Have I lost it already ?

[Avonfarmer]

Morning!

Recently bought a mint Avon rib lite with the intention of exploring various waterways across the UK and abit of inshore exploration. The only problem is I’m already tempted by something like 3.5 rib with a trailer. Now a trailer was something I’ve always been trying to avoid because of the perceived faff. My question to you guys is that is it really that bad launching a rib from a trailer and the restricted speed limit on the motorway or is there a good reason you seem to be able to buy an awful lot of 3-4 rib on a trailer for the money?

Many thanks in advance.

The Farmer

[beamishken]

Originally Posted by Avonfarmer

Morning!

Recently bought a mint Avon rib lite with the intention of exploring various waterways across the UK and abit of inshore exploration. The only problem is I’m already tempted by something like 3.5 rib with a trailer. Now a trailer was something I’ve always been trying to avoid because of the perceived faff. My question to you guys is that is it really that bad launching a rib from a trailer and the restricted speed limit on the motorway or is there a good reason you seem to be able to buy an awful lot of 3-4 rib on a trailer for the money?

Many thanks in advance.

The Farmer

Personally I think its easier to use a trailered boat than an inflatable. A trailered Rib as opposed to a a sib will perform better in every aspect than a similarly sized inflatable. If you have storage space & a tow bar switching to a trailered rib is a no brainer.Only downside is trailer bearings do need regular maintenance but on small trailers they are mega cheap and easy to change, Less than £20 an axle & an hours work or so to change them. Ok so your restricted to 60mph but is 10mph that important to you?
Easier on your back and far less faff than packing a bulky boat, engine,fueltank,wheels etc into your car & saves the labourious task of pumping up & letting down every time.

[Avonfarmer]

Hmm these are all really good points I have to admit I do like all the added capability and less faff with that aspect. I’d like to take the boat away to different parts of the country do you ever find any added stress finding somewhere to stay you can park it etc. Appreciated your response and which to learn from others experience!

[Poly]

I’m with Bigmuz on this - less hassle not more assuming you have somewhere to store it at home. Cant recall any holiday where finding somewhere to park the trailer was a big factor in where we stayed. In really busy areas down south people seem to stress about parking trailers close to the slipway - if that’s an issue I suspect parking at all close to somewhere to launch where you have space to unpack, inflate and wheel the boat, is too.

[Noble95]

Sorry to jump on this post but we may be selling a 3.4m Avon with a 25hp 2 stroke on the back complete with a recent roller trailer from extreme that has been looked after by trailer guy.

If you are looking to upgrade then let me know and we can discuss.

Ollie

[Avonfarmer]

These are all very good and useful points, I guess it’s the perception that you can just use a small rib wherever you like but a slipway is always better. I see people with large SIBs on trailers and get slightly confused why you wouldn’t just have a second hand decent RIB.

[Avonfarmer]

Have sent you a PM

[willk]

Originally Posted by Poly

I’m with Bigmuz on this...

He's who now already?

[paintman]

Another vote for beamishken's post.
You're only losing 10 mph on the motorways & dual carriaageways - 60 instead of 70.
And 10 mpg on normal NSL single carriageway roads - 50 instead of 60.
Never found it to be an issue towing caravans or boats on trailers.

[Limecc]

Originally Posted by paintman

Another vote for beamishken's post.
You're only losing 10 mph on the motorways & dual carriageways - 60 instead of 70.
And 10 mpg on normal NSL single carriageway roads - 50 instead of 60.

In theory.
In practise and taking speedo error into account the difference can be less. Prosecution guidelines are 10% + 2mph, I'd be surprised if anyone was unlucky enough to get nicked under this.

We found moving to a RIB and trailer liberating. Heavy SIB was so much faff we nearly gave up boating. Now we get out far more.

[Fenlander]

Welcome to the forum AF.

How do you carry your Riblite... in a van... on the car roof?? Is it just you in it or you plus one?

>>>a trailer was something I’ve always been trying to avoid because of the perceived faff.

The trailer faff isn't perceived it's reality... as is daily setup faff... boating involves faff... just depends which faff suits you.

I'm in the minority on this thread so far but here goes... I will avoid a trailer for our boating until the point I can't lift the outboard/boat any more. For these reasons...

Home storage is often a problem for a trailer unless you have a very roomy place re outdoor space. For us it would push one car out onto the public highway... don't want that.

On longer trips it is far easier to "make progress" without the trailer.... much bigger difference than the nominal 10mph mentioned above. Also far less security or parking worries on shorter or overnight stops with it all packed in the car.

At many locations we launch parking is difficult anyway and a trailer makes that so much worse. In fact in our nearest coastal place of choice there is almost nowhere for a trailer unless once launched you sneak it up into the housing roads away from the foreshore.

