Yeah, it’s a head scratcher. I followed the instructions and had a couple of miss-starts too. Mine came completely disassembled though. The final assembly has the boat loaded so center of gravity is just forward of balance point of trailer. There’s about 10 pounds of down force on the tongue. With your wheels aft a bit there’d be a scant tad more weight.
What boat are you putting on it?
I’d like to move the wheels forward but can’t do that and keep any weight on the tongue. Also the dory rides pretty high. I have to get the trailer way down the ramp to float the boat off and that submerges the bearings. I removed the intermediate brackets under the bunks and attached them directly to the frame. Had to drill a couple of extra holes in the bunks for everything to line up. Saves a couple of inches but still not enough to keep the bearings dry. After tinkering with it a few seasons I had the bright idea to use anti-seize compound on the threads.
If anyone has ideas about keeping bearings out of the water I’d like to hear them. I’m as concerned about keeping grease out of the Bay as bearing life.

   I'm setting it up for a skerry, so it's a little lighter and shorter even than the dory.  I've been using a homemade 2 wheel dolly to get the skerry from the car to the shore, and will probably continue to take it w/ me.  If whatever ramp I'm at isn't well angled, I'm not drowning the trailer.  I'll just transfer the boat to the dolly and use that.  After putting this together, next I need to sort out how to secure and stow the mast, oars, and maybe the sail on the boom and yard (lugsail...I'm not bending it on each time) but It'll have to be tightly wrapped and secured so as not to get wind into the wraps. I may just keep the sail/boom/yard in the car.

Mummichog wrote:

“After putting this together, next I need to sort out how to secure and stow the mast, oars, and maybe the sail on the boom and yard... but It'll have to be tightly wrapped and secured so as not to get wind into the wraps.”

That challenge would have me heading to the nearest canvas shop for a custom, weatherproof, drawstring-closed end bag for those parts. My vehicle can’t swallow anything longer than maybe 6’ & still get the rear doors closed.

I feel your pain! I am assembling my trailer now. That manual is horrible. I am a maintenance Tech by trade. I am used to following assembly and repair manuals. If any of our equipment manuals were this poorly written we would waste tons of money in rework! Trailex really does need to get with John for a rewrite.

Help me to understand something. My trailer is about 30% assembled. I am hoping to complete it tomorrow. Reading ahead and looking at the components I have received, I am confused with the tail lights. Remember I have never used a boat trailer before, and looking at the pictures it looks like the tail light are going t be submerged in the lake when I launch the boat. The way the lights appear, they are designed to be open so any water will just drain out. This is good. But what about the wiring? I see nothing that will protect the connections and exposed wires from the water. What keeps the whole thing from shorting out? Is it just so low voltage/currant that it simple doesn't matter?

You'll want to unplug those trailer lights before dipping that end of the trailer in the water.  Otherwise, they will short out and probably blow a fuse or hot incandescent lamps (brake lights) + cold water will = cracked and burned out lamps.  Best practice is to unplug 'em as soon as you park at the ramp and before you start unstrapping the boat or making other preparations to launch.  Does that sound like the voice of painful, bad experience?

Corrosion can be slowed by regular applications of WD-40.  I'd do it every time I had a lens off to replace a bulb, before putting the new bulb, which you'll be doing frequently and for which practice you'll soon develop a kit of spare lamps, a voltmeter, test light, spare wire, fuses, spare lenses, wire tool, electrical tape, and perhaps a pair of spare light fixtures, which kit you'll always have with you, hoping it'll bring you good luck so you don't have to replace too much...by the side of the road...in the rain...with trucks whizzing by at 75 mph....  Does this also sound like the voice of painful, bad experience?

They do make "waterproof" lights, the best sort of which, in my experience, are the ones where the outer part of the fixture is closed at the top and open at the bottom, like a miniature diving bell, with an inner part containing the light fixtures which fits up inside and which is open at the top and closed at the bottom.  These should be available at any good auto parts place with a good selection of trailer stuff.

Any place your wires are spliced of have connectors crimped on, you should wrap them with heat-shrink sleeves, or use some electrical tape and then heat it enough to melt it some.

Even with all that, you'll probably need to rewire your trailer after several years.  Water and electricty are a bad mix.  <;-)

.....Michael

   I see, that makes sense. I was going to cost all connections with liquid plastic. I simply never thought of unplugging it.  Thanks!!

After experiencing all the exquisite pain so aptly described by Gramps (again), I moved mine to stalks so they don’t get dunked at most ramps. They still get rained on, the road kit is still necessary. There’s still galvanic corrosion from the current and salt water too. Dang.
We should invent a wifi remote version, water sealed, running on batteries. We could make tens of dollars!    

