What to look for on a Telstar 28

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Mangodoc
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Re: What to look for on a Telstar 28

Post by Mangodoc »

I don't have anything against Venture trailers and certainly not against PCI, but this trailer is not appropriately matched for this boat, for whatever reason. I don't doubt the rig has made many trips without disaster, but as an ER doctor I can tell you, it only takes once. The simple fact is that the actual cumulative weight of boat and trailer exceeds the cumulative load of four C rated tires. Maybe it's because I live my life with a big malpractice target plastered all over my chest, but I'm not willing to risk my family's financial future on the hope that nothing bad happens. I've had three brand new tires go out on my rig in the three months I've owned the boat, so the next time I plan to exceed 30mph it will be on a rig rated for 8000lbs, minimum.
Mangodoc
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Re: What to look for on a Telstar 28

Post by Cruissser »

Ron wrote:As far as tongue weight, Tony had told Venture that the boat weighed around 3500 pounds, and also neglected to tell them that he was adding maybe 800 pounds of galvanized steel (bunks, supports, brackets, etc.) to the stock trailer. That's about 2,000 pounds more than Venture was expecting, with much of that weight behind the axles, especially factoring in the length of the boat. The trailer should have been two feet longer with the axles pushed back around a foot or so. But I'm not praising Venture here - they're the ones who installed brakes on only one axle. That's totally illegal in most states, and really dangerous considering the 2,000 pounds of extra weight. And shouldn't they have worked with Tony on all of these specs ???

I called Venture about 9 years ago to question them about the above. Didn't give any real answers other than it's what Performance Cruising ordered. They weren't aware that brakes are required on both axles in virtually every state, including Maryland where it was built?

By the way, my boat was moved back and forth from NJ and Florida for 4 or 5 years, about 1500 miles per trip. Mucho problems until I replaced the 2 wheel drum brakes with 4 wheel discs and moved the axles back. Salt water does a job on drum brakes. I had the brake wheel hubs over 500 degrees with several heat caused blowouts at speed. Wound up stopping every 45 minutes or so to spray water on the 2 wheels. I carry one of those infrared laser thermometers in the truck to check it. I've got 5 trailers (3 boat, 2 car haulers) and have been doing this for years.
Ron,
Sorry to hear about all the issues. Sounds like I need to make sure I buy disc brakes. Did you go with the stainless? Where is a good place to purchase them?

Thanks for the explanation on how the trailer was built. Unfortunately it makes sense.....everyone fibs a little and the next thing you know there are big issues....and of course its always the other guys fault.

I called the factory the other day looking for brakes and another axle and they couldn't help me. The trailer was a special order and they no longer supported it. I asked her if she knew if anyone had ever had issues with that trailer and she said no not to her knowledge, but then I found out she had only worked there 5 years.

Sounds like you have lots of experience Ron!! If you have any advice for me please let me know, I plan on doing whatever I can to make sure my trailer is as safe as it can be. Still looking for that third axle. Like I said in an earlier post, one of the springs were broken and I feel the third axle will reduce the axle weight and help it trailer better if aligned properly. Do you know if the hydraulic or the electric over hydraulic work better?

Do you still go down to Florida?

Randy
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Re: What to look for on a Telstar 28

Post by Ron »

Randy -

Depending on what's on your boat (weight !!!), you should be OK if you stick with D rated trailer tires or better, even with the 13 inch wheels. The idea of using 14's instead will help some of the existing problems, but open up a bunch of others. You'll have to move everything up about an inch or so. My ama's sit about 1/2 inch above the fenders.

Moving the axles back at least 6 inches (if the boat has a 20hp motor) will help balance the load, get more weight on the tongue, and less on the tires. Just make sure you don't exceed the weight limitations of the hitch and/or the truck. A weight distributing hitch is the way to go. It will move some of that load to the front tires of the truck.

