We handle our own warranty, and we get questions and an occasional
problem. Many of the questions seem to take the form of “frequently
asked questions” so we’re listing some here. |
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I’ve towed boats before but when I saw that 25’ Bennington on your 30’
trailer, it was bigger than anything I’ve ever towed. I have a GMC
Yukon, it was six hours home to the Finger Lakes but everything was
fine. When we got home I noticed the little aluminum cover on the
front right wheel was missing. Can I fix this? |
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The little aluminum and rubber cover is the dust cap. It fits on the
end of the axle hub to keep the grease from splashing everywhere.
Losing them is a fairly
common
occurrence on a 96” wide axle. Axle come from the manufacturer with
grease but we run quality checks. We remove the cap and check for
grease. It’s possible we didn’t get it back on properly. Or, if it’s
on the right side you might have clipped a curb on the way home and
knocked it off. In either case it’s an easy fix. We’ll send a couple
dust caps, check that there is grease in the hub and tap the dust
cap on with a mallet. Make wide turns. |
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On the third time I launched and retrieved my pontoon,
the winch broke. I got the boat half way onto the trailer and the
winch fell apart. We had a hell of a time and I don’t think a new
winch should break on the third time out. |
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Sorry
for the problem, your trailer must be a couple years old. This had
been a difficulty that we resolved in January of 2019. We’ve sold
pontoon trailers with 1200 pound front loading winches for years,
but we started having failures. It finally hit us that pontoons
don’t weigh 1500 pounds anymore. Modern pontoons need a stronger
winch. We’re sending our 3200 pound Heavy Duty winch as a
replacement, it’s been standard on our trailers since
January 2019 and shouldn’t fail with your big pontoon. We use them
now on all of our trailers. |
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My wife followed me and noticed that the center light
bar on our trailer didn’t work when I applied the brakes. I checked
the wiring it looks good. What could it be ? |
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The center light bar is a “running” light. It only comes on when you
use the lights on your tow vehicle. Check by turning your headlights
on, I’ll bet it works. |
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We have a two year old Mid America trailer we bought
from you. It’s full of rust. The manufacturer says it’s out of
warranty, I don’t believe a
two year old trailer should rust this bad. |
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I am truly sorry about this problem and although the manufacturers
warranty is only one year, and they refused to help you, we’ll
replace the trailer. We no longer sell Mid America and although we
handled them for years, in the past few years the finish
deteriorated. We’ve had difficulties that have cost us a lot of
money, but we know warranty when we see it. We’ve changed
manufacturers, the trailers we sell today have the modern
Rock Guard, textured powder coat finish.
Your new trailer will have this coating. |
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Attached are pictures of rust on our trailer. Serial
number attached. Is this warranty? |
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We checked the serial number of your trailer, this is the fourth
season you’ve owned it. We have a pretty liberal warranty policy,
but after a couple years, maintenance is the customers
responsibility. Your trailer didn’t just rust this fourth year, it
probably started in the second or third year. The rust is around the
bunk bracket where the bracket chaffs the frame, yet the
trailer frame seems good. We see scraped fenders all the time, when
you scratch the paint, on any kind of steel trailer, the steel will
rust. If you check your trailer once a year, when the boat is in the
water, and touch up any small scrapes or rust spots the trailer will
look good for years. Our new Rock Guard Textured Powder Coat
probably wouldn’t rust in four years, but scrapes or scratches not
touched up will rust on any trailer.
Any painted, even Rock Guard textured powder coat will
deteriorate in salt water. Every couple of years we’ll
see a painted trailer that’s been to salt water. The customer says
they rinsed it every time they launched, but the finish is
destroyed. No trailer manufacturer will warranty their finish in
salt water. Trailer going into salt water must be hot
dipped galvanized. Some of the galvanized trailers
sold in the north are not hot dipped. and many will rust in salt
water.
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I noticed the wood beneath the carpet on my bunks isn’t
treated. Shouldn’t it be? |
About eight years the EPA made changes in the way wood was treated.
The old method was CCA treatment. Arsenic was the active ingredient
used to retard rot. The new treatment is ACQ, the active ingredient
is copper sulfate. Copper sulfate can leech through carpet and stain
aluminum pontoons. To our knowledge, all trailer builders are using
raw untreated wood. |
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Should I treat the
wood?
You could, but we’ve used untreated wood for about eight years. We
haven’t heard of many customers replacing the wood. As the trailer
ages, carpet will be torn or rotted before the wood. It’s just as
easy to replace the wood with the carpet. Optional plastic bunk wrap
will help prevent carpet from deteriorating. |
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My pontoon seems to “buck” when I travel. It’s rubbing
the carpet on the winch stand arms. |
Normally “bucking” is a sign of a weak frame, but our trailers have
strong frames. If the front of your boat is wearing the carpet on
the bow stops, it’s a indication that you aren’t using the
anti-bucking loop at the base of the winch stand. After you get the
boat on the trailer, unhook the winch strap from the boat tow eye,
run it down through the loop and back to the boat tow eye. This
helps holds the boat on the trailer but also pulls the front down to
prevent bucking. It’s also a good idea, especially on a heavier
boats to ratchet strap the back of the boat to the trailer. |
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Most newer boats have a bow toe eye on the front or second cross
member. If your boat doesn’t have one, it’s an easy addition. Buy a
threaded U bolt and drill a couple of holes in the cross member. |
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We’ve
had our trailer several years and never needed load guides, but the
dam broke and our lake is gone. We will be traveling, do you
recommend load guides?
