# Who still makes tilt trailers?



## -CN-

I'm wanting my 14 ft jon boat to be on a tilting trailer. I generally fish in no-man's land and find myself launching my boat where the tilt feature would be useful. 
I've seen old or used boats with tilting trailers under them so they must have been a more popular feature a few decades ago. I even recently was a day too late and missed out on a boat/ trailer combo at a great price that was sitting on a tilting trailer - I was gonna swap the trailer with my current one and resell the combo just to have the trailer. Looking for trailers for sale with this feature has come up empty - other than Magic Tilt trailers out of Florida, but I'm in Wisconsin. 
Are these type of trailers extinct?


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## lckstckn2smknbrls

Tilting trailers were very useful back when improved ramps didn't exist. Now days not so much as you have found. My best suggestion would be to convert a non-tilting trailer to tilting if you can't find one.


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## -CN-

lckstckn2smknbrls said:


> Tilting trailers were very useful back when improved ramps didn't exist. Now days not so much as you have found. My best suggestion would be to convert a non-tilting trailer to tilting if you can't find one.


How would that be done?
There's no such thing as improved ramps where I fish. Often times no ramps at all!


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## lckstckn2smknbrls

Take a close look at a few tilting trailers and copy the design.


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## lckstckn2smknbrls

I don't know how far you are willing to travel but there is a Karavan tilting trailer on the Chicago CL in Spring Grove Illinois. It has no title which is bad in Illinois but not an issue in Wisconsin.


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## -CN-

lckstckn2smknbrls said:


> Take a close look at a few tilting trailers and copy the design.


I can't take a closer look at something that I can't find.

Chicago isn't out of the question. I'll check it out. Thanks.


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## Johnny

if you like your present trailer - and it suits your needs,
you could take it to a _competent_ welding/fabrication shop
for an estimate to convert it to the tilting model.
this could be cheaper than purchasing another trailer less the hassle of selling your old one.

if you google : "tilt trailer design" you can get an understanding of how they are built.
a person with a few power tools and a welder could make the conversion with little problems.
I have had several tilt boat trailers over the years, and presently have two, and never use the tilt function.






.


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## Stumpalump

They were a liability. Pin falls out and wrecks happened. The one I had was tilted a few times but I never found it useful. I think spending 5 more minuets sizing up a launch is better than having a tilt to drop off a steep bank. It just plain loaded and unloaded better without the tilt the times I tried it.


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## -CN-

Just north of me is cranberry country. Fishing by the bogs more times than not presents a very shallow approach or a sudden drop off into the lake for boat access. No such thing as a launch site. I have not attempted to launch off a steep bank, but the shallow areas work fine as long as I'm with my buddy and his 4wd truck, and there's two of us to man-handle the boat. The shallow entrance to the lake means backing the vehicle all the way into the water and still barely getting the boat to touch the water surface. What we will do with a standard trailer is unhitch it from the truck and tilt the whole trailer back and push the boat off. Recovering the boat is the same idea - we tilt the whole trailer back and winch the boat on. Now the hard part is getting a trailer that's stuck in mud re-connected to the truck which is also stuck in mud. We've managed, but I can tell you that a tilt trailer will be very handy and get lots of use where I fish.


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## CedarRiverScooter

I would hook up a long strap to the bow that wraps around a roller at the back of the trailer, then forward to a low mounted winch on the trailer tongue.

Then you can pull the boat off. Use the regular winch to get boat back on.

You may need plastic bunk liners to reduce friction. Lower the bunk heights as much as possible (like mounting springs under axle).

I also use a shallow ramp & hate it when my brakes get wet. I have had to de-rust the park brake links twice.


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## LDUBS

Yikes, you have to back your vehicle tires under water :shock: That right there proves I'm spoiled with the "improved" ramps I use.


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## LDUBS

Instead of a tilt tongue trailer, we need someone with a mechanical mind to come up with tilting/sliding bunks. Might be a dumb idea or might just be the ticket.


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## jeffh129

I loved the tilt bed trailer that I had years back. At some launchs I could literally luanch my Jon boat without getting my trailer tires wet. It was so much fun watching people's reactions to that. I'd have one now in a minute , if they still made them. I've looked and looked to no avail.


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## MrGiggles

My tilt trailer is nothing but a nuisance if you ask me. I only fish from concrete ramps, I have zero use for the tilt.

It's impossible to drive on. There's two short bunks and a few keel rollers. To get it on straight you have to hit every single roller perfectly, and they're only 4 inches wide. If you miss, it scrapes the crap out of the keel on the roller mounts.

I just back the trailer in and walk the trailer on. You either have to get wet up to your knees or walk on the slippery trailer. Get it started on the first two rollers and winch it on the rest of the way.

Yes, I could use the tilt, but then I have to lock the motor upright, and winching the boat all the way on is tiring and tedious. You have to fight the trailer to keep it tilted, and it bends the crap out of my license plate in the process.

I am envious of the guys that can drive all the way on their bunk trailers, hook the winch strap, and go.


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## Bearclaw

I have one that looks to be an original one. The name is Skipper B. The boat on it is a 79 polar kraft . I'm not sure if that's what it came on or not. I've never saw one used or tilted at the boat landing. Good luck with you project and keep us posted


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## onthewater102

If you have it custom fabbed I'd request the crank integrated on the tilting portion of the trailer so you can retrieve it up a bush-whacked incline easier.

