how to swap trailers on land

[geeco1]

Re: how to swap trailers on land

Assuming that the parking lot is not crowded, how about this method....

Verify that the bow eye and stern eyes are solid. Hook the stern eyes to a solid object (tree, vehicle, mother in-law). Get several hay bales, foam blocks etc. With another vehicle attached to the trailer, slowly start pulling the old trailer out (don't forget to unhook the winch). As the boat starts sliding off the trailer, put hay bales or foam blocks under the boat. Two or three supports will be all that is needed. Once boat is clear of old trailer, line-up new trailer and hook winch to bow eye. Slowly start pulling boat up onto new trailer removing hay bales as necessary. You may need some additional helpers or supports to keep the boat from tipping on its side.

 

[lncoop]

Re: how to swap trailers on land

Mother in law would probably be too busy directing the operation to serve as an anchor point

 

[mailman2]

Re: how to swap trailers on land

Make one of these, tie off back of boat to tree [etc], then pull boat until the back end is about 2 feet off the back, then put v block under, keep puuling then block keel before it goes off traler

 

[lncoop]

Re: how to swap trailers on land

Well????? We're dying to know, or at least I am. Have you moved the boat? Don't keep us in suspense!

 

[IES99]

Re: how to swap trailers on land

Make one of these, tie off back of boat to tree [etc], then pull boat until the back end is about 2 feet off the back, then put v block under, keep puuling then block keel before it goes off traler

Good idea.

This looks like the best (and safest) solution to me. A little carpentry preparation and you should be good. I might build one of those just to have around in case I need do do trailer repair that is easier with the boat off.

If there is no tree to tie off, drive some long stakes into the ground as your tie off point.

Looking forward to your solution.

 

[nimmor]

Re: how to swap trailers on land

Rent a Uhaul flatbed car hauler trailer, winch the other trailer onto it, secure it, take it to the lake, float the boat, and with a second vehicle hauling your trailer, you trailer your boat securely the way it was intended. Stop off at the local junkyard on the way home, make $100 for the old POS, return the Uhaul trailer, and return home VICTORIOUS

This sounds like maybe the safest ideal.

 

[dockwrecker]

Re: how to swap trailers on land

Yep I thought so too. But if the POS trailer won't roll, I guess you could drag it onto the flatbed and pull the wheels off to get it low enough to launch it. Might need a manly man truck to back it in deep enough to do that. And of course, hopefully the boat trailer isn't too wide for the flatbed. I have visions of wheels on top of wheels here...

 

[rolmops]

Re: how to swap trailers on land

It won't roll ,but it will drag.
This is best done on grass.
Start with a 2 foot 2 by 4 and a small jack.Make sure that the boat is not tied to the trailer.Having the 2 by 4 on top of the jack,jack up the boat on the trailer just enough to allow you to spray a lot of silicon spray onto the boards.Remove the jack and lift up the front of the trailer. Now start pulling and/or pushing the boat backward.(With the gravity because of the angle and the silicon this should be easy)You must have prepared the "landing zone" as follows.Lower the rear onto a log big enough so the lower unit will not touch the ground.Put another 2 logs on the sides to keep your boat from falling sideways.Make sure that these 2 logs will not roll away.
Once the rear has landed on this "cradle" ,very carefully drag the bad trailer farther out from under the boat until you are at the point where better than half the weight of the boat is off the trailer.The front of the boat should still be over the trailer wheels.Now put 1 or 2 bails of straw to support the boat in the middle with 2 more logs laying on the bales to create a cradle even though you have a proper cradle in the rear.Now pull the trailer the rest of the way and bring the other trailer up and make sure that the boards are very slippery with silicone spray.It does not matter if the boat sinks a way into the straw bales,because you can lower the rear end of the new trailer down to the ground.(At this point the trailer does not have to be connected to the towing vehicle.)
Hook up your cable and start winching.Be sure to have your towing vehicle in neutral.
As you winch,the trailer will be pulled backward under the boat until the weight of the boat is on the trailer.Now put your car in "park" and winch your boat the rest of the way.
I like to use straw bales because they are cheap and are easily torn to pieces if they get in the way.If the boat starts listing to one side or the other,that is not terrible,by winching it on the new trailer it will straighten out
This worked on my 18 footer,which is aluminum and therefore a bit lighter than fiber glass.

Another way is by using a cherry picker and a strap.This one is easy in parking lots.
Throw a strong strap around the stern ,attach it to your cherry picker and lift up the rear.Make sure that the cherry picker cannot roll(bricks in front of wheels).Spray the silicon on the boards and with the rear end of the boat hanging on the picker pull (drag) the trailer forward.When you are a bit better than half way there(front of the boat still in front of the wheels) lift the rear up high enough to put the 1 or 2 straw bales so you end up with the boat a bit higher than the trailer.The idea is that the bale will be the center of a sea saw.Lower the rear end a bit and now your boat should be off the trailer and on the straw. Drag the trailer away and replace with the other trailer.

 

[MAW31]

Re: how to swap trailers on land

WOW! I must admit i got a little discouraged when the youTube remarks got posted, thinking I was dead ending.

Thanks so much for all of your suggestions, and i can answer some of the questions.

Its not moved yet. We bought ourselves some time with the apartment manager so we have to the end of the week.

There is no tree, but I do have a engine hoist, an engine jack, and a good chain.

The plan right now is to lift the rear of the boat using the engine hoist, and block the front using the car jack and a stack of wood until the old POS is out. then reverse the process to get better trailer in.

We'll take as many parts we can off the old trailer and use for parts, spare tires, etc.

