How toset up trailers.

[Y-Not]

Just got another trailer for under the boat and am going to change the trailers over next weekend.(hopefully)

I have set the keelrollers by measuring hieghts for clearance of the wheel arches off of the old trailer. I have also set the side wobble rollers the same way but have left them a little wide to push against the hull when it is in place.

I figure I will then lift the boat a cm or so with a trolley jack and a piece of board on the keel plankand then move the side rollers in so theybear some wieght.

Am I on the right path or maybe better ideas?

Cheers

[Noelm]

best option is the get the boat on the trailer, with all the weight on the keel rollers, then push the side roller up so they support the boat level and stop it from tipping over.

[Y-Not]

So the side rollers bear no weight at all? just there to balance the boat? thought they would need to hold some

[mitchdemeanor]

Not necessarily, depends on how you prefer it to be set up. However I was told the same way as you described at the start of the thread, but so long as the wobble rollers are supporting the sides of the boat that's also fine and seems to be the way the majority of folks on here do it

[griz066]

So the side rollers bear no weight at all? just there to balance the boat? thought they would need to hold some

Correct! All the weight is on the keel rollers and the wobble rollers are support only.;)

[robothefisho]

Only if it's a pressed alloy boat.

Very trailer dependant. Glass boats with good multi roller trailers are best set up with no keel rollers to assist driving on and launching.

Pressed alloy boats, majority of weight to be on keel rollers, with side skids only stopping the boat rocking bearing minimal weight.

[Y-Not]

My boat is a 30 odd year old CruiseCraft Reef Raider that has always been on an old redco trailer and am in the process of putting it onto a newer drive on style. Have been told over the years the way I discribed, but never having done it want to besure I am on the right track.

[White Pointer]

So the side rollers bear no weight at all? just there to balance the boat? thought they would need to hold some

G'day,

Good question - and the only people who can answer it for you are the boat manufacturers or one of their major dealers. Contact them before you take any risks. They will tell you how to set it up.

Regards,

White Pointer

[griz066]

Only if it's a pressed alloy boat.

Very trailer dependant. Glass boats with good multi roller trailers are best set up with no keel rollers to assist driving on and launching.

Pressed alloy boats, majority of weight to be on keel rollers, with side skids only stopping the boat rocking bearing minimal weight.

Are you saying only alloy boats need keel rollers???

[oldboot]

One important thing to remember is that most trailer will flex a bit under the weight of the boat and the tension of the tiedowns.

So no matter what you do to get the boat on......check that all the rollers and such are doing their share with the boat on and tied down.

If you are running keel rollers...start there, with the back one as low as it will go ane clear everything.

There are lots of hard and fast rules people will sprout.....I don't believe it is that simple or rigid.

One thing that is realy handy is a hand full of jacks...I have been collecting scissor jacks for ages..now have half a dozen.

that allows me to stick em under the whole row of kell rollers and dial the adjustment in...then move onto the outer adjustments.

cheers

[robothefisho]

Are you saying only alloy boats need keel rollers???

Basically. Very strong plate boats can sit on multi roller trailers to, but i still like them to have keel rollers touching...

If the trailer is a proper multi roller like say a tinka. Then they give plenty of support to glass boats without the need for the keel rollers. And if you use a boat/trailer combo nicely set up without the keel rollers touching you would never want to go back.

My seafarer on its brooker uses the keel rollers, but only because its a crap trailer offering no where near enough support without using them.

[Y-Not]

Rang Nichols brothers (Cruise Craft) on Friday and they said it MUST sit on its keel and forget the idea of only supporting via the side rollers as the hull was never designed to cope with that method of support.

[johncar]

Yeah Y-Not,
I don't think there is any fast way of setting up your trailer if you want to to work at it's best.

You have contacted CC and got the drum on the keel support so you go from there.

I would think that many boat buyers bring home their boat and just assume that the trailer is adjusted and never do any else other than just use it which is fine but may be cursing it for one reason or another.

I would take many hours adjusting any trailer and often needs some ongoing finetuning and it usually means just the use of some spanners for the adjusting bolts, A hydraulic jack, a rubber mallet.

I would set up your keel rollers acording to your boats keel for a start, usually stringline them and it is helpfull to start with the rear most one as low as possible and assuming that your trailer is level on the drawbar, run your keel rollers slightly up hill, I like to have the furthermost front one about 25mm higher than the rear one.. then stringline the middle ones for a straight line if your keel is straight.

You will then just have to estimate the side support rollers but try and have them lower to start with rather then higher.

So get your boat on the trailer, adjust your most rear side rollers to get the boat sitting level and all the other side rollers not touching yet.