The best places to fish do not have ramps.


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## turbotodd

Many years ago I bought a 1542 Grumman, which sat on a Dilly tilt trailer. I thought the tilt function would be awesome at the local lake, and the ramp I used was nothing more than backing the rig down off the bank, not a lot of "ramp" there, more of a drop off. Tried my best to use that stupid tilt function and it was such a pain to deal with that I welded it solid, rendering the tilt "un-tiltable" and left it at that.

If you have a well designed bunk trailer, it's super easy to drive on. Most places I launch at, I drive on/off easily but there's a couple that are steeper and it's a LOT harder, thus I generally drive UP to the trailer and hook, then winch it tight. AND, some ramps don't allow power loading. Takes me maybe a minute at most to get on the trailer, then pull out of the water.


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## nccatfisher

Stumpalump said:


> They were a liability. Pin falls out and wrecks happened. The one I had was tilted a few times but I never found it useful. I think spending 5 more minuets sizing up a launch is better than having a tilt to drop off a steep bank. It just plain loaded and unloaded better without the tilt the times I tried it.


 You do realize how many heavy equipment trailers tilt don't you? I have a 10 and 20 ton and it is relatively simple to make a tilt assembly that is as safe as it gets. They aren't coming apart.


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## onthewater102

Heavy equipment operators have a higher awareness of safety than your average yuppie twit pulling a boat that wouldn't know the function of a pin if he had three months to stare at it.


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## nccatfisher

I have had three tilt boat trailers and all had a latch that was spring loaded on a cam. You pulled it and when it went back down it automatically latched itself. No pin to take in and out. I have seen some with the pin, but they were on the el cheapo trailers.


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## LDUBS

onthewater102 said:


> ........... your average yuppie twit .........



In polite company, we refer to them as knuckleheads. :LOL2:


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## onthewater102

nccatfisher said:


> I have had three tilt boat trailers and all had a latch that was spring loaded on a cam... I have seen some with the pin, but they were on the el cheapo trailers.



The cam designs I've seen require a notch be cut out of the sidewall of the tongue, requiring heavier tongue material to have the same strength as a lighter tube for the trailer frame with only a hole drilled through it. I don't see that securing on heavier equipent trailers, so I don't think its a quality difference.


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## -CN-

nccatfisher said:


> I have had three tilt boat trailers ...


What brand were they?
I am still on the hunt for one.


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## misunderstood

-CN- said:


> nccatfisher said:
> 
> 
> 
> I have had three tilt boat trailers ...
> 
> 
> 
> What brand were they?
> I am still on the hunt for one.
Click to expand...


Mines an old "playmate" if that helps your search


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## Stumpalump

I just scored a nice Spartan tilting trailer under a 14 footer in Arizona. I'm only going to play with it until spring and then sell it so if you want to trade for somthing I can sell under a 14 footer I'll trade even. You know you wanted a trip to see the Grand Canyon and lake Powell so come get it. It's got to have a title.


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## GYPSY400

I have a tilting trailer for back lakes ( ATV access only) fishing..it is indispensable at a shallow launch.. my other boat which is only used on good launches is solid and I wouldn't need the tilt if it had it..

It's all in what you need it to do and where you are launching the boat

Sent from my SM-G903W using Tapatalk


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## Elkins45

I inherited my grandfather’s 14’ Sears Jon. It was on a tilting trailer that has integral wheels and hubs. There is no separate hub: the wheel contains the bearings and races. I was never quite sure what I was supposed to do if I ever had a flat  

I found the tilting feature quite useful when launching that boat at a number of rampless ponds and lakes. Boat launching consisted of finding a spot on the shore that would let you back close enough to the water and then hoping for the best. That trailer didn’t have a pin, it just tilted with the center of gravity of the boat went back far enough. It was always exciting waiting for the moment when the horizontal bow decided it was time to go vertical!

Unfortunately that one has failed the test of time. I tried to move it out of the weeds last year and the winch tower pulled loose from the frame.

I agree with what others have posted: it would be fairly easy for a competent fabricator to convert a standard trailer to tilt.


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## CedarRiverScooter

If I was a weld shop, I wouldn't touch it (custom tilt) due to liability concerns.

They usually focus on bringing items back to original design parameters.


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## handyandy

you could have a tongue extension welded on and lower the bunks. Go with a drop axle I just got a drop axle to lower my trailer down for shallow launches haven't got it on yet just got it the other day.


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## eshaw

Another option is to have a tongue extension made like what's used when launching into the surf. Check it out on YouTube and you'll see what I'm talking about.


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## jtsull

Continental Trailers still makes galvanized tilt trailers. They're down here in FLA but make have a dealer your way.


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## Justaguy442

I seen these on amazon. May be a option to your tilting trailer. Search 

Roxom 5 Foot Boat Trailer Bunks with 45 Degree Bend


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## Vader809

Tee Nee trailers. Don't know if they are still in business. I have one, and I made it a non tilt. To much of a hassle. Lower bunks and 8 " tires.


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## CedarRiverScooter

Another alternative would be a tongue extension so the trailer can back further into the water. I might get one of these myself, as I use a very shallow ramp & it drive me nut to have to get my truck's rear brakes wet.


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