Boat Trailers: Buying, Maintenance and Costs in 2026

A boat trailer is the piece of gear that gets ignored until the day it strands you on the shoulder of a highway with a smoking wheel hub and a boat you cannot move. Most owners spend months researching the boat itself and then buy whatever trailer came under it, or grab the cheapest one at the dealer. That is a mistake that costs money and ruins weekends. A good boat trailer is a rolling foundation for a machine that can weigh several thousand pounds, and it lives a hard life getting dunked in salt water, baked in the sun, and dragged down back roads at 65 miles per hour. This guide covers how to choose a trailer, how to match it to your boat and tow vehicle, and how to keep it alive with proper boat trailer maintenance. We will get deep into boat trailer bearings, brakes, tires, and wiring, walk through the aluminum vs galvanized boat trailer debate, and lay out real boat trailer cost numbers for 2026 so you know what you should be paying for a new unit or a bearing and brake service.

Whether you tow a 16 foot aluminum fishing boat or a 28 foot center console, the physics are the same. The trailer carries the load, the axles and tires carry the trailer, and the bearings are the small parts that keep the whole thing spinning. Neglect any one of those and you get a failure that turns a fun day on the water into a tow bill and a night in a motel. Let us get into it.

How to choose a boat trailer: the parts that actually matter

Before you look at a price tag, you need to understand what separates a trailer that will last fifteen years from one that will rust to powder in three. There are five decisions that drive everything else: bunk or roller, the frame material, single or tandem axle, the capacity rating, and the brake system. Get those right and the rest is detail. Get them wrong and you will be shopping for a new trailer before you have paid off the boat.

Bunk vs roller trailers

Bunk trailers use long carpeted boards that run the length of the hull and support the boat along wide contact areas. Roller trailers use rows of rubber or polyurethane rollers that let the boat slide on and off more easily. Each has a job it does best.

Bunk trailers are simpler, cheaper, and support the hull better over long distances because the load is spread across a large surface. They have fewer moving parts to fail, and there is very little to maintain beyond the carpet. The tradeoff is that you generally have to back the trailer deeper into the water to float the boat off, which means backing farther down the ramp. For most fishing boats, aluminum boats, and anything you launch on a decent ramp, a bunk trailer is the right pick. It is the default for a reason.

Roller trailers shine when you have a shallow ramp or you want to launch and retrieve with the trailer barely wet. The rollers let the boat move with far less water depth, so you can drop the boat with the tow vehicle tires staying dry. The downside is complexity. A roller trailer has dozens of rollers, brackets, and pins, and every one of them is a potential failure point and a spot for corrosion. Rollers also concentrate load on small points of the hull, which can dent thin aluminum or stress fiberglass if the boat is not sitting right. Heavy boats on rollers can get away from you on a steep ramp too, which is genuinely dangerous. Choose rollers if your ramp forces it or your boat is heavy and you launch solo often. Otherwise, bunks.

Aluminum vs galvanized vs painted frames

Frame material is the single biggest factor in how long your trailer survives, especially in salt water. There are three common choices, and the aluminum vs galvanized boat trailer question is the one people argue about most at the ramp.

Painted steel trailers are the cheapest and the worst for marine use. The paint chips, water gets under it, and the steel rusts from the inside of the tube where you cannot see it or treat it. A painted trailer is fine for a small boat that lives on fresh water and rarely gets dunked. Put one in salt water and you are watching it dissolve. Skip painted steel unless you are on a tight budget and stay in fresh water.

Galvanized steel is hot-dipped in molten zinc, which gives it a sacrificial coating that protects the steel underneath. Galvanized is strong, it is cheaper than aluminum, and it handles salt water far better than paint. The zinc will eventually wear and the trailer will develop surface rust at cut edges and weld points over many years, but a well made galvanized trailer that gets rinsed after every salt dunk can last a decade or more. Galvanized is the workhorse choice and it is what most saltwater boaters buy when they want value.

Aluminum trailers do not rust at all. They are lighter, which helps your fuel economy and lets a smaller tow vehicle handle a bigger boat. They look clean for years. The catch is that aluminum costs more up front, often 20 to 40 percent more than a comparable galvanized trailer, and it is not immune to corrosion. Aluminum suffers galvanic corrosion where it contacts dissimilar metals like steel bolts, and it can pit and weaken over time in salt if the fasteners and welds are not done right. A cheap aluminum trailer with steel hardware can actually fail faster than good galvanized. Buy quality aluminum with stainless or aluminum fasteners and it will outlast almost anything.

