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trailer loading probs


speck

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as instructed by the dealer, i back the empty trailer in all the way to wet the bunks, and then pull up till the fenders are two inches under water. any more and the bow rubrail will be under the bowroller. this necessitates driving the boat on to the trailer, which goes okay, but now i am noticing rub marks on the bottom of the boat and wearing marks on the bunk carpet (looks like its melted). Is there an easier way? is there super slippery carpet that i can put on the front bunks to get it to slide easier? i have found keeping the rear tanks full helps to keep the rear down and the bow up a bit. i have an 04 wake 23 xti and an smp trailer

thanks for any advice!

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I think you have have the trailer in too deep. Most people have about an inch of fender out of the water.

(If you bought your boat at East Coast Flight Craft, the trailers don't have drop axles, than you do have to go deep as you described. Got a picture of the boat on the trailer?)

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I soak all four bunks, then pull up till about 3-4 inches of the front bunks are showing, not paying attention to where the fenders are. It drives up pretty easy. It doesn't go all the way up, I have to winch about 12-18 inches, and if the bow is below the roller, it's pretty easy to "lift" the bow while I'm winching to get it above the roller.

Boat bottom and bunks still look good after 3 years...

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I think you have have the trailer in too deep. Most people have about an inch of fender out of the water.

(If you bought your boat at East Coast Flight Craft, the trailers don't have drop axles, than you do have to go deep as you described.  Got a picture of the boat on the trailer?)

if the trailer was in less, it would rub even more on the bunks to physically lift the boat out on the water. i think this would be worse. has anyone installed rollers on the front bunks ? my idea it that if the boat was on an angle because it was half floating it would roll on the rollers, but once you pull up and the boat was flat on the bunks, the rollers would not carrying any weight.

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I think you have have the trailer in too deep. Most people have about an inch of fender out of the water.

(If you bought your boat at East Coast Flight Craft, the trailers don't have drop axles, than you do have to go deep as you described.  Got a picture of the boat on the trailer?)

if the trailer was in less, it would rub even more on the bunks to physically lift the boat out on the water. i think this would be worse. has anyone installed rollers on the front bunks ? my idea it that if the boat was on an angle because it was half floating it would roll on the rollers, but once you pull up and the boat was flat on the bunks, the rollers would not carrying any weight.

Not necessarily. If the trailer is in WAY deep, you'd drive up and "hit" the front bunks, maybe causing the scrapes, as opposed to if the trailer was in less deep, you'd be "riding" up the bunks for a longer period, speading the "contact patch" over a greater area for a longer time. Just a thought...

BTW, welcome to the site...

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I think you have have the trailer in too deep. Most people have about an inch of fender out of the water.

(If you bought your boat at East Coast Flight Craft, the trailers don't have drop axles, than you do have to go deep as you described.  Got a picture of the boat on the trailer?)

if the trailer was in less, it would rub even more on the bunks to physically lift the boat out on the water. i think this would be worse. has anyone installed rollers on the front bunks ? my idea it that if the boat was on an angle because it was half floating it would roll on the rollers, but once you pull up and the boat was flat on the bunks, the rollers would not carrying any weight.

we have an 05 on order the dealer suggested we put rollers on the front 3rd of the trailer due to the amount of shallow ramps we have in our area, Have you guys got "mr Sheen" over in the states? someone told me to soak the bunks with mr sheene its a silicone based furniture polish ,apparently works great.
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  • 2 weeks later...

There's a product call Liquid Rollers. It allows your boat to slide on and off easier. Less friction means less damage. It can also be unsafe if improperly used. Remember, every ramp is different. It sounds like now you have a pretty good idea how to minimize the damage. GOOD LUCK!

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Speck,

I discovered today, that I have the same problem as you. I am not sure how I am going to resolve it. I will probable start with the spray, but it appears that my carpet is burnt as well.

Let me know if you find a good solution.

Joe

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Go with the spray. That stuff works. It reduces carpet drag significantly. My carpet lasted 1 year. At replacement I used the slippery spray stuff, and my carpet still looks fine 2 years after replacement.

Just be careful the first time you trailer the boat after using the spray or you might end up in the back of your tow rig.

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The spray is still working great - in fact, at NW WOW, with wet bunks (from the prior day) the boat slipped back on the ramp - lucky I had simply loostened the bow strap - it slid back ~18" until the strap was tight again - (talk about pucker)

... soooo the slippery stuff works good Crazy.gif

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Don't know what brand trailers each of you has, but my experience with 2 Extreme trailers has been that the carpet just doesn't last, and it scratches the gelcoat much easier than replacement carpet I've used.

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I duno - I have only sprayed them once ... back in April, and have loaded/unloaded a couple dozen times.. they still slide nicely (the hull doesn't making that chattering sound when slidding on the bunks, and if necessary, cranks up smoothly)

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This is kind of a catch 22 thing, in that the spray I believe, contains silicone. My dealer at their service clinic said, never, ever, use silicone on the boat. His primary reason was that if the boat ever needed any gelcoat work and they found silicone on the hull exterior, it was going to cost you extra to clean it off before proceeding with the work. So, it sounds like you can try to protect your hull from the trailer and pay extra for any gelcoat work or pay for gelcoat work because of the trailer. Hmmmm.

