Malibu Trailers

[Slayer]

I'm on my 3rd boat since 2017, all with Malibu trailers.  II feel like these trailers are junk.  Is anyone here with a new boat experiencing premature trailer rust? 

 

My 2017 wasn't bad when I sold it in 2019.  It was better than my 2021 trailer and much better than my 2022.  I've had it in my possession since the end of April of this year and it's already rusting in several locations.  The welds are terrible, rust is appearing between the fender and frame, at all weld joints, etc.  I had brake issues on my 2021 and the dealer said Malibu would not support a warranty claim.  That trailer saw approximately 1,600 miles of use when I had it.  My 2022 has seen approximately 800 miles.  I will note that I washed and waxed the trailer at the beginning of the season.  Mileage for me is related to vacations we take the boat on as it lives on a hoist in the summer.  

Anyone have any comments to share about this?  Any ideas other than wax to prevent rust?  I have sprayed CRC Corrosion inhibitor on the inside of the trailer frame at the pivot point and any other openings I can find hoping that this will delay additional deterioration.  

[justgary]

Next time buy a galvanized trailer.

[tvano]

17 minutes ago, justgary said:

Next time buy a galvanized trailer.

i did that only to find that it was not hot dipped.

the inside of the boxed frame is NOT galvanized per eagle.  

what the he-double hockey sticks is that worth?  nothing.

not pleased w eagle trailers.

[justgary]

1 hour ago, tvano said:

i did that only to find that it was not hot dipped.

the inside of the boxed frame is NOT galvanized per eagle.  

what the he-double hockey sticks is that worth?  nothing.

not pleased w eagle trailers.

Wow, that doesn't make sense!

[oldjeep]

Order boat without trailer and get a boatmate?  Having trailer problems in a year is crazy.  My 2012 is still fine except for the stock Fulton junk that I had to replace.

Edited August 15, 2022 by oldjeep

[mxmark4]

Get a boatmate and be done with it. Mine has been fantastic. Local company too. Made right next door to Skiers Choice. 

[dwc032]

My 2020 trailer is also rusting and the brakes smoke like there on fire coming down the hill into my lake.  Seals to the calipers are shot and spit brake fluid on the hot rotors and they smoke really bad.  This has been addressed by the dealer several times.  I keep being told to lock my brakes out use the vehicle brakes...lol  

[REHinH20]

Replaced my original Dorsey trailer with a boatmate and I LOVE it!!!  Was reasonably priced, and haven't had an issue one with it.

[BlindSquirrel]

Add another negative experience. My brother's 2019 was seemingly poor quality as well. It was white with the bed liner finish, and started rusting in several spots about a month a after he got it. After about 2 decent length trips (150 miles each way) to the lake, the caliper on the 3rd axel locked up and destroyed itself in a ball of fire. I was driving behind him, so had a front row seat. It took around 4 months to get the trailer back from the dealer. Lights were constantly intermittent as well.

 

[Slayer]

19 hours ago, dwc032 said:

My 2020 trailer is also rusting and the brakes smoke like there on fire coming down the hill into my lake.  Seals to the calipers are shot and spit brake fluid on the hot rotors and they smoke really bad.  This has been addressed by the dealer several times.  I keep being told to lock my brakes out use the vehicle brakes...lol  

I had the same issue with my 2021 and the dealer said Malibu wasn't going to do anything about it.

15 hours ago, BlindSquirrel said:

Add another negative experience. My brother's 2019 was seemingly poor quality as well. It was white with the bed liner finish, and started rusting in several spots about a month a after he got it. After about 2 decent length trips (150 miles each way) to the lake, the caliper on the 3rd axel locked up and destroyed itself in a ball of fire. I was driving behind him, so had a front row seat. It took around 4 months to get the trailer back from the dealer. Lights were constantly intermittent as well.

 

This is one of the things I fear most about our trailer.  Fortunately, we don't do a ton of travel with the boat but do have trips planned for next season.

[BlindSquirrel]

22 minutes ago, Slayer said:

I had the same issue with my 2021 and the dealer said Malibu wasn't going to do anything about it.

This is one of the things I fear most about our trailer.  Fortunately, we don't do a ton of travel with the boat but do have trips planned for next season.

In our scenario, using a couple ratchet straps to hold the axel up and continue on, like you can a double axel, does not work on the triple. The boat weight is so nicely distributed, there was a ton of negative tongue weight . This happened ~15 miles from our lake house, so we limped back at around 40mph.