Single vs tandem axle

A single axle trailer has one axle and two wheels. A tandem axle has two axles and four wheels. Some big trailers use triple axles. The rule of thumb is that boats up to about 3,000 to 3,500 pounds ride fine on a single axle, and heavier boats need tandem.

Single axle trailers are lighter, cheaper, easier to maneuver by hand, and simpler to maintain since there are half as many bearings, tires, and brakes. If you have a flat tire on a single axle, though, the boat is going down until you change it, and you have no backup. Tandem axles spread the load across four tires, ride more smoothly at highway speed, and give you a margin of safety because you can limp to an exit on three tires if one goes flat. Tandems also handle better at speed and are far more stable if you have a blowout. The cost is more maintenance, more tires to replace, and a heavier trailer that is harder to move by hand in the driveway. Match the axle count to your boat weight and how far you tow. Short trips with a light boat, single axle. Long highway hauls with a heavier boat, tandem every time.

Capacity, GVWR, and matching the trailer to the boat

This is where people get hurt, literally and financially. Every trailer has a GVWR, the gross vehicle weight rating, which is the maximum the trailer and its cargo can weigh together. The trailer also has a load capacity, which is GVWR minus the trailer's own weight. You must add up the real weight of your boat, the engine, a full fuel tank, batteries, gear, coolers, and water in the bilge, then make sure that total sits comfortably under the trailer's capacity.

The mistake is buying a trailer rated exactly at your boat's dry weight. Dry weight is a fantasy number. A 20 foot boat with a dry weight of 2,800 pounds can easily hit 4,000 pounds once you add a 200 pound outboard, 40 gallons of fuel at roughly 6 pounds per gallon, two batteries, an anchor, a full cooler, and the rest of the junk that lives in every boat. Buy a trailer with at least 15 percent of headroom above your loaded weight. If your loaded rig is 4,000 pounds, buy a trailer rated for 4,600 or more. That margin keeps the axles, tires, and bearings from running at their limit, which is exactly when they fail.

Matching the trailer to your tow vehicle

The trailer does not exist in isolation. Your tow vehicle has a towing capacity, a payload rating, and a hitch class, and all three have to work together with the loaded trailer. Towing capacity is the total weight the vehicle can pull. Payload is how much weight you can put in the vehicle itself, which matters because tongue weight, the downward force the trailer coupler puts on the hitch, counts against payload.

Tongue weight should sit around 10 to 15 percent of the total loaded trailer weight. Too little tongue weight and the trailer sways at speed, which is terrifying and can flip the whole rig. Too much and you overload the rear axle of the tow vehicle and lighten the steering. You adjust tongue weight by moving the boat forward or back on the trailer and by where you load gear. A 5,000 pound loaded rig wants roughly 500 to 750 pounds on the tongue.

Match hitch class too. A Class III hitch handles up to 6,000 pounds for most setups, Class IV up to 10,000, and Class V beyond that. Never tow at the ragged edge of your vehicle's rating. If your truck tows 7,000 pounds and your loaded rig is 6,800, you will hate every mile, your transmission will run hot, and you have zero safety margin on a hill. Leave room. And always use safety chains crossed under the coupler, plus a working breakaway cable if the trailer has brakes.

Boat trailer bearings and bearing buddies

If there is one system that fails more than any other and strands more boaters, it is the wheel bearings. Boat trailer bearings are the most abused bearings in the towing world because they get heated up by highway driving and then plunged into cold water at the ramp. That temperature shock creates a vacuum inside the hub that literally sucks water past the seals, and water in a bearing means rust, which means failure. A failed bearing can seize a wheel at speed and rip the spindle right off the axle.

The bearing sits in the hub and lets the wheel spin around the fixed spindle. Each hub has an inner and outer bearing packed with grease and protected by a rear seal and a front cap. The whole system depends on clean grease with no water in it. That is the entire game with boat trailer bearings: keep water out and keep fresh grease in.

Bearing buddies are spring-loaded caps that replace the standard dust cap and let you pump grease into the hub with a grease gun. The spring keeps the hub under slight positive pressure, so instead of sucking water in as the hub cools, it holds a cushion of grease against the seal. They are cheap insurance and every saltwater trailer should have them. The rule is simple. Before every trip, push on the bearing buddy's piston with your thumb. If it moves and springs back, there is grease pressure and you are good. If it is packed solid or you see the ring maxed out, stop pumping, you have enough. Add a couple pumps when the piston sits flush and there is room.

