setting up trailer bunks and rollers

[870 Expressmag]

I am not new to boating, but new to owning a boat. I just bought my first boat (i'm 30) and it's a 15ft aluminum Meyers, with 18hp Evinrude tiller steer. My question is how to set up the bunks and rollers on the trailer. I bought the trailer and boat together and they appear to have been together for a long time. However the first time we took it out we noticed the motor running very close to the road when hitched to pickup. And when unloading first time when launching the boat the very front of boat would drop down and catch on the bow bump stop on very front of trailer. So we adjusted the bunks up in the back to make tansom higher, and then extended the center rollers upward. Took it out today, second time using the boat, launching was a hair easier however the front of the boat still hung up a little on bow bumper, and boat just doesnt seem easy to load, and it's only a 15ft aluminum. Boat seems to almost sit level front to back or maybe a little high in the back. Front and mid rollers are touching in center but rear roller cant rise up enough to touch when boat is loaded. So heres my questions....I think i have something not set up right, the boat fits the trailer well i just dont think something is adjusted right. Should rollers be touching boat at all times while loaded? should boat have a shallow "uphill" to it while loaded? if i was to start all over with adjusting bunks and rollers, whats the sequence or procedure to get it so it's done correctly?
thanks for any help
p.s. i know i need to get some pvc side posts to prevent side to side movement just havn't got that far yet, but my grandpa had a 16ft LOWE and my dad has a 20ft sea-ray and we never had problems with those

 

[Mi duckdown]

Re: setting up trailer bunks and rollers

Pics of boat on the trailer would help. and trailer hooked up to the pickup also. very hard to visualize every ones setup.

 

[bonz_d]

Re: setting up trailer bunks and rollers

w/o looking at the boat and just looking at the trailer I have 2 questions. What size tires are on the trailer and when the trailer is connected to the hitch does the tongue sit level or is it elevated?

If the trailer has very small wheels and sits low to the ground could be one reason. If the tongue is very raise to reach the hitch could be another which if this is the case then a new drawbar for the truck with more drop to it should help. I'm thinking you need to get the trailer sitting flat and level 1st then the bunk and rollers set.

 

[870 Expressmag]

Re: setting up trailer bunks and rollers

i will get pictures and post them. The first time we had it hooked up we had it hooked to my dads chevy full size 3/4 ton so the hitch height may have been to high, after we moved the bunks up, i hooked it to my chevy s-10 4x4 last night and it seemed ok. I believe the tires on trailer are 12" but i will check it out and get pictures. thanks

 

[mrdancer]

Re: setting up trailer bunks and rollers

You should have a transom saver on that motor if you're worried about it being too low. That should eliminate that issue and you won't have to worry about having the bunks too high or too low - just what you need to level the boat on the trailer.

 

[870 Expressmag]

Re: setting up trailer bunks and rollers

heres the pictures of the way it is currently setup...

 

[870 Expressmag]

Re: setting up trailer bunks and rollers

and tires on trailer are 4.80-12

 

[Mi duckdown]

Re: setting up trailer bunks and rollers

Your set up looks good to me.

 

[870 Expressmag]

Re: setting up trailer bunks and rollers

rear roller doesnt need to be touching boat then??
also, if the setup looks ok then why when launching does the tip of the bow seem to drop and hit my front bumper stop?

 

[Mi duckdown]

Re: setting up trailer bunks and rollers

Did not catch the rear roller. if you can find taller rear bracket, good to go. Your trailer to truck looks great, same with the winch height.
When launching, I think you putting the trailer to far in the water, You only need to put into water untill the transom is about to float

 

[mrdancer]

Re: setting up trailer bunks and rollers

If the bow hangup continues to be a problem, you could probably find a good aluminum welder locally who could tack on a piece of flat or angle-aluminum just below your anchor pulpit so that the bow would slide of easily. Or replace that v-chunk bumper stop with a v-roller bumper stop and see if that helps.

