New to the forum and boat ownership entirely...

Bought a 12' foot 1988 Sears boat this summer to spend more time fishing with my son in the DFW area. Just wanted a simple, lightweight boat and found a deal on it...Finally took it to the lake a few weeks ago for the first time on a church camping trip. While in bumper to bumper traffic leaving Dallas, some dude runs into the back of me and tore up my trailer at about 20-25 mph -- luckily my aluminum boat didn't take impact, just bumped it after the trailer took the hit...and even more lucky the boat was secured at the front and back so it didn't get loose and hit my truck. Thank goodness my 8hp Johnson was in the back of my truck or it would have been toast. Impact was hard enough to slam my trolling motor battery into my back bench and bust it, acid and water went everywhere...and overnight ate up the paint on the floor of the boat too :-(

Insurance has been slow to move but helpful...still wondering what they will pay...

Do you think it's reasonable to fix this boat trailer or would it be better just to buy a new one? What do you recommend with the inside - paint it or just leave it bare? Does it matter beyond aesthetics? I've toyed with a few simple lightweight mod ideas but not sure what to do, especially now...

Thoughts?

Since the frame is bent, I would hold out for a new trailer.

If what's in the picture is the only damage then it's an easy fix and a lot less expensive than a new one. You may have already done this but carry down to your local welding shop and let them have a look at it. Good luck to you and glad you weren't injured.

Thanks for the input...Only the cross member across the back is bent really...the other members may be bent back. The carpeted guide on the left side under the boat is dangling but still attached. I was thinking the same...to see if a trailer repair shop could help me cut and replace or heat up and bend back some of the lesser damaged members.

I got hit hard enough to bend the cross member and the bunk brackets. That's plenty hard enough to knock the whole trailer out of alignment. It was hit on the corner, visualize where the forces went. Maybe you can get by, but it will wear tires and may pull awful.

Chu, I went on to the lake that night and back home a few days later and I couldn't feel anything unusual. I wonder if when I get it in somewhere to have them look at a repair that they can tell is something is out of alignment (axle, etc) that I can't see or feel. I also took a hard look at my hitch but I don't visually see damage there either...

The forces went from the left, as you can see...and the boat even got bumped about a foot off the trailer and to the right. The tie-downs on the back popped off but the hand crank on the front kept it from going anywhere (into my truck!). It did torque the hand crank to where the lock pin won't engage anymore, keeping the crank from going the other direction.

I guess when insurance tells me what's up, I'll figure it out from there. A friend of mine at church says he will take this trailer to the deer lease if I decide to get rid of it or it's proven not worthy of repair. It does have brand new tires on it...I was worried about them when I picked the boat up this summer. Will keep you posted...

Any repair shop can take measurements to see if the frame is out of alignment. I hope you come out good with this. I still think the insurance company should replace the trailer for you. Good luck!

what your gonna need to do is pick a shop and get it to them so they can write you an estimate of damage for the insurance carrier who excepts liability. the insurance co is going to ask you to do this so you might as well get a leg up on that part to help expedite the claim. plus you will have a better idea of the damages and whats going to take place once the damage has been determined

Doubtful an insurance company will replace an old 12' trailer. If anything they will lowball estimated value and call it totaled. At best its only worth a few hundred dollars and would cost more for a repair. Best best is take the money and try and repair it yourself or find a replacement.

tmd11111, I'm afraid you're right...

So insurance finally got back in touch yesterday and said that they "could pay" $200 on this. WHAT?!

I am definitely going to take the trailer to a repair shop to get an estimate to make my point with them, per spankyttx's advice...it's the only way now. If a total loss on the trailer, it's about $600 for a new one at Academy. If they offered that, I would be more than satisfied on this!!! But I know that they won't...

They also seem to ignore the fact that the battery went flying and is busted -- acid and water everywhere in the boat...it was worth $75 alone at Wal-Mart, still have the receipt. The damage to the paint in the boat is harder to assess, of course. I want to repaint it and not have bare aluminum

I'm about to overwhelm them with facts and not go away quietly until they pay something fair on this. I've waited almost 2 months for them to settle up.

I would go with a new trailer.

Mcgills in Lewisville for trailer repair. Reasonably priced fast turnaround.

Roadmaster Trailers in Haltom City... another good option..