rig, not the boat. quickest way to overload a trailer is to add another 500-1000lbs of camping gear, or 2 big coolers full of "soda" and ice, etc....

I do have to say I'm slightly concerned with the trailer issue, but if it happens, it happens. I have gotten into the habit of tilting my mirrors down to have a clear view of the trailer tires and watch them as I tow..

Good points. The only thing I ever load in my boat while towing is a cooler (medium sized - can hold a 12 pack). :)

I'm going to try the mirror trick.

[Razzman]

I'll say this, it's not worth worrying about. There are more failures with conventional suspended trailers than there are torsion units.

I've either broken or bent the spring hangers or leaf springs on all my other trailers at least once, it's a fact of life if you trailer enough. Now given the amount of members here on this forum and the exceedingly low amount of trailer issues i'd say it's not a problem unless it's made out to be. Everything made has issues, period.

As sandm said, watch what you put in the boat trailering. If you fill up at home then travel a lot of miles to the lake you might want to reconsider that as well and fill up close to the lake. A gallon of gas weighs approximately 6.2 lbs depending on density due to air temps. 40 gallons of gas adds another 240 lbs right over the axle and adds to the gear you already have loaded in the boat. For you single axle guys that could very well overload you depending on what's in the boat.

[you da man]

Imagine those guys hauling 500-800lbs of lead/shot bags

[Razzman]

Imagine those guys hauling 500-800lbs of lead/shot bags

There was a guy on WW asking if was ok to trailer 1100 lbs of lead! WTH! Some people just have no clue at all.

[jester]

something else to keep in mind that I never thought of until a post on here a while ago:
when going camping or taking a lot of stuff to the lake, if you have the single axle, stow the stuff in your tow rig, not the boat. quickest way to overload a trailer is to add another 500-1000lbs of camping gear, or 2 big coolers full of "soda" and ice, etc....

I do have to say I'm slightly concerned with the trailer issue, but if it happens, it happens. I have gotten into the habit of tilting my mirrors down to have a clear view of the trailer tires and watch them as I tow..

Does this mean i should now tow my boat with my ballest system full, 3 tents, 5 big coolers and a portable dock? Ok that was a joke but a portable dock would be really nice. One thing to note is when you put that much weight in the tow rig then the tow rig will sit lower then it does empity and you might have to adjust how the boat trailer rides. We had a great thread about this about 2 or so months ago.

I also have a single axel and if it fails then it fails. I know that I have done everything to make sure it should not fail.

[skiyaker]

There was a guy on WW asking if was ok to trailer 1100 lbs of lead! WTH! Some people just have no clue at all.

I saw that too. At some point if you're not happy with your wake you just need to get a different boat. really- putting lead in a boat?

With the 2008 OBV being 3000# dry wt I guess I have a little wiggle room in loading it up but I still try to gas her up close to my destination when possible. I figure that way I can put #240 of beer in the boat then drink the beer while I'm filling up with gas LOL.

[you da man]

I saw that too. At some point if you're not happy with your wake you just need to get a different boat. really- putting lead in a boat?

You should see how some of the Centurions are set up at the surf competitions...4000lbs of ballast plus crew.

[Razzman]

One thing to note is when you put that much weight in the tow rig then the tow rig will sit lower then it does empity and you might have to adjust how the boat trailer rides.

That where the air bag ride system comes in handy! ;)

[jester]

That where the air bag ride system comes in handy! ;)

Razz, All i have to say too you is blah. I really like airbags but that is a winter project.