It may take a while to set our SIB up from the back of the car but once done and on its transom wheels it's like a big wheelbarrow and can easily (and politely) be nipped past those in the trailer queue and be on the water in seconds.

Then there are places where you can't get to the water with a trailer at all... an outfit like your Riblite with a nicely portable motor can be popped into the water down banks... over rocks... or down difficult stony beaches so easily.

As I say... choose the faff that suits you.

[Fenlander]

Sorry... forum paused this end and it double posted.

[Nos4r2]

+1 for less faff, as long as you stay away from braked trailers.

[Avonfarmer]

Originally Posted by Fenlander

Welcome to the forum AF.

How do you carry your Riblite... in a van... on the car roof?? Is it just you in it or you plus one?

>>>a trailer was something I’ve always been trying to avoid because of the perceived faff.

The trailer faff isn't perceived it's reality... as is daily setup faff... boating involves faff... just depends which faff suits you.

I'm in the minority on this thread so far but here goes... I will avoid a trailer for our boating until the point I can't lift the outboard/boat any more. For these reasons...

Home storage is often a problem for a trailer unless you have a very roomy place re outdoor space. For us it would push one car out onto the public highway... don't want that.

On longer trips it is far easier to "make progress" without the trailer.... much bigger difference than the nominal 10mph mentioned above. Also far less security or parking worries on shorter or overnight stops with it all packed in the car.

At many locations we launch parking is difficult anyway and a trailer makes that so much worse. In fact in our nearest coastal place of choice there is almost nowhere for a trailer unless once launched you sneak it up into the housing roads away from the foreshore.

It may take a while to set our SIB up from the back of the car but once done and on its transom wheels it's like a big wheelbarrow and can easily (and politely) be nipped past those in the trailer queue and be on the water in seconds.

Then there are places where you can't get to the water with a trailer at all... an outfit like your Riblite with a nicely portable motor can be popped into the water down banks... over rocks... or down difficult stony beaches so easily.

As I say... choose the faff that suits you.

These are exactly the arguments going on in my head to keep what I’ve got ! The only downside is transporting it around on the roof rack isn’t ideal but as they’ll only mainly be two of us we could perhaps put it in the car over night.

I’m looking to go down to Devon and Cornwall which streets and villages aren’t exactly known for being wide. It’s great to hear everyone’s experiences of trailer and not trailed boating.

[Nasher]

Two words:

Slope

Slippery

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by Avonfarmer

These are exactly the arguments going on in my head to keep what I’ve got ! The only downside is transporting it around on the roof rack isn’t ideal but as they’ll only mainly be two of us we could perhaps put it in the car over night.



I’m looking to go down to Devon and Cornwall which streets and villages aren’t exactly known for being wide. It’s great to hear everyone’s experiences of trailer and not trailed boating.

Having just had 3 weeks in Cornwall/Devon with the camper & SIB in a box trailer, I can vouch for the aforementioned narrow lanes. BUT, if the car will fit, so will the trailer so it’s not as big an issue as you might think, even less so if you can reverse a trailer[emoji6]

[Avonfarmer]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

Having just had 3 weeks in Cornwall/Devon with the camper & SIB in a box trailer, I can vouch for the aforementioned narrow lanes. BUT, if the car will fit, so will the trailer so it’s not as big an issue as you might think, even less so if you can reverse a trailer[emoji6]

Very true ! And no problems with parking etc ? Well the longer the trailer the easier it is to reverse in my experience so maybe I’m not thinking long enough Rib wise

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by Avonfarmer

..Well the longer the trailer the easier it is to reverse in my experience so maybe I’m not thinking long enough Rib wise

Yup[emoji106] I have a 7m long twin axle trailer & a 3m single axle. Give me the 7m anytime for reversing. The box trailer is a challenge, but doable.

[jeffstevens763@g]

My two pence I've always trailed all my boats even a 3m sib, I always use slipways boats rolling off or floating off no probs I always do it single handed. I find it worth the money to use marina facilities and leave the boat on a pontoon for a weeks holiday not constrained by tides then so I can slip out anytime of day. Biggest mistake people make when reversing is trying to correct when it's gone too far instead of driving forward to straighten up other that that is practise.

[Steve509926]

I think it's horses for courses. I'd love a trailered 5.5 mtr RIB but with an 8 mtr caravan in tow it's just not possible. I find it much easier to set the SIB up the day before we are thinking of going out on the water then putting it on the roof of the truck, saves time and hassle setting it up from the boot! At the end of the day, it's back on the roof of the truck, washed, dried and put away the next day. If we are away for a week on holiday, it stays inflated and when it's not on the water it's on the roof.