Beefing up the boat trailer?

Most trailers are just to get the boat from the backyard to the ramp ... not long distance travel.

Suspension and strength a priority to be considered.

The boat can be securely tied to the trailer making them both "one" .....

The motor however - is still rattling and flapping away on its pivots ... stressing components ... and the transom.

If theres a few of you going - I would remove the motor and strap it down in the boat ... Just depends on how over-cautious you want to be I guess ....

Gday,
Its a bit hard to comment without have a good look at your trailer, but suspension is definitely something to look into.
I personally would be looking at independent suspension.

Cheers

1 Add more rollers
2 Add more tie-down points
3 Ensure the boat can be winched up hard against the winch post without wanting to ride up over it in hard braking situations
4 Reinforce the spring hangers (cut out triangle-shaped pieces of 5mm flat bar and weld these either side of the front spring hangers)
5 DONT replace the leaf springs with super-heavy-duty ones that will shake the bleep out of everything - do a test run close to home carrying a similar weight to what you will be taking away to ensure the springs arent overloaded, but do still compress
6 Add shock absorbers - the difference even on the highway is huge and will stop the trailer jumping around all over the place on the dirt
7 Reinforce the winch post if necessary with some RHS bracing back to the drawbar if it looks a bit on the small side
8 Make (or buy) a drop-down spare carrier mounted on a hub near the winch post to enable easy launching over mud / steep banks / etc with a snatch strap
9 Replace the wire rope with plasma rope (easy on the hands and not anywhere near as dangerous if it snaps)
10 Replace the wheels / tyres with at least 14" in Light Truck construction - and not low profile!
11Take the boat off and check all welds - brace anything that looks suspect or under-engineered
12 Ensure the number plate is attached well - I have lost a few...
13 Dont go too slow over the corrugations!
14 Check the side-bunks are supporting the boat from any sideways rocking, but dont take any weight - ensure they are welded or securely and permanently locked in this position.
15 Ensure the axle is at least 40mm (square or round)

Hope this helps - most of it I have learnt on the side of the track while trying to wire my boat trailer back together with whatever is around. I now have it fairly sorted and am confident that it wont fall apart just yet....
I wouldnt worry about independent suspension unless you are intending on tackling some really rough low-range stuff

Have fun!!
Drew

Looks like a little thought and a few mods are the way to go.
Thanks for the tips.

I've got plenty of time to do the mods and test before we go.

Might even keep the smaller 13" wheels and tyres to run around here between trips away.

Cheers. Nifty