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Trailer Bow Strap.... Option??


gregtay

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I bought a 13 VLX last year and the first thing I did was put a safety chain on it. It was surprising to me that someone used the boat for 5 years and never added one. Just a piece of mind thing. 

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  • 1 year later...
On 3/23/2019 at 8:08 AM, oldjeep said:

By drilling a hole and bolting it on. 

Is drilling a hole in the center frame of the trailer going to affect the strength of trailer?

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10 hours ago, Sparky450 said:

Typically with construction the center third doesn’t matter. But what is wrong with this location. F1C1169A-DEFC-43E5-8FE4-F82F8C50E9AA.thumb.jpeg.0f663dc580400c68f32113e8b67264c9.jpeg

It won’t mount from that point due to the lateral support piece. The angle is wrong. The boat buckle recommends it vertical or not more than 30 degrees away too. I like the idea of the buckle because it locks the bow in. My old boat I screwed up and didn’t want to really push it down and it ended up bouncing on the trailer and messed the boat up a bit. 


Also, the eye is so big that it would require additional washers to it. I didn't have large enough washers. That, coupled with the weird angle resulted in my drilling. I also found some bad rust on my 2016 trailer so I figured what the hell. What is a small hole in the center of a beam going to do?

Edited by Raleigh
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  • 4 weeks later...
On 3/21/2019 at 5:57 PM, Sparky450 said:

Mine does not have a safety strap. Winch only.  I will be adding one. 

can anyone share a link to a bow safety strap that they ordered.  was shocked when my new axis a20 did not come with one.

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6 hours ago, TitanHomestead said:

can anyone share a link to a bow safety strap that they ordered.  was shocked when my new axis a20 did not come with one.

I just used one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001445JZ2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I agree, it is weird that trailers don't come with the safety chain or strap from the factory.  I've had one winch strap break already, nice to have a backup.

 

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I switched out the chain for one of these

BoatBuckle G2 Stainless Steel Retractable Bow Tie-Down https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000C5HFCE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_C3i.EbQDBQ9MS

You drill it into the frame of the trailer per the instructions.

I like it better than the chain, but the chain works fine. I just didn’t like it clanking around.

I also added the BoatBuckle stern straps  (no drilling required) to tie down the trailer. I always remove the plug and add it back and do this quickly at the ramp as well as unleashing the stern straps. It’s a double check system and makes it way easier. Maybe ten seconds tops. 

Next I am upgrading the winch, rebunking the trailer and adding silicone to the trailer to make it easier to load. I’ll just have to make sure to not release the winch or bow strap prior to backing down, which I would never do anyways. 

Edited by Raleigh
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2 hours ago, Eagleboy99 said:

Nice but low breaking strength compared to chain.

Good point. That’s also part of the reason I put the stern straps on. It’s a combination system with redundancy, all designed to work in the unlikely event of primary strap failure. 

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3 hours ago, Eagleboy99 said:

Nice but low breaking strength compared to chain.

True, but the advantage is that the boat buckle in the front stays taught so it doesn't need to be able to deal with the shock load that a chain gets when the boat slides back 6-12 inches and then shock loads the chain

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3 minutes ago, oldjeep said:

True, but the advantage is that the boat buckle in the front stays taught so it doesn't need to be able to deal with the shock load that a chain gets when the boat slides back 6-12 inches and then shock loads the chain

One word:  turnbuckle.

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1 minute ago, Eagleboy99 said:

One word:  turnbuckle.

Too big a pain to deal with at the launch.  For the rare occasion that a strap is going to snap the chain is good enough and the boat buckle would be good enough - just didn't feel like spending the extra money when I bought the chain.

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Here’s the factory bow safety strap on my 25lsv. It’s such a cheap and basic thing, not sure why it’s not automatically included on all new boats. 
 

 

A701D0B9-06D9-4AEB-8332-A6322B4BB2A8.jpeg

94C80E07-518A-4AED-9280-C3558C327927.jpeg

  • Like 3
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1 hour ago, G Spot said:

Here’s the factory bow safety strap on my 25lsv. It’s such a cheap and basic thing, not sure why it’s not automatically included on all new boats. 
 

