I’ve owned the Trailex SUT-200-S for about four years. I bought it because I wanted the lightest trailer I could find due to back problems I was experiencing at the time. Plus after researching it on the internet I found a lot of people liked this trailer for Sunfish. Up to this year it has been a pretty good trailer. The only problem I had experienced was one of the plastic fenders breaking off within a few months of purchase which the company readily replaced.
I did have some reservations about the trailer once I starting using it because it bounces around so much on the road, even with the tires inflated to the recommended 15 lbs. I don’t like the “suspension system” which along with the low inflated tires consists of two ¼” reinforced rubber sheets which apparently allow the axle to move slightly over rough pavement. I was also concerned about how much the trailer rocks and flexes. I especially didn’t like the way the bolster supports attach to the main beam. They are attached with an angle bracket with two T-bolts held in the T tracks on either side of the main support beam. It seemed like a weak connection to me, but I figured that they knew what they were doing and that the trailer was built to rock and flex.
It turns out that that the bolster supports are a weak link in the design of this trailer. This weekend I traveled to a one day regatta and back. When I got home, I lifted the back of the boat and trailer (it is light) while it was still attached to the van hitch to move it around. I noticed that the rear bolster was loose on the trailer. It didn’t make sense because I had recently checked the tightness of the T-bolts. I tried to tighten the bolts again, but they were tight. Upon further investigation I found that the problem was that the lips of the channels (on either side of the main beam where the T-nuts slide to fasten the angle brackets that connect to the bolster support) were actually broken out on both sides (see photo). Luckily, I discovered this before I got back on the road. I guess that the only thing that was holding it together was gravity. I was lucky that I hadn’t already lost my boat on the road. I temporarily moved the T-bolts back a couple inches to an undamaged part of the track. I’m going to talk to the company about this problem, but what are they going to do? It is an inherently weak joint in the design and I won’t trust it again. I’ve already bought two 4” bolts. I will drill through the main beam and install the bolts through the beam and the bolster support angle brackets.
Another weak spot on the bolster supports is at the inner hole that is drilled for the bolts that hold the bolsters. I have my bolsters located at the outer holes. A friend of mine has the same set up (as do most Sunfish sailors who own this trailer I would suspect). His rear bolster support cracked at the inner hole and the support is now bent and totally useless. He called the company and they told him that they have not seen that problem very often, but some supports were made with the holes too close to the edge. Close to the edge or not the inner hole is a built in weakness located right beyond the supporting angle bracket (see photo). They did offer to sell him a new support. When I through bolt the angle brackets I am going to reinforce both bolster supports with an extruded aluminum beam so mine can’t break at the same place.
This trailer is one of the most expensive small single boat trailers you can buy for a Sunfish. It arrives in two boxes and then you have to spend 4-5 hours assembling it. After my recent experiences, I don’t think that it is built strong enough for a Sunfish and I would not recommend that anyone buy it unless they plan to trail it only short distances. It might be suitable for a canoe or kayak, but it would probably bounce around even more on the road. There are many steel trailers on the market that would work for a Sunfish that are cheaper, much sturdier, that have a true suspension system, and that come already assembled. If I were doing it again I would buy a steel trailer. As it is I have to spend time reengineering this one so it works. Either that or buy a new trailer for the Sunfish and use this one for my canoe.
I did have some reservations about the trailer once I starting using it because it bounces around so much on the road, even with the tires inflated to the recommended 15 lbs. I don’t like the “suspension system” which along with the low inflated tires consists of two ¼” reinforced rubber sheets which apparently allow the axle to move slightly over rough pavement. I was also concerned about how much the trailer rocks and flexes. I especially didn’t like the way the bolster supports attach to the main beam. They are attached with an angle bracket with two T-bolts held in the T tracks on either side of the main support beam. It seemed like a weak connection to me, but I figured that they knew what they were doing and that the trailer was built to rock and flex.
It turns out that that the bolster supports are a weak link in the design of this trailer. This weekend I traveled to a one day regatta and back. When I got home, I lifted the back of the boat and trailer (it is light) while it was still attached to the van hitch to move it around. I noticed that the rear bolster was loose on the trailer. It didn’t make sense because I had recently checked the tightness of the T-bolts. I tried to tighten the bolts again, but they were tight. Upon further investigation I found that the problem was that the lips of the channels (on either side of the main beam where the T-nuts slide to fasten the angle brackets that connect to the bolster support) were actually broken out on both sides (see photo). Luckily, I discovered this before I got back on the road. I guess that the only thing that was holding it together was gravity. I was lucky that I hadn’t already lost my boat on the road. I temporarily moved the T-bolts back a couple inches to an undamaged part of the track. I’m going to talk to the company about this problem, but what are they going to do? It is an inherently weak joint in the design and I won’t trust it again. I’ve already bought two 4” bolts. I will drill through the main beam and install the bolts through the beam and the bolster support angle brackets.
Another weak spot on the bolster supports is at the inner hole that is drilled for the bolts that hold the bolsters. I have my bolsters located at the outer holes. A friend of mine has the same set up (as do most Sunfish sailors who own this trailer I would suspect). His rear bolster support cracked at the inner hole and the support is now bent and totally useless. He called the company and they told him that they have not seen that problem very often, but some supports were made with the holes too close to the edge. Close to the edge or not the inner hole is a built in weakness located right beyond the supporting angle bracket (see photo). They did offer to sell him a new support. When I through bolt the angle brackets I am going to reinforce both bolster supports with an extruded aluminum beam so mine can’t break at the same place.
This trailer is one of the most expensive small single boat trailers you can buy for a Sunfish. It arrives in two boxes and then you have to spend 4-5 hours assembling it. After my recent experiences, I don’t think that it is built strong enough for a Sunfish and I would not recommend that anyone buy it unless they plan to trail it only short distances. It might be suitable for a canoe or kayak, but it would probably bounce around even more on the road. There are many steel trailers on the market that would work for a Sunfish that are cheaper, much sturdier, that have a true suspension system, and that come already assembled. If I were doing it again I would buy a steel trailer. As it is I have to spend time reengineering this one so it works. Either that or buy a new trailer for the Sunfish and use this one for my canoe.