2006 Malibu 247 Trailer upgrade

My 06 247 lives on a lift 99.5% of the time. I've had it for 8 years or so and It came with a trailer that I only used when I needed to pull the boat to land to work on it, or occasionally it was just cheaper and easier to pull the boat out and fill it with gas. So the trailer was pretty neglected due to little need or use for it. The brakes on the trailer never worked, but since I never drove the boat more than a mile or 2, I wasn't too concerned with fixing it. The last time I had used the trailer, last fall, I actually used it to pick up some 20' long metal c-channel pieces that I needed for the shop I'm building. On the way to pick up the material, I had a hub fail, and the wheel  went for a ride. fortunately, no damage other than the spindle that was destroyed.

The easiest method of repair turned out to be cutting the damaged spindle off the axle, then welding a new one on there... It actually wasn't too bad, and the new spindle fit tight inside the axle, so it was pretty easy to get it squared up.

I decided to fix the bad paint issues on the trailer:

I installed the repaired axle and put on all the new hubs so the trailer would be mobile. I found a guy in SC that agreed to sandblast and paint the trailer for $600. I had received a few quotes locally to repaint the trailer, but they were in the multiple thousands of dollar range, out of the reasonable amount to spend on a 16 year old setup. I knew what I was getting into, so it was a somewhat crappy paintjob done outside that picked up a good amount of debris in the process. I sanded all the visible parts to get a smooth surface, then added a few more coats of paint myself. The trailer was blue and matched the boat, but I figured it was going to be pretty hard to match... and close to matching instead of dead-nuts always looks like a fail to me. I decided on a complete color change. When I was looking over the trailer after the color change, it was easy to see the cracks on my second cross beam weld joints. I drug my HTP 221 TIG welder over the the shop (that isn't 100% finished and only has 110v). I was really impressed with its 110v ability, as I only ever used it at 220v before.

After the welding was complete, then began the process of installing all the new parts. I decided if I was ever going to upgrade to disc brakes, you need to do it while replacing broken or worn out items. So I got a bunch of Tie-down engineering stuff (about $1500) from easternmarine.com and went to work.

TIEDOWN 20' Tandem Axle Disc/Drum Flexible Brake Tubing Kit #80328

TIEDOWN 10" Vented Cap Style GalvX Disc Brake Kit w/ Vortex Hubs #82061 (x4)

TIEDOWN Model 80 Disc Brake Actuator #82402

Everything was pretty straightforward on the install, bolted right up without any issues. Made a few laps around the trailer bleeding the brakes, and was good to go.

Since I had everything torn apart, I didn't want to worry about old parts failing or bolting old junk back on, so I ordered some new stuff for the front end of the trailer off amazon:

Extreme Max 3001.0064 High-Mount Spare Tire Carrier

Fulton XPD15L0101 Swivel Trailer Tongue Jack, Dual Wheel - 1500 Lbs. Capacity, Steel

Fulton FW32000101 F2 Two-Speed Trailer Winch with Strap - 3200 lb. Load Capacity - Silver And Black

Bow Roller: STOLTZ IND ULT-4 Boating Equipment, 4".

Reese Towpower 7007500 Safety Cable,40" , Black

I had replaced the bunks a few years ago, with new carpet and used recessed carriage bolts to mount to the trailer. One of my bunks had a corner broken off the board, so I just bought 1 new board and re-used the carpet for it.

After I had to pull all the wiring out of the trailer (since I was welding right where the wires passed through), I decided to just run all new wiring, new LED lighting, and add back up lights to it as well.  I already needed to convert from 4 pin to 5 pin since the new actuator had a reverse lockout solenoid, so might as well run a few more wires to the back of the trailer to make it easier to back in, in the dark.

Electrical and lighting from Amazon:

Partsam 2Pcs 6.3" inch Oval Truck Trailer Led Tail Stop Brake Lights Taillights Running Red and White Backup Reverse Lights, Sealed 6.3 inch Oval led Trailer Tail Lights w reflectors Flush Mount

Partsam 3.9 Inch 3 Led Truck Trailer Lights Front Rear LED Side Marker Lights Clearance Indicator Lights Lamps Waterproof Sealed Surface Mount LED Marker Lights w/ Mini Reflectors ( 2Amber+2Red )

Partsam Red Clearance ID BAR Marker Light 3 Light 9 LED Trailer Sealed Stainless Steel, Sealed 3-Light Truck and Trailer Identification LED Light Bar Red Led Strip w/Black Base

LED License Plate Light for Trailer [Stud Mount] [DOT FMVSS 108] [SAE L] [Black-Finish] [Waterproof] [12V DC] License Tag Lights for UTV ATV Trailer Truck RV Boat

SUZCO 36 Ft 4 Wire 4-Flat Trailer Light Wiring Harness Extension Kit, Custom-Made 28' Male & 8' Female with 4' White Ground Wire, 4-Way Plug 4 Pin Male & Female Extension & Wishbone-Style & SAE J1128

And I had a couple Morimoto Mod Pod lights that I had left over from another project and decide to use as another set of reverse lights.

And of course I had to replace the aged out tires.  It wasn't much more to just get new wheels while I was at it, since they came mounted and balanced for free.  So I got 5 new wheels and tires from trailer-weels.com for $1200

ST215/75R14 Goodyear Endurance Radial Trailer Tire, LRC, 2200 lb Max Load 
14x6 Aluminum Mamba Matte Black Trailer Wheel, 1870 lb Max Load 

I think it turned out great and will be nice to have a reliable trailer again. I sill need to mount the spare tire carrier, but will wait until I have the boat loaded to get it in the perfect spot. I also have some Malibu Decals on the way to jazz it up a bit. I plan to store the boat in the new shop this winter and do a bunch of mods... new interior being the biggest.