I'll take pics as we make the transition.

thanks again.

 

[25thmustang]

Re: how to swap trailers on land

Put a 25'er on a trailer twice and off it once. Took a 27'er off a trailer once. None took more than a couple hours and were talking 5000-6000 lb boats.

Raise trailer tongue, put supports under the stern, then lower tongue till stern is on blocks. Might have to get the boat pulled back a foot or two. Once the back is supprted a good floor Jack and some patience and the old trailer comes out. New trailer under the boat is similar just the opposite.

Let us know how it goes and what you do.

 

[sr280da]

Re: how to swap trailers on land

Unless you are moving an aluminum rowboat, most of what has been suggested either won't work on a larger boat, or may damage the hull by creating excessive point loadings.

Significant point to consider-> boats float onto and off of trailers. The significance of this is: most of the weight of the boat is not on the trailer during the loading and unloading process. There just isn't enough grease/silicone/soapy water on the planet to overcome the friction load between a 8,000 pound boat and a set of trailer bunks.

To safely get a boat off of a trailer and onto a replacement, you must lift the boat off the trailer and support it. Start by backing the old trailer and boat close to some solid structure. You will need to secure the stern of the boat to this. With 4 boat stands raise the boat off the trailer. Make sure the trailer and boat are not connected to each other Now pull the trailer forward a little until the trailer frame meets the stands. Now lower the boat back onto the trailer, and reset the stands. Repeat the process until the stern of the boat can be placed on blocks under the transom and boat stands on sides. The height of the rear stands/blocks should be higher than the trailer (so you now only have to lift the bow). Now carry on with the two stands in the bow area until the old trailer is free.

To set the new trailer, leave the boat secured in the stern and attach the winch to the bow eye. Slowly back the trailer under the boat keeping tension on the winch. You are not going to pull the boat onto the trailer with the winch, you are just keeping the bow lined up. Now the process is to back the new trailer under the boat until the stands interfere, set the boat down on the trailer and re-set the stands, and repeat.

Use boat stands because they a) have a screw adjustment, b) large bearing surface (to not damage the hull) and c) the bearing surface articulates to conform to the hull deadrise.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: how to swap trailers on land

Can you just swap axles on the trailer? Seems like the safest route would be to hitch the trailer to a truck, then jack up each corner - insert jackstand under trailer frame and replace the axle - which doesn't involve more than 4 u bolts.

 

[lncoop]

Re: how to swap trailers on land

WOW! I must admit i got a little discouraged when the youTube remarks got posted, thinking I was dead ending.

Oops, the Youtube comments were mine. Didn't mean to discourage you, only meant it as a joke. Sorry about that:redface:. I have no doubt you will get the job done. Thanks for the update.

 

[asm_]

Re: how to swap trailers on land

Is this a brain teaser game??? Because I would imagine any person with a logical mind would have try to fix the broken trailer enough to get to the boat launch and complete the transfer. I mean, boat trailer is pretty simple device. Even if it's in bad shape, it shouldn't be hard to get it to roll at least for the one last time.

 

[sr280da]

Re: how to swap trailers on land

Is this a brain teaser game??? Because I would imagine any person with a logical mind would have try to fix the broken trailer enough to get to the boat launch and complete the transfer. I mean, boat trailer is pretty simple device. Even if it's in bad shape, it shouldn't be hard to get it to roll at least for the one last time.

You are right, boat trailers are pretty simple devices. But in this particular case we don't know how bad the trailer is, nor do we know the distance to the water. If you have to drive 50 miles, and the tires are rotten, the cost of four cheap tires mounted is not that much less than four good tires mounted. And if you already have a good trailer, its all money down the rat hole.

This post did get me thinking that we focused on the how to do it, and not whether there might be a better way. Why not hire a towing service to put the old trailer on a flatbed and take it to the water and do a float off?

 

[CharlieB]

Re: how to swap trailers on land

If you wanted to spend the money for a 'tow service' I would suggest instead that you call your local SEMI-TRUCK Wrecker. Their wreckers are more than capable of using two straps and lifting the entire boat up, simply drag out the old trailer and back the newer one under the boat.

Done.

But I think the object of this thread is the "How To DIY" in order to SAVE the costs of using any $$$$$ services.

 

[lncoop]

Re: how to swap trailers on land

If you wanted to spend the money for a 'tow service' I would suggest instead that you call your local SEMI-TRUCK Wrecker. Their wreckers are more than capable of using two straps and lifting the entire boat up, simply drag out the old trailer and back the newer one under the boat.

Done.

But I think the object of this thread is the "How To DIY" in order to SAVE the costs of using any $$$$$ services.[/QUOTE

Yep, and to give someone else the information necessary to do the same thing another day.

 

[MAW31]

Re: how to swap trailers on land

Spot on. this is definitely a DIY, on a budget.

The boat sat for a year plus in the parking lot, the tenant was moving north in the next 24 hours. On an impulse, my brother bought the boat for 300 bucks.

When i inspected the purchase (after the fact), the starboard tire is actually leaning in and touching the boat with visible rust fatigue on the axle. No way that baby will roll.

Given the timeframe we have to get the boat off the property, and budget restraints, we're gonna use my good trailer to get the boat to his garage and block the boat up.

Then we'll assess the salvagability of the POS trailer and begin full assessment of the boat as well.

this all goes down tomorrow...

thanks everyone for your input!

 

[marlboro180]

Re: how to swap trailers on land

Let us know who won the door prize for the best way for you to swap out the trailer in a parking lot.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: how to swap trailers on land

How about setting up some time lapse video