Clearance height for drive on trailers?

[ShoestringMariner]

I know I have a few posts running here, but I wanted to post this question on its own so it’s not buried in another thread.

What is or what would be the minimum ground clearance you would give your prop/skeg if you were setting up a drive on trailer?

 

[Scott Danforth]

raise drive all the way up

 

[ShoestringMariner]

raise drive all the way up

Thanks, no power tilt or trim

Not a good idea then?

 

[garbageguy]

Thanks, no power tilt or trim

Not a good idea then?

What idea? Also, not sure what you're working with, got any pics?

 

[ahicks]

Thanks, no power tilt or trim

Not a good idea then?

You're going to have to leave the engine tilted forward, in the travel position, until you get it in the water. Not that big a deal.

 

[roscoe]

Back trailer in to the proper depth, float the boat on the trailer. Winch it the rest of the way.
Many many launches are not deep enough or long enough to power load a boat.
You don't have a drive-on set up, and you need power tilt to do it safely/properly.
Invest in a pair of knee high rubber boots, or get your shoes wet.
Don't walk in the launch are with bare feet.

 

[M2HB]

I tilt the I/O drive and use the kicker engine to drive it onto the trailer.

 

[ShoestringMariner]

Thanks everyone. Drive on off the table unless I pick up a power tilt unit.

Its not not that I mind winching, it’s that I often boat early/ late in the season. Warm weather wading is no big deal. Not so much in October.

Perhaps other methods would be better.

 

[Fed]

I winch retrieve with the rear roller slightly above the water so it holds the back of the boat in the centre of the trailer.

 

[Lowlysubaruguy]

For me I need enough clearance for outdrive or lowest part of my outboards ( two boats) to clear when they pass the driveway and street in forward or reverse. I have a heavy angle at this point good news is with clearance here its about the maximum amount of clearance id ever need

You also need enough clearance if you have a flat dont catch it and grind the wheel to its flat spots. One might think this is a pretty bone head move to drive one this far but ive seen more than one trailer wheel ground down to the sender part of the wheel.

 

[Grub54891]

I always tilt the motor up, at any launch, just because it's the safest way to haul out or launch. usually you can see or judge how deep the area is. power trim or not, I just buck up and take care of it. I have 2 boats with power, and 3 without. Depends on where I'm going wich one I use. Once on the trailer, I let them down to full down on the ones with manual lift, usually they are about a foot off the ground, and have never hit anything. You just have to remember that you have a rig behind you, and react properly. I've seen a few people who have flat tires, and never look back, sparks flying.......

 

[Scott Danforth]

Thanks everyone. Drive on off the table unless I pick up a power tilt unit.

Its not not that I mind winching, it’s that I often boat early/ late in the season. Warm weather wading is no big deal. Not so much in October.

Perhaps other methods would be better.

I used to launch the boat in April thru November in Wisconsin. Docks went in around May and get pulled early October. Never once power loaded. Hip waders used

 

[ahicks]

I don't "power load" either. It's much easier/quicker/safer to float the boat on in my experience. Also, there's very nearly always a dock there at the launch. If you can back in within an arms length of that dock, it's a pretty unusual situation where you need to get your feet wet loading or unloading.

Shoe, with a boat and trailer like you have, I'll be surprised if you even give all this a second thought after a half dozen launches. You'll figure out what works and what doesn't very quickly, and settle into a routine that will work just about anywhere, where the boat is launched and retrieved with hardly a second thought.

 

[JimS123]

To answer the original question, the minimum height is about a foot. Now if you have a crazy driveway or launch under adverse conditions, you might want it higher.

Personally, I raise mine up 1/2 way, and then support it properly. There are aftermarket trailer brackets available. If you want to go cheep, make one out of a piece of wood and a couple of bolts and turnbuckles. Many motors have a built in trailer bracket - use it. Some also have a shallow water drive. Don't tilt it up all the way and let it sit on its tilt lock. Even if it stays there that's a fine way to damage the transom.

