What type of trailer?

[Grneyedloki]

Just wondering what type of trailer everyone has? What are the pros an cons for each with our seacrafts? My 23 has a float on which need work. My dads 23 has a lowboy floaton which he likes alot. I have seen some seacrafts on roll-offs. Since my bunks are old and need to be replaced and the guy who owned it befor me didn't put new pads on for the boat to sit( he put two by fours and wrapped them with carpet and some string). I was wondering Whig would be a better option. The v style skiff pads with the PVC v or get the rollers and then replace the bunks and carpet with the roller arms?

[CaptMick]

Magic tilt bunk type. V-catch with single roller at the keel forward and a good bow catch right at the bow eye.

Never been a fan of the roll on. Ones I have seen the rollers pivot and that makes too many moving parts for me on a saltwater trailer. I got a trailer for work the other day and it has all plastic on the bunks no carpet. Seems to work good.

[DonV]

I'm suggesting the bunk type also with the "V" slide on guide bunks in the front. However I'm not a fan of the bunks enclosed in carpet, holds water too long. I actually bought the black plastic slide on covers (about 6" wide x 3' long) a couple of years ago, however they mark up my hull. Took them off, they are sitting in the side yard doing nothing. I've replaced with 2x6 pressure treated with the white plastic slides (from T.A. Mahoney). I'll get off my rear and post a picture. If you have some starboard that also works well.

[DonV]

Here ya go. The plastic slides are 3" x 18", I angled them edge to edge of the 2x6 to cover as much of the wood as possible. Works well. I did the same thing on my flats boat trailer. Slides on/off easy and dries quickly. The plastic slides are $3.50, you might find them cheaper.

[castalot]

5 star all roller 5200# carring 7300# gross love it

Single axle Continental aluminum float-on with 6 inch wide bunks for my 20SF. Launches and drives on easily. Just have to be faithful on the hubs and bearings every six months. I also use stainless hardware everywhere I can. I replace the galvanized bolts, braces, etc., whenever they need it with stainless. Just make sure to grease the threads before you torque the stainless bolts down! A word of warning. If you silicon the bunk carpet - don't undo the bow before you back it into the water. The boat will slide right off. Also make sure you hook the bow before pulling it out of the water. Don;t want to leave the boat on the pavement! I've seen it done more than once.

[Basspond]

I would highly recommend the aluminum with bunk route. I had a roller trailer for my old 20 which I thought was fine, after going to an aluminum bunk for my new 20, wow how easy can it get? Just make sure if you go that route to get the forward vee bunks, they really make a world of difference.

I do not keep my seacraft in the water and trailer 100% of the time and I really, really love my bunk trailer.

[Tiny]

Single axle Continental aluminum float-on with 6 inch wide bunks for my 20SF. Launches and drives on easily. Just have to be faithful on the hubs and bearings every six months. I also use stainless hardware everywhere I can. I replace the galvanized bolts, braces, etc., whenever they need it with stainless. Just make sure to grease the threads before you torque the stainless bolts down! A word of warning. If you silicon the bunk carpet - don't undo the bow before you back it into the water. The boat will slide right off. Also make sure you hook the bow before pulling it out of the water. Don;t want to leave the boat on the pavement! I've seen it done more than once.

I'm with this guy!

[ricknewman]

If you have a decent ramp to launch your boat then a float on is the way to go. Rollers can be a pain in the butt.

[Bushwacker]

It all depends on the ramps you use. The only advantage I can see to the aluminum float-on type is less weight and possibly faster loading IF you're not by yourself. On some ramps, they don't allow powerloading. The disadvantage is potential for water in the bearings and need to check them often.

As Ken said, with a good roller trailer and a power winch, you can launch anywhere, anytime, by yourself! I personally prefer the EZ-Loader design. They use aluminum shafts, and nylon bushings in the rollers, so NO lube is required! They use so many rollers that the load per roller is only about 150 lbs, and the design is such that all rollers balance against each other, insuring even load distribution. The cross members are designed to rotate as boat goes on/off trailer, providing a "tilt trailer" function without the sloppy tongue/frame joint common to tilt trailers. Bought my trailer new in 1985 and it's still going strong 25 years later! The only thing I've done to it is change the rollers from black rubber to urethane to eliminate black marks on the hull. The washers and hog rings do tend to rust but I bought stainless washers for mine and coated the hog rings in grease to eliminate that problem.

Note that only the TIRES get wet! I've only pulled the hubs once in about 25 years and they were fine. The 16.5" wheels don't spin very fast and the bearings never get wet so they'll last a long time. I believe a well designed roller trailer requires LESS maintnance over time, and allows you to launch at virtually any ramp.