[oldjeep]

Curious what you all think is causing the brake issue?  Mismatched coupler/actuator and brakes?  Should all be off the shelf stuff.  Makes me wonder if the coupler is not sliding freely due to either hitch angle or overload of the coupler that is making it bind.

[BlindSquirrel]

Could it be there are too many calipers tied to one cylinder? I think I read about another member had the same caliper combustion on the rear too. Are the front calipers opening too much, the middle just right, and the rears still applying pressure? Maybe they add springs to rear ones to help them open?

Edited August 17, 2022 by BlindSquirrel

[oldjeep]

40 minutes ago, BlindSquirrel said:

Could it be there are too many calipers tied to one cylinder? I think I read about another member had the same caliper combustion on the rear too. Are the front calipers opening too much, the middle just right, and the rears still applying pressure? Maybe they add springs to rear ones to help them open?

Boatmate was selling triples and I don't recall ever hearing about an issue with them.  Although I will say that outside of boat trailers, most triple trailers would have electric brakes.

[RyanB]

6 hours ago, oldjeep said:

Boatmate was selling triples and I don't recall ever hearing about an issue with them.  Although I will say that outside of boat trailers, most triple trailers would have electric brakes.

What other type of trailer still uses surge brakes?  Everything else I know of uses electric brakes. I don’t know why boat trailers still use this technology. 

[oldjeep]

4 minutes ago, RyanB said:

What other type of trailer still uses surge brakes?  Everything else I know of uses electric brakes. I don’t know why boat trailers still use this technology. 

Some car trailers, almost all rental trailers.  Not sure I want electric brakes on my boat, drums on boat trailers don't last long.

Not to mention, I'm not sure the forum would survive all the "how do I install a brake controller in my(insert name of stupidly undersized suv)"

Edited August 17, 2022 by oldjeep

[Tsumi]

1 hour ago, RyanB said:

What other type of trailer still uses surge brakes?  Everything else I know of uses electric brakes. I don’t know why boat trailers still use this technology. 

Manufacturers being cheap on 150k+ boats. EoH should be standard on any boat trailer weighing over 6k.

[oldjeep]

1 hour ago, Tsumi said:

Manufacturers being cheap on 150k+ boats. EoH should be standard on any boat trailer weighing over 6k.

No thanks.  Electric or hydraulic.  Electric over hydraulic is unnecessarily complex.

[RyanB]

2 hours ago, oldjeep said:

Some car trailers, almost all rental trailers.  Not sure I want electric brakes on my boat, drums on boat trailers don't last long.

Not to mention, I'm not sure the forum would survive all the "how do I install a brake controller in my(insert name of stupidly undersized suv)"

Well I tow more than anyone I know and I’m pretty sure I’m going on 3 years with electric and drum conversion. So far all trouble free. My buddy did the conversion several years before me, and no issues. 
 

Growing up my folks had two Larson boats. The first one was a 1974 on a EZ loader that I’m almost positive had drums. Next was a 1990 on a Road Runner that had drums. No issues on either. 
 

Rental trailers might make sense for surge as there are so many different vehicles that pull them. 
 

Now most vehicles that have any real towing capacity come from the factory with a brake controller. Or you can spend $200 on a Echo Bluetooth brake controller. 
 

I know you don’t like my setup, but I can tell you I’ll never go back to surge. If/when I have trouble with my Ranger it will be upgraded as well. 

[oldjeep]

My issue with drums doesn't have anything to do with towing distance, it is about how often the trailer is put in the water.  Your extended towing distance is a good thing for the drums, they are dry when you park it.  The guy who dunks it a couple miles from the house is the one who rots the drums - like on my 2 previous trailers.

Edited August 18, 2022 by oldjeep

[Tsumi]

20 minutes ago, oldjeep said:

No thanks.  Electric or hydraulic.  Electric over hydraulic is unnecessarily complex.

Some form of electric brake is mandatory on anything over 2000 kg in Australia. British Columbia requires it on anything over 2800 kg.

Meanwhile, Europe says basically no electric brakes... along with a 5% tongue weight. Then again, if you're 7700 lbs combined, you're limited to 45-55 mph depending on country on the freeway.

In any case, the advantages of EoH far outweigh the downsides IMO. It's an inherently safer system than surge brakes and appears to generally be reliable.

[oldjeep]

Yeah, well they tow with itty bitty cars in those places so I'm not real concerned with what they deem legal when they allow towing with a civic;)