Trailering problem

[ctuma]

I have a 06 Alumacraft Nav 175 Tiller with a a Shorelander trailer. I have rollers in the back and bunks in the front with a center roller that swings up and down in the middle. There is a slot in the center roller and the boat goes on straight until the last few feet and then it always jumps off the slot to the left if your facing the boat. I'm at a total loss as it goes on straight sometimes and other times there is nothing I can do to get it on straight. I have tried driving it up, hand cranking it, putting the trailer deeper and shallower and it doesn't make a difference. I have been told to try putting guides on the side of the trailer but will this really help or just tell me the boat is not on straight. Any thoughts on what I can do?

[BillP]

Check to see that your rollers are level in relation to each other. Sometimes a boat will slide sideways on a roller and keep itself straight (with the wench line) till enough weight on the roller makes it stop slipping and it will change direction abruptly.

[marine_man]

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I have rollers in the back and bunks in the front

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By bunks do you mean two carpeted pads that are mounted to the cross member toward the front of the trailer?

If so I'd be tempted to lower them so they don't contact the boat and see if it loads straight. If so, just adjust the height and location so it's the same on both sides (with the boat on the trailer) and you should be good to go.

marine_man

[ctuma]

Yes they are the padded bunks in the front. So you are saying I should lower them while the boat is on the trailer?

[norma]

I have found that with my shorlander trailer, if one of the livewells are full, it will cause the boat to load cockeyed. The weight of the water throws it off 8 lbs. per gallon.

[Hooked On a Feeling]

Try loading when the rear rollors are just halfway in the water, if the rear rollers are fully submerged it will not load correct. The rollers need to be exposed a bit out of the water for the boat to seat correctly on that trailer.

Hooked

[ctuma]

Thanks for all the responses. It looks like I need to find a less traveled lake during the week and try a few things and see what the problem might be.

[marine_man]

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Yes they are the padded bunks in the front. So you are saying I should lower them while the boat is on the trailer?

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I'm talking about these bunks / pads:

what I would do is remove them / lower them so the boat won't rest on them and see if the boat loads straight without them.

If that's the case, get the boat loaded straight and reinstall them, paying carefull attention that they are located the same distance from the center of the boat (or measure from the outside frame rail to the pad). Wider is better on these pads as they'll help you center up better.

In regard to the livewell being full of water:

1) You may as well pull the drain plug on it on your way into the landing anyhow as it is now illegal to transport lake water out of any lake in your livewell

2) Any weight in-balance will cause the boat to load crooked. On some smaller boats I've had to stand in the middle of the boat to get it to load straight. If the boat's not sitting level in the water when you go onto the trailer it's very likely not going to load straight.

Oh, my rule of thumb which typically works out pretty good is to only back the trailer in until water is over the front fender step. No deeper.

Good Luck!

marine_man

[ctuma]

I will give it a try. I don't think its the livewell because I don't fill the rear one and the front one is in the center of the boat. I know the starting battery is on the opposite side that the boat shifts to so that might me part of the problem. I looked at the bunks and they appear to be down on the last hole on the bracket. I guess I will have to play around with it at the landing, thanks for all the advice.

[Cabela10]

Shorelander trailers are notorious for bad loading at the ramp. I'm thinking of converting the rollers and such to a complete bunk system like bass boat trailers.

[hitthebricks]

I'll disagree to that generalization. I have no problems loading my Crestliner but a buddys Alumacraft is real tough to load it centered using the same method. HTB

[Surface Tension]

Is the boat centered up to the point where it jumps off the roller? If so I'd suspect the bunks also. Next time you load look to see if the hull is making contact on the right side bunk. If the bunks can't be lowered to test that theory then maybe you could spread them out a little.

[Dave]

I've had my Shorelander roller trailer since '95 and it centers the boat perfectly each time. Even when off, when I pull the trailer out of the water, the boat shifts and self centers. I think some adjustments need to be made.

[marine_man]

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Shorelander trailers are notorious for bad loading at the ramp.

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I disagree with this as well. I think Shoreland'r are one of the best trailers out there.

At least they don't squeak like squeaky loaders ...

marine_man

[Cabela10]

Thats cool, disagree all you like, it's just one man's opinion and seeing multiple other people while I wait for them to load their boats.

[marine_man]

Yep... everyone's got an opinion.

The huge advantage of bunks is that they load straight, every time. It's straight forward.

The big problem I'd have with them is low water accesses - if you can't back the trailer in far enough in low water accesses you won't be able to get your boat off. At least you'd be able to push it off a roller trailer.

marine_man

[Surface Tension]

I love my Shorelander roller trailer. Boat rolls off at shallow water landings and rolls back on straight.

[youngie22]

I agree w/ surface tension. I love mu shore lander. very old, and still works great! Other than a new boat and trailer, what else can a guy ask for?

[BobT]

Roller or bunk? I think it all comes down to what you are comfortable with or perhaps understand better. To say that any one type will always load straight is a misconception. I guarantee that someone, somewhere has trouble loading onto either type and everyone at some time will experience a bad day after all, the trailer doesn't load the boat, we do.

Bob

[archer59]

I mentioned this on another thread somewhere.

My Shorelander always worked great. Then one day I couldn't get the boat on straight. So I took a look at the rollers and a couple bolts were loose on the back set. You could see where the roller support had shifted. I moved it back to where it was, tightened all bolts on the trailer, and have not had a problem since. Of course you have to have your trailer in the water at the proper depth for it to load correctly.

Good luck,

Nick

[ctuma]

Well I think I found the problem. I measured the roller frames to the outside of the trailer frame and they are an inch different which would make sense as to why the boat always pulls over to the same side. I called Shorelander and left a message with a guy there and after 2 days no response. The boat dealer told me to drop it off and they would adjust it. Does anyone know if these rollers are installed by the dealer or at the factory. If this turns out to be the problem someone is going to get an earfull from me. Thanks for everyones help.

[marine_man]

It all kind of depends. If it's a bigger dealer they get the trailers in with the axle on them and then assemble the rollers, fender, etc.

Some small dealers get them assembled already though.

Regardless, it's the dealers issue and not the trailer manufacturer... it's all in the inital setup.

marine_man