Couple boating Q & A's

[ClownColor]

Nothing has a right or wrong answer...just curious as to what others do. Feel free to explain as to why if you'd like.

1) Loading and unloading steep landing. Put you truck in:

a)park

b)drive but with the e-break on

c)low or 1st gear with the e-break on

2)Trailering to or from lake. Depth finder:

a) stays on

comes off

3)Trailering to and from lake. Quick disconnect bow mount trolling motor:

a)comes off and placed in truck or bottom of boat

stays on

4) While loading and unloading boat you:

a) disconnect trailer lights

leave trailer lights connected

[smalliehunter]

1. C. Because I don't like slamming my truck back into drive. I have a big boat and a mid sized truck so it just works better to keep it in 1st gear.

2. B. Graphs come off. I spent way to much money on them for something dumb to happen

3. N/A

4. I used to have to unplug my lights all the time or I would ruin bulbs. Now I have led lights and don't have to worry about it.

[TruthWalleyes]

Nothing has a right or wrong answer...just curious as to what others do. Feel free to explain as to why if you'd like.

1) Loading and unloading steep landing. Put you truck in:

a)EBrake, then in parkb)drive but with the e-break on

c)low or 1st gear with the e-break on

2)Trailering to or from lake. Depth finder:

a) stays on

$2,000 depthfinder...comes off if i'm not within 10' of it.

3)Trailering to and from lake. Quick disconnect bow mount trolling motor:

a)comes off and placed in truck or bottom of boat

stays on

4) While loading and unloading boat you:

a) disconnect trailer lights

LED's leave trailer lights connected

[Hookmaster]

1) Loading and unloading steep landing. Put you truck in:

a)park, but after setting emergency brake

2)Trailering to or from lake. Depth finder:

comes off

3)Trailering to and from lake. Quick disconnect bow mount trolling motor:

stays on; only comes off on long trips, 100+ miles

4) While loading and unloading boat you:

a) disconnect trailer lights

[Kyhl]

Nothing has a right or wrong answer...just curious as to what others do. Feel free to explain as to why if you'd like.

1) Loading and unloading steep landing. Put you truck in:

a)park. My E-brake doesn't work anyway.

b)drive but with the e-break on

c)low or 1st gear with the e-break on

2)Trailering to or from lake. Depth finder:

a) stays on

comes off Always

3)Trailering to and from lake. Quick disconnect bow mount trolling motor:

a)comes off and placed in truck or bottom of boat

stays on. Only comes off when the boat goes into storage.

4) While loading and unloading boat you:

a) disconnect trailer lights, until I get LEDs.

leave trailer lights connected

[PerchJerker]

Nothing has a right or wrong answer...just curious as to what others do. Feel free to explain as to why if you'd like.

1) Loading and unloading steep landing. Put you truck in:

a)park

b)drive but with the e-break on

c)low or 1st gear with the e-break on

Most of the landings I use are flat enough to use Park and the E-brake

2)Trailering to or from lake. Depth finder:

a) stays on

comes off

All my electronics stay on my boat. The only times I take them off is if I'm staying overnight at a resort, hotel, etc. or if I'm going in to a restaurant or bar

3)Trailering to and from lake. Quick disconnect bow mount trolling motor:

a)comes off and placed in truck or bottom of boat

stays on

I never take my bowmount off and don't even use quick-release brackets on them any more

4) While loading and unloading boat you:

a) disconnect trailer lights

leave trailer lights connected

I need to leave my trailer lights connected to lock out the brakes when shifting into Reverse

[SkitterPopper]

1) Loading and unloading steep landing. Put you truck in:

a)park

b)drive but with the e-break on

c)low or 1st gear with the e-break on

I put the e brake on and place the truck in Park and then let off on the brake. This way it does not clunk into drive when pulling out.

2)Trailering to or from lake. Depth finder:

a) stays on

comes off

Stays on but I have a windshield and a cover for the front of it. The only time it comes off is if I am staying somewhere overnight where I can't see the boat and trailer

3)Trailering to and from lake. Quick disconnect bow mount trolling motor:

a)comes off and placed in truck or bottom of boat

stays on

Stays on, but I installed a RAM mount last year so it does not bounce when going down the road. If you don't have a mount I would take it down because all the bouncing will eventually take it's toll on your front decking.

4) While loading and unloading boat you:

a) disconnect trailer lights

leave trailer lights connected

I have regular lights and never had a problem with them connected.

[toughguy]

1) E brake then park

2 )cheap depth finder - always stays on

3) leave it connected

4) LEDs = leave trailer lights connected

[20lbSloughShark]

1 I put it in park because my e break does not work

2 my depth finder used to stay conected, but then it broke because of it. When I get a new one, it will ride with me

3 N/A

4 I leave them connected, and have never had a problem even with standard lights.

[amateurfishing]

i put truck in neutral for backing up then brake & emergency brake for parking

depth finder comes of in transit

i always unplug trailer lights when at landing & plug back in b4 leaving, ive been told they can short out if left connected to vehicle

[BartmanMN]

Good post. I like the tips to put ebrake on before putting it in park. I will try that. And now that I bought a new graph, I suppose it is better to take that off during travel to save some bouncing. I'll think about that too.

[Esox_Magnum]

Steep ramps, e brake and park

Trolling motor can't come off so don't

Graphs are on rams and always stay on untill winter storage

Never have unplugged lights, now run LED's

[ClownColor]

interesting on how many keep the lights connected. I've always unplugged mine cause I "assumed" they would short out. learn something new every day.

1) park then e-break...I think I'm going to do what most others suggest and e-brake then park...makes more sense.

2) electronics come off

3) most of the time trolling motor comes off

4) always disconnected the lights

[shamrock7]

Contrary to popular belief, 12 volts will not short out in water. But if your incandescent lights are hot from being on and you back into cold water, the bulbs can blow because of the quick change in temperature. This is why LED's work so well, they develop very little heat.

[Down Deep]

1. I always put the e-brake on then shift to park. I also switch on the 4X4 just in case the ramp is slick or has loose gravel.

2. Depth finders stays on unless I will be traveling long distances of several hundred miles or on rough gravel roads.

3. Trolling motors stay on unless I will be traveling a gravel road. I think the motor takes a lot more pounding on the water then it does on an asphalt road. I also have a ram mount T-motor support.

[SkunkedAgain]

1) a) park with e-brake on. 4x4Low to pull out. Besides the extra traction, it's good to put your drivetrain into 4x4 a couple times throughout the summer to keep things moving.

2) a) stays on (I have the cheapest Lowarance X50 possible)

3) trolling motor stays on (I have a master lock on there and it's an old Powerdrive)

4) leave trailer lights connected (LED lights)