Is my trailer even legal!!??

I don’t know how I just noticed this. I went to my owners forum (I don’t have a Moomba) but it is really small with not a lot of participation….so I wanted to post here

I don’t see how my trailer that was sold new with my 2021 MB is even in the ballpark of being certificated to trailer my boat. It’s a metalcraft double axle with 20” wheels. There is nothing “special” and the vast majority of boats delivered from my dealer come with this exact trailer.

My boat manufacture’s website lists my boat at 5200 pounds. I just took it through a cat scale and it weighed 7100 pounds with trailer and full gas. The trailer weighs ~1685 according to the placard. That puts my boat at 5400 pounds (and I’m being conservative).

I feel I know what GAWR constitutes (verified be research) and the max cargo weight placard is pretty self explanatory. There is NO way in heck that my boat, completely empty and void of gas) weighs 4315 pounds or less.

Am I missing something ? What would you guys do?
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I would email their tech support to clarify that. What diameter axles does it have on it?

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Yeah something doesn’t make sense.

Even a P275/55/20 has a load rating of 2403# each.

I can’t imagine it’s axle limited. As most are between 3500#-4500# per axle.

4100# makes no sense for a dual axle trailer.

I would be calling metal craft for clarification.


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Originally Posted by HFarr

I would email their tech support to clarify that. What diameter axles does it have on it?

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I'm not sure. I will call them tomorrow and ask though. This is crazy if the placards are correct. The way I normally trailer my boat, it weighs in at 7880 (verified by Cat Scale). Full gas...500 in lead...and just the basics. That's almost 2000 pounds over the GAWR. A buddy of mine weighed his empty with 15 gallons of gas and it rang in at 7100 pounds.

Axles appear to be rated for 7000#, what does the tire sidewall say for load rating?


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had I known you were getting a metalcrap trailer I would have told you to RUN FAR AWAY...
I had that under my '12 22ve and that trailer was nothing but garbage.
was a rustbucket when we sold the boat in '17. the spare was mounted under the boat between the frame rails and I don't think it had a single piece of PC left on it when we sold the boat.

they are based in slc and if you go see them, you will walk away with the same perceptions I did about their quality control and overall operation.
I will say tho that the owner was willing to help us fix the rust issues but we ended up selling the boat to the new owner knowing the trailer was $hit. go see him and get their opinion on it.
sure you will be ok with the boat on it but watch for rust/peeling powdercoat/bad welds. that finish they use that they are SOOO proud of is pretty much garbage imo.

Looking at sticker on the left it looks like they used a single axle decal. That amount sounds about right for a single axle trailer. I think the trailer is fine but labeled incorrectly

What is the tongue weight? In calculating the GVWR you can subtract the tongue weight from the scale weight.


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Originally Posted by 2in2out

What is the tongue weight? In calculating the GVWR you can subtract the tongue weight from the scale weight.


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Are you sure though? I understand that transferring the weight to the tow vehicle drive axle will put less stress on the trailer, but by definition the GVWR is clear....

The maximum a trailer is allowed to weigh including payload.... It doesn't account for hitch weight subtraction. I

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Originally Posted by mjb929rr

Looking at sticker on the left it looks like they used a single axle decal. That amount sounds about right for a single axle trailer. I think the trailer is fine but labeled incorrectly

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But the sticker has a GVWR and a GAWR for "each axle". Those numbers are different. Not disagreeing with you, just respectfully asking how that could be if it is indeed a single axle sticker?

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Originally Posted by sandm

had I known you were getting a metalcrap trailer I would have told you to RUN FAR AWAY...
I had that under my '12 22ve and that trailer was nothing but garbage.
was a rustbucket when we sold the boat in '17. the spare was mounted under the boat between the frame rails and I don't think it had a single piece of PC left on it when we sold the boat.

they are based in slc and if you go see them, you will walk away with the same perceptions I did about their quality control and overall operation.
I will say tho that the owner was willing to help us fix the rust issues but we ended up selling the boat to the new owner knowing the trailer was $hit. go see him and get their opinion on it.
sure you will be ok with the boat on it but watch for rust/peeling powdercoat/bad welds. that finish they use that they are SOOO proud of is pretty much garbage imo.

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I hear you brother. They touted their powder coating as a huge advantage to the BM. If I had a DeLorean and could hit 88mph, I'd order a BoatMate instead.

However...

Right now I'm more concerned about the legality of this trailer. God forbid, if something were to happen, I wouldn't an adjuster or (worse) lawyer claiming I was accountable or negligent for loading my trailer substantially over it's stickered max GVWR.

