Quintex Aluminium Trailers Urgent prob Developing

[Member]

G'day Folks
I urge evryone who may have an Aluminium trailer made by Clitrex to inspect them very closely with a fine tooth comb !!! there seems to be a serious problem developing in the frames & crossmembers . Fractures are starting to develop in mine & 1 other member here . It will be interesting to see if anyone else has the problem . Please post here if you've encountered the same problem . Heres what to look for & I stress you need to look very closeley at them
My trailer comming up just 12 mths old

Crossmember
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 Main Frame at first crossmemb

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After taking out the nut & bolt to reveal whats beneath
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If you zoom in on them you can see them better

so please if you or anyone you know has this prob post here & let us know

cheers AL

[Member]

Gidday Al,

maybe its just the photo but I wouldn`t classify this as a big problem. The small crack from the inside of the drilling out to the edge isnt structural. The hole is elongated through a loose bolt by the looks of it. Or possibly a rough job at elongation by the trailer builder during assembly.
If the stress cracks were developing in welds or across the RHS or Angle, I would have concerns. Unless there is more outside of the photos you took, I dont think you have anything to worry about.
Bear in mind also that Alloy is a very soft material and not a terribly suited to being used on a trailer in my opinion. (Obviously Clitrex engineers think differently
Randall.)

[Member]

Yeah my first thought was who the hell would make a boat trailer from aluminium?

Brad

[Member]

Well , my dealer (JV Marine Braeside) at this stage have been excellent (touch wood) They've asked me to get the boat down to them & offered a loan trailer so the boat is not out action whilst they sort it out with Clitrex !! Cant complain about that , so credit where its due 
When I rang & told them & sent the pics ,they hadn't heard of this problem ! So now they're inspecting all Ally trailers when they come in & so far they've found another one with a similar problem. So it will be interesting to see how this plays out on Clitrex's part !!!
 
i was gettin the boat ready last week to tow it to melb back to JV & found a little more to contend with !! Got no idea how i missed this 

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To me it looks like the trailer has too much flex in it & the boat is pulling back against the winch post , thus causing it to crack ??

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Geez , one trip to awoonga & look what your Queensland roads have done to it 
They are putting another trailer under it today to get me back boating whilst they try to sort it out with Clitrex .
So I'll pick it up Friday morn on the way down to phillip Island for a touch of saltwater fishin , or should I say boating

cheers AL

[Member]

Now thats what I`m talkin bout Al !!

Those are nasty cracks and its totally obvious now that houstan has a problem

Hope they streamline the repairs for you Al. Keep us in the loop.

Randall.

[Member]

Al, how are you holding the boat down at the transom?  Also, are you leaving the winch tight or using another waty to attach to the bow hook?  Aluminium trailers flex a lot more than steel trailers.  I personally would not carry an aluminium boat on an aluminium trailer.  The cracks in the trailer are a better alternative to cracks in the boat.  Does you trailer have good long side skids, or is it a multi roller style?  If that was my rig, and I was towing it a couple of thousand k's, mainly on cr@p NSW roads, I tie the transom down with two good quality ratchet straps or proper turn buckles, one on each side.  I'd hold the bow hook to the bottom of the winch post with another good quality ratchet strap or a turn buckle.  I'd loosen the winch strap for the trip.  I'd ensure that the trailer had the longest side skids possible, and that the centre rollers supported the majority of the weight on the keel of the boat.
The cracked winch post looks to me like it's been taking a lot of the pressure with the trailer flexing, and maybe the boat loose on the trailer.  A turn buckle from the bow eye to the bottom of the winch post should fix that.
I see a lot of things that scare me on the road.  I passed a 625 Cruise Craft Outsider on the highway the other day.  It had no transom straps and the front was only held on by the winch strap.  It was a multi roller trailer.  All it needed was for the ratchet pall to give way on the winch and he'd have had a hundred grand worth of boat sliding down the highway. 
Not saying you don't do it right, but boat to trailer security really need to be taken care of on long road trips.  More aluminium boats are ruined by trailers than by water obstacles.  I had a good mate who worked for Clitrex building trailers, but he's left now, so I can't be of assistance to you.

[Member]

G'day Dale & Randall
I have tiedowns at the rear , If you look at tis pic you can see that they start near the centre of the trailer & they actually get their down pull by comming up from under the skid to the duckboard (pod)on the back of the boat(which is not visible) . Once tied down , the back of the boat does'nt move at all

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However yes You're right ,the front is held tight by the winch ! I've never had a prob with this method before (7 boats & trailers) but this also the 1st aluminium trailer I've owned . Once this prob is sorted though I will turnbuckle it to the base of the winch post
cheers AL