If care and maintenance are neglected, you may be endangering the safety of your boat, your car, your family, yourself and others. The trailer should be designed to carry the total weight of the hull, engine, equipment and extra gear normally carried. Second, a boat which will always be hoisted in and out of the water does not need a trailer as elaborate as the types of trailers used for launching. A trailer that meets your boating needs makes launching and retrieving easier and safer. Hitching Up Trailer hitches come in a variety of shapes and sizes.
Most boat trailers connect to a ball hitch that is bolted or welded to the towing vehicle.
Clamp-on bumper hitches are not recommended for heavy loads or continual towing. The weight a loaded trailer places on the hitch of the towing vehicle is called the tongue weight. Special heavy-duty equalizing hitches are recommended for trailer tongue weights of 250 pounds or greater. The trailer hitch itself should match the size of the ball hitch. It is recommended that the coupling hitch on the trailer have a lock or similar device to prevent it from vibrating loose.