Even with bearing buddies, you cannot skip inspection. Water eventually finds its way in. The classic failure test is to touch each hub after a highway drive. A hub that is warm is normal. A hub that is too hot to hold your hand on is a bearing that is about to let go. Pull over, and if you have spare bearings and the tools, repack or replace right there. This is why smart boaters carry a spare hub assembly, already packed and ready to swap, so a roadside bearing failure is a 20 minute job instead of a tow.

Repacking bearings means pulling the hub, cleaning out the old grease, inspecting the bearings and races for pitting or bluing, and packing in fresh marine grease by hand, forcing grease into every roller. Do this once a year for a trailer that sees regular salt use, or every two years for light fresh water use. Replace the seals every time you repack. If a bearing shows any pitting, scoring, or discoloration, replace both the bearing and its race as a set, never mix an old race with a new bearing.

Brakes: surge vs electric

Once your loaded trailer passes a certain weight, usually 1,500 pounds in many states and required at 3,000 pounds almost everywhere, you legally need trailer brakes. Even where they are not required, brakes make heavy trailers safe to stop and take strain off your tow vehicle. There are two main systems, surge and electric, and boat owners face a special problem because their brakes get submerged.

Surge brakes are hydraulic and self-contained. When you slow down, the trailer's momentum pushes the coupler against a master cylinder built into the tongue, which applies the brakes in proportion to how hard you are braking. Surge brakes need no wiring to the tow vehicle and no brake controller, which makes them popular for boat trailers and for people who tow with different vehicles. The downside is that they can be grabby, they do not work well backing up a ramp without a lockout, and the actuator needs maintenance. Surge brakes come in drum or disc versions, and disc is far better for salt water because it flushes clean and does not trap water and grit the way drums do.

Electric brakes use a controller mounted in the tow vehicle that sends current to electromagnets in the brake drums. They are smooth, adjustable, and give you a manual override lever, which is great for controlling sway. The problem for boaters is that submerging electric drum brakes in water is hard on them and they need diligent flushing. Because of this, many saltwater boat trailers now use electric over hydraulic, a hybrid where the controller triggers a hydraulic actuator that runs disc brakes. That combination gives you the control of electric with the salt-tolerance of hydraulic disc, and it is the gold standard for larger boat trailers in 2026.

Whatever system you have, rinse it after every salt launch, and inspect the pads or shoes at least once a season. Disc brake pads are cheap and easy. Rusted, frozen drum brakes are a miserable job. If you are buying a new trailer for a heavy boat that lives in salt, spend the extra money on stainless or coated disc brakes with the electric over hydraulic actuator. You will thank yourself.

Tires and load range

Trailer tires are not car tires and you cannot swap in car tires. Trailer tires are marked ST for special trailer, and they have stiffer sidewalls to handle vertical load and resist sway. They are built for load, not for cornering grip or long tread life. The number that matters is the load range, marked B, C, D, or E, which tells you the maximum inflation pressure and load the tire can carry. Higher letters carry more weight. Add up your loaded weight, divide by the number of tires, and make sure each tire's rating covers its share with margin.

Trailer tires die of age far more often than of tread wear. A trailer tire that looks brand new can have a sidewall that is rotting from UV exposure and dry rot after five or six years, and dry-rotted tires blow out at highway speed. Check the DOT date code on the sidewall, the last four digits give the week and year of manufacture. Replace trailer tires every five to six years regardless of tread depth, sooner if you see cracking in the sidewall. Always keep them inflated to the pressure molded on the sidewall, not the tow vehicle pressure, because an underinflated trailer tire flexes, overheats, and blows. Carry a mounted spare on its own rim, a lug wrench that fits the trailer lugs, and a jack that works on your specific trailer frame.

Lights and wiring

Trailer lighting is the system that fails the most while sitting still, because water and electricity do not get along and trailer wiring lives in a wet, salty, vibrating environment. The old style of trailer light was an incandescent bulb that would crack and short the instant the hot lens hit cold ramp water. Modern LED trailer lights are sealed, run cool, and last for years, so if you have old bulbs, upgrading to submersible LED lights is one of the best cheap upgrades you can make.

The most common wiring failure is corrosion at the flat four connector and at the ground. The ground is the single biggest cause of trailer light gremlins, where signals do weird things like the brake light making the turn signal blink. Run a clean, dedicated ground wire to a bare metal point on the frame, protect every connection with dielectric grease and heat-shrink butt connectors, and never rely on the frame alone to carry the ground on a corroded trailer. Before every long trip, plug in and have someone confirm running lights, brake lights, and both turn signals work. A trailer with dead lights is a ticket waiting to happen and a genuine safety hazard at night.

