Power loading on to trailers - Pay the price!

[greenbush future]

Re: Power loading on to trailers - Pay the price!

Never used the motor to load here in Mi. it is not allowed anyways, and I find it much safer to just get my trailer deep enough to float off and on w/o any power required. Never even tried to launch where anything else would be required, and I would be quite scared I would damage my boat if I tried. It floated off just fine when launching, so why would I need to use a motor to get it back on? Do power loaders also power off the trailer too?
All the places that have high enough water levels are used this way, but again, I would just back down far enough to float her back on. Been doing it this way for 20 years and no one ever complained about taking too long, or doing it wrong. Maybe Michigan is different.
My winch strap can pull my boat snug quite easily if I'm deep enough and I don't have rollers, just bunks.

 

[bryanwess2000]

Re: Power loading on to trailers - Pay the price!

Glad to hear your friend got his boat out. Like was said earlier down here in AL everyone powerloads and your more likely to have a smart comment directed toward you if you don't for tying up the ramp. I have a roller trailer and still powerload but it only takes a little more than idle speed to get my boat on my trailer unlike the bass boats that hit 5-6000rpms. They don't even dunk their bunks to make them slick before loading. The only ones I see winching are old timers with jonboats on trailers 4ft shorter than they should be and some people with skiffs along the gulf on ramps that aren't busy.

 

[muskyfins]

Re: Power loading on to trailers - Pay the price!

Gotta love "country boy engineering".


Got a hold of the local DNR fella and splained the problem and that we were going to try and get my friends boat out and would probably have the ramp tied up for awhile. He said don't get in a hurry and he'd meet us in an hour at the lake.

We were sitting around waiting for him and he shows up riding shotgun in his brothers dump truck. They had a load of three inch rock, backed down the ramp to nearly the edge and filled it in. 15 minutes of us all working together and we had it pretty well smoothed out, backed the trailer in, loaded the boat and that was that.

This is a great idea and how it should be. But do you know what it would take where I live to get this done? Here in the People's Republic of Illinois, the DNR guy would have to :

1. Submit a written proposal to the board and wait 30 days for approval
2. Obtain special permit "dump" in protected waterway
3. Testify before special senate committee that no fish or wildlife would be harmed
4. Certify that only "locally mined" rocks would be used
5. Commission engineering study to verify plan will work
6. Hire union laborers to block ramp, teamster to drive truck, operator to unload rocks, safety chief to avoid civilian injuries
7. Perform safety test of truck in question
8. Raise funding by lobbying congress
9. Pay kick backs to family members for use of truck
10. Load rock into boat and sink it.

 

[Lakes84]

Re: Power loading on to trailers - Pay the price!

Or the guys with the big red Lunds ?

Yeah, some of the bigger Lunds are guilty, as well as some other brands. I really think it's just a "coolness" factor for many, especially when they're being watched. A lot of those guys, just power all the way on till it hits the winch stand. I shudder to think of what it's doing to their boats. I had a Ranger, sold it last year, I never power loaded it. Not because of what it would potentially do to the ramp, but these boats are not built to take the repeated hammering of the hull against the trailers, just like smashing into big waves and making things shudder with the impact, affecting your motor, electronics, not to mention the people. It might look cool, but it isn't. -Joe

 

[OllieC]

Re: Power loading on to trailers - Pay the price!

By Muskyfins;
This is a great idea and how it should be. But do you know what it would take where I live to get this done? Here in the People's Republic of Illinois, the DNR guy would have to :

1. Submit a written proposal to the board and wait 30 days for approval
2. Obtain special permit "dump" in protected waterway
3. Testify before special senate committee that no fish or wildlife would be harmed
4. Certify that only "locally mined" rocks would be used
5. Commission engineering study to verify plan will work
6. Hire union laborers to block ramp, teamster to drive truck, operator to unload rocks, safety chief to avoid civilian injuries
7. Perform safety test of truck in question
8. Raise funding by lobbying congress
9. Pay kick backs to family members for use of truck
10. Load rock into boat and sink it.

Now that's funny right there!!!!

My cousin's IL DNR for about 30yrs, and he'd attest to what you just wrote. LOL!!!

 

[mommicked]

Re: Power loading on to trailers - Pay the price!

