CONTINUOUSWAVE

After much planning, I purchased a new Myco trailer for my 1984 Outrage 25. I had used a Continental keel-roller trailer exclusively for the past six years, but, searching for a smoother tow vehicle ride, I decided to go with a new trailer. My old trailer is in excellent condition and for sale as posted at http://continuouswave.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1330

The new trailer is a spread tandem, that is, a triple axle trailer minus the center axle. It includes a ladder and drive guard extension (that swings open).

http://www.thehulltruth.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=697592&stc=1&d=1469206451
http://www.thehulltruth.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=697593&stc=1&d=1469206489
http://www.thehulltruth.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=724303&stc=1&d=1473694448

There is a full thread on it at

http://www.thehulltruth.com/trucks-trailers/736346-tow-vehicle-ride-quality-triple-3500-lb-axles-vs-tandem-5200-lb-axles.html

if you would like to read more about my design decisions.

It is an expensive trailer, but working directly with a mechanical engineer specialist to design it was worthwhile for me since getting a smooth ride for my wife (who gets bad motion sickness) was my priority. I'm not fully happy with the bunks just yet--it does not load as easily for me as the keel roller trailer--but I'm still adjusting it also.

Myco made it from templates they had on stock for my hull; they did not require the boat to be there. It was the first Outrage 25 trailer they have made in a while, and probably the smallest trailer that they have made in a while as most of their trailers are for boats exceeding 30-feet.

Thanks for the information on the new MYCO trailer for the OUTRAGE 25 with outboard engine brackets. That is quite a rig.

I have a few miles of driving experience pulling an OUTRAGE 25 with twin engines on a bracket on a CONTINENTAL trailer using a very marginal tow vehicle--a c.1985 Cadillac Sedan. That was the scariest boat-towing experience I have ever had. Fortunately the trip was on level ground and only about 20-miles. I could not imagine towing any distance with that combination.

A large boat like an OUTRAGE 25 with twin engines on a long bracket really needs a tow vehicle and trailer set up with more capacity, and your rig certainly shows. I assume your GMC Suburban must be a 2500HD model--I hope I am right.

Your motivation (as revealed in the THT thread to reduce the effects of the trailer pull on the towing vehicle ride to avoid motion sickness) is certainly interesting. I have been towing Boston Whalers with a GMC Suburban since c.2001, and have many thousands of miles on the highway. The ride quality is really good with my rig. Although you always know the trailer is back there, we have never had any qualms about discomfort. I can understand, however, how it could be a big factor. But the Suburban is a great towing vehicle. I think that is why you see so many of them pulling big travel trailers.

The long extension of the trailer frame beyond the support bunks is a bit unusual. Has it caused any problems with launching or loading the boat at a ramp? I suppose by the time the boat becomes buoyant and eases off the bunks the end of that extension must be well below water. But I presume you always have the engines tilted up and clear of the water when coming off the trailer at the ramp. Is that correct?

How about when loading? Do you ever try to power-load? I would think that extension, even if underwater quite a distance, would be a concern with the engines tilted down into operating position.

jimh,the ride quality in the vehicle was quite good for a normal person - an average rider would not have found the ride bad at all. I can get car sick fairly easily (I brake so gently I typically get 100,000 miles on a set of brakes), and I found the ride fine. However, my wife is very sensitive to motion sickness, where she can get sick for literally days or even weeks from it. So, I've tried everything I can to get it better.

My Suburban is a 2012 1500 series, rated for 8100-lbs towing. It has ample power to pull at the speed limit, even up the steep grades between Greensboro, North Carolina and Roanoke, Virginia on US-220. The 6-speed transmission in that model really does well, and cooling has never been a problem. The 2500 Suburban has only marginally more rating at 9600-lbs towing, and I did not need that. I have no trouble keeping up with traffic, and it pulls the load very easily. With electric-hydraulic brakes it also stops very easily. I replaced the original mirrors with GM mirrors from the 2500-series trucks that are a direct bolt on and work very well for towing.

The rear drive guard extension hinges open; there is a pin on the starboard side that you pull, and the rear piece rotates around and lies alongside the port side of the trailer. So it is not in the way when you load. I did not think of even getting that until I looked over all the options and decided it would be helpful. It makes me more relaxed when I'm doing something like getting gas in a gas station that someone is not going to hit the tilted up motors. A side benefit is it makes it easy to step up into the boat with no ladder. And it houses both the taillights and a pair of backup lights.