Adjust your winchpost now so that the boat is positioned correctly. I also try and ensure that if possible the winch cable (please fit Spectra winch rope or similar) so that the cable/rope is pulling the boat slightly uphill, but at least parallel to the trailer and not lower at the front. 50 - 100mm higher just makes it a lot easier to winch on whether electric or manual.

Now adjust up all the side rollers untill they are contacting the hull but don't tighten the bolts, just enough to hold them there. mark them all with with a texta pen as a starting point. Check the boat is level and parallel across the trailer

The next bit is where you use the jack and this is not an exact science but I would probably start in a systematic way by putting the jack under the first side roller set, bring the jack up under the support post till just taking the load, loosen the holding bolts and then jack that post up about 5 - 6mm,retighten the bolts again just enough to hold it there. Then do the same for all side rollers.

When finished go around and test to see if you can turn the rollers by hand with the boat on them and fully wiched up hard to the post roller or stop.

What I try and achieve from this point it to keep tweaking those adjustments untill I can manually turn each roller and they have about the same amount of resistance. This includes the keel rollers.
It will depend on the total weight of your boat vs the number of rollers as to how freely they will turn.
I try to have around 36 or more rollers on say a 6.25m GRP boat, and in this case once done they should all turn fairly easily with about 35 - 45KG on each roller.

If CC recommend more on the keel then it's just a matter of making the side rollers turn a little more freely then the keel ones and be guided by their advice.

It can be a bit tedious but it will give you the best performance and weight distribution.

I have set up many trailers this way and my boats mainly in the 6.25 - 6.8m range, the boats just glide off and I can manually winch them on often to about one metre of the winch post on 1:1. Then just 5:1 for the last metre.
If I dunk the trailer a little more without getting the car wheels wet, I can often get them all the way up on 1:1. Driving on and off also a breeze.
Never had any hull or gelcoat issues ever.

This all assumes that you have a combination Keel/multiroller trailer. Many older style trailers just plonk the weight on the keel rollers evenly as possible and the few on the side just adjusted up with just minimal weight and to stop the boat falling over. The older GRP boats were laid up though with heavy keels to deal with it better.

I should just say too that I would generally try to align the side rollers so that they run along side a strake or any change of angle as this would normally be the strongest point to bear any load.

Good luck with it.

[oldboot]

One thing that does reduce the fiddle is working with a tape measure or rule.

This allows you to set matching adjustments on each side the same,rather quickly.

It also gives you an idea of how much you are adjusting.

cheers

[Y-Not]

The change over is to take place this coming weekend all going well.
I am in the process of fish oiling all of the channels and have already sprayed the externals with lanolin spray. Figured that if I start out on the right foot i should get a lot of years out of this trailer as well.

[Dantren]

Which trailer did you go with Y-Not?

[Y-Not]

I ended up getting a barracuda trailer. Probably not as flash as the FMS i really wanted but half the price.

That said the trailer looks very solid and wields etc as well as fittings appear to be every bit as good as the brand names (Dunbier etc) that cost a whole lot more.

When putting a 30 plus year old boat on top of it I decided the hull would not have another 10 to 15 years in it before it was past it so went a cheaper trailer and figured I would treat it up before I start using it and do my normal maintenance as I did on the old redco (older then my boat) then it would last at least as long as the hull will from here.

I figure sooner or late the transom and stringers will need to be done and as much as I love the boat, at that stage it will be time to upgrade to something newer and most likely larger as I would like to get into something SWMBO and I can overnight on.



I am very happy with my choice and only getting the setup right and the boat on it will make me happier!

[FishHunter]

I ended up getting a barracuda trailer. Probably not as flash as the FMS i really wanted but half the price.

That said the trailer looks very solid and wields etc as well as fittings appear to be every bit as good as the brand names (Dunbier etc) that cost a whole lot more.

When putting a 30 plus year old boat on top of it I decided the hull would not have another 10 to 15 years in it before it was past it so went a cheaper trailer and figured I would treat it up before I start using it and do my normal maintenance as I did on the old redco (older then my boat) then it would last at least as long as the hull will from here.

I figure sooner or late the transom and stringers will need to be done and as much as I love the boat, at that stage it will be time to upgrade to something newer and most likely larger as I would like to get into something SWMBO and I can overnight on.



I am very happy with my choice and only getting the setup right and the boat on it will make me happier!

I did the opposite, my 30 yr old boat is being refurbished to last at least 10 years which is why I spent the extra on a new Tinka to replace the 30 year old Tinka currently under the boat.

Some good tips in this thread which I will be applying when my trailer arrives