Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

I have serious problem it seems. The 25 ft bennington with a 135 honda that I just bought, is sitting on a beautifully new looking Hustler 24 ft trailer, model PTS24T...problem is the trailer tag says 3000 GVWR, and 1800lbs max carrying capacity. My boat and motor are probably close or over 3000 lbs, making it an illegal rig, and I trailer up every time. Even more confusing, when I look at the hustler web site, they list this model trailer at 3200 carrying capacity. Now this is a 2007 model, so maybe they are building them heavier now, otherwise I can't understand the disparity between the tag info and the website info.... After talking to a local trusted boat dealership I was told Hustler trailers were near the bottom of trailers in quality and price. The trailer certainly looks heavy built, but the tubing thickness is only about 3/16, and i suspect this is where the weakness is. Anyone have any thougts on this? i really stretched myself financially to get this boat, and a new trailer would be tough right now!

fiddlebick wrote:I have serious problem it seems. The 25 ft bennington with a 135 honda that I just bought, is sitting on a beautifully new looking Hustler 24 ft trailer, model PTS24T...problem is the trailer tag says 3000 GVWR, and 1800lbs max carrying capacity. My boat and motor are probably close or over 3000 lbs, making it an illegal rig, and I trailer up every time. Even more confusing, when I look at the hustler web site, they list this model trailer at 3200 carrying capacity. Now this is a 2007 model, so maybe they are building them heavier now, otherwise I can't understand the disparity between the tag info and the website info.... After talking to a local trusted boat dealership I was told Hustler trailers were near the bottom of trailers in quality and price. The trailer certainly looks heavy built, but the tubing thickness is only about 3/16, and i suspect this is where the weakness is. Anyone have any thougts on this? i really stretched myself financially to get this boat, and a new trailer would be tough right now!

You can't go over 3,000 pounds legally, without brakes in 33 of 50 states. Does your trailer have brakes? If not, that's why it's only rated for 3,000 pounds gross.

I'm betting someone flubbed up the trailer registration, maybe even at the dealership itself. The trailer manufacture lists the carrying capacity at 3200lbs. so through in an estimated empty weight of around 800lbs for the empty trailer and in all probability it should have 4,000 pound tags, but if you can get away with it up it to 5,000 and call it good.

Call your department of highways or whoever does registrations in your state to see what your up against getting them upgraded.

Take a look here for a good explanation of how the capacity is determined. Assuming the frame is good and stout, the axles and tire load ratings factor in heavily to the total.

http://www.trailersforpontoons.com/pont ... acity.html

When refering to the trailer "tag" I mean the ID plate attached to the trailer itself, not the registeration tag. The boat is an '05, and the trailer is an '07 without brakes. Are you saying the trailer would be rated higher if it had the brakes installed? I planned to install 4 wheel disc brakes, which is how my education on this trailer began a few days ago. I store the boat at my brothers shop, and I read the stamped tag last evening, and I will be back in the morning to try and locate the axle stamped rating as well as tire load info. I was mistaken in my earlier post of the tubing thickness of the frame. It is actually 1/8 in. I pulled this trailer about a 100 miles to get it home after the purchase with no problems. Hoping the customer service at Hustler trailer can help me in the morning. I will post with any more info, but those of you buying big boats, be sure and check the trailer capacity...learning something new every day.

I'm going to disagree with the previous statement made that by adding brakes to a trailer will increase your trailers load capacity, even only legally. The load limits of an actual trailer arent determined by if the trailer has brakes or not, however it make make a difference if its street legal or not. That being said, I think brakes are the best add on that you can ever do if the trailer doesn't already have them.

Calling Hustler is the best thing to do. On my last fiberglass boat trailer the manufacturer put the wrong the GVW sticker on the trailer. All I did was call them and they sent me the correct sticker to apply. The axles and tires were correct for the correct weight.

Update this morning...Hustler rep said that my trailers capacity rating is low due to the absence of brakes of any kind, and of course is also affected by the load rating of the tires...which in my case, are C rated. If I install disc brakes on the trailer I should be well within the capacity I need, according to him. He said he cannot rate and send a trailer out on the highway to carry that much weight without any braking system, yet the dealers order them that way. The lower rating covers Hustlers liability issues, on the other hand, he cannot upgrade my stamped trailer tag after I install the brakes. According to him this is a common occurence that they deal with and has been going on for years in the industry. I am starting to feel a little better now...a little....won't rest till I get them ordered and installed.

GXPWeasel wrote:I'm going to disagree with the previous statement made that by adding brakes to a trailer will increase your trailers load capacity, even only legally.

Disagree all you want. The bozos who built my trailer (side business of the guy who owned the dealership) specifically said that they down-rated it to 2,999 pounds because it didn't have brakes. Then they sold it to me with a 3,000 pound boat on top of it.

I didn't KNOW it was a 3,000 pound boat - the capacity tag said it was something like 2,200 pounds. The fact that the dealer had added the third log, meant that the new weight of the boat was 3,000 dry.

Let me say this...when Hustler called me back to give me a quote on their brake assemblies, I learned some additional info. My trailer does have 3500 lb axles. My tires on this trailer are C rated at 1100 lbs at 50 psi, so adding brakes will allow this trailer to handle what it is capable of, and after comparing this trailer to my brothers Hoosier trailer side be side, I am very well pleased with the construction. The center pull on tongue spans the first two crossmembers of the trailer, and in fact it has more crossmembers than the Hoosier trailer. and his is rated much higher than mine. I was a little too quick to judge, based on what a boat dealer was telling me, although I do value his opinion and reputation. He is just wrong, thats all. Thanks everyone, hope this thread is helpful to others...

I stand corrected. It appears then that they are only lowering the weight of capacity on the plate, only to meet legal needs then. As before stated, adding brakes isn't actually adding real weight capacity of the trailer (frame, tires, axles) it's only making it LEGAL to then tow what the trailer can actually carry. My trailer is rated for 4,000 lbs, and didn't come with brakes from the factory. Back in 2005 when it was built, it was not a legal standard in Kansas to have brakes on any trailer carrying less than I believe, 6,000 lbs. My trailer was grandfathered in, so to speak.

Now, you need brakes for anything over 2,500 lbs I believe.

fiddlebick, It sounds like your trailer is plenty heavy enough with the tires, axles and future brakes. What happens if you are in a wreck and an officer of the law or insurance company decides to question the weight of the boat and compare it to the sticker on the trailer?

Well, I thought of that myself. Of course I could call the D.O.T. office and get the official word, but I am thinking that I could prove in court that the axles and tire load rating are sufficient, along with proof that I did add 4 wheel disc brakes, with a statement from the manufacturer that the trailer is structurally competent...if I had to. In fact, I think I will call them today and get the official word. I called them a few years ago about a 12ft utility trailer with a big zero turn mower onboard (kentucky). The officer said that if my gvw exceeded 10,000 lbs I had to have a brake on my single axle. If I was using the mower commercially, I had to have brakes no matter the weight. The DOT has a million different laws.

So, i just got off the phone with one of the vehicle enforcement officers in the state of kentucky. He said if I were to be pulled over, they would pay no attention to the trailer manufacturer's stamped plate in regards to trailer capacity...as I have already learned, that tag is more for the manufacturer's liability and warranty considerations than anything else. The officer said I would be checked to make sure that the load rating of the trailer tires, combined, exceed the combined weight of the boat, motor and trailer. As long as that criteria is met, I am compliant on a trailer that is non-commercial, personal use only.