Triton 18ft Roller Trailer Alignment Question

[BWalt302]

Just picked up a 2000 model Triton 18' Bay Flight. Was crooked when I purchased it. Put it in the water and loaded it on trailer, it went on straight; but I noticed two things I have a question about.

1) On front, two roller sit on strakes, see photos. Is this an issue?

2) Through hull fitting for raw water pickup (bait tank and wash down) sit on back roller (see photo, back left kind of hard to see), should I move these back rollers left or right? It feels strong, do you think any damage has been done?

Thanks!
Brandon

 

[dingbat]

Just picked up a 2000 model Triton 18' Bay Flight. Was crooked when I purchased it. Put it in the water and loaded it on trailer, it went on straight; but I noticed two things I have a question about.

1) On front, two roller sit on strakes, see photos. Is this an issue?

Yes... caused centralized loading at the point of contact

2) Through hull fitting for raw water pickup (bait tank and wash down) sit on back roller (see photo, back left kind of hard to see), should I move these back rollers left or right? It feels strong, do you think any damage has been done?

Certainly can't be doing it any good.

My boat started to "lean" to one side when loading a while back.
Found one of the roller brackets had moved off center a bit.
Raised and centered the boat. Moved the bracket over to met the hull. Problem solved

Upon closed inspection, your rear axle is done.... as in rusted through. Suggest you pay attendtion to it immediately

 

[BWalt302]

Dingbat, thanks for the response.

What is centralized loading at point of contact? Are my strakes damaged/boat ruined?

I had a feeling these were issues, which is why I asked. Would it be best to move the rollers in towards center, or out a few inches?

Yes, I know the axle is jacked, I am going to place a new one with all new hubs, etc. I have done this before, so I am familiar with process.

Just need advise for adjusting rollers, as this is new to me. I have had roller trailers in the past, but never had to adjust anything. Thanks again!

 

[dingbat]

Dingbat, thanks for the response.

What is centralized loading at point of contact? Are my strakes damaged/boat ruined?

"Loading" is the amount of weight (pressure) per unit area of support.
Instead of the hull being supported by the full width and length (area) of a roller, the weight is concentrated on the contact point which is much much smaller area than in full contact.

At this point I doubht the increased loading has done any damage to the hull but certainly will damage the roller, if not the hull, over time.

I had a feeling these were issues, which is why I asked. Would it be best to move the rollers in towards center, or out a few inches?

All depends on how low the boat is sitting on the trailer.

You want the boat to be as low to the frame as possible without hitting a structural members or the fenders. If you have room to lower the boat, widen the rollers. If the boat is already too low, you move the rollers towards the center.

Just remember the rollers need to be parallel to the center line of the trailer and symmetrical

 

[BWalt302]

Dingbat, thanks again! Greatly appreciated.

Boat sits pretty high off of the actual frame, but already pretty close to the fenders.

Does this sound like an okay plan? See below:

1) For back, move towards center about 2 inches, to clear the through hull pickup.

2) For front, move towards center about 2" to clear strakes.




The boat is perfectly center on the trailer, and as I mentioned, the fenders are pretty close already, Id hate to lower it any and risk coming in crooked on a windy/current day and causing damage.

Would moving everything in cause be too narrow of a support area for the entire bottom of the boat? Compared to my other trailer, the distance between rollers is much smaller, perhaps I should consider different setup all together?

I'm considering swapping to bunks, as I have had issues with my other roller trailers sitting on strakes, rollers popping off and gouging bottom, etc. I'd like to get it adjusted and go from there before making a decision, as it did load very easily.

Thanks again for the feedback! I am greatly thankful.

 

[dingbat]

Dingbat, thanks again! Greatly appreciated.

Boat sits pretty high off of the actual frame, but already pretty close to the fenders.

Does this sound like an okay plan? See below:

1) For back, move towards center about 2 inches, to clear the through hull pickup.View attachment 368126

2) For front, move towards center about 2" to clear strakes.

View attachment 368127


The boat is perfectly center on the trailer, and as I mentioned, the fenders are pretty close already, Id hate to lower it any and risk coming in crooked on a windy/current day and causing damage.

Would moving everything in cause be too narrow of a support area for the entire bottom of the boat? Compared to my other trailer, the distance between rollers is much smaller, perhaps I should consider different setup all together?