Most everyone I see on local lakes power loads to some degree and as said before the guys w the big, high hp ones do it everytime ( it's evedently not prohibited ). My closest lake has a set spillway and stays at the same elev. w/o a drought and the ramps are long and steepish imo. I powerload only to set the boat on the trailor, then winch the last 4/5'. If i had to launch at a lake w low water levels I would walk out w a stick to find the end of the ramp first before launching. if I had this problem often ( which occurs at alot of our river ramps ) I would maybe fab a 2nd axle w smaller dia. tires than the original and mount it just infront of the springmounts. Then if the back axle fell off the end I think the 2nd axle would allow me to pull the trailer back up on the ramp as long as it didn't drop off too!! The only time i've seen someone back off was a very long, homeaid trailor w dual axles and tiny fat tires, under a 25+' pontoon. He powerloaded his trailor back up the ramp w his lifted, big tired 4x4 Dodge. He backed up and hit the ramp (w/o the toon) 4 or five times before he popped it back up and out. It was fun to watch his truck dance and jump, in 4wd while he pulled and yanked on the heavy trailor!! I bet that didn't help the end of the ramp any, and Muskyfins that was about the truth, but I'm sure there were a dozen more steps in the process you did'nt list :facepalm:

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Power loading on to trailers - Pay the price!

It may need to be pointed out to all those that aren't used to, or don't use the winch, that in order to use the winch to pull the boat up the trailer the winch MUST be at a point higher than the bow eye on the boat. If the winch is lower than the bow eye all you will do is pull the boat down onto the trailer. When I got my current boat and trailer the winch was too low, so I added an 'extra' cable roller that is actually above the winch, so the cable goes up from the winch, up and over the roller and to the boat. I can use the 'extra' roller to easilly winch the boat up the trailer, and then change the cable to go directly from the winch to the boat to snug the boat down to the trailer.

If so, the trailer should be rigged with the winch at the correct height, or the trailer not sunk so deep it's lower than the bow eye. You shouldn't have to unhook and rehook part way up and in fact that could be dangerous. And the extra roller adds work. I suggest you rethink your process or your rigging.

 

[Mason78]

Re: retreive your trailer after falling off ramp end

Re: retreive your trailer after falling off ramp end

After your wheels drop off the end of the concrete ramp, and the spring shackles are tight to the edge, how to retrieve the trailer.
Back the tow vehicle up a couple of inches, just to make sure the shackles are not binding on the edge of the ramp. Pull all of the rope, cable, strap from your winch. lay the cable/strap along the center of the trailer until you get to the axle. Pull the cable end with hook up under the axle, then attach hook to the bow eye of boat. If the strap/cable is not long enough just use a dock line to make the connection. Now just start to tighten up on the winch strap. This will cause the strap to tighten up under the trailer axle and the boat will anchor the line above the water line. Trailer will begin to raise up and the tow vehicle can pull the trailer free.
I have helped several boaters by employing this method. Works every time.

Good info! Thanks!

 

[dmtalon]

Re: retreive your trailer after falling off ramp end

Re: retreive your trailer after falling off ramp end

Straight from my manual (right or wrong)

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: retreive your trailer after falling off ramp end

Re: retreive your trailer after falling off ramp end

Straight from my manual (right or wrong)

View attachment 163056

that's pathetic.

 

[Navy Jr.]

Re: retreive your trailer after falling off ramp end

Re: retreive your trailer after falling off ramp end

I'm a little surprised more hasn't been said about the difference between bunk and roller trailers. Or between small boats and those that weigh, say, more than 1,000 lbs.

We all know we should launch deep and load shallow, right? If I back my roller trailer in too far, there is no way it will load straight on the trailer, so at most ramps I back it in to where the water hits the front step on the wheel fender. The rearmost rollers are in the water, but the rest are out of the water. My trailer has the tilt feature; the 16 rollers at the end are on a frame structure that tilts down towards the rear. When loading, the tilt causes our 2,000 lb boat to come up bow high, then the bow falls towards the winch as the weight of the boat evens out over the length of the trailer. Need to give it some throttle to make that happen, and keep throttle on while reaching over bow to attach winch strap; otherwise boat would roll back.

Yes, there's plenty of winch strap to pull the boat up over the entire length of the trailer, but I've never walked all the way out there to hook it up, which is what I would have to do with my tilting roller trailer. I might consider the walk in warm weather, but not when it gets cold.