 

A701D0B9-06D9-4AEB-8332-A6322B4BB2A8.jpeg

94C80E07-518A-4AED-9280-C3558C327927.jpeg

Factory, How many $20 bills they charge for that? My guess 3 of them. Agree should be included.

 

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53 minutes ago, G Spot said:

Looks like $75 for the bow and $155 for the rear retractable. That’s MSRP. 

Nice markup!  Cabela's sells the rear ones in stainless stell for half; the powder coated for a third.

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ahopkins22LSV
13 hours ago, Eagleboy99 said:

Nice markup!  Cabela's sells the rear ones in stainless stell for half; the powder coated for a third.

No they don’t. They don’t see the ones Malibu uses, which are big heavy duty straps and ratchets. The ones I see on cabelas in the price range you state are either the mini version or a brand I've never heard of. I’m sure they are marketed up, but no one pays msrp.

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53 minutes ago, ahopkinsVTX said:

No they don’t. They don’t see the ones Malibu uses, which are big heavy duty straps and ratchets. The ones I see on cabelas in the price range you state are either the mini version or a brand I've never heard of. I’m sure they are marketed up, but no one pays msrp.

Funny thing is that the $129 stainless ones on Cabelas site look like what boatmate used back when my trailer was built.  Just under a different brand name

 

WP_20150801_001.jpg

Although I don't think they are stainless.  Looks like they cost $72

https://www.amazon.com/Star-Brite-Heavy-Retractable-Tie-Down/dp/B002FVZVO2

 

Edited by oldjeep
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ahopkins22LSV
1 hour ago, oldjeep said:

Funny thing is that the $129 stainless ones on Cabelas site look like what boatmate used back when my trailer was built.  Just under a different brand name

 

WP_20150801_001.jpg

Although I don't think they are stainless.  Looks like they cost $72

https://www.amazon.com/Star-Brite-Heavy-Retractable-Tie-Down/dp/B002FVZVO2

 

Ok well that proves my point. 129/155 is 17% off msrp. That is on the low end of the “typical” standard percent off msrp for Malibu. 

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1 hour ago, ahopkinsVTX said:

Ok well that proves my point. 129/155 is 17% off msrp. That is on the low end of the “typical” standard percent off msrp for Malibu. 

Plus they are already installed. ;)

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19 hours ago, G Spot said:

Here’s the factory bow safety strap on my 25lsv. It’s such a cheap and basic thing, not sure why it’s not automatically included on all new boats. 
 

 

A701D0B9-06D9-4AEB-8332-A6322B4BB2A8.jpeg

94C80E07-518A-4AED-9280-C3558C327927.jpeg

That's one of my issues with the whole Malibu ordering system... I am completely fine paying for the big ticket options but things like a cheap bow safety strap for the trailer?  Most people don't even know they have to check a box to get it.  I have been wanting to take the time to make a "cheat sheet" for TMC that has a list of options you should automatically check plus details and a photo of all the other options out there just to help people know what they need/don't need as a baseline.

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19 minutes ago, gregtay said:

That's one of my issues with the whole Malibu ordering system... I am completely fine paying for the big ticket options but things like a cheap bow safety strap for the trailer?  Most people don't even know they have to check a box to get it.  I have been wanting to take the time to make a "cheat sheet" for TMC that has a list of options you should automatically check plus details and a photo of all the other options out there just to help people know what they need/don't need as a baseline.

I hear you. Not all dealers are equal in this regard. My dealer goes thru every option with me and if they don't have the details they will follow up with that info.

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5 hours ago, ahopkinsVTX said:

No they don’t. They don’t see the ones Malibu uses, which are big heavy duty straps and ratchets. The ones I see on cabelas in the price range you state are either the mini version or a brand I've never heard of. I’m sure they are marketed up, but no one pays msrp.

The Cabela's ones are made by Indiana Mills and Manufacturing - the same outfit that has been making them for decades and used on Boatmate and Elite trailers and marketed as "BoatBuckle" (tm).  They probably slap a little plastic doohickey that says Malibu on it and you pay accordingly.  But since they are patented, if Malibu is not using them, they would be selling a knockoff and I doubt that.  We saw this with the Techniq underwater lights although in that case of mfg. markup I can kinda see it - I would not want to install those transom lights after the boat is delivered.

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