Quote:
Originally Posted by JUST JOHN
PM'd!
I'm starting to consider maybe converting my roller trailer to bunks, replace the leaf springs and some ugly hardware...Haven't yet made any calls to local dealers...
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I would NEVER convert a roller trailer to bunks!! You might want to check out the EZ-Loader roller system - their nylon bushings rolling on aluminum shafts require no lubrication, so basically maintenance free. The only complaint I had with mine is that the black rubber rollers left black marks on the hull. Changing to the yellow polyurethane rollers fixed that problem. The only other issue is that because the roller system has so many degrees of freedom, if your boat doesn’t sit level in the water, it will come on the trailer the same way! Took a while to get my boat properly balanced, but once I did that, and adjusted the rollers so that they ran right along the sides of the vertical steps on the center panel, I found that I could retrieve the boat single handedly in virtually any cross wind or cross current condition with no problems. It came on the trailer straight and level every time. Retrieval speed with a power winch might be a little slower than a float on trailer, but you have to balance that vs the time spent maintaining springs, brakes and lights on a trailer that you have to dunk! (I did add a couple of keel rollers on both sides of aft cross member, but found that I could always launch and retrieve my Seafari with only getting the tires wet; never got the axle or springs wet on my 6M single axle EZ Loader. Bought it I in 1985 and when I sold it in 2017; the only major maintenance I had done to it in 32 years was replace the rear X-member a couple years before I sold it.)
One note of caution related to the EZ Loader trailer is that there is so little friction in the roller system that you will need to use the brake feature on a power (or manual) winch when launching the boat, or it can come off the trailer so fast that the bottom of transom can hit concrete if launching at a shallow ramp! Personally I liked having the capability of being able to launch the boat by my self at virtually any ramp; I felt like I could have even launched the boat in my front yard if necessary! But that means the boat must be well secured on the trailer when towing. You can’t depend on friction from bunks to keep it in place when towing!