Roller trailers suck....What am I doing wrong?

[Captain Caveman]

Re: Roller trailers suck....What am I doing wrong?

Agreed. Great responses. Roller trailers are more difficult at first which is what seems to turn most people off. Once you learn the keys to operating them correctly they are a dream.

The rollers on my newest boat are so efficient that I actually have to dunk the trailer a little further in or else the boat will go flying off the trailer once I release the winch lever (and the handle will spin like crazy). Backing in a little further eliminates that problem. I also back in within a few inches of the dock so I can always maneuver the boat by hand and dock line when needed.

 

[bonz_d]

Re: Roller trailers suck....What am I doing wrong?

I am by no means an expert on this subject and my expeience is limited to mostly boats less than 18', as when I was much younger and was working at the marina almost everything larger than that was put in the water on a hoist.

At present I run a 14' Lund S14LTD with a side console steering and a 35hp Evinrude. Weighs less than 1000# loaded. It sits on an old Gator Tilt trailer with bunks and keel rollers. As I've stated many times before I an able to launch and retrieve in less than 18" of water. Which I do quite regularly! Easy, tilt the bed, attach the strap and winch it up. Only time it does not go on straight is when there is a heavy cross wind. Though one it is on the first roller it comes straight up.

Now my brother has a 17' bass boat on a full bunk trailer. 1st of all he is very limited to the ramps he can use, have to be deep! Side by side on the same ramp I can be on the trailer and out of the water before he is even on the trailer almost every time. As a side note. He is never able to use the Free Ramp by my house because the water is just too shallow.

Also as of 2 weeks ago I picked up a Spartan R16 tilt roller trailer that I will be moving the Lund to as soon as it's finished being painted. So I'm sure I will be posting the results of the swap at some point soon. Bunk trailers just do not suite my needs and the waters I regularly launch at.

 

[Chris-R]

Re: Roller trailers suck....What am I doing wrong?

When the water is low such as low tide, there's nothing like a roller trailer. I'm on my second roller trailer and don't see myself ever getting a bunk trailer again. It's easier and faster to load and unload the boat and the boat goes on the trailer nice and level every time.

 

[Silver Eagle]

Re: Roller trailers suck....What am I doing wrong?

On my calkins, it had rear bunks, and rollers up front and on the bottom V part of the boat. It was a total breeze to load.

I looked at both a 25' with a yacht club roller trailer, and also a 23' load rite roller trailer. Both boats were an absolute nightmare to get straight on the rollers. The boats were too heavy to guide on by hand, so we opted to drive them up straight without powerloading. Just coast up, and pull the thottles to N and let them glide right on.

Upon pulling the trailer out, the boats were very tilted. Both were by different owners, and both were a nightmare to get straight. Is this what I will be battleing with each time?

When you load your boat on the trailer don't pull all the way out of the water .Pull out enough to see if you are level or not then back up just enough to float the boat ,once it is level pull out slowly.Some ramps are tilted so it makes your boat tilt too. make saure that someone is at the stern of the boat to make sure it went on properly. Remember when loading, you can't see the tail end of the boat.