If we didn’t have competition we’d probably make load
guides standard. But $100+ might cost a sale, so we make them
optional. Even though you haven’t needed them in the past there’s
usually a time they are helpful.
If you boat on a river with a current or if you are retrieving your
boat from a lake on a windy day you’ll appreciate load guides. Also
if you are a frequent traveler towing to different lakes, you might
want them. Our load guides consist of a set of 4. Generally 2
mounted in the back that help nudge the boat onto the carpeted bunks
and 2 near the center keep the boat on straight.
Click
Here to learn all about Load Guides. |
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One of your competitors sell electric brakes, a couple
hundred dollars less than yours. Our dealer says electric brakes on
boat trailers are bad, but he didn’t explain why. WHY ?
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Electric
brakes are fine for cargo trailers, recreational vehicles, etc.
They’re less expensive because there is no “actuator” on the tongue
of the trailer, everything is electric. Although sometimes you need
a brake controller in the tow vehicle. Electric brakes are easier to
install for the trailer manufacturer. The reason quality boat
trailer manufacturers don’t use electric brakes is that the solenoid
that engages the brakes is on the hub of the axle. The
hub of the trailer is submerged in water every time you launch and
retrieve your boat. Wires, electricity, and water are a bad
combination. We’ve sold special order trailers with
electric brakes. One customers had the controller already installed
in their truck, but our system wasn’t compatible, but we had no way
of knowing it. Another had problems from day one and was unhappy. No
more special orders for customers who want electric brakes.
We want happy customers.
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How do hydraulic-surge brakes work?
There is an actuator on the tongue of the trailer.
When it senses the tow vehicle slowing, a plunger (piston) is
compressed and sends brake fluid to the brakes. It’s entirely
mechanical, no electricity.
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We’re questioning the extra cost of disc brakes for our
situation, we don’t travel much. |
We
say there are only two reasons that you’d want disc brakes. If you
don’t travel much you’ll want them and
if you travel a lot you’ll want them. Old fashioned
drum brakes require service. The little springs and moving parts
will freeze up if not used often, but no one ever services drum
style trailer brakes. The benefits of disc brakes are well known,
faster stopping, cooler, less moving parts, etc. The automotive
industry hasn’t used drum brakes for thirty years. Modern pontoons
are heavier and more people are traveling, we think it’s unethical
that dealers aren’t all selling trailers with modern disc brakes.
Everyone recognized the benefits of disc brakes but some sellers
just don’t care what they sell you. The internet is full of
information about the benefits of disc versus drum brakes and there
are even kits to change drum to disc. |
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My dealer seems to insist that we buy tandem axle brakes
for our tandem axle trailer. WHY? |
I suspect that you’re in Michigan. It’s Michigan law that trailers
with tandem axle, or for that matter triple axles have brakes on
each axle. In the past some dealers have disregarded the law to save
their customer's money. It’s a liability issue. If you’re buying a
boat-trailer package from a reputable dealer, they don’t want to
break the law. In addition more customers are getting educated about
braking capacity. Our single axle disc brakes will stop 3500 lbs.
Some of competitions little 7” brakes will only stop 2000 lbs.
People get confused because their boat weighs 3200 lbs., they assume
they have 300 lbs. extra stopping capacity. The weight of the
trailer has to be figured in the equation. Most tandem axle trailers
for 22’-24’ pontoons weigh about 1000+ lbs. A 3200 lb. boat on a
1000 lb. trailer weighs 4200+ lbs. |
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What size trailer ball
and what kind of vehicle wiring?
Standard 2” ball with the flat 4 plug wiring.
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Some vehicles may need an inexpensive plug in
adapter. |
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What should the hitch height be?
The best height is 18” from the ground to the top of the ball. (16”
to 19” will work)
The correct height is especially important for tandem axle trailers.
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Do I need a spare tire ?
If you are buying a tandem axle trailer, 4 tires on the ground, you
may or may not need a spare. If your buying a single axle trailer, a
spare is money well spent. Finding a spare tire mounted on a rim on
a Saturday or Sunday can be a real nightmare. We encourage our
customers to purchase spare tires and price them as low as possible.
When you buy a spare from us with the trailer, we include a mounting
U bolt at no charge. You must be careful in comparing tire prices
and sizes. There can be a $15-$20 difference between a B, C or D
range tire. Inferior tires with limited capacity will deteriorate
quickly under load.
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How do the brakes work?
Our standard brakes use a hydraulic “surge” system. There is a
plunger in the tongue of the trailer that is compressed when the tow
vehicle slows. Brake fluid is sent to the brakes. Surge brakes are
the type used on 95% of boat trailer brakes. Electric brakes are
available (no decrease in price), but they require special wiring in
the tow vehicle and are not as popular on boat trailers as cargo or
other trailers because of the use around water.
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Will the trailer be “ready to go” when I pick
it up?
It depends on the information you supply us. As a policy we like to
have trailers fully adjusted to fit your pontoon boat when you pick
them up. If you order options like a spare tire or load guides, we
will install them on the pontoon trailer. During the order process
we will ask the length of your pontoon and the length of the deck,
as well as the center to center dimension of the pontoon tubes. |
If your information is accurate all you’ll have to
do is float your pontoon boat onto the trailer. If it’s incorrect,
you’ll need a 9/16” wrench and a few minutes labor. Our trailers are
fully adjustable to fit all boats. |
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