Watercraft trailers are designed and built to haul precisely your watercraft. It sounds over-simplified, but when you’re hauling a boat, you need a boat trailer. When you’re hauling a personal watercraft (PWC) like a Sea Doo or Jet Ski, you need a Sea Doo or Jet Ski trailer. Boat trailers and personal watercraft trailers are built to specific sizes and weights to perfectly accommodate your watercraft.
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Types of Watercraft Trailers
Choosing a watercraft trailer usually comes down to one of two types: boat and personal watercraft trailers. From there, features and options can be added and customized as needed.
- Boat trailers have three essential features you need to consider: size, weight and frame. The right size is usually two feet longer than your boat, not including any extended swim platforms or other accessories that won’t be in use during towing and thus don’t impact the length of the trailer. The right weight can support not just the boat, but anything you have on the boat (cargo, fuel, gear, etc.), so keep that in mind when determining whether you need a single or tandem axle on your trailer. Boat trailer frames are available in steel or aluminum and have options for supporting the boat itself:
- Bunk trailers use bunks (carpeted plastic or wooden supports) to hold the boat in place and protect the hull.
- Roller trailers support the boat with rows of small wheels that help with loading and unloading, even in shallow water.
- Combination trailers use both bunks and rollers, combining the stability of the bunks with the ease-of-launch of the rollers to maximize the benefits of both. Combination trailers generally cost more than bunk or roller trailers.
- Personal watercraft trailers, like boat trailers are built for hauling boats, are built for the sole purpose of hauling personal watercraft. PWC trailers are available either as a single trailer to haul one PWC or as a double trailer to haul two Sea Doos or Jet Skis. Double PWC trailers can be found with a single axle or tandem axles to properly support larger payloads.
Boat Trailer Common Sizes and Capacities
Because watercraft trailers are so specific to the vehicles they carry, you will often be able to get recommendations or advice from your boat or PWC dealer as to which trailer is right for you. Still, some good guidelines to keep in mind:
- Length and width: Most boats can be hauled on trailers 8.5 feet in width, which also happens to be the maximum allowed trailer width for road travel. The length of your trailer depends on the length of your boat. As mentioned earlier, a boat trailer two feet longer than the length of your boat is about right. Single PWC trailers are usually 7.5 feet wide with double trailers maxing out at 8.5 feet. The length of a PWC trailer is generally around 15-16 feet, but some brands and models can be longer.
- Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR): The maximum weight a boat trailer can safely carry (including the weight of the trailer and the load) is usually between 5,000 and 15,000 pounds, although some trailers can reach as high as 35,000 pounds. PWC trailers typically have a GVWR of 1,500-2,500 pounds with a single axle. Tandem axles can reach up to 5,000 pounds GVWR.
- Payload capacity: Subtract the weight of the trailer from the GVWR and we get the payload capacity. The average single-axle boat trailer weighs approximately 600 pounds (tandem-axle trailers weigh, on average, 1,000 pounds). Single PWC trailers average 1,200 pounds of payload capacity and doubles get close to 3,000 pounds.
- Tongue weight: The recommended tongue weight (downward force exerted on the hitch ball by the trailer’s tongue or coupler) for boat and personal watercraft trailers is 10-15% of the trailer’s total weight, including the load.
- Axle configuration: Single- and tandem-axle configurations are available for boat and PWC trailers. In general, any payload over 3,500 pounds will need a tandem axle whereas a single axle can likely handle lower weights.
Towing and Hitch Needs for Boat Trailers
Because weights vary so much between a single personal watercraft and a large boat, it’s especially important to ensure your towing vehicle and trailer are capable of working together to haul your watercraft.
- Hitch type: Boat and PWC trailers often use ball hitches, but some larger weights might need modifications to ensure stability.
- Hitch class and rating: Hitch classes range from Class I to Class V. Class I hitches can handle small watercraft and boats up to 2,000 pounds. Class II can move 3,500-pound loads. Class III will tow 5,000-pound loads. For especially heavy boats, a Class IV hitch will tow 12,000 pounds and Class V will haul 18,000 pounds.
- Towing vehicle capacity: Check your owner’s manual to find your towing vehicle’s gross combined weight rating (GCWR) and make sure you can safely tow your watercraft trailer. Remember: it’s not just the weight of your watercraft you’re towing, but also any cargo and items you keep on your boat, including the fuel in the tank.
- Braking systems: Tail lights, turn signals and reflectors are often required by law, especially with watercraft as even small boats typically hit weight thresholds triggering the requirements. Your trailer may have electric, hydraulic or surge brakes to assist with control and stopping.
Boat Trailer Pricing
The lowest you can expect to spend, either on a boat trailer or personal watercraft trailer, is around $500, which would get you a single-axle boat or PWC trailer. PWC trailers can get up to the $4,000 range, which typically means you’re getting a double trailer with either a single- or tandem-axle setup. Tandem axles will cost more.
Similarly for boat trailers, tandem axles cost more than single axles and aluminum costs more than steel. The biggest difference in the price of boat trailers comes unsurprisingly from the size of the trailer. The larger the boat, the larger the trailer you need and the more weight the trailer needs to be able to handle. Single-axle boat trailers for some of the most common boat sizes (16-21 feet) range from $2,000-$4,000, but larger boat trailers can come with a price tag above $10,000.
Boat Trailer Add-ons and Extras
Watercraft trailers can be outfitted with several practical add-ons to make your hauling experience smoother. Here are some of the most popular:
- A spare tire carrier helps save space by securing the spare tire in a convenient, easy-to-access area.
- Wheel chocks are especially helpful when parking in uneven areas, which are extremely common near water.
- Removable or collapsible couplers are helpful if you do a lot of tight parking.
- Tie-down straps keep your boat or PWC tight to the trailer, preventing any unnecessary movement during towing.
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