rollers on trailer

[Wrongway105]

i just recently puchased a Renken 19' ski boat and the trailer has rollers on it. I am used to having the wood planks. the rear roller on the left side of trailer is missing in which i will replace. I am curious is there anything I should be aware of with this type of trailer. I am not to thrilled with this trailer thus far as it has scratched the hull up from previous owner due to lack of maintenance i am assuming. and how do i go about adjusting my rollers for best fit and ride? all the rollers even down the middle are bottomed on on the adjusting holes. any help greatly appreciated.<br /><br />WW

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: rollers on trailer

i have 3 trailers with roller bunks. love them for launching and retriving. but the first warning is NEVER move the trailer without the bow being secured to the bow stop...especially at the ramp. if you disconnect the bow before backingdown the ramp the boat might decide to launch itself prematurly right on the ramp. in retriving, you can also slip it off on the ramp. boy do you look like a fool when you do that. it only took once for me to learn. seeing that all you adjustment are bottom out. you can lower the tongue of the trailer to the ground, block the stern. then jack up the tongue, block the bow. this should give you clearance to get under the trailer and adjust the rollers to fit the boat. i used wd40 to keep my rollers lubed.

 

[Silver/Fish]

Re: rollers on trailer

T-daddy is right on...I added a safety strap to an old seabird trailer we owned years ago.

 

[djvan]

Re: rollers on trailer

Make sure your rear rollers are very near the rear of the boat. This supports the transom correctly. If they are not, you stand a chance of putting a "hook" in the bottom. Ditto on the safety strap.<br /><br />I love my roller trailer.<br /><br />DougV>

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: rollers on trailer

i have my trailers adjusted so the the back rollers are right under the transom. thanks guys i missed so me of the straping. some times i think it common sense. but is see 3000lb boats all the time, on drive on trailers with no strap at all, even the bow.

 

[Wrongway105]

Re: rollers on trailer

Im no expert but i kinda get the impression of rollers being kind of a pain especially when loading I dont have side guide posts or anything and its very hard to get the boat square on the rollers in the wind. what is the best thing to do when loading to assure no damage at retrieval?

 

[Silver/Fish]

Re: rollers on trailer

The guide posts on my new trailer makes it much, much easier...If you can add them to your trailer, all the better.If that isn't an option, it takes a little more time and practice. <br /><br /> Getting the trailer (and rollers) at "just the right depth" to where the boat will line up is the key and will also require some practice.

 

[JAL51974]

Re: rollers on trailer

I made some cheap guide posts for my roller trailer and now it is no problem to retrieve. Before that it was a pain though.

 

[jtexas]

Re: rollers on trailer

Originally posted by Wrongway105:<br /> Im no expert but i kinda get the impression of rollers being kind of a pain especially when loading I dont have side guide posts or anything and its very hard to get the boat square on the rollers in the wind. what is the best thing to do when loading to assure no damage at retrieval?

Self-centering keel rollers work great for me - <br /><br />

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: rollers on trailer

read a post the yesterday, a guy took the legs from an old trampolin, and made his guide ons. i had just taken down the kids tramp, immediately went to the street to retrieve the legs. will store them for my next project.

 

[gunmaker]

Re: rollers on trailer

We just got us a different boat and trailer. It's a 16' Glastron with a roller trailer. We had a 12' alum with a bunk trialer. I always had trouble with the bunk when the wind was blowing. Had to move it by hand. We used the roller trailer last weekend for the first time with the wind blowing and had no problems at all. I was tinking about buying guides also but i don't think i will now.