When launching or retrieving the motor should be all the way up. No excuses.

Boating is supposed to be fun. If I had to tie up a ramp and use hip boots to launch I'd just stay home. A roller trailer solves the issue no matter what ramp you use. If for some reason you think bunks are better, a simple set of EZSlides will make it work like rollers. The winch is there for a reason. If you have a bad back and don't want to crank, a Powerwinch will solve that problem.

Once you back in the trailer getting the boat on or off should take no more than 3 minutes and not cause any heartburn.

One of my favorite pastimes is to ride my bike to the launch ramp and sit watching boaters. Its funnier than listening to a Foxworthy comedy tape.

 

[ahicks]

Our Mi home is just a couple hundred yards away from a boat ramp on a pretty good size lake in the Detroit metro area. I've lived there since 1975. In my experience, there's only 1 better time than going down there on a busy holiday late afternoon to watch the drunks coming in off the lake. That's a busy afternoon with a thunderstorm coming in..... to hurry them up a bit...... Sitting here giggling just thinking about some of the stuff I've seen. Like the guy retrieving his Jet Ski into the bed of his monster tired pick up..... who backed in, jumped into water up to his neck, without realizing he forgot to put the truck in park.

 

[roscoe]

If I had to tie up a ramp and use hip boots to launch I'd just stay home. A roller trailer solves the issue no matter what ramp you use..

Couple years ago I threw my chest waders in the truck before leaving home.
Lucky I did as the launch area filled in with ice floating down the river while we were out fishing.
Funny - watching guys try to load up with 4-10' slabs of ice 6" thick, floating over their trailers.
The only guys that got loaded up, were they ones that had waders and something to use as a push pole.

As of a week ago, much of northern Wisconsin still had 18-30" of ice on the lakes.
Inland lake fishing season opener is next week. Uggggg.

 

[JimS123]

... who backed in, jumped into water up to his neck, without realizing he forgot to put the truck in park.

Boy that brings up memories. The guy I saw forgot to take off the transom tie-downs, forgot the transom plug AND forgot park.

The weight of the trailer pulled down the boat and it filled with water to the gunnels. All that was left to view was the roof of the pickup truck. The towtruck driver had to dive to put the cable on the front bumper. Lots of spinning wheels to get that rig up on dry land.

Where is the $%^& camera when things like that happen......LOL.

 

[JimS123]

Couple years ago I threw my chest waders in the truck before leaving home.
Lucky I did as the launch area filled in with ice floating down the river while we were out fishing.
Funny - watching guys try to load up with 4-10' slabs of ice 6" thick, floating over their trailers.
The only guys that got loaded up, were they ones that had waders and something to use as a push pole.

As of a week ago, much of northern Wisconsin still had 18-30" of ice on the lakes.
Inland lake fishing season opener is next week. Uggggg.

More memories....

That only happened to me once. The ramp was clear when I launched, but the ice had not made it up the canal to that point yet. When we returned the ramp was ice covered. My girl friend handled the paddles nicely and cleared the trailer as I winched the boat in. Best First Mate ever.....still my mate after 47 years.

I feel your pain. Our ice out was a week ago. My son picked up his new Crownline yesterday. The dealer test drive was in the rain. He's a real boater and just wouldn't wait. She's in the barn now, waiting for WARM weather.

 

[Grub54891]

.
As of a week ago, much of northern Wisconsin still had 18-30" of ice on the lakes.
Inland lake fishing season opener is next week. Uggggg.

Still is a 25-30 layer put in the bay, so the locals tell me. As of yesterday, I saw a truck out there, and snowmobiles headed out. The shores are getting sketchy at Best. I'll buy a for fish at the market if I want one that badly.

 

[82rude]

The 2 boat launches I use 95 percent of the time nobody ,I mean nobody is in a rush so taking 2 minutes to put on hip waders is not heartattack territory.My big question is to myself and that's why the hell did you wait 40 years to get smart enough to get hip wader?,lol.Still lots of frozen water up here in Sault Ste Marie.