Guidance on Owning a trailer for a Commander 31.

I think you will need to raise the bunks up quite a bit, otherwise that will be a fine "yard" trailer, not a great road trailer.

Scott, thanks for the photo's. It helps to see what I am trying to achieve. The photo that I submitted is existing trailer and trying to determine measurements needed to make work or move on and continue to look. If you would, I would love the measurements for distance between runners and height needed to clear props. Your Chris appears to be a single screw, and you allow transom to overhang signiciantly. Correct? Thanks.

This is a 31' Commander, should be the same hull and running gear as yours. My trailer is under snow right now, but the bunks are just outside the prop shafts. They actually line up with the raw water intakes, so maybe not optimal. You may want less overhang, the sport-fish version has nothing but fuel tanks behind the prop logs, all the weight is forward.

The bunks on my hoist are just inside the prop shafts, I guess it isn't all that critical if you aren't travelling with it on the trailer. My boat spent 40 years sitting with the keel on two boards, pretty tough hull. And yours is probably thicker than my '74.

I took some measurements of my friend's 31' before we made a long drive to buy my trailer and pick up my 31'. Rough, but maybe helpful. I used the waterline as a reference, zero/zero was the tip of the keel at the transom. I measured the rise 43" from centerline, at the stern, 48" forward, and 102" forward. I don't remember why I chose those numbers, should have gone 24" out from the keel where the bunks seem to sit on the trailer.

I suggest to have inner and outer bunks with a notch back style trailer.

This will give you nice even support all the way to the transom reducing pressure points and undue stress to your boat's bottom.

Thanks, your diagrams are extremely helpful! Phil

Great angle to view, thanks. I am now looking at a similiar aluminum trailer. I am interested to know about your brake system and if it is aftermarket.

My trailer was custom built for the previous owner. 6,000-lb axles, front and rear axles have Kodiak disk brakes. Titan surge brake actuator on the tongue. They put a 12,000-lb actuator on the tongue, so the brakes would come on with that weight boat.

I can move the bow stop forward, and axles forward, to get the bunks further back on the hull, but it works for my purposes as-is. We hauled my boat from Sturgeon Bay, across on the Badger, and down from Ludington to Holland, with no issues.

At a previous harbor the yard trailer was 4 axle and to make turns of more than sweeping 45 degrees took 5 to 10 pounds of sand scattered around the tires path so they could slide and not break the axle. They learned that on the first repair.

3 axles are tough to manuver I can’t imagone trying to turn with 4. Also I would not go down the road tied off to my struts… shaft aligbment in jeapordy at every bump. You might talk to the hydro plane guys they do crazy stuff with hydraulic to be able to move their boats around

Tying to the struts was kind of an insurance policy. If it moved that much, something bad was happening. The struts came off when it got home anyway.