I power up most of the way, but not with much throttle at all. Just enough power to get it centered on the bunks. I am always afraid to power it up hard and have the bow smash into the winch/winch stand. I then get up on the deck and step from the deck down to the spare tire and from there down to the tongue of the trailer. I hitch her up and crank it up the last foot or two. I always pull out 2-3 feet of the winch line before backing the trailer into the water so I can just clip on the winch cable and crank her up. I have to knock on wood here, but I have never had to go in the water (unless it is warm and I want to). I can step from the trailer tongue to the bumper of my suburban, then swing around to the rear driver side tire (while holding on to the luggage rack) and then down from the tire to the ramp.
Depending on the ramp, people powering up hard can really cause problems by creating big holes in the bottom beyond where the ramp ends. I have seen people back in too far and drop a trailer wheel in the hole causing difficulties with getting the trailer back out.
Hey, this is my 1000th post! Am I now among the "God" ranks?
|