Bunk carpet and rollers

The parts that touch your boat wear out too. Bunk carpet is the marine carpet stapled to the bunk boards, and it protects the hull while letting the boat slide. Over years, that carpet wears thin, the staples back out, and the exposed staple heads or bare wood scratch the gelcoat. Recarpeting bunks is a cheap DIY job. Pull the old carpet, replace any soft or rotten boards, wrap fresh marine bunk carpet around new boards, and staple with stainless staples. Some owners switch to slick plastic bunk glides that let the boat slide with less water depth and never rot. On roller trailers, inspect every roller for cracks and flat spots, and replace hardened or split rollers before they dig into your hull. Keep the roller shafts and brackets greased so they actually turn instead of dragging.

Saltwater rinse and corrosion control

Everything on a boat trailer that is going to fail early fails because of salt water. The good news is that the fix is free and takes five minutes. Rinse the entire trailer with fresh water after every single salt launch. Not just a splash, a real rinse that gets up into the frame, around the brakes, over the springs and shackles, across the lights and wiring, and around every hub. Salt left to dry becomes a corrosion battery that eats metal 24 hours a day.

Pay special attention to the brakes if you have drum brakes, flushing water through them, and to the leaf spring hangers and shackles, which rust from the inside and are a common structural failure point on older trailers. If your trailer frame is a boxed tube, drill small drain holes at the low points if it does not already have them, so water that gets inside can escape instead of pooling and rusting the frame from within. Touch up any chips in galvanizing with cold galvanizing spray. Hit fasteners and moving parts with a corrosion-blocking spray. Replace steel hardware with stainless as it wears. On aluminum trailers, watch the spots where steel bolts meet aluminum, because galvanic corrosion attacks there first, and use isolation washers or all-stainless hardware to slow it down. Corrosion is the enemy, and fresh water is the weapon. Use it every time.

Launching and retrieving without wrecking anything

The ramp is where trailers get damaged and where tempers flare. A clean launch protocol saves your gear and your dignity. Before you back down, do your prep in the staging area, not on the ramp with a line of boats waiting. Remove the transom tie-downs, disconnect the trailer light plug if you are worried about hot bulbs hitting cold water, though sealed LEDs make that less of an issue, put in the drain plug, and attach a bow line so the boat does not float away.

Back the trailer down slowly, keeping the tow vehicle's rear tires out of the water when you can, especially in salt. On a bunk trailer you will need to back deeper until the boat floats. On a roller trailer the boat will slide off with the trailer barely wet. Set your parking brake, and if the ramp is steep, chock a wheel. Never dunk your tow vehicle's hubs and exhaust in salt water if you can avoid it, because your truck was not built to swim.

Retrieving is the reverse. Back the trailer to the right depth, winch the boat up onto the bunks or rollers until the bow hits the stop, hook the safety chain, and pull forward out of the water before you do your tie-downs and final checks in the staging area. Do not stand under a boat that is only held by the winch strap, and always run a safety chain from the trailer to the bow eye as a backup to the winch. Pull off the ramp, let the trailer drain, cinch your straps, check your lights, and go. If you are new to this, practice backing an empty trailer in a parking lot before you ever try it with a crowd watching at the ramp.

Winter storage

How you store the trailer over winter decides how it looks in spring. If you leave a trailer sitting on its tires all winter, the tires develop flat spots and the sidewalls dry-rot faster, and the bearings can develop rust spots where the rollers sit still against the race. Put the trailer on jack stands or blocks to take the weight off the tires if you can, or at least move it a few feet every month so the tires do not sit on one spot.

Before storage, repack or at least inspect the bearings so they do not sit all winter with water-contaminated grease that will rust the races. Give the whole trailer a thorough fresh water rinse and let it dry. Spray corrosion blocker on the springs, shackles, brake parts, and wiring connections. Back off the surge brake actuator or engage a lockout so the brakes are not applied all winter. Cover the tires from UV if the trailer sits outside. Store the boat bow-up so any water drains out the stern with the plug removed, and make sure it drains off the trailer and not into the bilge. A few hours of prep in the fall saves you from a spring full of rusted bearings, flat-spotted tires, and seized brakes.

