Trailer Question.

B

bcassal

New member
I have a question about the setup of my EZ loader trailer.

My 22 has been on this trailer for 10 years without any trouble. While on a 5500 mile trip this fall the bow roller wore a rather deep "divot" where the bow met the roller. I always attempt to have the bow winched tightly against the roller. Maybe it wasn't as tight as it might have been, I can't say, but it made a startling deep gouge. We tend to favor the "scenic routes" and we spent more time on very poor roads than we probably should have.

My question is about the lower roller at the front of the trailer. I have been told that it's purpose is to keep the bow from contacting the frame crossmembers while loading/launching and when the boat is securely winched forward and in traveling position it should not contact the hull. the hull rests an inch or two above it.

I have repaired the damage, replaced the bow roller and I have raised the forward trailer roller so that the hull now rests on it.

Pictures are in my album

I would appreciate any comments on how this roller is supposed to work and the wisdom or foolishness of raising it.

Thanks,
Carpy
 
Do you have a strap or some sort of restraint between the bow eye and trailer? It is necessary to keep the boat from bucking on the trailer.
 
As Chester suggested--we use a strap--or in the larger boats a chain and even turnbuckle to keep the bow stable, and prevent upward & forward motion of the boat. Some of these rollers are better than others. I just replaced mine on the 22. You can also put padding between the roller and hull to prevent gel coat damage.

You also should have straps on each side or a large strap over the cockpit to stabilize the back of the boat.
 
I was told the same thing, by a boat dealer, that the lower roller is there only to keep the boat from strikeing the trailer during load/unload. And should not be in contact when boat is resting on trailer
 
Spike":1p4ed8fi said:
I was told the same thing, by a boat dealer, that the lower roller is there only to keep the boat from strikeing the trailer during load/unload. And should not be in contact when boat is resting on trailer
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This is interesting to me. I found that when I first trailered my boat (about 20 miles the first day) the bow would move up and down a little bit over bumps, even though I had it strapped down*. I didn't like that, so I added a roller in the same bow position (as Carpy shows), so that now when I tighten the bow (in a downwards direction) it has something to tighten "against." There still is not a lot of pressure on the roller, it's just "there." I'm trying to "see" how that would cause a negative structural situation, but I can't think of it. What am I missing?

1) There will be no bouncing stress, as the boat will be snugged down with a line from bow eye to trailer frame (snugged not torqued with excessive force).

2) There is really no "leverage" (trying to "bend" the bow over the roller) because there is no boat to speak of ahead of the roller, and there is nothing pulling down on the boat aft of the roller between the roller and the start of the bunks (or rollers). Any additional tie down force is well aft.

*Perhaps the roller is not necessary though. When I first got my trailer, the manufacturer or dealer had mounted the spare tire in such a way as to block the welded eye on the frame that is just below the boat's bow eye - so I only had a convoluted way to tie the bow straight down. By the time I added and used the roller, I had also moved the spare tire mount and could use a straight-line attachment from bow-eye to trailer frame. Also, I noticed that on my first long trip, the bow was actually just slightly above the roller, so not even touching (on the past trip I can see that it did lightly touch the roller).

Sunbeam
 
Sunbeam
I can't really tell you exactly why, but this is my fourth trailer boat and all the lower rollers have been this way. I did not bother to ask the whys and what fors when I was told , maybe I should have. I have yet to have any problems though with this set up.
 
I'm with you on the raising of the roller. I wouldn't want it carrying a lot of weight but still like it doing something.
I haven't had the bow roller last forever. They seem to wear out over time. I suspect that is why they are not hard to find in ships stores.
I'd say wearing them out is a good thing....means you are using your boat!
dan
 
On the EZ Loader trailer that I have I can't even raise the bottom front roller high enough to make contact with the keel of the boat. I remember my last trailer, Escort, was the same way.
 
Spike":32ha91vr said:
On the EZ Loader trailer that I have I can't even raise the bottom front roller high enough to make contact with the keel of the boat. I remember my last trailer, Escort, was the same way.
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I may be wrong, but I think that roller is there to guide the boat in when retrieving, and to guide it off when launching.

Specifically, it keeps the bow from striking the trailer frame and keeps it centered. This is especially important when the boat is coming in floating on a level plane in the water, and the trailer is on a somewhat steeper angled ramp, and the bow comes in ready to strike the trailer frame up where the trailer tongue joins the "v" of the forward part of the trailer's main body. This situation or condition exists most of the time, of course, and is why the roller is mounted close by to this point.

However, to be clear, the roller is not there for the boat to ride against when on the road, as it would mark up the boat, at least if the roller is made of the typical black rubber compound, rather than urethane.

