Loading a Ranger

Do any of you guys have some tips on loading a Ranger in a steep low water landing. Yesterday I watched a Ranger load by driving up to the trailer. The strap was hooked up. Then it was cranked as far as it could be. The truck then pulled foward a little and then with help from the motor cranked the rest of the way. Now it was my turn. I had to do it the same way. Off loading the trailer i did hit the electric on the front roller. I just took it off when loading… The landing is an established landing on the St Croix. Maybe it is just the way i have to do it….

Thanks

Fishspike

I’m not familiar with a landing like that however, I do know that they load a heck of a lot easier when the bunks are good and wet first. If possible back your trailer down and submerge the bunks all the way then pull forward to the loading depth needed.

I don’t have a ranger, but my 20 foot Stratos is similar from a trailering perspective. I have to have a fair amount of my middle bunks out of the water and drive the boat up to the stop. If I put the trailer in too deep, I can’t get the bow over the front roller. I have found that tilting the motor up as much as I can while still getting bite makes it easier to drive up the trailer as it is pushing down on the back of the boat and lifting the bow up the trailer.

I have thought about adding the slick strip things to the front part of my bunks but haven’t yet.

Don’t have a Ranger but have always used the technique where you just get the front step of the trailer (on the front edge of the wheel)just a couple of inches below the surface of the water. This will leave a little bit of the front of the bunk (about 15″ on my trailer) out of the water. I am able to drive the boat up to within about 18″ of the stop, then crank it up the rest of the way. If you back in too deep you run the risk of floating over the side bunk guide-on’s and hanging up or floating off the side of the trailer.

On a steep landing leave a bit more of the trailer fenders stick up than you do on a flatter landing. So if just you barely cover the fenders on a flat landing, leave a couple inches stick up on a steep one. If anything, go a bit less deep to leave a margin for error so you don’t plow into the front roller or have the boat float off the side of the trailer until you get a feel for the ramp.

The REAL fun ones are the “crooked” ramps that one side is deeper than the other and you have to turn the trailer sideways to get the boat to load reasonably well.

Good luck.

Dan

Thanks for the tips…I thought about the sliders too but worried about rub marks….Keeping the trailer a little futher out of the water makes sense…I will try it this week. I would guess roller trailers dont have this problem…I have a ranger 619

You don’t want a roller trailer under a fiberglass boat. You want the long support of the bunks when trailering.

As was mentioned above…if you are leaving the trailer further out of the water make sure to dunk the bunks first, the boat will slide up far easier.

I have a 620 and experienced similar landings, a combination of tilting the motor up further and not going as deep should keep you clear.

Sounds like the bluffs, if so, that drop off is not very nice.

I tend to have fun getting in and out also if that is where you are launching. I do get the bunks all wet, and pull forward to the best spot I can. I get the boat on the bunks, then hook up the strap and crank it up to the bow. This process is made easier in that I put silicon on my bunks…

Thanks for the tips. It was at Beanies. I got the idea now. Silicon is my next option.

fishspike

I have been loading and unloading Ranger 620’s and 621’s for years and here is another tip that will work for you If you have someone helping you launch. With the boat on the ramp disconnect all your straps including your winch strap get in the boat have your partner put the boat in just enough so you can start the motor then have him back up kind of quickly then hitting the brakes this will allow the boat to be shoved backward and bumped off the trailer so you dont have to put the trailer in as deep to wait for the boat to float off the trailer this will also eliminate the possibility of your trolling motor hitting your front roller. I hope this tip will help you with loading and unloading your Ranger.

Paul Delaney
http://www.lateeyessportfishing.com