Roller trailer, fighting with it......

[Fordiesel69]

My first roller trailer.

Load Rite Trailer, Twin Axle. Fits up to 24' boats.

When I test drove the boat we put both fenders under the water. Had a hard time getting it on becuase the back of the boat would float up and get sideways.

So this time I put both fenders in and pulled out about half way so 50% of the fender was in the water and 50% was out. Now the boat stayed in the rollers good but we had to power it up while at the same time cranking the winch in low gear. It felt like I was going to pull the loop out of the boat even with the help of the engine.

I don;t understand how to make this work. People love their rollers. What am I doing wrong? Too far = boat floats, not enough and it won't go on.

 

[Icyharp]

Re: Roller trailer, fighting with it......

Well you are loading correct. On my Shorelander roller I do not cover the fenders either, I can't cause of the same issue.

So here is what I do with our boat, drive up on the rear rollers and get the winch hooked up. I then power up a little till the bow is in the front set of rollers and about 3 feet of cable left, and by powering up I only put it in gear and just a touch of the throttle. Once the cable is tight I hit neutral and I then have the wife just back the truck up another foot put it back in forward gear and walla the boat goes right on. I have to barely go into the water with the trailer cause the bow will hit the first axel if I try to float off and would hit it while loading. So we have learned once the bow is in the front set of rollers and I am standing in the center of the boat everything stays put going in a little deeper.

Hope that helps somewhat,

 

[Fordiesel69]

Re: Roller trailer, fighting with it......

Sounds like a PITA......... I will try that.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Roller trailer, fighting with it......

French: et voila' pronounced "A walla" or just "walla"-- approximate translation-- and there it is. Not being nasty but now, unless you were doing it for effect, you know for next time. LOL

 

[Fordiesel69]

Re: Roller trailer, fighting with it......

French: et voila' pronounced "A walla" or just "walla"-- approximate translation-- and there it is. Not being nasty but now, unless you were doing it for effect, you know for next time. LOL

You have lost me.......

 

[Icyharp]

Re: Roller trailer, fighting with it......

french: Et voila' pronounced "a walla" or just "walla"-- approximate translation-- and there it is. Not being nasty but now, unless you were doing it for effect, you know for next time. Lol

huh?

 

[Icyharp]

Re: Roller trailer, fighting with it......

Actually it is not too bad to do. I have a large family, so with me in the boat, wife behind the wheel and my sons at the winch it goes fast. Cause as soon as she back's up a little ways, the boys have the boat up and safety chain on they get out of the way, wife pulls us out of the water then parks so we can do the other fun things. Takes me less than 5 min to back in and unload, and about the same to get out. I think it takes me longer to walk to the truck to back in....lol.

 

[bassman284]

Re: Roller trailer, fighting with it......

I have 17' Lund on a roller trailer that I bought new in 2001. I had the good fortune to have a very knowledgeable salesman who took me for a boat ride and showed me how to load and unload. I've posted several times on this subject and below is a c&p from one of those posts (to lazy to type it all again).

When loading, I place the trailer so that the rearmost rollers are just under water. I come up just fast enough to maintain direction. As soon as the boat makes contact with the rear rollers, I take it out of gear for a second or 2 and let it settle. Then I go back in gear and wiggle the motor around until the boat is pretty well lined up on the trailer, then pour the wood on and drive it up close to the bow stop. Then pull back to about fast idle but leave it in gear so it won't roll off while I go up and hook the winch strap and safety chain and wind her on tight. Go back, shut down and raise the motor.

Keep in mind that about 98% of the time I'm doing this solo. Works the same if you have help except somebody else is winching it up.

I'm not sure which boat you're talking about, but all the boats in your sig are bigger than mine so this might add to the difficulty. However, a few years ago I watched a guy solo load what I'm guessing was a 24-26 footer on a roller trailer and he did it just like I describe above with no apparent problem. The boat was so tall he had a 4 rung ladder on the bow so he could climb down to hook up the winch.

 

[Fed]

Re: Roller trailer, fighting with it......

Greasing the roller axles can make a huge difference.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Roller trailer, fighting with it......

Now the boat stayed in the rollers good but we had to power it up while at the same time cranking the winch in low gear. It felt like I was going to pull the loop out of the boat even with the help of the engine.

The winch is too small for the boat. A winch rated for 1/2 the weight of your boat only works if you're Popeye or Hercules. I'm not hand winching anything over 20'

 

[Guest]

Re: Roller trailer, fighting with it......

The only thing I can add is maybe getting some side guides to keep the back of the boat straight inline and maybe a bow eye lock that when hit with the bow eye it locks the boat inplace, all you have to do then is drive the vehicle out and tighten up the wrinch. This will make it an easy one person job.

 

[sschefer]

Re: Roller trailer, fighting with it......

I understand exactly what the OP is experiencing. This can happen with a bunk trailer also. On mine it was because the trailer was just too darn high.

I would back it down until the fenders were just under the water, drive the boat on, hook it up to the winch and draw it up tight. Then I'd get in the truck and pull forward a couple of feet and go shove the boat around until it was straight and then pull it the rest of the way out. Its easier to crank on that way and doesn't take a lot of effort to get it straightened out. You get wet everytime and it can take a couple of tries on a windy day. I did that for two years and then got tired of being wet in the winter so I sold the whole rig and bought a new boat with a matched trailer. It's sooooo simple now.