As others mentioned, you got to clarify with both the trailer manufacturer and also the dealer. With MB, the Boatmate trailers are 10K, do dealers order trailers from whoever is their preferred vendor. Our MB Came on a Phoenix trailer, and I was also skeptical, but after a close inspection, it appears to be an upgrade from Boatmate in terms of how well it's built, and the components.
I very much doubt that the dealer would put the boat on an underrated trailer, but anything is possible....

I will say the limiting factors on a trailer are axle load rating and Tire load rating.

The welded box frame will not be your limiting factor. The metal craft frame doesn’t look any smaller than the steel that Boatmate uses.


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all the ambulance chasers down here would start with you until they found out you paid for and picked up what was legally sold to you. they culpability will fall on the dealer or metalcrap. they would be the ones that married up the boat/trailer-I would even go so far as to say MB is in the clear like you since they didn't spec the trailer. same thing for tige with our 22ve. the dealer in Idaho Falls spec'ed the trailer to the boat not us or tige. all you did was pay for and pick up what should be a "legal" combo.
I would spend zero worries on the legal side there.

You are on the right path asking and researching BEFORE anything occurs.

I have to think a call to your dealer and metal craft asking why trailer tags are underrated will raise some red flags. I also would not be surprised if the dealer is clueless on the matter.

On a side note, how many SC owners opt out of a Boatmate for another brand?

Does MB have a relationship with Metal Craft?


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I would say that you would more likely have trouble with some anal inspection station officer due to the confusing label, if you ever happened to have to pass through one for some reason, than you would need to worry about the trailer ever failing you mechanically from too much weight.

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Originally Posted by larry_arizona

You are on the right path asking and researching BEFORE anything occurs.

I have to think a call to your dealer and metal craft asking why trailer tags are underrated will raise some red flags. I also would not be surprised if the dealer is clueless on the matter.

On a side note, how many SC owners opt out of a Boatmate for another brand?

Does MB have a relationship with Metal Craft?


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Nope. When you use the online configurator on MB's website, it's actually a BM. MetalCraft is used by my local dealer (the biggest MB dealer in the nation, who are actually pretty great). MC is about 30 minutes away, so I'm sure it's convenient, saves money, and increases dealer margin.

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Originally Posted by HFarr

I would say that you would more likely have trouble with some anal inspection station officer due to the confusing label, if you ever happened to have to pass through one for some reason, than you would need to worry about the trailer ever failing you mechanically from too much weight.

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Another aspect I never even thought about.

I'm a pilot by profession and just like things done right and legal. Even if I was "assured" it was all good by the dealer and trailer manufacturer, I'd want a new placard. I paid six figures for this get up, I want it certificated properly.

Sucks the dealer chose margin over quality on the trailer.

Hopefully you get the answers you are looking for.


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Originally Posted by larry_arizona

On a side note, how many SC owners opt out of a Boatmate for another brand?

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They do have their manufacturing plants next to each other. Does not get much easier and closer for delivery when a boat is done.


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Originally Posted by MJHSupra

They do have their manufacturing plants next to each other. Does not get much easier and closer for delivery when a boat is done.


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Skiers and Boatmate both share a silent owner I'm pretty sure.

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Originally Posted by KnoxMojo

Skiers and Boatmate both share a silent owner I'm pretty sure.

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Yep. And being right next door is a win win.


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Originally Posted by KnoxMojo

Skiers and Boatmate both share a silent owner I'm pretty sure.

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Oh yea. I think I did hear that at one time.

You hear back from the manufacturer?

I think it's good that the mfg get some pushback on this topic, I suspect this is the case with many of the newer wake boat trailers. With the GVWR on the axles, I see no reason that it could not be safely rated for trailer GVWR or 7700lbs.

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Originally Posted by cucv

I think it's good that the mfg get some pushback on this topic, I suspect this is the case with many of the newer wake boat trailers. With the GVWR on the axles, I see no reason that it could not be safely rated for trailer GVWR or 7700lbs.

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I’m in agreement with this. My bags rarely drain fully, and we rarely got either boat below 1/2 tank of fuel. Add lead to properly weight your boat, and residual in bags, plus gear, and GVWR could easily be exceeded.

Even if I moved 500 lbs out of the boat and into the bed of the truck, with non-weight distributed tongue and payload weight I’d be at the max of my GCWR.

The trailer manufacturers/engineers should be recognizing this and adapting to at least a 1.5:1 system safety factor in the builds.


