Boat Mate trailers ( loading problems)

We have a 05 Supra 22 ssv with a Boat Mate trailer. I was having a very hard time loading the first two times out. I tried every possible way to load it shallow,deep, power it on, float it on, winch it on and power and winch at the same time. The boat would not align between the bunks. I took it to the dealer to adjust the bunks. This made a huge difference. The boat loads like it is suppose to now (EASY). The brackets that the bunks bolt to were welded on crooked when the trailer was made. Boat Mate is going to have a local trailer place fix it even though it is past the one year warranty. Looks like Boat Mate really stands behind their products and takes care of their customers.

Glad they are owning up and fixing your trailer. I had the same problem with my '06 21v. I called them up and sent them pics. I just wanted mine fixed, but they decided to build a new trailer for me. The new one showed up worse than the first one. Now they want nothing to do with it. They told me they are made that way intentionally for the majority of the people who can't load a boat and need a lot of play. My buddy's older BoatMate trailer is perfect, you can't load it wrong. The only thing we can do now is load the boat until it locks in the Boat Buddy, then hit reverse until it centers between the wheelwells. Then if you look at the transom, it doesn't even look even on the bunks. I had a local welder look at it and he laughed. Called Boat Mate back and they still don't care. Nice attitude.

(Message edited by dudeman on June 14, 2007)

Randy, I've had nothign but great service from boatmate...I'd liek to hear their side of the story.

Here's their story. They went out of their way and built a new trailer for me without me asking for one. Unfortunately, it was worse than the first. They claimed they disassembled the first one and measured everything and it was perfect. Sure it was. That's why when I loaded the boat, it would hit the port side wheel well before the strake would come in contact with the bunk. That is loading it per their instructions with the wheel well approximately 2 inches out of the water. In fact half of the screws that hold the carpeted pad on the wheel well had barely hit the sheet metal and worked their way partially out on both sides. That caused gelcoat damage to both sides of the boat because it wouldn't load on the bunks properly. That cost them $2k in gelcoat repairs and they still wouldn't repair the trailer. I never asked for a new trailer. I wanted the one fixed that I had. The fact that they gave me a new one was their call. You'd think if a customer complained about an issue like this and you were already out $2k in warranty work that you would make sure it was right the second time. But then again, I was raised old school where half-assed wasn't good enough.

I can attest to Randy's comments and statements.. His trailer is sorta jacked up.. Once on the trailer, anyone can see how bad it is off.. I have the older Boatmate trailer under my 00' Launch and it is literally idiot proof to load. I've never had any issues myself, but this is not the first time this subject has been brought up on Wakeworld...

Our 05 is finicky on the depth and steepness of the ramp but once on and centered it holds the boat perfectly.

My bunks were so close that one of the body lines sat on top of the bunk (bunks were way to close together) The front ones were jacked up to.

That's what I mean about their quality control Aaron. Yours are so close together and mine are the total opposite. Do you see a quality control problem there. They told me they used a gig to align the bunks but they allowed up to 1 inch play per bunk. So if you start on the starboard side and allow 1 inch play times 4 bunks, by the time you hit the 4th bunk, you're 4 inches off. I think my boat falls into this category. My boat can hit the port side wheelwell and still have 2 inches before the port side strake contacts the bunk. I don't believe they use a jig at all. There wouldn't be that much variation if they did. When I called to discuss my concerns, I believe the mans name was Jerry that I spoke to, took great personal offense that the trailer was not correct because he stated that he designed the trailer and there was nothing wrong. You only learn about a company after the purchase. Purchasing a new boat that came with a BoatMate trailer would definitely be a deal killer IMHO.

After adjustig the bunks as much as possible. I now have about a 1/2 clearence between the bodylines and the bunks. That sucks about you're trailer Randy.