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Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum. My wife and I our about to sign a contract on a new house. The house has a garage and I plan to keep our boat in there, a 1996 Dauntless DC 17. The garage is 21 feet deep and 10.5 feet wide so I've measure the boat and the garage and its plently of space. However, one part that is an issue is that my current trailer is 8 feet wide and the garage door is also 8 feet wide. The clearance for height is not a problem.

My current trailer is a galvanized LoadRite with a 2,660 lbs capacity. It is 19'2" long, 96" wide, 77" wide between the fenders, and rides on ST205/14C tires. The trailer has disc brakes. When I bought the boat, the previous owner stated that he bought this "heavier duty" trailer at the recommendation of the dealer. Currently the boat easily fits between the fenders of the trailer with room to spare.

I'm looking at replacing the current trailer with a galvanized EZ Loader with a 2,300 lbs capacity, that is 19"4" long, 90" wide, 75" wide between the fenders, and rides on ST185/13C tires. The trick has been finding a 7.5 foot wide trailer to fit through the garage door that still has a decent clearance between the fenders. This EZ Loader seems the closest to fitting the bill, as most only have 72" or so between the fenders.

I've calculated the weight of the boat as follows:

Hull - 1500 lbs
Engine - 331 lbs
Fuel - ~250 lbs (6.4 lbs x 39 gallons)
Batteries - 90 lbs (45 lbs x 2)
Oil tank - ~30 lbs (just kind of guessing on this)
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Total - ~2200 lbs

This is obviously below the weight capacity of 2300 lbs of the EZ Loader I'm looking at, but is it too close for comfort? It leaves about 100 lbs to account for life jackets, anchor, ropes, etc. Also, would you recommend getting brakes for this setup? I know I have brakes on my current trailer, but a brake-less trailer would save on some maintainance costs. Maryland requires brakes on trailers that weight over 3000 lbs, so assuming about 500 lbs for the trailer, I'd be at 2700 - 2800 lbs. My current tow vehicle is a Ford Expedition, however, I might be downsizing to something like a Toyota Tacoma crew cab in a year or so. I've never towed with smaller vehicle so I want to error on the safe side.

Sorry about the long first posts. Thanks for reading!

Kevin

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How frequently are you going to park the boat in the garage?

What is wrong with the current trailer? If nothing, spend 2-3K to gain 6 inches is a bit much.

How much width space do you really need?

Are you absolutely sure the garage opening is 96" (measured yourself).

You could remove the fenders to gain 2" on each side of the trailer.
Remove/modify the trim boards on the opening to gain another 2" on each side for a total of 4".


The trailers are not equal, and take a look at the width numbers.

The Loadrite trailer has wider frame and has larger tires (14").
The EZ loader has (13"). For that load, you really should have 14" tires. 13" are ok if the ramp is only a few miles away.

If you tow any significant distance (20 miles+) more than once a month, you really should have brakes.

The weight capacity is also problematic. To get the true weight of your hull, you need to get your boat and trailer weighed at a scale. Published hull weights by Boston Whaler are notorious for being off by several hundred pounds.

Hull weight is bare hull with console. No rigging, electronics etc. Tool kit, fire extinguisher, electrical wiring, battery, anchor, chain and rode is easily 100 lbs.

In the end, I would look to modify the garage door and not the trailer.