If the boat has the 50hp motor (an extra 120 pounds placed at the BACK end of the boat) and you have a lot of cruising gear you'll probably have to move the axles back even more. Weigh the thing at a truck scale to see where you stand.

I went with Tie Down aluminum calipers with coated rotors. After 8 years - never has a rust issue. Their stainless setup could be better, but I'm not sure that it will fit inside of the 13 inch wheels. One of the real advantages of any disc brake is that once you leave the water, they immediately and completely drain. Cant say the same for drums - they will not drain nearly as fast. The other advantage of discs is that they cool off much faster. Same reason - it's entirely open. Water gets out, air gets in.

I didn't trust electric/hydraulic brakes 8 years ago. If salt water gets in to the system, you'll have no brakes at all. The newer ones are supposedly better.
Ron Marcuse
Telstar 28 #359 "Tri-Power"
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Re: What to look for on a Telstar 28

Post by Cruissser »

Mangodoc wrote:I don't have anything against Venture trailers and certainly not against PCI, but this trailer is not appropriately matched for this boat, for whatever reason. I don't doubt the rig has made many trips without disaster, but as an ER doctor I can tell you, it only takes once. The simple fact is that the actual cumulative weight of boat and trailer exceeds the cumulative load of four C rated tires. Maybe it's because I live my life with a big malpractice target plastered all over my chest, but I'm not willing to risk my family's financial future on the hope that nothing bad happens. I've had three brand new tires go out on my rig in the three months I've owned the boat, so the next time I plan to exceed 30mph it will be on a rig rated for 8000lbs, minimum.
There are definitely issues with the trailer. I am trying to figure out how to fix the front pads that contact the front of the main hull. On mine the pads only contact the pads on one edge. This puts a tremendous amount of pressure on a very small area and can damage the hull. Do you or anyone else have this issue?

My biggest concern of starting over with a different trailer is the amount of thought and design that would go into the project. You change one thing and it obviously effects something else. For example as Ron stated if you put bigger tires on as you should to correct the weight problem now the boat sits up higher and you have to adjust for this. Not to mention now you have a higher center of gravity causing less stability and making it harder to float it at some docks. It can definitely be done but it would have to be done by somebody like you that has experience with the boat and trailer. Its a very big undertaking. If you go this route I hope you keep us posted with your progress.

I have a great deal of respect for emergency doctors! I know a few and you guys really are a special breed. Its a job few people really understand what you guys go through and one most people could never do.

Randy
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Re: What to look for on a Telstar 28

Post by Ron »

I'm not sure if the 4 front and back main hull pads are really needed. The only thing I can see is it will help steady the main hull on the trailer if the ama's are out when you're walking or working on the boat. I tend to use them when I'm towing for a long distance at higher speed. Locally, I normally don't bother, and note that my boat lift is setup exactly like the trailer, with the same large curved bunks on the hull, and the four small pads balancing the ama's. These four extra ones do not exist. Nearly all of the weight must be on the 2 large curved bunks. The boat has gone thru 2 hurricanes on the lift with nearly no problems. Irma ate my boat cover though.

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Ron Marcuse
Telstar 28 #359 "Tri-Power"
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Re: What to look for on a Telstar 28

Post by Cruissser »

I am going to take my infrared thermometer with me....thanks for the advice.

I stopped by our local trailer manufacturer yesterday to see if they could help me get materials for my 3rd axle. I explained our situation and they said that is very common. Manufacturers are only required to provide a trailer heavy enough to carry a bare bones boat....no more no less....so that's what they do. They get a lot of business from people like us that pull their boats with all their stuff in it.

The reason I am going with a 3rd axle instead of dualing out the trailer is the axle rating is only 3500 pounds. I would love to just dual the trailer out (much cheaper option and still better than what we have now), but it would still only have around a 7000 pound capacity. 3 axles with brakes seems to be over kill, but as stated that is the law in most states, all trailer axles must have brakes.
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