We Have All Come A Long Way

Published: Thursday, February 6, 2020
By: Megan Straw-Meisler, Co-Owner of Loadmaster Trailer Co. Ltd

Since our family bought Loadmaster Trailer Co. Ltd in 1997, the evolution and advancement in the quality and size of the boat trailers we build is remarkable – unfathomable, really. I was just discussing with one of our employees how, when we first became owners of Loadmaster, the simplicity in each trailer’s build sheet was amazing. Now, they have become so intricate that it can take going over them numerous times to ensure the employees understand precisely what they are building.

In the late ’90s, a 27’ boat trailer was a 27’ boat trailer. All the trailers we built were made of C Channel steel – as they still are – but we had pretty much a basic axle placement and bunking layout. Our customers had a handful of color options to choose from; and boom, that was the complexity of the “design” process.

Each year, things progressed steadily. The intensity of labor (let alone design time), doubled, then tripled, and now... who even knows how it compares to the trailers we built in the early years? Now, each trailer is completely custom built-to-order from the bunking layout to the axle placement, the frame size and length, the bow stop, custom color matching, a crazy amount of lighting options, and the list goes on and on.

The demands from customers have evolved and changed as well. Some customers even expect us to fly a staff member to measure their boat first-hand. Years ago, trailers all used bulb style lighting. Then, we began offering LED lights. Shortly after that, we had numerous lighting suppliers knocking on our door explaining why their style of LED lighting is better than others. Now, due to the large number of offerings in the market, we offer traditional style LED lights, grommet style LED lights, under hull lights, light strips, strobe lights, and more. Needless to say, the evolution in marine-grade lighting expanded rapidly, and so much so, that it was hard to keep up as a purchaser.

When we first purchased Loadmaster, paint colors offered were white, off-white, red, blue, and black. Now, the color options are endless. We custom order paint tints each week for the upcoming weeks’ orders. Customers have asked us to match their boat, their canvas color, the tow vehicle color, a color from an old, meaningful photograph, the accent pin stripe on their truck, etc. Now that boat manufacturers are producing some of the most gorgeous paint jobs/graphics on their boats, a lot of customers expect the paint job on their trailer to match.

It does not stop there: the aluminum wheel options are also endless. When we first started offering aluminum wheels as an option, the only style available was what many called a “star pattern.” Ironically, now we cannot even get the star pattern, and with over twenty aluminum wheel options to choose from, some of our customers still cannot decide on a wheel that suits their taste.

The internet has been a huge blessing, but also a curse for most marine industry professionals. Since everyone has the world at their fingertips, they can devour information from hundreds of different websites or photos to design what they feel would be the perfect boat or the perfect trailer. Although the end result is often wonderful, the intensity of the process and labor involved to create such a product has become exhausting and exciting at the same time.

What was once a somewhat simple process has now become extreme and so incredibly detailed. The evolution in the market is always growing and rapidly changing, and it takes all “hands on deck” in order to keep up.