Trade trailers or rollers for bunks
 

The 20' hull gives me fits trying to get it lined up on my trailer with rollers. Want to trade rollers for bunks or trade trailers. I have a galvanized dual axle with new (in April) surge brakes and new rollers. Only seen salt once, ad has been dipped in the fresh water river after that.

Re: Trade trailers or rollers for bunks
 

Are you driving on, or winching?

Re: Trade trailers or rollers for bunks
 

generally, tie up at ramp, run for the pickup/trailer, back down a steep ramp and pull the boat on with the painter. The ramp is too steep to (hand) winch on, I think.

I have a problem with getting it centered on the rollers. Any suggestions?

Re: Trade trailers or rollers for bunks
 

Most roller trailers work fine if you don't dunk 'em too deep and use a winch. I just barely get the tires wet with my EZ-Loader and I never dunk the axle or springs, which is why it's lasted 25+ years in salt water. Have you considered using a power winch? It greatly simplifies loading if you're by your self. You can also add a pulley to the snap hook and then run cable thru pulley and back to winch stand to double the pulling power of the winch if necessary.

Re: Trade trailers or rollers for bunks
 

I agree with Denny (Bushwacker)...I have a roller trailer as well...works good for me because I do not have to back in so far on the steep ramp near my house...makes a difference due to the fact that I now use a Kia Sedona minivan for towing my 20 GW Overnighter..I can pull it out of ramp with ease because I do not have to dunk the trailer..also used a roller trailer on my 20' Seacraft as well with optimum results...I currently have a 2 speed winch which is ok for now...Also the tides really do not affect the roller trailer usage..
Denny has some good pics of proper utilization of a roller trailer that he posted on here..that might change your mind about a swap...I cant find them though
-Fred

Re: Trade trailers or rollers for bunks
 

I've used the same trailer for over 26 years and have gradually refined and improved it's adjustment and usage. I normally load and unload all by myself, no other help required. Here's a slide show of the results at local village ramp I normally use.

One note of caution: When using a trailer of this type, ALWAYS put a chock behind all 4 wheels when loading! (OK to only chock rear wheels when unloading unless it's a really steep ramp.) Reason is that it's not a tilt trailer, and there is a point during loading that ALL the weight of the boat is on the rear X-member, which will lift the rear tires up onto the chocks! They will SLIDE if front tires are not also chocked! (Ask me how I know this! :o)

Re: Trade trailers or rollers for bunks
 

Ah yes! The voice of embarrassed remembrance! Don't we all know that as if it came from our own mouths!

As I recall, Denny, about 30 years ago, when I failed to do just as you mention here, my pickup, trailer and boat all slid backwards until my boat was floating once more, and my exhaust was making bubbling noises. :eek:

(BTW, that was at the ramp in Lake Park, with an appreciative audience looking on))

Re: Trade trailers or rollers for bunks
 

Post a picture of the trailer maybe we can see what's wrong or needs changing I personally love roller trailers here in the northeast where the ramps aren't as nice as down south

Re: Trade trailers or rollers for bunks
 

Frank, I was lucky that mine only slid enough to dunk the trailer axle, but it sure got my attention! This was one of those days where everything went wrong . . . I was launching by my self, had backed down the ramp, set the rear chocks, but when I released the winch clutch the boat only rolled back 2-3' and I couldn't push it back any further. I discovered that the 20' stern line, which I had uncoiled and run up fwd along gunnel so I could grab it after launching, had fallen off the boat as I was backing down the ramp and was under the trailer tire! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] So I jump back in truck, pull up enough to free the line, and then then let it roll back against the chocks. There was probably a lot more truck weight up on the chocks than normal, so even though the boat slid off the trailer quickly as I launched it, that brief uplift on the hitch as all the weight shifted to the aft rollers evidently unloaded the rear tires enough to cause it to slide! Lesson learned: 2 chocks aren't always enough if you get careless!

