Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Alright guys, here's my delema! Got an email from my sales guy, stating this:

I got a call from my trailer distributor. They have a promo going right now on the Shoreland’r trailers. I can get the comparable Shoreland’r trailer as the Karavan Trailer for the same price. The Shoreland’r is a much bigger name and its built with higher quality components (tires, brakes etc.) The trailer would be model PT2550TAB. Typically this trailer is much more expensive than the Karavan trailer. I would strongly recommend we go with the Shoreland’r trailer.

The original trailer he was ordering me was this one: http://www.karavantrailers.com/KDPT-2225-DB-50-GL.cfm

Not sure which way to go. Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance,
Jeremiah

I'd Dig immediately into the dealers numbers... on this promotion. Ask him what's in it for HIM and how does that benefit you? What is his kick back? You can try searching for the promo on line...it might be public knowledge. As long as the trailers have comparable options... I'd push for a big discount. If he's willing to get you this new trailer and he is TRYING to sell you on the fact that the name brand is bigger... (give me a break!) I'd guess to say there is $$$ in it for him and he's not looking to share any of that with you. UNLESS you begin asking for the details.

HERE are some others who were discussing the same thing:

http://www.walleyecentral.com/forums/sh ... hp?t=23933

http://www.lakestatefishing.com/modules ... c_id=79890

http://www.pwctoday.com/showthread.php?t=53688

Same 10" disc brakes, same size and load rating on tires, same 5000 lb load rating. I bought a very expensive trailer last year and lost my ass on it when I sold it a few weeks ago. They depreciate like crazy. Myself, I will go with a less expensive trailer next time. Karavans are very popular around our area. I have several friends that own them and have no problems with them. Do yourself a favor and coat the paint with SharkHide or have it clearcoated before you load the boat on it. It will keep the paint looking good for years. They all put the cheapest paint available on them and they chalk out fast when in the sun. I always SharkHide them.

X2 Great Suggestion!

Do yourself a favor and coat the paint with SharkHide or have it clearcoated before you load the boat on it. It will keep the paint looking good for years. They all put the cheapest paint available on them and they chalk out fast when in the sun. I always SharkHide them.[/quote]

If it matters any....Karavan trailers are manufactured in WI.

The only issue I have with Karavan is the no name tires mine came with, If you're going to skimp on that than you're not to bright. They could have put real tires on for $20 more and not risk reputation issues. My first 4 highway trips I had 4 tires just shred to pieces. Bought road king(I think) tires, at least 20 long distant trips without an issue.

I bought a trailer from these guys. Nicer than the one the dealer was going to sell me with the boat and got if for $1000 cheaper than dealers trailer. Had to go get it but that was worth saving $1000 and getting a nicer trailer out of the deal.

http://midamericatrailer.com/

[quote="ron nh"]The only issue I have with Karavan is the no name tires mine came with, If you're going to skimp on that than you're not to bright. They could have put real tires on for $20 more and not risk reputation issues. My first 4 highway trips I had 4 tires just shred to pieces. Bought road king(I think) tires, at least 20 long distant trips without an issue.[/quote]

Every boat, rv, horse and stock trailer comes with no name ST tires made in China. And they're all poor quality.

Until Goodyear's new ST tire becomes universally available, no decent quality ST tire other than Maxxis is available on any trailer with 13" or 14" tires. And the jury's out on Goodyear's tire.

[quote="Bamaman"][quote="ron nh"]The only issue I have with Karavan is the no name tires mine came with, If you're going to skimp on that than you're not to bright. They could have put real tires on for $20 more and not risk reputation issues. My first 4 highway trips I had 4 tires just shred to pieces. Bought road king(I think) tires, at least 20 long distant trips without an issue.[/quote]

Every boat, rv, horse and stock trailer comes with no name ST tires made in China. And they're all poor quality.

