I'm going to start construction on my aluminum boat trailer in the next 2-3 weeks. It will be hauling an 1854 boat. Boat should be a tank. I need measurements. If anyone has them or wouldnt mind taking the time to pull some, that'd be great! Width, over all length, distance from back of trailer to middle of axle? Also, material style/size? Channel? i beam? 1/8"? 3/16"? Any help would be appreciated

ive built several trailers but not any from aluminum yet. depending on what size beam you use you can make your axle adjustable by mounting all your spring hardware to angle iron and attaching it to the frame with u bolts. you mount the fenders on there as well, you can easily change the tongue weight this way. im hauling a 1854 on my trailer and my spring centers are 58" but if you have a boat with a wide beam you would probably be better off going with atleast a 64" spring center to give plenty of clearance on the fenders. my trailer is 23ft long, i dont like my winch post sitting at my bumper but if you are putting it in a garage you might wanna make it shorter or get a swing away tongue. use some 2x2 angle iron and weld to the cross members so you can mount the boards as low as possible.

drill a hole through the 2x4 and through the 2x2 angle, use a bolt and countersink the 2x4 so the bolt head sits below the surface and it bolts to the 2x2. sorry my phone got ran over or i could post some pics.

I guess the part I'm confused on is which part of the 2x2 touches the trailer. I'm assuming the 2x4 sits so the 4" side touches the boat? All my other trailers have been like that. There for, the angle would extrude 2" up then 2" flat to meet the bottom of the 4" side? If that even makes sense. Ha. Basically, the runners will sit 2" off the trailer?

na look at the pic, found a few on my computer. 2x2 angle welds where one side of the angle is flush with the crossmember and you cut it about 3.75" wide or somewhere around the cant remember the exact measurement. a 2x4 isnt exactly 4" wide its narrower so you just cut the 2x2 angle just a little wider than the 2x4.



2x4 sits flush on the crossmembers, cant get any lower than that.

Damn that's slick I like that. I was having a hard time picturing what you where saying to I got it now.

sorry i dont explain things over the web heres a pic of a winch post you can build as well and save yourself some money. those trailer pics werent finished, it has side guides and rigged out now, ill try to get some pics of the full trailer this weekend if you need any specific pics

sorry not sure on channel, never used it.

PM dfou. He's building a trailer next week. Dunno if he's going with aluminum or steel, but he could probably give you some advice either way.


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I built mine out of 3" galv channel 3/16 thick. Top of the channel is like 1 3/8. Made the tongue out of 3" square tubing I think schedule 10. I like channel because I don't like the idea of water riding around inside my trailer frame rails.

If u was gonna build out of aluminum I would go with tubing. Will b lots stouter for the thickness. I wanted to build one out of aluminum like rj's. He's steel trailer makes me want one like his. It pulls good and don't bounce much goin down rough roads. U might wanna price all the material for an aluminum trailer. It's might cost more than its worth to build it yourself. Steel is alot cheaper. Axle, tires and wheels, tongue, jack, lights, winch, lumber and so on is what costs so much. Might be close to just buy aluminum if u set on aluminum.

Tubing would be the last thing u want any trailer built out of. Far too heavy/ overkill that's not needed. As well as holds water for days. I beam or channel is the only way to go. Aluminum or steel

Well to each his own. But i had an I beam aluminum magic tilt and it was ok. Had alot of flex to it. If I was building aluminum I would go tubing like trailers that uncle j uses. They don't hold water and ain't heavy cause it not made out of thick tubing. Thinner tubing is stronger than thicker beam or channel. If i was building steel I would build on just like duckhunterf250s.

Oh and just to clarify, I'm taking about square of rectangle tubing. I think 1.5by3 or 4. 3/16 thick.

Can't compare a custom I beam trailer to a magic tilt. Two different breeds

My trailer was semi-custom built by FloatOn in Florida. The main beams are I-beams, the cross members are C-channel, the tongue is square aluminum tubing, the guide-on/side bunks are square tubing and aluminum pipe, and the fenders are diamond plate. If you use the C-channel for cross members, you can bolt the bunks right to them without adding any flanges. If you stay with aluminum for the winch post, you need to overbuild it significantly.

A few handy features I had added to mine: extended tongue (to keep the truck out of the water on long sloping ramps), c-channel guards on the tail lights, fender steps which also serve to protect the fenders, oversized side bunks for loading in heavy wind and current, a spindle spare mount so I can carry a complete spare hub assembly along with a spare wheel/tire, and backup lights.

But u can compare that the I beam has no radial rigidity like tubing. But u can build it ur way and ill build it mine. They will both take the boat to the water. I work with steel all the time and like tubing better. Just my opinion.