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I would not say trailer makers practice safety factors of >1.5:1 as a rule.

Working in Automotive (Specifically automotive safety), I have always been astounded how the automotive aftermarket is largely unregulated by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). My feeling is trailer makers fit in the non OEM aftermarket category.

I am not positive, but trailer makers likely do not follow FMVSS standards. Clearly in this case a trailer was ordered by a boat dealer for a specific model boat and the tags are in question.

Hard to determine who is liable. Dealer, boat owner or trailer manufacturer?

I would tend to think Dealer for ordering an undersized trailer for the given load. There is no way a dealer is intelligent enough to even consider if the trailer can handle the load. Their primary concern is profit. If Boatmate is MB’s suggested trailer partner, I am confident Boatmate takes the mass of the boat into consideration. Once a dealer goes to an outside trailer source, I question that trailer.


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I can't see any advantage for a dealer to this. If the dealer doesn't fix the discrepancy, I would recommend going to the State Patrol who in most states do the weight enforcement. They would say whether the trailer meets the requirements and if not should start an investigation.

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Originally Posted by zabooda

I can't see any advantage for a dealer to this. If the dealer doesn't fix the discrepancy, I would recommend going to the State Patrol who in most states do the weight enforcement. They would say whether the trailer meets the requirements and if not should start an investigation.

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The advantage is, more profit. If the dealer doesn’t understand the weight rating,then they are just after that it’s less than a Boatmate and they can make more money selling a metal craft.

Dealer: “Ratings, we don’t need no stinking ratings”




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Does your axle still have a tag on it to be able to verify its rating or how may lugs are on the hub? Sure looks like they have the labels all wrong on it.

If you think boat trailers are pushing the limits, don't even look at the tags on an RV. They most certainly take the hitch weight subtractions into their calcs as the axles would be way under rated without it. I see it all the time that a trailer will be rated for 16,000lbs max with 2-7,000 axles and a hitch weight of 2,500 lbs. So in their calcs they are clear by 500lbs

if guppy goes to metalcrap he will see how a tag swap could have happened.
wakeboat trailers have been produced at metalcrap for over 12 years but not their bread/butter. we never had an issue with their selection of parts and bet they are on par with BM. fit/finish is where we had issues with their product and know others as well.

interesting tho as I think about trailer designs... moomba xlv that I know of never shipped on a single axle. mondo's ship all day long on them. mondo is heavier than the last generation xlv. wonder if the axles on the singles are upgraded from the double axles and if they are using a heavier axle on singles, how many are running around on the lighter axles due to the worker grabbing the wrong part. we all know that never happens.... :)

From Boatmates site on the only Moomba single axle model they show. So not much difference than the trailer in question. Seems to be cutting it close.

Single axle with disc brakes GVWR 5500 CAPACITY 4300 FRAME SIZE 5" TRAILER WEIGHT 1200 TIRE SIZE ST225/75R15E

Talked to one guy today....

Not much help. Was told and I quote..

"We've been making those for years, you'll be fine, it will handle your boat no problem" He also added .."I have no idea what one of those boats weigh". JHC...

I demanded to have someone else call me...left my number. This could get interesting.

^^ Yikes ^^ You talk to someone who sits at the front desk answering phones? Just kidding . . .

Uy,
I think I'd first ask the dealer for a copy of the paperwork where they ordered it to see what they actually ordered.
My bet is the ordered a "trailer for a 23' boat" with no mention of weight.
Metalcraft has been making them for years, but have they kept up with the crazy weight increases over the last 10 years?

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Originally Posted by SONIC

Uy,
I think I'd first ask the dealer for a copy of the paperwork where they ordered it to see what they actually ordered.
My bet is the ordered a "trailer for a 23' boat" with no mention of weight.
Metalcraft has been making them for years, but have they kept up with the crazy weight increases over the last 10 years?

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Along the same line of thinking……call Metal craft and get a quote for a custom trailer for your boat. Then you can ask specific questions on load ratings etc.


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Originally Posted by Guppydriver

Talked to one guy today....

Not much help. Was told and I quote..

"We've been making those for years, you'll be fine, it will handle your boat no problem" He also added .."I have no idea what one of those boats weigh". JHC...

I demanded to have someone else call me...left my number. This could get interesting.

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This post motivated me to go re-train anyone who might be answering the phone at my shop... Our business comes in pretty much 20% lumps - at least one of those lumps is usually via a new customer ringing the main phone line...