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This is kind of a catch 22 thing, in that the spray I believe, contains silicone.  My dealer at their service clinic said, never, ever, use silicone on the boat.  His primary reason was that if the boat ever needed any gelcoat work and they found silicone on the hull exterior, it was going to cost you extra to clean it off before proceeding with the work.  So, it sounds like you can try to protect your hull from the trailer and pay extra for any gelcoat work or pay for gelcoat work because of the trailer.  Hmmmm.

This sounds like a corner case of probablilty... can't imagine it leaves much of anything on the hull - and would be easy to clean off the area the bunks touch. Besides - most gel coat work isn't going to be on the bottom of the hull..

The stuff works good - and allows a little shallower trailer depth, which keeps you off the guide posts, and helps the boat settle into the trailer better.

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I power load my boat, and have an issue with the rear end of the boat ending up centered on the bunks. I usually have my trailer up the the fenders in water. I may be in too deep. It is a pain in the arse having to put the boat back in the water after loading to align the rear end.

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I had the same problem - use the spray, and have the first foot of the bunks out of the water... just drive it on - haven't had to reload my boat since-

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I 've also had this problem last year and now, i let the trailer a little bit more in the water and it is ok... but i would be interested to hear about the spay

JP

Edited by responselx03
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The spray is still working great - in fact, at NW WOW, with wet bunks (from the prior day) the boat slipped back on the ramp - lucky I had simply loostened the bow strap - it slid back ~18" until the strap was tight again - (talk about pucker)

... soooo the slippery stuff works good  Crazy.gif

This would be my problem with using the spray as well. A lot of people like to unsecure the bow at the top of the ramp (I know the tractor guys where I launch like to this as well) and the boat could easily slip off. I saw a brand new 38' Nordic sitting on the ramp behind the trailer because of this. The waxed the hull and used silicone on the bunks :Doh:

Personally, each of the methods described above are correct. In addition, the amount of bunk etc. showing all depends on the angle of the ramp. Here in the delta it is a bit tidal so loading one day can be different on the next. I've also launched on very steep ramps. There you have to inch the boat on vs. submerging cuz the stern will always be floating and the nose of the bow will always be below the winch/roller.

Also, every single trailer I had 3 extremes, 1 Ziemen and numerous PWC trailers, all had burnt/wear on the carpet. The question is: wear and tear on the carpet or boat slipping off trailer?

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Before I applied to mine, the hull would "chirp" as it rode up the bunks.. it took a lot of effort (either with throttle or whinching) - I've never had an issue with the boat slipping, except when launching with the bunks still wet from the day before.. and I don't know that the boat would have come off - but it did clearly slide - twice

I like the stuff - but will be careful not to fully unhook the bow strap until I'm touching the water ;)

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I gave the advice to a friend to try some silicon spray on his bunks and it worked too well. He almost lost the boat the first time out of the water (didn't latch on) and he's been trying to get the silicon off ever since.

I definitely need something on mine as I also have burn marks on the carpet, and I cannot budge the boat with the winch no matter how hard I crank (even if the boat is partially in the water.) I HAVE to power on to the trailer, which is fine. Actually, I can see this being a bit of a pain if I power on, turn off the boat, then slide back into the water before I can hop up front and secure the strap!

I think I'm just going to spray where the burn marks are.

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Actually, I can see this being a bit of a pain if I power on, turn off the boat, then slide back into the water before I can hop up front and secure the strap!

I think I'm just going to spray where the burn marks are.

Don't get me wrong, it isn't thaaaaat slippery - I've never had an issue with the boat holding itself on the trailer when loading. It only slipped when cresting the top of the ramp, when the trailer brakes released, and my driver hit the brakes (small jerk) to keep the boat from pulling the rig down the ramp - it isn't like I could push the boat off the bunks.. After it slid, and I checked the strap, I loosened it a bit, and tried pushing it. Wouldn't budge

I'd try the bunk lubercant stuff (vs actual silicon spray) - I used "liquid rollers", purchased from west marine

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  • 2 months later...

purchased Slydz-On™ Spray-On Bunk Lubricant hoping to extend the life of the bunk carpet. i trailer daily.

i read the directions. i know.

the directions state that the stuff should be sprayed on dry bunks then left to dry for 30 minutes and a good time to apply is after launching.

i must be missing the basic idea?

my bunks are always wet. always.

my bunks are wettest after launching.

i don't have long term access to a dock.

anyone using this stuff on wet bunks?

does it work when applied to wet bunks or should i return it?

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I am picking up a bottle of Liquid Rollers this evening. Will let you know what their instructions say.

Regardless, I will need to apply to wet bunks.

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