Bunk or roller trailer

[kerneltugboat]

I have a Hi-tech Marine for my 27 and my dad has one for his 23. All stainless hardware and front bunks standard, I opted for the Kodiak stainless Brakes. No problems in 4 years, but we don't trailer far. I bought them from a rep in NC, but I think he stopped selling them. call 1-800-282-1684

Dan

[Bushwacker]

It could be a disaster if you unstrapped before backing in....

Amen to that! Somebody posted some pics here a couple of months ago showing a boat launched on road! The clutch/brake on my Powerwinch keeps mine secure, but my winch stand includes a safety chain snapped to bow eye just in case the winch fails, plus I used a big tie-down strap.

On the rollers rusting, the key is to use aluminum shafts and nylon bushings instead of steel in the rollers. My use is 100% saltwater and only problem I've had is with the mild steel retaining washers; coating 'em with waterproof grease helps a lot.

[abl1111]

I have an old Rocket trailer w/ bunks for my 23 Tsunami and there is one thing that is a hassle - getting the boat centered up on the aft most roller ! If I don't get this dead on the $, when I start to crank, the boat 'falls off this first roller and onto the rollers bracket - taking a little gel and paint on the hulls forward "V" entry as I unknowingly continue to winch the boat forward !

Pisses me off!

Any ideas how to rectify this ? I either need a V roller setup aft to hold the boat in place, or those vertical PVC guides ( that I heard are not so great )

What'cha think ?

[joema]

got tortured by rollers 4 2by8s bunks best thing done on boat

[Ed]

The need for a bunk or roller trailer has a lot to do with the steepness of your local ramp, whether they allow powerloading (many dont) and how often you plan on using the trailer.

If you are simply using the trailer for offseason storage and perhaps 1-2 other times throughout the season, go with bunk.

However, if your ramp is steep, they dont allow powerloading and you plan to use the trailer frequently....go with a roller. A roller trailer will load the boat on the trailer straight 100% of the time as long as you dont sink the trailer in too deep. If you give the roller arms a chance to self-align...they will.

ABL111...Do you have a picture of your Rocket trailer setup? It sounds to me that your bunks maybe adjusted wrong which is causing the keel roller to bear too much weight. Take a few pictures and between everyone...we should be able to offer some suggestions.

[thehermit]

Denny,
24 rollers for your 20. How are they set up? How many forward vs aft? Seems like the 2800lb from Load Rite I am looking at (new) comes with 20 rollers.

Anyone on torsion vs leaf spring?

[beradtke]

well i have a bunk trailer and am not pleased with it. my boat never lines up staight with the bunks cause of the vdh. so most of the time it is either leaning on the left or right rise in the hull. i usuall end up takeing two or three time to get the boat on the trailer straight.

my trailer has a torsion axel under it and pulls it fine. seems to me it is a smoother ride on the trailer.

[riprunner]

The Saltwater piece I'm too concerned with because I flush the trailer. After I put the boat back in her slip I then drop the trailer in at a local pond up the street from the house. I figure this way any place the saltwater was is now dunked in fresh. For the amount I trailer it's not a big task to take the extra ten minutes to dunk the trailer in fresh water.

The lights on my current trailer are trashed so I made a light system that clips to the transom of the boat that I remove before the boat is splashed. This way my lights never get dunked in Saltwater and always work.

[Blue_Heron]

well i have a bunk trailer and am not pleased with it. my boat never lines up staight with the bunks cause of the vdh.

I had the same problem till I added the keel bunks forward. Night and day difference. Lines up every time now, whether I drive on or float on. I copied the forward bunks on warthog5's trailer in this thread:

http://www.classicseacraft.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB3&Number=43085&Forum=Al l_Forums&Words="keel%20bunks"&Searchpage=0&Limit=2 5&Main=43081&Search=true&where=bodysub&Name=&dater ange=1&newerval=2&newertype=y&olderval=&oldertype= &bodyprev=#Post43085

It's the one with the black carpet on the bunks.

[Bushwacker]

Denny,
24 rollers for your 20. How are they set up? How many forward vs aft?

As you may be able to see in this first pic, there's 16 rollers on aft cross member and 8 on next cross member. This 24 roller setup is rated for 3500#. Some tandem models just repeat aft setup on next cross member for a total of 32 rollers. I added a V-shaped Stolz roller to center of rear cross member because the SeaCraft hull is so deep up front that it'll hit cross member before it contacts the aft gang of rollers. Center roller has a notch in it about 2" wide and keeps boat centered until the aft rollers engage the outer step. Once that center roller is engaged, boat will come on straight; that gang of 8 rollers on outside does a good job of centering the boat, no matter how much cross wind there is. String on port side of trailer is attached to winch switch, so I just pull the bow eye up over center roller and yank on string to take up cable slack. Piece of cake after that.

I've since eliminated the side rollers as they aren't needed. (ABL111 - let me know if you want them; I was gonna put 'em on e-bay!) Both cross members are bolted to side rails so they're free to rotate. One note of caution for anyone that buys an EZ Loader: there is so little friction on this trailer, that you have to use the clutch/brake on Powerwinch when unloading; when boat CG gets over the aft cross member, it tilts and boat will scream off the trailer if you don't have hand on clutch to tighten it and slow it down!


This shot shows the aft rollers engaging the outer step. Once that happens, they'll guide the boat on straight every time. Boat is up off the center roller at this point. Only time I've had a problem with it not loading straight is when the boat was listing to one side in the water. The rollers on this trailer have so many degrees of freedom that if the boat is heeled over, it will tend to come on the trailer that way! Just have to make sure it's relatively level before loading.

One other tip: I ALWAYS chock all 4 wheels when retrieving boat; only chock rear wheels when launching. If you're on a steep ramp, the weight of boat on rear cross member during initial retrieve can be enough to raise rear wheels up onto the chocks which can then start sliding! Haven't launched a tow vehicle in 40 years; don't intend to start now!