Boat Trailer Roller Question

I’m tired of getting to a landing and not being able to launch my boat because the landing is too shallow to float my boat off the trailer. I have bunks right now and it’s great for putting the boat on the trailer but for taking it off the bunks need to be underwater in order for the boat to get free of the landing. Anyone have any ideas of how I can solve this? I have a 1988 Tracker Pro 175 flat bottom boat and matching tacker trailer. What about those bunk/rollers? How do they work? They are only 5′ so I’d need 2 on each side as the bunks are 10′ each. Or what about getting a different trailer? Like a shorelander with rollers? If so…anyone have one that might not cost an arm or a leg? Has to be able to handle a 18′ boat.

Don’t get rid of your bunks. Try spraying your bunks with silicone spray. I spray mine every 3rd or 4th launch and it works well for me.

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Don’t get rid of your bunks. Try spraying your bunks with silicone spray. I spray mine every 3rd or 4th launch and it works well for me.

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Ya but that doesn’t help the shallow water issue? If I had the money I’d get one of the trailers from Northern Tool that they use for the fish house on wheels, throw bunks on that and just crank it down to water level.

Just unhook the boat before backing in….. back up real slow, quick flip to drive and floor the truck….

big G

I’ve been told on new flat bottom boats if you put them on a roller trailer it voids the warranty immediatly. Maybe try shortening your bunks or they have a product called trailer slides from overtons.com never used them but worth a shot.

Have you seen these plastic strips you can attach to your bunks? They make it easier to shove the boat off the bunks. I think Bass Pro/Cabelas carries them. The other thing I did was winch the boat off the trailer via a pulley wheel tied to the rear of the trailer. Run the winch rope back to a pulley, and then up to the eye on the front of the boat, and crank it off. Low-tech, but effective!

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Just unhook the boat before backing in….. back up real slow, quick flip to drive and floor the truck….

big G

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I’ve done that before!!

It’s a 1988 boat so I’m not worried about the warranty.

The other reason I was looking at a totally different trailer (a roller trailer) was because I could then tilt the front of the boat up and the back end down and slide it off that way. Plus it would be easier trying to winch it back up when I load it. Does that sound right?

What ever happened to the boat trailers that had a pin you could pull and tip the front up? Maybe that was a long time ago.

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What ever happened to the boat trailers that had a pin you could pull and tip the front up? Maybe that was a long time ago.

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I know, huh?

A roller trailer would solve the shallow h2o problem….but loading yourself on a steeper landing is really a challenge.It may make matters worse! I load alone quite a bit and have bunks right now. Tie a long rope to the back of the trailer and bow eye, back er in enough to float it off and pull forward so you can untie from the trailer and you are launched! Good luck

That’s the problem, though, is that I can’t get the trailer in far enough in some landings to float it off.

And if you put the boat on the roller trailer on steep landings just keep the motor in forward gear and go to the front of the boat/trailer and latch it up. Then go back and shut it down.

My biggest thing with roller trailers have been that they never go on straight. You get it on the trailer, pull up, and it’s on crooked. Then you either have to push it sideways or back it in and try to straighten it out. I never have that problem with a bunk trailer. Part of the problem with this Tracker trailer is that the boat sits almost on top of the fenders instead of between them. If the trailer was wider it I could lower the bunks. Right now I think it’s about 6ft wide instead of 8ft like most other 17 to 18 ft boat trailers are.

All right, I’ll see if I can answer some questions for you.

I think THESE are the bunk pads that were previously mentioned. I’ve used some of these before, and they do actually make your boat slide easier, but you are also correct: it won’t solve your problem like a roller trailer would.

Yes, you can put rollers on your bunks. I’m thinking you’re talking about something like THESE.

The thing to keep in mind with these, though, is that your boat will sit even higher on the trailer. Unless you move your bunk brackets down as far as they will go, of course. I think if you do that, depending on how much drop you need, that might solve it.

