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Member
Posts: 5
| I'm about to become the proud owner of an eighteen foot Lund but I need a little advice on loading and un-loading off a roller type trailer. I've had a couple of Champion bass boats with regular bunk type trailers. I am used to just un-hooking them and backing down the ramp. I am guessing this approach might get my new boat off the trailer a little sooner than I may want. Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks. |
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Member
Posts: 514
Location: Darboy USA | You are correct. You don't want to do that, unless you want to pick up the pieces off the concrete! On my old boat (17' Smokercraft) I also had a roller. It was great for loading/unloading in shallow water. Just back in as far as you can without getting wet, then get out and unhook it and back the rest of the way in. It should slide off as you get in further. It's easy with 2 guys as well, just unhook at waters edge and push as the other guy holds the landing rope. |
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Member
Posts: 149
Location: Appleton, WI | I have a roller trailor under my 1800 lund and I hate it!! It's the most useless invention ever thought of!! I back in the water and have to start the motor throw it in forward gear just to get the winch cable off the eye. other wise it just keeps rolling back and you need to be a tight rope walker to get to the hook. Now it's time to load, just drive on and leave the throtel cranked up to hold your boat in place until eather you or someone up frount can hook you up and then kill the engine. Id trade my roller trailor with surge breaks for a bunk in a heart beat!! |
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| That is the dumist repley I have ever read wrap your line around the winch stand so you can unhook your line from your winch. |
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Member
Posts: 56
| I've never had a problem unloading a boat off of a roller trailer, it's actually quite easy, you're right, don't unhook the winch strap until you have the boat backed far enough into the water, the boat will roll off of the trailer. If you drive it on the trailer, keep the motor in gear and climb up front and hook your winch strap to the boat, if you don't keep the boat in gear it will roll right back off of the trailer. One other thing I noticed with roller trailers is you don't have to back them in as far as a bunk trailer, it's hard to get the boat straight on the trailer if you are backed in to deep. |
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Member
Posts: 163
Location: Oshkosh | On my old Yar Craft I had a roller trailer. I could launch and load that by myself in under 30 seconds each way. With this trailer, it seemed a little reluctant to roll off... THis may have been due to the side guides I had on it- perhaps the hull was rubbing against on of the guides, which provided enough friction that if you weren't at too steep of an angle it would stay in place. All I had to do is give it a gentle push and off it would roll.
After fishing out of this rig for several years, getting a Ranger with a bunk trailer is like culture shock! I can load it myself just fine, but there is no pushing it off the bunk trailer by myself. What technique do you guys suggest for launching by yourself that doesn't take an hour?
Mark |
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Member
Posts: 885
| I've always had a bunk trailer so I never gave it more than an instant of thought when I unhooked my buddies fiberglass boat years ago to go sking, much to my surprise, the second he put in in reverse, the boat came completely off the roller trailer onto the concete landing. I discovered very quickly that 1 man can't hold back an 18 foot ski boat with a single rope. getting it back on the trailer took a little more time of slowly backing up the truck and cranking the boat back onto the trailer. The only damage to the boat was a little fiberglass scrapped off the back lower bottom. He still won't let me near his boat.
Purple Skeeter
Edited by Purple Skeeter 8/8/2008 9:17 PM
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New User
Posts: 2
| I take off the transom strap then back down the ramp, once at the waters edge I loosen the bow strap enough that the boat can float halfway off the trailer. I then back into the water until the boat is close to floating. I hop into the boat...start her up and back off the trailer. Once tied up at the dock I hop back into the vehicle and drive away. Two minutes start to finish.
Loading is slightly different as I find I can load it easier by hand winching it up as opposed to power loading it, the rollers make it very easy to do. I prefer a bunk trailer for travelling long distances however as a roller seems to point load the bottom of the boat where they contact.
Seen one poor soul this weekend who forgot to keep the bow strap on the boat and he backed his brand new $40K fiberglass inboard boat down the ramp only to have it roll off 4 feet from the water. There was a hole in the motor casing that puked oil all over the ramp and some serious pride damage, sure ruined his day on the water. Very expensive lesson thats for sure! |
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Member
Posts: 39
| Anybody that takes a safety chain off before he gets the boat down in the water should have his fingers chopped off. Just kidding, had to throw that in there. Don't take the safety chain off until its to the point of floating and when your done loading it you should be put on the first thing before you pull the boat out of the water. To trust a nylon strap on a 40 to 50Gs boat is not good. |
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| It is amazing at how something so simple can be the hardest thing to figure out... I guess that is why my last name ends with an "s-k-i!"
Thanks!
Mark |
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| Here's what I do when loading and unloading by myself. I have added another bow eye above the original one. I put the tailgate on my pickup down, back trailer into water so boat can almost float off trailer, step off dock onto tailgate, attach a rope with hook to upper bow eye, disconnect safety chain and winch, push boat off trailer with my foot, step back onto dock and tie up boat. This works well for me, just make sure the hook on your rope has a clip so it can't fall off. Loading is almost as easy, I very seldom have to winch the boat more than 12-16". Otis that SKI stands fo SKILL, KNOWLEDGE and INTELIGENCE! |
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