Last in a series of articles covering all the things to check when buying a boat

Previous articles in this series cover:

Boat trailers

You can tell a lot about a trailer from its overall visual appearance. The main frame and fixings should be rust free and the wheels should look in good order. Well known brands include Extreme Trailers, Indespension, SBS and De Graff.

Boat trailer with rollers

Avoid DIY boat trailers at all costs as they may well be illegal. You can be fined a large amount for towing an unsafe load so you must check the total weight of the trailer and boat is within your car’s towing capacity. See the current weight and width restrictions that apply to towing with a car.

Boat weight should also be within the trailer’s capacity but this is rather more difficult to check. For example my trailer is rated at 1500kg - the maximum combined weight of the trailer and boat must not exceed 1500kg. The unladen trailer weighs 350kg, so the maximum weight of boat, engine and fuel is 1150kg.

If the overall tow weight (trailer plus load) is over 750kg then the trailer must be braked to be road legal. Owners often remove the brakes from boat trailers that are regularly in salt water and only used to launch and retrieve within a boat yard. This is common because drum brakes will rust quickly after exposure to salt water, which can cause them to seize. You can reduce the chance of this happening by fitting a flush kit - hook up a hose and flush fresh water through the hubs to get rid of the salt water.

Wheel bearings are one of the main wear items on a trailer, but again these are hard to check without lifting each wheel in turn and checking for play. Ask the owner when the bearings were last serviced and budget £30-40 per wheel to replace.

Checks

  • The hull should be well supported on flat beds/rollers. Check the rear of the hull in particular - it should not be hanging off the back of the trailer by anything more than 30cm.
  • If braked, check the handbrake works and all cables look in good condition.
  • Check the hitch handle moves freely.
  • There should be a breakaway cable fitted. It attaches to the handbrake mechanism on a braked trailer. Check the cable is in good condition.
  • Check condition of winch strap and confirm the winch works.
  • On a roller trailer, check all the rollers are present and secured with split pins.
  • Check tyre condition; flat spots are common if trailer has been sitting for a while.
  • If a lightboard is included check it’s compatible with the connector on your tow vehicle and that all lights are working.