For those challenged by the assembly manual instructions on Trailex trailers, I've found a phone call to the company to be very helpful.

And if you're concerned about water damage to your trailer lights, check out Geoff Kerr's video on Off Cemter Harbor titled "Boat Trailering Tips, No-Dunk Lights."  It's so much easier learning from the experience of others!

   I got the trailer together with some ad-libs.  I wound up moving the frame about 3" forward on the tongue.  Partly to make sure I had enough weight on the hitch partly to make up for the dfferences from the instructions.  One trial tow shold tell me if I have any alignment issues worth talking about.  I'll have my wife drive behind me as I go in a straight line and she should be able to tell what's up.

I do need to get longer straps to get it fastened down on the trailer.  I wanted to get more of the strap clips.  They are cheap enough from Trailex, but by the time you add up all the shipping and handling it more than doubles the price.  There's supposed to be a Trailex distributor about 20 miles away so I'll go up there to see if they have them.

As far as the lights, they are marked as being submersible.  The idea is they trap a pocket of air where the bulbs are, even though they are open on the bottom.  For something as light as the skerry, I'm pretty sure I'll manage to get it off without dunking them anyway.

Anybody got any good ideas of how to treat the bunk carpets to make them slipperier?  I was thinking of some McLube SailKote.

Mummichog -

This might do the trick for you.  Thinking of trying it myself.  Just not sure how slick I want the bunks to be.  I think I’ll try some scrap synthetic indoor carpet first. 

   https://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=11393&familyName=MaryKate+Liquid+Rollers

hokker

I've had good success with comon silicone spray on indoor-outdoor carpet.

.....Michael

Silicone spray may leave some contamination on the bottom of the boat. Normally that's not a problem, but it could be a nuisance when you go to touch up a graphite/epoxy bottom. Now, instead of a quick, light sanding followed by a touch up, you'll need to do a thorough sanding to get rid of all traces of silicone before applying more epoxy..

Laszlo

Hmmm...hadn't thought of that, Laszlo.  Do you suppose the silicone residue would come off with a good washing with mild detergent?  Maybe even denatured alcohol or acetone?  Paint hates me, anyway; it knows I'm more of a boatwrong than a boatwright.  <;-)

.....Michael

....another thought, now that I've had time to tickle the old memory banks....

I remember when I had a boat which was supported by long, carpeted bunks on the trailer, it helped to grab the bailer and slosh some water up on the bunks before pushing the boat down into the water.  This made is possible to launch without immersing the trailer deep enough to float the boat off.  Water should be readily available at your launch ramp.

.....Michael

   I've just finished my Annapolis Wherry...Hooray!! and I am assembling a Trailex SUT-220-S trailer for it which I purchased through CLC.  I have received really good feed back from this forum before on this, my first build, and for that I am grateful!  Thanks all!

Perhaps someone has put one of these 220-S units together recently and can help me out.

Unfortunately I have found that the inside front to back length of the box frame for the trailer is 31.5" vs. the 29" with the required 1.5" extension of the side rail past the rear cross member.

Perhaps this model is a slightly modified design from that in the instructions with a larger length box frame than when the instructions were written. The main central rear tongue was marked for the locations of the frame cross members, so the longer side rails appear correct. I noted this all on assembly. However, it appears now after placing the axle and leaf springs that the rear shackles are not vertical enough to work effectively (they must lean too far forward to strech the additional 1.5") and so just appear they will fold forward under weight. I have not flipped the trailer over yet to confirm.

My only solution, if my assumptions are correct, is to dissemble many things and then slide the rear shakle holders forward 1.5 " on the side rails which makes them now flush with the side rails rather than extending 1.5" past (perhaps this is why the frame side rails are longer now). 

As "Zen and the Art of Motocycle Maintenance" is one of my favorite books...I understand a bit of the "Art" of assembly instructions... but perhaps someone can help me become more enlightened on this assembly journey. I don't need "The Path" just "A Path" forward will do fine.

I have a call into Trailex, but so far nothing back.

Thanks again!!

Cross-posted? A simple link would have been enough, but this is a forgiving venue.

I was hoping maybe there was something more in your post than the one you began your new thread with. Alas as my 220-S is yet still a'boxed, I can't add anything constructive to maybe ease your plight.

   Thanks. Yes I staarted a new thread. My mistake!

We put one together last summer, no problems. They have an excellent video on YouTube, and the folks at Trailex are extremely helpful, just email or call them.

On my trailer the lights are LED and submersible. I do unplug from the car before launching.

As for sliding on the banks, I back down the ramp far enough the boat float off. The back wheels of the minivan get a little wet; it's no problem.