I have had this marking problem with some trailers and boats myself, and the cure is to keep the roller below contact with the boat once fully on the trailer. Look around, and you'll find a lot of boats that have been marked up and even gouged deep into the fiberglass by an incorrectly mounted or adjusted front roller!

Often a better solution is to remove the roller and replace it with a large "V" shaped block, fully carpeted, which can then be left in contact with the boat when fully on the trailer. I made mine for sailboats out of large wooden laminated blocks, then carpeted them, but I've seen some made up of molded fiberglass which was subsequently carpeted.

Hope this helps.

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Sea Wolf":2k4qr246 said:
However, to be clear, the roller is not there for the boat to ride against when on the road, as it would mark up the boat, at least if the roller is made of the typical black rubber compound, rather than urethane.

I have had this marking problem with some trailers and boats myself, and the cure is to keep the roller below contact with the boat once fully on the trailer. Look around, and you'll find a lot of boats that have been marked up and even gouged deep into the fiberglass by an incorrectly mounted or adjusted front roller!
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I have added such a roller. I like to make a strong connection between the bow-eye and the trailer frame straight beneath it, to avoid the bow bouncing up and down, and I didn't like that there was just "air" there below the boat. I don't have anything like the towing experience with my boat that some of you have, but I've gone around 6,000 miles since I added it. My experience: It's yellow urethane, so no marking issues. So far I haven't had any gouging either, but where the roller contacts the hull on my boat, it's touching only the brass keel strip and not the fiberglass. Maybe that prevents problems. But also, I can also tell that it's just barely "resting" on the roller, not being crammed down onto it. (Just went out to the boat and I can actually turn the roller, although it's very close to the boat.) Maybe that's the "secret" -- and maybe that will change when I go to a turnbuckle style bow tie down vs. the frapped line I have there now.

Thinking more big picture, I can imagine two ways there would be a problem:

1) If there is movement. But then anything bouncing or sawing around for thousands of miles is likely to cause a problem, so that's not really bow/stem roller specific.

2) Excessive bending stress put on the hull. But I can't properly "see" how a roller right at the bottom of the stem could cause this. There is not much lever arm forward of it, because the boat ends. There is some, but you'd really have to put a torque on it to bend the boat.... wouldn't you? (Maybe not?) Aft of it the next force put on it is by the forward end of the bunks or the first rollers if a roller trailer. But the boat just sits on those, so there is no "pull" or bending force The next strap that you do tighten is typically back over the cockpit at least, so that's not really able to "bend" the boat around that roller.

I'm not even close to being a physicist, so I'm probably missing something. But what? I could have that roller off my trailer in five minutes, and would remove it - or lower it - if it would be better for the boat. Luckily (I guess), the boat has been riding juuuust above it all the time I've trailered since adding it... so far.

Sunbeam
 
Chester":2alqaqou said:
Do you have a strap or some sort of restraint between the bow eye and trailer? It is necessary to keep the boat from bucking on the trailer.
Click to expand...

I use a small section of galvanized chain, wraped in vinyl hose so it doesn't damage the trailer tongue. Then a s/s turnbuckle holds it all; the bow eye, down vertically to the trailer. The bow no longer moves up/down/left/right while trailering. Got the s/s turnbuckle from http://www.mcmaster.com/#
 
To deal with some of these issues in small 14-18 foot sailboats, we did the folllowing:

1. Bolt down any "Tilt-Trailer" pivot point, as it would stress the boat when under way and the trailer flexed or tilted. A Tilt Trailer might be OK for launching an aluminum runabout in rough terrain & make-shift launch ramps, but they can be totally counterproductive to race quality hulls and their finishes.

2. Pad everything including the bunks and v-blocks (as above) on the trailer.

3. Go one step further: Suspend the boat by the bow at the front and the gunnels at the rear so that NONE of the hull touches ANYTHING underway. The bow and gunnels must have added reinforced points at which to make contact to be able to do this. Suspending the boat then allows you to slip a bottom cover over the hull easily, which will
A.) keep off road grime,
B.) prevent pebbles and rocks from dinging the hull,
C.) keep the hull protected from rain and UV light, and
D.) retain any go-fast coatings you might have put on the hull,
E.) etc.

4. I had a plan to buy an older hull, similar to the one raced, cut it down and bolt it to the trailer, then make it into a carpet-lined half-shell into which to set the racing hull. This would give you a ready-made bottom half "glove" into which to fit and protect the race hull. Never quite got that far, but still believe the idea has merit. Take these ideas a bit further and add a cover, and you wind up with a "violin case with wheels" like boat trailer (!)

5. These ideas would not work for a heavy powerboat hull, but taking the boat and trailer and inserting them into a larger, covered utility trailer or van would.

Just some thoughts for entertainment!

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
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