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Malibu Trailers NATM #1


Ronnie

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Malibu Trailers #1

The National Association of Trailer Manufacturers (NATM), in conjunction with Statistic Surveys, has announced that Malibu is the “#1 trailer manufacturer in market share increase for boat trailers” in 2017. The award affirms Malibu’s position as the leading maker of boat trailers in America. Malibu representatives will accept the award at NATM’s Annual Convention in Fort Worth, TX.

Introduced in 2015, Malibu trailers set in motion the vertical integration of products related to the enjoyment of watersports – a process begun, of course, with the watercraft that have made Malibu the world’s leading manufacturer of towboats. This product integration will continue later in the year with the arrival of a breakthrough new marine engine, developed by Malibu in partnership with General Motors. In every such endeavor, Malibu seeks both market dominance and maximized customer satisfaction, as evidenced by awards such as the NATM’s.

In fact, it was overwhelming customer support that drove the trailers to their #1 national ranking. No fewer than 95 of every 100 Malibu customers now order trailers with their new boats. A quick walk-around of a trailer demonstrates all the reasons why.

• Engineered to accommodate the clearance, size, and weight of a Malibu boat

• Handcrafted in America of premium steel

• Jig-and-fixture manufacturing for absolutely consistent placement of welds, crossmembers, and axles

• Urethane-based Dupont ® primer and paints

• Options ranging from custom paint and wheels to runway lighting

• Every trailer backed by a five-year limited warranty

Watch for new products to be introduced this summer, as Malibu pursues its widening market leadership.

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1 hour ago, oldjeep said:

Number one market share increase for someone who just started building trailers.  If i build one this year and 10 next, i coukd win too 😁

I was thinking the same thing.  This ranking has 0.0 to do with how good (or not good) a Malibu trailer is...I don't recall buyers really being upset with the quality of several brands of trailers that were made for Malibu's previously.

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true, the devil is in the details, but

18 minutes ago, Nitrousbird said:

I was thinking the same thing.  This ranking has 0.0 to do with how good (or not good) a Malibu trailer is...I don't recall buyers really being upset with the quality of several brands of trailers that were made for Malibu's previously.

i will say this. Local dealers out here had been ordering a different brand trailers made in nor-cal to save $$ and not have them shipped 4000 miles cross country. The BU-trailer on my 17' is sooooooooo much nicer than the 14' . and im not just talking about the 18's wheels/ bling. the LED lights, winch, jack, bunks, swing assembly , spare tire mount, and paint job are all nicer than the off brand trailer.

Edited by Stevo
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ahopkins22LSV

Yeah the growth this is skewed. But anyone who has used a Malibu trailer knows that it is very, very nice. Leaps and bounds nicer then my eagle and I’d but then up against boatmate too. 

Edited by ahopkinsTXi
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2 hours ago, ahopkinsTXi said:

Yeah the growth this is skewed. But anyone who has used a Malibu trailer knows that it is very, very nice. Leaps and bounds nicer then my eagle and I’d but then up against boatmate too. 

That isnt a high bar, I'd take a shorelander over an eagle any day of the week. 

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2 hours ago, Stevo said:

true, the devil is in the details, but

i will say this. Local dealers out here had been ordering a different brand trailers made in nor-cal to save $$ and not have them shipped 4000 miles cross country. The BU-trailer on my 17' is sooooooooo much nicer than the 14' . and im not just talking about the 18's wheels/ bling. the LED lights, winch, jack, bunks, swing assembly , spare tire mount, and paint job are all nicer than the off brand trailer.

I hated my 2015 Boat mate, My 2015 22 VLX was the worst to load out of all my boats, I will see how my 2018 Malibu trailer does, 

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46 minutes ago, Wakesetter67 said:

I hated my 2015 Boat mate, My 2015 22 VLX was the worst to load out of all my boats, I will see how my 2018 Malibu trailer does, 

That’s funny, I came from an 05 vlx on a Dorsey that loaded perfect ever time.  My 2015 boatmate definitely is nicer in every other aspect but it is a pain to load and get straight

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 2/23/2018 at 9:10 PM, wheelman said:

Isn’t the Malibu trailer pretty much a carbon copy of the boatmate trailers? I haven’t seen one up close but the styling sure looks the same 

I’ve owned several of each. They are not the same. I mean, all inboard boat trailers are similar to some extent. And when I got my first Malibu trailer in 2016 I fully expected it to be similar/same as my four previous Boatmates. But once it was delivered I immediately noticed subtle differences. The most obvious is the Malibu trailer sits a bit higher. I know Malibu uses a higher sidewall tire.  Not 100% sure if the axles/suspension are different, but I believe they are.  There are also other differences like the shape of the rear steps, the design/angle/reinforcement at the front, and the swing tongue. Just looking at pics it’s hard to tell, but you’d notice if you owned/towed one. In general the Malibu trailer just feels more “rhobust” to me. And this is coming from a guy who LOVED Boatmate and was nervous about the switch. 

Im also thinking about how Darkside used to complain that the supplies dual axle Boatmate wasn’t rated to carry his ‘14 24 MXZ, which is why he went to a triple axle on his ‘15. It would be interesting to see if that’s still the case with the Malibu dual axle trailers (the boats have only gotten heavier).  I’m guessing their up to spec now, but I’d like to see somebody prove it. 

