drop down spare wheel or extended drawbar
Submitted by scottbec on Sun, 2011-08-28 14:09
hi guys
just wonderng if any of you have thoughts or experience with having and using either an extendable drawbar or drop down spare wheel on your boat trailers?
i am still trying to work out shouild i go with one or the other... or maybe even both.
cheers
scott
sea-kem
Posts: 14983
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Where are you going to be
Where are you going to be using it?
Love the West!
CCC
Posts: 539
Date Joined: 29/03/10
what size boat? I run a drop
what size boat? I run a drop down wheel on my 4.2m plate dinghy. its a heavy boat for its size, we use it when launching down steep bank. in that situation an extendable drawbar would no work. just depends what your doing. gives us some ideas of where you plan on using it.
ccc
scottbec
Posts: 242
Date Joined: 18/01/07
good point...
sorry - should have provided more info
its for our 4.85m trailcraft. mainly want it for some peace of mind when beach launching and want to be able to retrieve the boat without drowning the car.
CCC
Posts: 539
Date Joined: 29/03/10
Extendable draw bar if you
Extendable draw bar if you are down south where there are no tides but if your right up North then thats another story.
ccc
squidvicious1
Posts: 824
Date Joined: 22/07/10
drop down wheel all the way.
drop down wheel all the way. very useable in the exxy gulf.
scottbec
Posts: 242
Date Joined: 18/01/07
thanks guys. we are down
thanks guys. we are down south so the drawbar would be a better option. wish we had a drop down spare for the few times we got caught out with the tides in Ex gulf.
cheers
CCC
Posts: 539
Date Joined: 29/03/10
If you can get both, the drop
If you can get both, the drop down with a hub/wheel that matches the trailer, great if you have the misfortune of doing a bearing. Just undo the hub nuts and change.
CCC
LandyAndy
Posts: 169
Date Joined: 22/02/09
Im new to boat
Im new to boat ownership,havent put it in the water yet.
I have seen extendable drawbars and I can see how they would be useful.
Have seen the drop down wheel on some trailers,how do they work???? I can only imagine you wheel the trailer out recover the boat then drag the trailer up the beach with a chain or snatch strap.Am I on the rite track???
Andrew
JohnF
Posts: 2836
Date Joined: 07/07/10
I used a drop down spare on
I used a drop down spare on my trailcraft 540 at Broome, worked well. Just used a long length of heavy rope to pull the boat out, did not even get the tyres wet.
Boston Whaler 235 Conquest......getting the flogging it was built for.
sea-kem
Posts: 14983
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Why not have both?? I'm going
Why not have both?? I'm going to look into it.
Love the West!
just dhu it
Posts: 1081
Date Joined: 14/05/09
drop wheel
Scott , i have a drop down wheel , as the others mentioned it gives you two spare tyres and the spare hub , the trailcraft trailers dont allow an easy connection for the extension draw bar due to the brake set up, so i modifed the drop down to suit my traily draw bar and now carry two spares for the long haul trips
Bluewater
Posts: 161
Date Joined: 15/01/10
I have both. Would recommend
I have both. Would recommend both - just be aware that assuming you have a breakback trailer, you probably won't get more than an extra two metres with an extendable draw bar. Photo below shows the drawbar extension on the left and the drop down on the right. All done by RoadMaster.
[img]http://i1028.photobucket.com/albums/y341/OKA4WD/260/Stoneguard.jpg[/img]
jamesconnelly85
Posts: 63
Date Joined: 08/03/10
Ive got a drop down wheel and
Ive got a drop down wheel and its excellent. Used a snatch strap to pull it out the other day, too easy.
scottbec
Posts: 242
Date Joined: 18/01/07
both would be nice....
thanks guys.
bluewater - thanks for the pic. the stone guard looks like another good idea (I will put it on the list). we dont have a break-back trailer so it wouldnt be too much of an issue.
it is a great idea to have the drop down even just to have the spare hub and bearings... but to save soem $$$, for now I might just leave the drop down wheel and look into the drawbar option
with the trailcraft trailer the brakes and some other fittings do get in the way for a standard type pull out type extendable drawbar. I have been looking at having a swing back extension - so it has a connection point near the existing coupling and then the bar swings back so the new coupling on the new post swings back and sits somewhere near the mudguards...
maybe when i get it done I will have to post some pics...