 

[djvan]

Re: rollers on trailer

Guide ons are great, went two years without. My wife assists me in loading and had more than her hands full when it was windy. Now she can manage the boat much better. Also as mentioned in a previous post finding the right depth to retrieve can make quite a difference. For me about an inch of the fenders above water works well. But I'm sure that each trailer/boat has it's own "sweet spot".<br /><br />HTH's<br /><br />DougV>

 

[ricksrster]

Re: rollers on trailer

Good point about the bow starp when retrieving. One day last summer I had to retrieve twice. It was very embarrassing

 

[ufm82]

Re: rollers on trailer

wrongway- I have just the opposite opinion. My boat loads much easier on my roller trailer than a boat on a bunk trailer. I routinely see guys "bumping" their boats at the ramp to get them to sit squarely on the bunks. The friction between the carpet and the hull make it tough to do this. If the boat is listing at all when it gets loaded, it tends to sit on the trailer crooked. (Like when a 250 lber is at the wheel, leaning over the side to see where the bunks are...) My roller trailer is wide open- all I need to do is shoot the bow anywhere between the front rollers and it automatically centers itself as 99% of the boat is still floating when I hit my front rollers. Once the bow strap is attached the boat can't go anywhere besides straight. I simply pull up to the front rollers, let the boat center itself, hit the throttle a bit to puch the boat up on the roller assembly, and crank her up to the bow stop. I don't think it could be much simpler. No guide-ons, no side bumpers, nothing. <br /><br /> My only regret about roller trailers is the fact that the boat can roll off. I've never lost mine on the ramp yet but I could see it being an issue if I didn't have a competent driver in the tow vehicle. Other than that, I love my trailer. No maintenance issues to mess with other than the occasional roller here and there. No carpet to wear out, no staples or bolts to snag and no stinky, moldy bunks sitting in the garage. <br /><br />Oh, and jtexas- roller trailers don't have keel rollers- the keel never touches anything on one. <br /><br />UFM82

 

[Terry Olson]

Re: rollers on trailer

My roller trailer just doesn't center the boat as it's loaded. If it's "off" it remains "off" all the way up the trailer. I've made some adjustments and rebuilt the trailer this past winter so it's working - just not very well with the boat. The trailer had "side rollers" when I bought it. They were useless but not really the right set up for this hull on this trailer. I thought about side bunks or adjusting and reinstalling the side rollers but I'm concerned that in forcing the boat on center they'll bend up the roller assemblies. Maybe a guy should run the trailer deep enough that most of the boat is floating while the side guides are centering it? If this is the case this is really more like a bunk trailer than a roller trailer. I may just remove the rollers and mount bunks if I can't get mine set up right. <br /><br />I know that's not all that constructive for you wrongway, but that's been my experience with my roller trailer. I know it's not typical though. I watch guys with newer boats and roller trailers and they do actually center as they're loaded.<br /><br />My two cents worth anyway. <br /><br />Good luck with it.

 

[willamettejeff]

Re: rollers on trailer

Like others here I've found that having most of the boat still floating and only sitting on the front keel roller when its pulled up to the bow stop works well for centering my boat on the rollers. Found also need to have the boat sitting level as possible. Since my boat tends to lean to starboard, I usually stay in the boat to level it while the wife winches it onto the trailer and tows it up the ramp. Sits on trailer straight and level everytime that way.

 

[gewf631]

Re: rollers on trailer

Anyone else have a problem with these statements?<br /><br />

Originally posted by UFM82:<br /> I simply pull up to the front rollers, let the boat center itself, hit the throttle a bit to puch the boat up on the roller assembly, and crank her up to the bow stop.

I can think of a few ramps where the attendant would not be happy with power loading.<br /><br />

My only regret about roller trailers is the fact that the boat can roll off. ...I could see it being an issue if I didn't have a competent driver in the tow vehicle

I don't know how the driver could cause the boat to roll off - unless you're unhooking the strap at the top of the ramp, in which case I'd say it's more luck than competence.

 

[Sheetmetal]

Re: rollers on trailer

I'm considering changing out the rollers and converting to bunks because the only places that leak on the boat are where the boat contacts the rollers. The bunks would help to spread the weight around.

 

[JDA1975]

Re: rollers on trailer

^^^^ Original post/thread over 5 years old...don't resurrect the dead!

 

[Sheetmetal]

Re: rollers on trailer

oops:redface: