Trailer Setup Advice

[General disarray]

Hey Guys,

So I have  new trailer that was setup by the dealer but I noticed (depending on how steep the ramp is) that I have to lift up on the bow to get it to go up and over the roller by the winch. Then the roller guides it up from the rub rail to the hook. Does that seem right or am I just pulling in too deep on the ramp?

I have a continental trailer with the forward bunks. The one thing I noticed is the front roller for the keel does not make contact at any point. Is that because the forward bunks or does it still need to make contact and thats why I am having to lift it?

Photos:

[SCFD rtrd.]

Yes, you are getting the trailer too deep. Next time you launch the boat, take notice of how deep you have to go before the boat starts to slide off. Sometimes, depending of how the trailer is set up, 2 inches in depth makes a big difference in how the bow clears the winch stand.

The roller in front is not supposed to support any weight. You could move it up till it just touches the keel and that might help in keeping the bow above the winch stand when loading or launching.

[Ron in Atlanta]

I know it seems counterintuitive but the problem is that you are backing the trailer too far, too deep.

You would think that would result in the bow being higher vis-a-vis the roller but it does not.  The bow lifts when the boat hits the bunks as it is traveling forward, this action lifts the bow so it is over the roller.  You may have to crank the winch to get the boat fully loaded - this will not hurt you.

When it bought my Donzi Sweet Sixteen, 3 of the boats I had looked at had gouges on the foredeck from coming in to the trailer too low and coming in under the roller where the metal under the roller made a mess of the foredeck.

Don't worry about the roller under the keel, it should not support any weight once the boat is loaded, just help to guide the boat on the trailer.

[General disarray]

Awesome guys, Thats what I thought. Ill give it a go. To be honest the boat floats all the way to the winch so I figured I was too deep

[SCFD rtrd.]

If the boat floats all the way to the winch, you are definitely backing in to deep. Like Ron said, find the right depth for the trailer, so that you can ease the boat onto the trailer and the boat stops about 12 or 18 inches from the bow stop, then hand winch the rest of the way.

[nhinshoreangler]

My Ameritrail does the same thing on very steep ramps. I don't think what you are experiencing is that uncommon.

 

 

[General disarray]

Thanks guys! Sorry for the delayed response. I got Irma'd and just got power back

[BradM]

You can also raise the bunks (can't tell if you can on that trailer) ride a little higher, or move the winch post a couple inches away from the truck.

[Tall Tails]

My old 2200V would do the same thing. Pay attention to where the water hits your fenders and use that as your stopping point. My 2500 does not do that. But it also is one he** of a lot harder to winch up if I don't have the trailer quite deep enough. There's a fine line between too deep and too shallow.

[smilemaker]

Another thing often overlooked is that the trailer does not have to be the same for launching and retrieving.  When launching I will not put the trailer in as far and let the motor back her off. The further back the higher the transom floats and pushes the bow down into the roller. When loading the trailer goes back so the boat floats on and is powered/winched the last foot or so..