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9 minutes ago, IXFE said:

I’ve owned several of each. They are not the same. I mean, all inboard boat trailers are similar to some extent. And when I got my first Malibu trailer in 2016 I fully expected it to be similar/same as my four previous Boatmates. But once it was delivered I immediately noticed subtle differences. The most obvious is the Malibu trailer sits a bit higher. I know Malibu uses a higher sidewall tire.  Not 100% sure if the axles/suspension are different, but I believe they are.  There are also other differences like the shape of the rear steps, the design/angle/reinforcement at the front, and the swing tongue. Just looking at pics it’s hard to tell, but you’d notice if you owned/towed one. In general the Malibu trailer just feels more “rhobust” to me. And this is coming from a guy who LOVED Boatmate and was nervous about the switch. 

Im also thinking about how Darkside used to complain that the supplies dual axle Boatmate wasn’t rated to carry his ‘14 24 MXZ, which is why he went to a triple axle on his ‘15. It would be interesting to see if that’s still the case with the Malibu dual axle trailers (the boats have only gotten heavier).  I’m guessing their up to spec now, but I’d like to see somebody prove it. 

Sounds like they are making a nice trailer, not surprising.

My 17 boatmate trailer is a tandem axle and is now called a tandem xl. It has 5000lb axles, 7” frame, 55 series tires instead of 45, and 2 5/16 ball. It tows so much better than my 15  boatmate. Sure Malibu would have done something similar 

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Add me to the camp of those that are not in love with the Boat Mate trailer.  Two 3500 pound axles and a 7000 pound GVWR.  It might not be over loaded (although it is somewhat close), it is far from over-built.

And I think it's towing manners leave a lot to be desired.  It is fine behind my 3500, but I had two replace the junk OEM tires after two years.  It tows better with the new Goodyears, but I still can get trailer sway when using my Yukon XL to tow.  To contrast, the sterndrive on a Heritage trailer that I had before was about 5500 pounds, and towed comfortably behind a Grand Cherokee.

I see the new trailers as a strong selling point for Malibu.

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1 hour ago, wheelman said:

Sounds like they are making a nice trailer, not surprising.

My 17 boatmate trailer is a tandem axle and is now called a tandem xl. It has 5000lb axles, 7” frame, 55 series tires instead of 45, and 2 5/16 ball. It tows so much better than my 15  boatmate. Sure Malibu would have done something similar 

Bingo!  Those are the changes I’m referring to. I was pretty sure the Malibu frame was a bit larger than my Boatmates, but hadn’t ever measured so didn’t quote it. But I think you’re right... 6” was the old standard, right?  

Glad to hear Boatmate makes a beefier trailer too. I just had never paid that close attention to what they were putting under the heavier boats. 

I do miss how easy it was to work with Boatmate on the custom touches... 

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For me the one change that is worth it all is to get away from the front roller that would never spin when loading the boat. Either the boat would cut through the roller or it would stuff up the hull. This was on Dorsey trailers. The new Malibu trailer has the v bunk to run the boat up on. Loads so much better.

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2 hours ago, IXFE said:

Bingo!  Those are the changes I’m referring to. I was pretty sure the Malibu frame was a bit larger than my Boatmates, but hadn’t ever measured so didn’t quote it. But I think you’re right... 6” was the old standard, right?  

Glad to hear Boatmate makes a beefier trailer too. I just had never paid that close attention to what they were putting under the heavier boats. 

I do miss how easy it was to work with Boatmate on the custom touches... 

Just double checked, actually my xl boatmate is 6” frame and regular boatmate is 5”. 

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2 hours ago, Ronnie said:

For me the one change that is worth it all is to get away from the front roller that would never spin when loading the boat. Either the boat would cut through the roller or it would stuff up the hull. This was on Dorsey trailers. The new Malibu trailer has the v bunk to run the boat up on. Loads so much better.

Really? I hate those v-blocks.  Had one a few trailers ago, would mark the hull like crazy.  The front rollers don't really need to spin unless you are a powerloader. 

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2 hours ago, Ronnie said:

For me the one change that is worth it all is to get away from the front roller that would never spin when loading the boat. Either the boat would cut through the roller or it would stuff up the hull. This was on Dorsey trailers. The new Malibu trailer has the v bunk to run the boat up on. Loads so much better.

The bow roller? I did a quick image search for 2018 Malibu’s and all the ones I saw on a trailer still had the orange bow roller...

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ahopkins22LSV
10 minutes ago, Pnwrider said:

The bow roller? I did a quick image search for 2018 Malibu’s and all the ones I saw on a trailer still had the orange bow roller...

I think he is talking about the one that is lower on the hull, not the bow stop roller. 

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2 hours ago, ahopkinsTXi said:

I think he is talking about the one that is lower on the hull, not the bow stop roller. 

Yes. Maybe v bunks weren't the correct description, the long middle bunks form an inverted v towards the area where the lower roller or upright v bunks were. They guide the boat on smoother IME.

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22 hours ago, Ronnie said:

Yes. Maybe v bunks weren't the correct description, the long middle bunks form an inverted v towards the area where the lower roller or upright v bunks were. They guide the boat on smoother IME.

Yes, they are great and boatmate trailers were built with front v bunks. Makes loading a breeze. 

Edited by oldjeep
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