 

[870 Expressmag]

Re: setting up trailer bunks and rollers

i was thinking of replacing that bumper stop to see if that helps but dont want to if i can help it, if i can fix something i am doing wrong. I guess i havn't launched an aluminum boat in a long time, probably 15 yrs, and even then it was with my dad or grandpa. When we launch our big boat i just back in until it's about to float and hit brakes on truck and it slides off smooth as silk. I am guessing this is not the way to do this boat? maybe i am not launching correctly, whats the proper way to launch one of these boats?
also if i cant find a taller rear roller bracket, should i lower the bunks a little until the boat touches this roller? if i do that should i still be good everywhere else?

 

[Mi duckdown]

Re: setting up trailer bunks and rollers

Yes lower the bunks, but will have lower any rollers foward except the front and rear roller..Make sense?

 

[870 Expressmag]

Re: setting up trailer bunks and rollers

i have a total of 3 rollers. rear, mid, and front. So i drop the center roller, lower the bunks in the rear until the boat touches the rear roller, then raise center roller back up to touch boat, correct???

also is there a launching procedure that works better than what i am doing? which is usually back in until it starts floating and then touch brakes on truck and let it slide off trailer and dock person is holding rope....i know this probably isnt right, also i may want to start using boat myself so a one person launching procedure would be nice to know as well.

 

[bonz_d]

Re: setting up trailer bunks and rollers

also, if the setup looks ok then why when launching does the tip of the bow seem to drop and hit my front bumper stop?

I'm sorry but I'm really not following what you are trying to say. Is the bow cap hitting the last roller as it's coming off the trailer? There should be nothing hitting the bowstop when you launch. The boat should go back straight and flat.

Sorry I can't be much help in launching as all the trailers I've used are tiltbet type and I've always used the tilt and my currant trailer is a full roller with no bunks. But either way when I launch by myself I position the boat in the water then get out of the truck unhook the winch strap, hold the bowline and give'er a little push. Then if there is a pier I tie it off out of the way. If no pier then I pull it around the trailer and beach it. I boat/fish about 90% of the time by myself because I work nights and during the week there is just no one available to go along.

 

[870 Expressmag]

Re: setting up trailer bunks and rollers

the bowcap doesnt hit the roller, it hits the bow stop that you winch the boat into. I cant figure out why it does this, it must be me doing something wrong. I though if i backed the triler in further then obviously the trailer would be lower in the water and boat still floating and it should do it but it still did a little bit.

 

[bonz_d]

Re: setting up trailer bunks and rollers

OK, that's just what you said and now I'm clear with what you discribe.

The only think I can think of is when the boat is going back the bow is dropping which it shouldn't. Should go back flat and level. Can you raise the roller under the bow a little? Could be that you need another roller located just a bit further back from the bow to support it while it's moving back. The only other suggestion I would have for you is to change the bowstop. So that it is lower and closer to the boweye. I don't think changing to a roller type bowstop will make a difference for you.

Hope this helps some.

 

[870 Expressmag]

Re: setting up trailer bunks and rollers

i think i have just a smidge more upward adjustment on the front roller, i will give that a try first, along with dropping rear bunks to match rear roller and setting center roller to touch boat after that. If that don't work, i will start over again!

 

[bonz_d]

Re: setting up trailer bunks and rollers

Sometimes it takes a bit of playing around to find just the right setup so be patient and you'll get it.

With only 3 keel rollers it makes it a little more difficult. How are your bunks attached? Solid mount front and back or do they piviot? If solid is there a chance to make them a little longer towards the bow?

I have argued this point a number of times here and many have different theories. What you have there is a keel roller bunk trailer. They work very well with aluminum boats. Your boat like my Lund is relatively light. Less than 1000# fully loaded.

What I try to do is distribute the weight evenly between tha rollers and the bunks. 1st thing you want to accomplish is getting the boat to sit level on the trailer. There are a couple of ways you can do this and this is the method I use. With the boat off the trailer. First set all the rollers so that they are level to the trailer and each other, use the longest straight edge you can. Perferably one that will extend from the front roller to the rear roller. Then bring the middle roller up until it touches. Then in your case, as high as they will go and still be level. Next, reload the boat and adjust the bunks so that they are just starting to take pressure off the rollers. When I'm finished I can with a little effort just turn the rollers with the boat still on the trailer. The idea is to have enough weight on the rollers so that they turn when you move the boat to load or unload.

Hope this helps get you started.

But again my opinion is that 4 keel rollers are much better than 3 as it distributes the weight much better and keeps the boat more level.