I've used that ramp in Lake Park . . . it's quite a bit steeper than the NPB village ramp, except at low tide, so it's not hard to get in trouble there! Denny

Re: Trade trailers or rollers for bunks
 

Looks like I need a keel roller!

http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/...r/IMG_0424.jpg

http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/...r/IMG_1219.jpg

Re: Trade trailers or rollers for bunks
 

Looks like your trailer has exact same roller arrangement as mine. The EZ Loader's are great trailers and I'd keep it, especially since it has surge brakes on it! You simply need to get your rollers adjusted correctly.

On your rear rack of rollers, I'd suggest you jack up the hull (use a bottle jack on outer frame and a 2x4 under hull), loosen the small U-clamps and move the inner and outer rollers as far apart as possible. This wider "wheelbase" will make boat more stable on trailer, and may also allow it to sit a little lower on the trailer, also improving stability and reducing winch effort required to load. (Just be sure to check clearance at the fenders!) Then loosen the big U-clamps and slide the entire rack outboard so the outer rollers are just outside the outer step. Also make sure port and stbd racks are also equidistant from ends of X-member so boat is centered on trailer. When you're done, roller position relative to hull should look like this: http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...mLadder002.jpg
Here's another older shot before I repainted bottom.
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...thesandbar.jpg

Then repeat same process on front rack of rollers. On the keel rollers, I ended up putting a roller & bracket on both fwd and aft side of rear X-member; otherwise the keel can scrape the forward edge of the X-member or the mounting straps if it tilts far enough.

If you do all this, use a winch, and just put the trailer in deep enough so the aft keel roller is just below the bow eye, I think you'll find it'll load perfectly every time. One other tip: because that roller system has so many degrees of freedom, if your boat is listing to one side, it will try to come on the trailer that way. If you adjust the rollers like I did, it should prevent that, but I think it helps to shift weight from side to side as req'd to get the boat as level as possible before you try loading on trailer.

One other tip: These EZ-Loader trailers have so little friction in the roller system, that it's ESSENTIAL that boat be well secured on trailer! I have a safety chain from bow eye to winch stand, which will keep it from rolling off trailer if winch clutch/brake fails, but that's not enough! If your winch stand roller set up is like this, http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...Trailer007.jpg
notice that there is NOTHING to prevent the boat from rolling FORWARD AND UP on the winch stand rollers if you make a hard stop! Since the ramp is only a couple of blocks from my house, I often don't use my aft tiedown strap which goes over the gunnels to trailer frame. (Bad idea No. 1!) One day I made a hard stop on the way to ramp to test my new disk brakes. When I got to ramp, I discovered boat had slid forward far enough that the aft rollers had ridden back and up aft side of transom! :o So it was back to house and break out floor jack and 2x4 to raise back of boat enough to let it slide back into correct position! Never had that happen when I used tie down strap, but ever since then I have added a ratchet strap from bow eye straight down around tongue of trailer to keep boat from rolling up the winch stand rollers on a hard stop. Some folks use a big turnbuckle and a hook which does the same thing, but the ratchet strap was quick and easy, and I now use the aft strap too! Denny

Re: Trade trailers or rollers for bunks
 

Thanks very much for the pictures. I spent a Saturday with wrenches and a bottle jack and not I have mine adjusted about like yours. I put a 12" roller on the rear crossmember. I think I will put a smaller one on the forward axle as a just in case as it rolls up, before it hits the forward rollers.

Re: Trade trailers or rollers for bunks
 

Boat should never hit the axle unless you dunk the trailer too far into the water or you're on a very steep ramp. I never put rear cross member in the water; try to put it in so keel roller is just below the towing eye. Bow rides UP on that roller and aft rack of rollers AWAY from axle as it's being winched up on trailer and then drops down as aft X-member pivots when CG moves forward of the aft rollers.

A good Powerwinch is a big help loading these trailers, preferably with a pulley and double cable. The only problem with them is they run ~50 amps of current thru the winch switch, so the switches burn out quickly! If you rig up a Ford starter solenoid to the switch so all the current goes thru that relay, the switch will last forever!

Re: Trade trailers or rollers for bunks
 

Well, I tried out the new trailer configuration today and it worked like a charm. As it turns out- I have a 2 speed hand winch and it worked well, self centering really well, despite the cross current from the Merrimac river.

This makes using the boat so much more enjoyable. Thanks for the help!