I have an 87 Catalina 22 swing keel in great shape. It came with an 89 Trail-Rite trailer with drum brakes that are totally inoperative. The axle is a "drop" type, attachment points have old-school lug bolts. Surface rust appears on the leaf springs and brake housings, but overall the frame and bunk supports seem solid.
A local semi-trailer operation quoted over $4300.00 to rebuild the brakes with a new actuator and lines, convert to lug nuts, replace wheels/hubs/bearings, tires and leaf springs. After paying $80 just to have them right the estimate, I learned that I can buy a whole new trailer for less than that. Clearly they did not want the work.
I've requested quotes from two different dealers on a replacement trailer from Road King. I won't embarrass the dealers here but neither of them know much or seem particularly interested in selling anything. I had to call the plant in NC myself to confirm their model number of the trailer currently shipped with new C22s (it's RKGSK 20-22).
Base price looks to be $3550 with brakes, then another $500 or so for "upgrades" like a jack and spare tire carrier.
My plan involves lots of trailer time. Living in Indianapolis, I am one day's striking distance from the Gulf Coast, the East Coast, and most of the Great Lakes. I need to do Interstate trips without registering a constant 9 on the pucker-factor scale.
Here are my questions:
Given that the frame is 30 years old, would you rebuild the existing trailer even if it could be done at half the cost of a new one?
(The brake actuator/hitch is welded onto the tongue extension, so replacing would mean cutting that off and bolting the new one onto the end.) Otherwise I would need to replace master cylinder, assuming it is still available for that actuator. Anyone done this?
Do you agree from the photos that the rust in question is likely surface only, and does not impact its load bearing capacity? Owner #2 used it to launch and haul once per season, but not sure about the original owner. I don't own any 30 year old cars, but I'm not sure that is a fair comparison anyway.
I'm kind of having analysis paralysis on this whole thing and would appreciate some other thoughts.
Thanks,
Paul