And, yes, I've launched lots of times at Gray's Bay on Lake Minnetonka, one of the finest concrete launches in the state where power loading is the norm.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: retreive your trailer after falling off ramp end

Re: retreive your trailer after falling off ramp end

And, yes, I've launched lots of times at Gray's Bay on Lake Minnetonka, one of the finest concrete launches in the state where power loading is the norm.

It is a good ramp and I'm not sure why anyone would have to do more than idle onto the trailer there - its not like it is hard to get the trailer in to any depth you like. But it is also one of those ramps where the concrete goes plenty deep into the lake.

Leaving the controls with the boat is in gear and under power to hook up the bow hook is pretty stupid and I'd be suprised if you wouldn't be talked to or ticketed for doing that if there was an officer at the ramp.

 

[lncoop]

Re: retreive your trailer after falling off ramp end

Re: retreive your trailer after falling off ramp end

that's pathetic.

What's pathetic? Trailstar (says the guy with a Trailstar trailer under his barge), or their launching and loading instructions? I didn't see anything in there that instructs boaters to rev the engine to 5k RPMs and ram the bow into the bow stop. Unless I missed something egregious their suggestions sounded pretty reasonable to me.

 

[BoatDrinksQ5]

Re: retreive your trailer after falling off ramp end

Re: retreive your trailer after falling off ramp end

INCOOP,

I would guess, the large warning that says not to use the winch as a winch! HAHA wow - my wonderful 'boat holder' on my trailstar must really be working hard for a living

I suppose if my wife can crank it our boat up the last foot or two ...it isn't stressing it past its limits! haha

 

[rbh]

Re: retreive your trailer after falling off ramp end

Re: retreive your trailer after falling off ramp end

I'm just going to shake my head back and forth for awhile over some of the comments.

 

[lncoop]

Re: retreive your trailer after falling off ramp end

Re: retreive your trailer after falling off ramp end

INCOOP,

I would guess, the large warning that says not to use the winch as a winch! HAHA wow - my wonderful 'boat holder' on my trailstar must really be working hard for a living

I suppose if my wife can crank it our boat up the last foot or two ...it isn't stressing it past its limits! haha

OMG! ROFL! I can't believe I missed that! I stand corrected. That is indeed pathetic, and it sorta gets me thinking. My barge is on a Trailstar and I've always winched it up the last few feet. I've put plenty of strain on it but haven't ever had any issues other than bursitis in my right shoulder, although I'm pretty sure that had more to do with the tongue jack.

 

[Rancherlee]

Re: Power loading on to trailers - Pay the price!

Being a pontoon owner WITH a bunk trailer AND over 20' between the ball and the first trailer axle wants make me want to kick everone I see power loading in the balls! cement ramps are the worst because the cement usually quits and make for a 90* drop off if people power load on it often. I've had my trailer hung up twice at two different lakes because of that. I've finally welded upside down ramps on my trailer frame that will allow the frame to lift up high enough to allow the tires to climb back up if it happens again. Worst guy I seen was a Bass boat guy that backed up JUST far enough the back of the bunks to touch the water, his trailer TIRES were still on dry ground! needless to say he needed over 1/2 throttle out of the 250hp outboard to get the boat on the trailer and a CLOUD of muddy water was blown over 150' out into the lake along with a 2' deep hole in the middle of the dirt ramp........... I lost it and blew up on him to the point where my wife told me to get in the truck, its not worth it.........

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Power loading on to trailers - Pay the price!

The guys that say that they can retrieve their boats without getting their axles wet are the big offenders.

 

[jkust]

Re: Power loading on to trailers - Pay the price!

I feel like boating/trailering highlights how many of society are really operating a couple cylinders short. For the boats I see and the ramps I use, I view powerloading as cheating and lazy combined with didn't pay attention in class. May not be the case everywhere on Earth but at the dozens of ramps I use, it is I believe. Regardless, I see the powerloaders and the big holes but I have a secret weapon. My roller trailer provides so many benefits and among them is that I never need to back it in enough to deal with the consequenses of powerloaders. I was at Lake Mille Lacs this week which is one of our really large lakes and the ramp had the worst power loading hole I have seen to date. I saw it when I got out to assess the ramp condition but know I'm immune to its dangers. A well set up roller trailer is like when you need a second spare trailer tire after you just used the first one and actually have one with you.

 

[KDAVID1]

Re: Power loading on to trailers - Pay the price!

Looks like someone already patented an adjustable version - wonder if they ever sold them?
http://www.google.com/patents/US6641160

One more version
http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/topic/536401/gonew/1

very cool