Registration and towing law basics

Trailer rules vary by state, so treat this as a starting point and check your own state. Most states require you to register and title a boat trailer just like the boat, with a plate and a registration you renew. Some states title trailers only above a certain weight. When you buy a trailer, you need the title or a bill of sale and the manufacturer's certificate of origin for a new one, and you register it at the DMV or motor vehicle office.

On the road, the basics are consistent. You need working lights, turn signals, and brake lights. You need safety chains crossed under the coupler so the tongue cannot drop to the pavement if the coupler releases. You need trailer brakes above a weight threshold, commonly 1,500 to 3,000 pounds depending on the state, and if the trailer has brakes it needs a breakaway system that applies the brakes if the trailer separates from the tow vehicle. Many states cap trailer speed lower than the car speed limit, and most cap trailer width at 8.5 feet before you need a wide-load permit. Wider boats need a permit and sometimes escort requirements. Know your total height too, so you do not learn about a low bridge the hard way. Keep your trailer registration and your tow vehicle insurance in order, because a trailer incident can involve both.

2026 boat trailer costs

Here is what real money looks like in 2026. Prices vary by region, material, and brand, but these ranges reflect what boaters are actually paying for new trailers and for service. Steel and aluminum prices have stayed high, so trailers cost more than they did a few years ago, and a quality trailer is a real investment.

For a new trailer, a small single axle galvanized trailer for a 14 to 17 foot aluminum boat runs roughly $1,200 to $2,500. A single axle trailer for a 17 to 20 foot boat, galvanized with brakes, lands around $2,500 to $4,500. A tandem axle galvanized trailer for a 20 to 24 foot boat with brakes runs about $4,000 to $7,000. Move up to a 24 to 28 foot boat on a heavy tandem or triple axle with disc brakes and you are looking at $6,500 to $12,000 or more. Aluminum trailers cost roughly 20 to 40 percent more than the galvanized equivalent, so add that premium to each range. Electric over hydraulic disc brakes add several hundred to over a thousand dollars but are worth it for salt use.

On the service side, a bearing repack at a shop runs about $80 to $180 per axle, so a tandem is double that. A full hub and bearing replacement is $120 to $300 per hub depending on parts. Disc brake service runs $150 to $400 per axle for pads and labor. A new ST trailer tire is $90 to $250 each depending on size and load range, and you should replace them in sets. If you do the work yourself, bearing buddies are $25 to $60 a pair, a repack kit with grease and seals is under $50, and recarpeting bunks costs $60 to $150 in materials. The DIY savings are real on a boat trailer because most of the maintenance is simple hand-tool work, and learning to repack your own bearings alone can save you a couple hundred dollars a year.

Boat trailer maintenance schedule

Good boat trailer maintenance is mostly about doing small things on time so you never face a big thing on the shoulder of the highway. Here is a schedule that keeps a saltwater trailer healthy. Adjust the intervals down for heavy use and up for a fresh water trailer that launches a few times a year.

The single most important line in that table is the annual bearing service for salt trailers. More trailer breakdowns come from neglected bearings than everything else combined. If you do nothing else, keep your bearings fresh and keep water out of them.

Finding trailer service you can trust

Not every marine mechanic works on trailers, and not every trailer shop knows salt water. The pros you want are the ones who understand marine trailers specifically, who stock stainless hardware and disc brake parts, and who can do a mobile bearing repack in your driveway before a trip. When you are hunting for service, look for shops that will inspect the whole trailer and give you an honest report, not just sell you the one part you called about. A good trailer mechanic will catch the cracked spring shackle or the rotten bunk board before it becomes a roadside failure.

This is exactly what Yacht Service Network is built for. It is a free marketplace and directory where you post the work you need, whether that is a bearing repack, a brake conversion to disc, new tires, a wiring fix, or a full pre-season inspection, and local marine pros come to you with quotes. There are no fees to post a job and no charge to compare quotes. If you own a boat and tow a trailer, having a trusted trailer mechanic in your contacts is as important as knowing a good engine tech. And if you run a shop or work as a mobile marine mechanic, listing your business free puts you in front of owners searching for exactly the trailer work you do.

While you are keeping the trailer healthy, it pays to think about the rest of your boat's care too. If you are weighing whether to keep the boat on a trailer at home or store it another way, our boat and yacht storage guide covering dry stack and costs breaks down the options and the numbers. For bigger boats that need to come out of the water on a lift instead of a ramp, the yacht haul-out guide and costs walks through that process. And for the full picture on keeping a boat running right season after season, the complete yacht maintenance services guide and costs ties it all together.

