does a tandem axel pull better

A guy at work said you don’t even know it’s back there and pulls easier then a single axel. Does it pull easier uphill and out of ramps too? It seems to me that the added weight, air, and tire friction would make it pull harder. {John}

As a guy that had a tandem for most of the season and now finds himself back to a single, I can agree with some of what your buddy said. A tandem does pull smoother, bounces less, handles better, and overall does a better job of moving a boat from one point to the next. But it doesn’t weigh less. It does in fact weigh more. So it would be working the motor of your tow vehicle a little harder. But only minorly. The reason it “feels” like its towing “better” is because of all the reasons I mentioned above.

Do I miss my tandem axel trailer? NO. HECK NO. While it did tow great, it loaded so bad I hated that thing with every fiber of my being! The shoreland’r I’ve got now does everything the tandem did and can actually load a boat “dead straight” without me having to try 10 times or wade out and actually shove the thing into position by hand. But that’s a different subject altogether.

I have had tandem axle trailers now for about 4 years and I love the way they tow on the road and how they react with the vehicle in turns, high speed swurves, and speed bumps. All of the above what James has mentioned about the tandem axle is true except……I have never had a loading/unloading problem and I launch most often by myself. I have had bunk trailers and glass boats which I feel makes the biggest difference in these situations. Most fiberglass rigs these days have a very distinct keel on the front of the boat, which makes centering the boat in a set of bunks that much easier. It definately guides itself on the trailer better than the roller trailer days in my opinion. I do not think its fair to say that all trailers are created equal. A tandem roller and a tandem bunk are two way different trailers and have both their likes and dislikes on both sides.

One of the biggest problems that I had was backing my boat into a two stall garage diagonally ( boat was too long to fit straight back). Pushing a tandem axle trailer by yourself left to right is very hard. I got sick of that and added a 36ft 3rd stall for the boat now and have less doctor bills.

I have had both and they have their advantages. I had a single axle on an 18′ glass tiller that would wander and sway behind my tow vehicle. I now have a tandem axle under my 19′ glass dual console – almost identical to DeeZee’s. It tows like a dream and I really don’t notice a weight difference. Are you buying new? If so pay attention to the trailer recommendation of the boat manufacturer. If they say you can go with either, I would opt for the tandem – better support and safety for you vehicle and boat. As for moving a tandem – my boat is not light (Ranger) but I back it into the garage most of the way and push the rest by hand. When attaching to the tow vehicle I commonly have to move the tongue 6-8″ to the left or right and this is achievable without an immense effort.

Bottom line – if you don’t tow a lot and frequently maneuver your rig around in you garage – go with the single axle. If the boat manufacturer recommends either a single or dual and you trailer a significant amount – go with the dual.

Email me if you need further clarification.

ted
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thanks for the good info guys,, That’s what makes this site so great. I pull a trailer about as much as anybody, with a blow out and replacing the bearings once a year I think the dual would be a piece of mind. I’m thinking of getting rollers because sometimes the ramps are so gradual. What make or model do you suggest? My boat is a 16 ft. alluminacraft but fairly heavy with a 50 tiller. Thanks!!! {John}

I had an EasyLoader trailer with rollers that almost touched at the center of the trailer and really liked it. My 17′ Aluminacraft loaded perfectly each time. I then had a Shorelander Trailer with rollers that were spaced further apart and just had a terrible time time loading my 18 1/2 Lund. If one side of the trailer was lower than the other I’d have to jump on that side of the boat while it was in the water to get the rig to load staight. I now have owned a tandom bunk trailer and glass boat for over two years and it’s really great. As for the tandom, towing is great, pushing forwad and back is great, but pushing it side to side is a real pain. … Back to the Shorelander trailers, I do think their a good trailer and how it loads can depend on the stle of boat you own.
Good Luck, Ron Zimmermann (Zim)

I see a few posts about moving a boat sideways. I used to store my boat across the front of a garage so I had to move it that way. I’m not saying this is efficient, but it worked for me….using a good quality hydraulic jack on wheels I would find a good cross member on the trailer near the rear of the boat. Jacked it up so the boat and trailer was barely off the floor and “balanced” on the jack. While I placed the jack I made sure the wheels were lined up in the direction I wanted to go. I would then push the rear of the boat sideways. I wouldn’t want to do this frequently, but it worked the few times a year I needed to store the boat for extended periods. BTW…a ‘medium’ size boat 17′ walk thru Crestliner with a 110…~1800 lbs.