Boatmate or Ameratrail

[Yaya81]

I am deciding between a new Boatmate or Ameratrail trailer for my GS22. There seem to be a decent amount of comments online about issues with Boatmate trailers ranging from paint/rust issues to brakes/reverse brakes locking up. The Ameratrail trailer is aluminum and have a good reputation for well built trailers.

Does anyone have any experience with either, good or bad? I’ve seen a post on here about Boatmate but was curious if there are any others.

[bturner]

I've had some experience with Boatmate but never heard of Amera Trail until just now. We have another brand of aluminum trailers that look similar to the I-beam type trailers up this way but can't recall who they are.

On Boatmate.... quite a bit of bad press on them here and my personal experience with them is hot and cold. In theory by the list of components they use, they should be excellent trailers. The 2 I'm familiar with both used higher end Dexter axles/couplers and Fulton winches/trailer jacks. Bunk materials were considerably above average in construction and materials used, however their placement in both the trailers I've worked with was less than ideal. As delivered, neither would load properly. In the 2 I worked on both had the front bunks mounted about 2" too low which caused the bow to catch the winch post under the bow roller when loading. Both were fixed with aluminum spacers we milled which resolved the problem. Aside from that both have had an uneventful life with one now turning 20 years old. I did a full refresh on that trailer 2 seasons ago and other than surface rust and a full rebuild to the brake system the trailer was really in good shape. The second trailer has seen considerably less miles, gets stored inside all year round and other than flushing the brake system and changing out the tires every 5 - 6 seasons is in rather remarkable shape for the effort (or lack there of) the owner has made in maintaining the trailer. That trailer is probably 15 years old now.

Boatmate and Covid.... A lot of the bad press I've seen on Boatmate seems to have come about the time of Covid which doesn't surprise me. This seems to have been a trend in manufacturing across the board with everything from cars, boats and especially in the RV industry. Hard to make a quality product when you can't find or maintain a quality workforce. I've seen new Boatmate trailers at the boat shows and they look fine but that says little when the boat is sitting on the trailer. The only way to really gauge the quality/functionality of a trailer is to use it which unfortunately isn't a pre purchase option.

My personal experience with aluminum trailers in general..... Many think going to aluminum is the end all for corrasion and construction, think again. Aluminum has it's benefits and place but it does corrode and can be much more brittle than steel. They're typically larger in dimensions (at least the ones I've seen) for the same load carrying capacities and there are design limitations from what we've typically seen in a steel trailer. If you're good with these, I don't see a problem with a properly designed and manufactured aluminum trailer, but don't fool yourself into thinking they won't corrade on need maintenance. That and you won't be sanding, priming and spotting in minor surface imperfections like you do on a steel trailer.

Other options.... My dealer gave me the option of a Boatmate of Phoenix trailer, I went with the latter due to my personal experience with the Boatmate trailers and recommendations by the dealer. I've had zero issues with the Phoenix trailer. Only thing I would recommend would be making sure you get all the options on the trailer you want at purchase. There's a lot going on in the boat purchase process and many times the trailer gets overlooked. Biggest options overlooked IMO are a welded on spare tire carrier and getting the wheel/tire combination you want. Dealers will tend to leave these off and focus on the boat to keep the price down leaving you less than satisfied with the total package after the purchase has been made.

[srock]

I am into practical, low-maintenance trailers, and I couldn't care less how it looks in the parking lot. No need for fancy paint or wheels for me, that need more maintenance.

Having owned 2 Boatmate trailers, I can attest that Boatmate's service has been awful both before and after COVID. Getting service, a return email, or picking up or returning a phone call is an impossibility. I did order a spare wheel/rim, and they delivered it to a 5-year-old address instead of the one given, but resolving that too was a nightmare, so I took it up with the shipper and credit card company. I decided I want nothing to do with them ever again, if possible.

I hate painted trailers. While they look great when new, their beauty will fade unless you like maintenance. I love aluminum trailers because maintenance is minimized to the required steel components for their strength. I chose galvanized on my last trailer to save a few bucks. The galvanized Boatmate was slightly less expensive than the painted at the time I purchased. While galvanized trailers may not look great, they rarely get the cancer of a painted trailer, plus the inside of the tubes are protected/galvanized as well.

I also dislike stickers or step pads/Seadek on a trailer. It's a great place to trap water, thus creating rust.

I am a fan of electric - hydraulic braking systems. For boat trailers, stay away from all electric.