Trailer Guide-Ons suggestions

[jason007]

I have a trouble landing my boat by myself and also with some of the company I fish with that have little or no experience. I seem to get off center and get frustrated pulling in crooked and backing up and trying over and over again to hit the trailer straight on, especially if I am fighting some cross winds. I have a 17' Smokercraft and a roller trailer, I am looking for suggestions on what type of guide on I should add to my trailer. I am sort of a newer boat owner too and haven't mastered trailering. Also, I want to put the boat in on the Red River here in Fargo and know it would probably suck not having guide ons fighting the current trying to push the boat to the side of trailer.

[CAMAN]

You are backing the trailer too far into the water. Spend an hour or so on a quiet weekday with a buddy trying to find the sweet spot of the trailer and never go deeper than that. A good spot to start is right before the tire gets submerged. Try that location and if it is still difficult to keep straight keep pulling out a couple inches at a time until you find the spot where the boat centers itself and it's not too difficult to pull the boat onto the trailer.

Practice loading a few times without a crowd and you will get a handle on it for when the lines of boats are waiting behind you.

[YoMan]

Caman's on the money. I have the vertical rolling guides and they don't help as much as you would think with the positioning with the boat on trailer. More for a sight guide going on.

I was going to do what was mentioned in his post this year, and find the "sweet" spot of the trailer in water.

The guide does help if its a bad landing, and has a drop off instead of a gradual incline, where you always end up with most of the trailer in the water anyways.

I got mine from the big C. They are the shorter version and on those bad ramps, they sometimes go all the way submerged. Good design but the metal is kinda weak. One is already kind of bent. Im going with the posts next time.

[marine_man]

Yep.. what they said.

Guide-ons are helpful for current situations to keep you from getting turned sideways in the current when you're 1/3 of the way on the trailer.

Getting off center usually happens early on in the loading process, and not where the side guides are going to help you much there. Plus, if you had them close enough to the boat to ensure your center loaded they'll rub on the side of the boat as you go down the road damaging your paint.

I'm not saying they're a bad idea, but they do have limitations.

marine_man

[TruthWalleyes]

If you do go with guide ons, and actually need them (i.e. current or high winds) get a style that will withstand at least 200# of side pressure from the boat. I bought a set from Gmt last year for a about $100. They are an L bracket which bolts to the frame. (Top Picture) Welded onto the frame they might work, but with the guide on being 2' long and only one support, under weight it just twists. Go with a version that has a support on each end of the guide on, or the verticle PVC style.

I plan on removing my current guide ons and making my own PVC style verticle guide ons with angle iron welded to the frame. This will allow me to submerge my trailer deeper if needed and also provide the strength needed to actually keep the boat between the guideons in heavy current/wind situations.

DO NOT GET THIS STYLE

I would go this route

[BoxMN]

What we found with our roller trailer is two things - first is what Caman mentions above. You are prolly too far backed in.

The second and what we found VERY important, is that the trailer must be level from side to side. We use our rear light/step as guide. Both sides must be right at the water level, or only an inch or so at most different. If the trailer sits cockeyed, then boat will come up bad. The good thing is you can tell before you even get the boat close just by looking at it. If its' not level, just pull up a bit and re-adjust and then you are good. Good luck!

[gregg52]

you can drive that boat in alittle harder and faster on windy

or in current areas

once you get the nose in keep pressure on and ease it up most of the

time if you have the trailer in it will center as you go foward

start at your trailer alittle off center if need be

do what the guys above said go pratice on slow day

preferably a windy one

its just time and experience

and dont feel bad if its sits a little kity- wapus once in awhile

no big deal..actually could be a good thing cuz your not riding on the same spot all the time

and what box said about being near level is important

[jason007]

thanks for the suggestions. I think I will try the practice option first, probably a good idea regardless of guide-ons. I like the vertical post idea, gives you a more visual information when driving boat up to the trailer.

A practice day would be good for the wife too, I am trying to get her more open to backing the trailer in and if she knows we aren't in a hurry to get out and fish or in line with other boats it will ease the stress on both of us! Can't wait to get on the water.

[Stringerless!]

Made my own from parts at the local hardware store. Cast iron plumbing stuff. Flange,nipple ( this will vary from boat to boat and trailer to trailer )then an upright. You must slide a piece of pvc over the upright to protect boat and it will roll. I have an old trihull lund with a bunk traler and know exactly what you are talking about. As said before I usually use it as a general guide . If I have an inch between the boat and the guide on I know the center roller is right on . Stuff was pretty cheap. if I remember and only had to drill about 8 holes in trailer frame. If you know anybody in construction a sprinkler fitter could get or custom make all the parts for you.The sweet spot on my bunk trailer is having the center roller right at the water surface.

[TruthWalleyes]

I find that in the waters i fish more times than not i am dealing with a poor landing i.e. not level. It sucks trying to back in the trailer 5 different times to find the sweet spot in the landing that often times doesn't exist at the "perfect depth" for your trailer. With the guide ons i just dump the trailer in deep and float the boat right up to the winch. As i pull out, the boat centers itself in the trailer. But, the guide ons that i suggested you DON'T get are the ones i currently have, and they don't work so well in very windy/wavy or current conditions. Nor do i have a roller trailer.

Bottom line, if you practice, find the sweet spot, and still find yourself having problems with uneven landings, go to the verticle style guide ons.

[Stringerless!]

I always keep a pair of hip boots in the front of the boat. Everything goes better when you don't have to worry about getting wet.Slip on and off in a second ! Always willing to lend a hand when I see someone having difficulty. High enough boots at most launches I frequent.

[Kyhl]

As with others, my first impression is that the trailer may be too far into the water.

I use the rollers as my depth guide. When backing in I usually aim for the second set of rollers (counting from the back of the trailer forward) to be 1/2 to 3/4 submerged.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

I have issues when the launch is not level, which is often.

[BobT]

As with others, my first impression is that the trailer may be too far into the water.

I use the rollers as my depth guide. When backing in I usually aim for the second set of rollers (counting from the back of the trailer forward) to be 1/2 to 3/4 submerged.

This is a good place to start to solving your problem. Most of the time when I see people struggle with roller trailers it is because they back the trailer too deep into the water. You want the rollers to guide the boat onto the trailer.

If the rollers don't guide it properly then I would suggest they aren't adjusted on the trailer correctly for your boat. I've helped others readjust them with success but I'm not an expert and my suggestions are usually what I call an educated guess based on what I see when they try to land their boat. Usually I'm on the right track the from the get go but it takes a little tial-and-error before we get it right. All I know is that my boat can be at a pretty sharp angle to the trailer (60+ degrees) on a windy day and I can pull it on straight and centered with the winch every time.