Frequently asked questions

How often should I repack boat trailer bearings?

For a trailer that launches in salt water regularly, repack the bearings once a year and replace the seals at the same time. For a fresh water trailer that gets used lightly, every two years is usually fine. Regardless of the schedule, if a hub ever runs too hot to touch after driving, or you see grease leaking or hear a grinding noise, service it immediately. Hot hubs mean a bearing is failing and a seized wheel at highway speed can tear the spindle off the axle.

Is an aluminum or galvanized boat trailer better for salt water?

Both work in salt if built right. Aluminum does not rust and lasts longer with less maintenance, but it costs 20 to 40 percent more and needs stainless or aluminum hardware to avoid galvanic corrosion where metals meet. Galvanized steel is the value choice, handles salt well for many years if you rinse it after every launch, and is easy to weld and repair. If you plan to own the boat a long time and use it often in salt, aluminum usually wins over the full life of the trailer. If budget matters most, quality galvanized with disc brakes is a strong choice.

What size trailer do I need for my boat?

Add up the real loaded weight of your boat, which means the hull, engine, a full fuel tank at about 6 pounds per gallon, batteries, and all your gear, not the marketing dry weight. Then buy a trailer with a GVWR that leaves at least 15 percent of headroom above that loaded number. Boats up to roughly 3,000 to 3,500 pounds ride fine on a single axle, and heavier boats or long highway hauls call for a tandem axle for safety and a better ride.

Do I need brakes on my boat trailer?

Most states require trailer brakes once the loaded trailer passes a weight threshold, commonly somewhere between 1,500 and 3,000 pounds, and brakes are required almost everywhere at 3,000 pounds. Even where they are optional, brakes make a heavy trailer far safer to stop and protect your tow vehicle. For salt water, disc brakes with an electric over hydraulic actuator are the best setup because they flush clean and resist corrosion better than drum brakes.

How much does a new boat trailer cost in 2026?

A small single axle galvanized trailer runs about $1,200 to $2,500, a single axle for a 17 to 20 foot boat with brakes runs $2,500 to $4,500, a tandem for a 20 to 24 foot boat runs $4,000 to $7,000, and a heavy tandem or triple for a 24 to 28 foot boat with disc brakes runs $6,500 to $12,000 or more. Aluminum adds 20 to 40 percent over galvanized. Service is cheaper, with a bearing repack at $80 to $180 per axle and disc brake service at $150 to $400 per axle.

How often should I replace boat trailer tires?

Replace ST rated trailer tires every five to six years no matter how much tread is left, because trailer tires fail from age and UV dry rot, not tread wear. Check the DOT date code stamped on the sidewall to know how old they are, and look for sidewall cracking. Keep them inflated to the pressure molded on the tire, carry a mounted spare on its own rim, and never substitute passenger car tires, which lack the stiff sidewalls trailers need.

Why do my trailer lights keep failing?

The usual culprit is corrosion, especially at the ground connection and the flat four plug. A bad ground causes strange behavior like the brake light making the turn signal flash. Switch to sealed submersible LED lights, run a clean dedicated ground wire to bare metal on the frame, and protect every connection with dielectric grease and heat-shrink connectors. Rinse the wiring after salt launches. LED lights run cool and sealed, so they survive the ramp far better than old incandescent bulbs.

Should I use bearing buddies?

Yes, on any trailer that gets dunked, especially in salt. Bearing buddies are spring-loaded caps that keep the hub under slight positive grease pressure, so as the hot hub cools at the ramp it holds grease against the seal instead of sucking in water. They cost $25 to $60 a pair and are one of the best cheap upgrades you can make. Check the piston before each trip and add grease when it sits flush, but do not overpack, which can blow the rear seal.

The bottom line on boat trailers

A boat trailer is not an afterthought, it is half of getting on the water. Choose the frame material for where you boat, aluminum or good galvanized for salt, and match the axle count and GVWR to your real loaded weight with margin to spare. Match the whole loaded rig to a tow vehicle that has room above its rating. Then keep up with the maintenance that actually matters, which is fresh water rinses after every salt launch, annual bearing service, brake and tire inspection, and clean wiring. Do those things and a quality trailer will serve you for a decade or more. Skip them and you will meet the tow truck driver on the shoulder of the highway, watching your boat sit on a smoking hub. The choice, and the wrench, is in your hands. When you need a pro, YSN makes finding one free and fast, so you can spend your weekends on the water instead of under the trailer.