Until Goodyear's new ST tire becomes universally available, no decent quality ST tire other than Maxxis is available on any trailer with 13" or 14" tires. And the jury's out on Goodyear's tire.[/quote]


Agreed Bama... my little single axle roadrunner trailer came with an inexpensive set of tires that let me down quick. less than a thousasnd miles ( probably closer to 600 miles on them ) and yes I always keep up with the tire inflation... Tire blew out doing 50 to 55 on the way to the boat launch... ended up buying a set of Load star Kenda tires ST 175/80r /13. Pretty sure they were made in the far east as well, but at the time I was shopping for replacements, the kenda's got really good reviews... had them 2 or 3 years now and so far so good...

My last 2 Heritage trailers had Goodyear's on them. The Premiers trailer had over 20,000 miles on the original Marathons and the Manitou trailer had Endurance's. I put about 3000 miles on it last summer, no problems with either set. They may be made in China, I don't know, but they were fine. But this has me wondering about my camper's tires. I'm gonna look at my DOT numbers on it's Carlisle's to see where they were made. The first 2 numbers of the DOT# will tell you. The last 4 numbers are the build date.
One thing on the trailers. The Premiers had oil soaked bearings, I loved them, just a peek in the sight glass. Zero maintenance. The last trailer (like all my other trailers) had the grease packed Buddy Bearings. Even though it was new, I had to pull the covers and check the buttons every stop during highway driving and carry a loaded grease gun in the toolbox.

I found a used trailer pretty cheap. Aperantly a lot of trailers get used by boat movers during the boat show season and then they sell them so they do not have to store them until show time again. I bought a pontoon trailer and added the center bunk to fit my triton. It was frustrating trying to get the parts I needed. Even the trailer manufacture was diiulcult to work with. All in all the conversion only cost 100$ in parts. You can contact the boat manufacture and get a cut sheet for all the dimensions to set the bunks. Trailers are pretty easy to work on. If you can find something used in your area it will be about half the cost of new.

I love my galvanized Karavan trailer !

Where we live, the vast majority of pontoons spend their lives inside boat houses--under cover. And few people even purchase trailers. Everyone's got a neighbor or close friend that does have a trailer they can borrow, however.

Used pontoon trailers are really hard to find, but many are sold on CraigsList.

I would have taken much better care of my old Starcraft pontoon had I had a trailer the last 28 years. It's now sitting with a blown Yamaha lower unit--my fault not maintaining it. Now it's just sitting looking for a new home.

I can't say anything about the Karavan as I have never had one, but I will say I am super happy with the Shorelander.
Very strong, rigid frame, tows great. I would recommend them to anyone, especially if you have a larger toon. I would never recommend a Yacht club trailer for anything, ours rattled, and clattered going down the road, and the frame flexed a lot. Another thing we really like about the shorelander is the very nice stairs on the bow stop, makes it great to load and unload things while the boat is on the trailer, and easy to get on and off when launching and loading.

Investigate your trailer make and know your needs (trailer size, brakes, brake sizes, tire makes, tire sizes, frame construction and so on, trailers are not made equal. You get what you pay for, no doubt a lot of dealers will sell you what they think works. It's investment just like your toon. How much transporting are you going to be doing, scissor, bunk, and the launching depth of the areas you intend to boat on are considerations.

The tow vehicle your using needs to be also considered (tongue weight) a longer trailer will allow better weight distribution, thus allowing lesser tongue weight for 1/2 ton or smaller vehicles. All of these things go into a safety factor for towing. If you plan on up-sizing to a new or newer toon down the road, get a longer trailer and buy it once (you can adjust the "docking points" as reasonably needed.

I put money down on a Mid America PT26THD last week. From what I can tell and compared, they offer a well built trailer. I 2nd the trailerforpontoons.com (Elkhart Indiana), if you live within a reasonable distance to pick it up. It was not worth the time and trip costs for me, they are cheaper there than anywhere I found. They offer a lot of insight in buying a pontoon trailer also.