Of course, the sure solution would be to get a roller trailer, like the Shoreland’r you mentioned before. I’ve had a couple Shoreland’r roller trailers in the past 5 years, and I just loved em. I could launch my boat about anywhere, and loading was just great too. Loading is very easy with a roller trailer, even by yourself. Just never undo the winch strap until the boat’s in the water when backing down, and just leave the motor in gear, going forward, once you have it on the trailer when loading. Go up, hook the strap, kill the motor, and you’re off.

Hope this helps out a little bit. Let us know if you have anymore questions.

A friend of mine had a Yar Craft with a bunk trailer that also had rollers down the center that he said you could raise them up to aid in getting the boat off in shallow conditions. There was a eye loop on the trailer below the bow and I guess you would disconnect the strap and hook that to the eye and crank the rollers up. I never saw him use it but I asked what the cable eye was for and that is what he told me. If you could find a used trailer like that may take care of you.

I did not have a horse in this race until now.
I love this idea!
I think that his should be a relatively simple fix for anyone with a similar problem.
I have this same problem with my aluminum boat and roller trailer sometimes when hunting big waters that are low in the fall.
I have to give this some thought and fabricate exactly what has been mentioned.
On a roller trailer with the main (rear) roller beds on a swivel mount, you would focus exclusively on the single “bow keel” roller that is located where the trailer beams “Y-back” into the main trailer tongue beam.
a person could fabricate a roller beam that replaces the single roller. As mentioned previously, connect your winch hook to an eye on the front of this roller beam and crank it up, forcing the boat back off of the rollers.
I love it!
good luck
cheers

i think these trailers were called KD and they worked good but were very expensive.

i still like the idea of cranking the whole frame down in the water like a fish house-on-wheels frame.

When in doubt fabricate and dont forget to patent. Roller trailers are esy as sh*t to load once you do it a few times load alone all the time and no issues first few times i needed a video camera and the address to afv but now its easy i can do it in the dark on the river with high water no problem.

We had this problem when fishing some panfish lakes up north. a simple solution was to fabricate a 4 ft extention bar to fit into the hitch out of square tube steel.Stop at the landing, add the extention and launch.It puts you 4 ft further into the lake and that much deeper.

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We had this problem when fishing some panfish lakes up north. a simple solution was to fabricate a 4 ft extension bar to fit into the hitch out of square tube steel.Stop at the landing, add the extension and launch.It puts you 4 ft further into the lake and that much deeper.

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HMmmm…not a bad idea?! Maybe I could make it so the tongue extends it keeps in place with a pin? The tube just slides in and out thru the tongue?

I wish it tilted, too, but the trailer isn’t set up to do that?

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What ever happened to the boat trailers that had a pin you could pull and tip the front up? Maybe that was a long time ago.

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I’ve got a Shorelander that does this but I’ve never seen one in action and am too chicken to try it out. Anyone care to give me a rundown of when and how to tilt it? With my luck, I’d pull the pin and my boat would end up on the tar

I could see how you could do it to the tongue of the trailer but it would be more complicated and I would be concerned about strength when over the road. For me the easiest way is usually the best.

AAhhhh…I get it now…don’t extend the trailer..extend the hitch. HHmm….What if you back it in and you’re up to your doors and it still doesn’t float? That’s my whole problem. But I do see how extending the hitch could be cool?!

Check out were your axel is mounted. If it is below the springs you could move it above the spring. Most axels can be over or under slung. I did this to my old Long skycraft trailer and it lowerd the bunks over 3 inches. I also have the tilt, split joint in my trailer, so I can get in about any ramp.

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Check out were your axel is mounted. If it is below the springs you could move it above the spring. Most axels can be over or under slung. I did this to my old Long skycraft trailer and it lowerd the bunks over 3 inches. I also have the tilt, split joint in my trailer, so I can get in about any ramp.

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Lucky!

I have a set of the bunk rollers like the ones B Robinson included in his post (2nd example) that I used on my old 18′ boat and they worked great.They worked too good on a steep ramp one day and I nearly unloaded the boat on the concrete.They really need a new home (cheap) if anyone is interested.