boat trailer question

[RWilson2526]

Yea don't give up on the roller trailer yet. When I got my trailer it was more than 20 years old...could never get it to load straight. Finally one day looking at it took out a tape measure and realized the front set of rollers was something like 3 inches off of center as compared to the other side.....I evened them up, used it once or twice gave the front ones another little adjustment and now all is good....

Point being, get under there and see what the problem is. Those front rollers are infinitely adjustable. Just takes some figuring to get them in the right spot.

[oteps]

My problem probably is backing the trailer in too deep along with the rollers not adjusted right. I normally winch it the last 6 or 7 feet. I would like to be able to load it myself easily. My wife wants to go fishing next year and my son will be old enough to take along. Normally I have someone pull the trailer out while I stand on the dock and try to hold the boat in the right place. One of these days I will fall in and get ran over by the trailer.
What are those guide poles made out of? The ones I have seen are pvc but they were for smaller boats. They look like they would just snap off. remember I am a new boater, I might just run into them.
Thanks for all of the comments, i would like to get this thing figured out this fall so I am ready in the spring.

[macojoe]

oteps My problem probably is backing the trailer in too deep along with the rollers not adjusted right. I normally winch it the last 6 or 7 feet. I would like to be able to load it myself easily. My wife wants to go fishing next year and my son will be old enough to take along. Normally I have someone pull the trailer out while I stand on the dock and try to hold the boat in the right place. One of these days I will fall in and get ran over by the trailer.
What are those guide poles made out of? The ones I have seen are pvc but they were for smaller boats. They look like they would just snap off. remember I am a new boater, I might just run into them.
Thanks for all of the comments, i would like to get this thing figured out this fall so I am ready in the spring.

We can tell you all you need to know, but it is going to take doing it to get it right!!

First I would back down till the back rollers are just under the water, this should be a good start for ya. You may have to go deeper, but to deep the back is going to float off the trailer and get you all messed up!
Thats were the guide ons come in handy, they will keep the boat centered, but they can still let the boat uneven if you are to deep.

Yes the guide on's are PVC, but they bend pretty easy and come back fine, as long as you don't run them flat!

If loaded right there is no reason for you to be holding the rope when they are pulling out, and they don't need to be going 100 MPH, just a nice slow pull ahead. So you no fall in!!

The wind is not your friend!! Just be careful and slow down some, and you will get it, when you think you are deep enough, you are probably to deep,you no need to be deep at all!

[jasoncooperpcola]

The guide ons have a three foot long piece of 2x2 steel tubing that the pvc slides over. I have mine set tight to the boat. When i load, my pvc flexes out around the bow where its wider then is a half inch away from the hull when winched all the way on. When winching on and using guide ons your are creating a triangle effect. the transom cannot move side to side and the bow with the winch is held on course. Also check out the 12" wide keel rollers that are self centering. They have spiral grooves that line the boat up as it goes on. One just past midways may be the ticket to what you need, along with the guide ons.

[Destroyer]

Stating the obvious, the whole objective when loading your trailer is control of your boat at all times. Making it go where you want it to go. I launch and load my boat myself most of the time. I don't have guide-ons, although when the wind is blowing I often think about getting them. The thing that makes loading the boat back on the trailer a snap is the winch. Not any winch.... an electric one. Now I know that there are several good ones out on the market. Dutton-Lamison makes one of the very best. But the one that made trailer loading a snap for me is a Powerwinch. Yes, they are expensive, especially when compared to the cheap Chinese imports now being offered, but in my book they are well worth the price. What makes them so damn good is that you don't have to be by the winch in order to load your boat. You can be by the boat itself, guiding it back onto the trailer. The winch has a switch that you hook a lanyard to. You simply play out the lanyard as you walk to the back of your trailer, hook the winch cable to your boats bow eye, pull on the lanyard and the winch does all the work.. you just guide the boat, keeping it centered on your trailer as she comes aboard. Piece of cake really. If your trailer has keel rollers I also highly recommend the advice given by RW and a few others about having self centering keel rollers. Not all roller trailers are designed for center keel rollers however, so if yours doesn't have them don't worry. (But they do make the job just that much easier). Remember, control is the key.

[macojoe]

I have started a new thread about a power winch i just got this summer.

http://www.wellcraftv20.com/communit...668#post195668

[Road King Cole]

Another thing that helps is to make sure that each "rack of rollers?" is pushed down towards the rear of the trailer. The front of the racks being in the up position will help keep the boat on track.

rkc