I'm considering swapping to bunks, as I have had issues with my other roller trailers sitting on strakes, rollers popping off and gouging bottom, etc. I'd like to get it adjusted and go from there before making a decision, as it did load very easily.

Thanks again for the feedback! I am greatly thankful.

They load and unload easily enough. Too easy if anything.
Thinking about switching from galvanized roller to aluminum bunk. Getting to old to walk the rail to hook up the winch cable. Prefer the stick and go of a bunk trailer. Winch the boat to the post on dry ground

Just looking at the pictures, I’d say you have to move the front and back in a couple of inches

 

[BWalt302]

Yeah. Agree with you regarding too easy, I hate having to leave the throttle open while climbing up to hook so it doesn’t roll back!

I’ll move them in and add a new axle and go from there.

Thanks,
Brandon

 

[jimmbo]

Looking at the Picture taken from behind. It looks like the trailer is Twisted, look at the Tongue Tube, then look at the A Frames

 

[dingbat]

Yeah. Agree with you regarding too easy, I hate having to leave the throttle open while climbing up to hook so it doesn’t roll back!

My boat has a “Carolina Flair”. Can’t reach the hook from the bow. Have to walk the rail of the trailer to connect. Have an electric winch so easy from that point on

 

[BWalt302]

Looking at the Picture taken from behind. It looks like the trailer is Twisted, look at the Tongue Tube, then look at the A Frames

Jimmbo, I see what you are saying! I know that the bow stop roller bracket is bent and had planned on replacing that, but seeing the actual tube below does look twisted. At first I thought it was due to my driveway slope, but you seem to be correct.

The boat sits pretty good / straight on the trailer, other than the issues mentioned above; do you think with a new axle, and roller adjustments + a new bow roller stop bracket it is bad enough to justify buying an entire new trailer?

My buddy has an extra 20ft trailer with bunks (this one is 18ft) and we measured to see how close they were so I can swap trailers to work on this one. I may start with the above and go from there, perhaps replacing all the brackets and losing some bolts here and there I can get it pretty close, I only trailer this boat 10 minutes regularly and the occasional trip to the intracoastal waterway (2.5-3.5 hours)

 

[BWalt302]

Also, forgot to ask while we are on the subject:

I called a local retailer and provided the S/N for my trailer for a new axle, I took measurements and haven't heard back. I am not one to beg to give someone my business so I won't be calling them back.

Isn't 5 Starr a brand of Load Rite? The trailer is a 2000 model, 18ft and the axle measurements are below, can someone recommend where I can order a new axle? Prefer one with hubs and brackets but can add those myself if needed.

Spring Center is 57.5"
Hub Face is 72.5"

This boat seems pretty heavy for the size which I would assume being thick fiberglass it is. Should I go with a 2000LBS or 3500LBS axle? Any good online retailer I can order one from?

 

[BWalt302]

My boat has a “Carolina Flair”. Can’t reach the hook from the bow. Have to walk the rail of the trailer to connect. Have an electric winch so easy from that point on

Do you have to keep the throttle open to hold it from rolling back off rollers when wet? I usually keep the back two rollers under water and that's it. Maybe once on my old roller trailer was I able to get it to "stick" without throttle while hooking up before pulling out.

I have read a few guys keep a rope tied to trailer and reach over and grab it and wrap it around the cleat to keep it from rolling back so that they can jump out and hook up without leaving engine under power to get out without boat rolling back off.

 

[dingbat]

Do you have to keep the throttle open to hold it from rolling back off rollers when wet?

#5K+ boat....tired that once. Motor off, trimmed up and secured before loading since.

I back trailer (tandem axle, 32 rollers) in until the just the top of the fenders is above water. At that point, only the front rollers are above the water.

Walk out the tongue/rail of the trailer and grab the dock line tied to the bow cleat then pull (float) the boat on the trailer far enough (about 4 foot from the post) to connect the winch cable. Walk back to the winch and push the button to pull the boat to the stop.

Connect safety chain and pull up "staging area" to secure everything for departure.

Getting it off the trailer is a bigger effort.
Tie dock line to bow cleat and wrap around the winch post 4-5 times.
Back off winch (2-3 ft.) until dock line holds the weight then remove the winch cable. Slowly unwrap dock line and use the wraps to control the decent of the boat. Works like a charm