Just a heads up to all of Nitro owners my 2014 Nitro Z9 trailer broke in half just behind the swivel coupler. It hit the concrete at 55 miles an hour. Luckily I was in Lufkin on Hwy 59 bypass and was able to get to the shoulder quickly. The front storage box was empty and the driver rod box only had life jackets and a net in it.

The Tracker Dealer in Lufkin was a tremendous help in helping me get back on the road the next day. Gave me the name of a man who could weld it. I have attached a couple of pictures. I had the welder who repaired it beef it up. I am having the weld cleaned up and repainted at a shop in Burleson

I would highly recommend everyone who owns a Z8, Z9, Z19, Z20 or Z21 look under the trailer tube to see if there is any stress cracking. We spend a lot of time checking out our boat but I think most of us don't spend time looking at our trailers.

Dang!

Thanks for the heads up. The cross members of my Nitro trailer dry rotted. I replaced with an oversized aluminum trailer so hopefully will avoid that situation again.

My dad's 1997 Nitro trailer completely rotted out about 10 years ago and he had to replace it. Oh and it never touched salt water.

I just did the same thing, the arm that the crank is on just broke, welded it up better than before. My trailer was built in 2013 by Roadrunner.

also check your axles. I had to replace my axle, ( redneck trailer supply ) 2005 model. Did it about four years ago, so in 2013.

The weld where the spindle is welded into the Axle came apart. I noticed the wheel cambered out ( or toe, I don't remember the terms) and thought I had burned up a bearing. Crawled underneath and you could see the crack at the weld and the separation. Luckily no tragic issue. I have since heard of this happening a few times. It is possible we curbed it, etc, but it sure was rusted at the weld, so not sure if it was trailer failure, or just normal wear and tear.

Redneck trailer supply had an aftermarket torsional axle, with pre lubed spindles and hubs, all new SS hardware for around 350.00 has the vortex hubs, seem to be easier to grease.

Mine did also. Had to get a new one. Mine was a 1995 trailer.That was 5 years ago. I bought a new trailer and 6 months later a car decided to take my boat and trailer out on 1187 going to Benbrook.

What's a new trailer cost?

My buddy's Skeeter trailer just did the same thing. It's crazy that we spend that much on a boat & this happens.

Depends. I have seen some cost $3000..

Here is what it looked like on the side of the road

Never buy a tube frame trailer. They come with rust inside from the factory.

O rust was found anywhere in the area of the break. The welder who repaired it had to cut off the tongue completely to realign it. I looked at both sides of the break. Clean metal both sides

For the life of me I think bass boats still come with cheap steel trailers for one reason only, to have a paint job matching the boat.

I agree. Tongue weight on this trailer has always been really high (two people can not lift it) and there is no room to move winch tower back. Very poor design

Keep a close eye on that repair area my friend, ASTM A500B .180/.250 cold rolled square tubing doesn't like heat all that much, and a lot of heat was applied to that repair. If you know someone who is capable of doing dye penetrant testing, have them take a look at it after a trip or two just to make sure no stress cracking is developing. It only takes a few minutes and its worth the peace of mind knowing the tensile strength of the tube is still in tact after the welding was performed.

True, but it did get him home. Judging by the looks of those welds, the guy that did that is probably not in the welding business full time.