Self Centering guides for trailer
Submitted by Superfish on Sun, 2018-11-25 07:42
i have an old Roadmaster trailer for my Voyager Ghia. Should really update to tandem low profile but allready spent heaps on this rig. Pretty basic single axle job in good condion but finding it doesnt self centre and the boat goes up on angle. This is starting to stess me out when i try to wind up the boat. justwondering if anyone would have any ideas how to fix it?
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Jewskip
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Faulkner Family
Posts: 17867
Date Joined: 11/03/08
i have a roller on my
i have a roller on my trailor that does centre the boat and has never missed. i cant remember what they are called but when the boat runs up on the roller its like a spiral that keeps the keel central. i think most marine places have them,
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
Mark_M
Posts: 158
Date Joined: 10/04/15
Whitworths
https://www.whitworths.com.au/trailer-roller-8-self-centre-roller-blue
come in blue, black & red, 6" & 8" .
makai
Posts: 459
Date Joined: 28/10/08
You may be putting the trailer in too deep
One thing worth a try before you spend more is putting the trailer in shallower. If you are in too deep and the boat is floating onto the trailer, you will have problems centering the boat. If its too hard to winch the boat up from a shallower postion, get it started (and centred) then reverse back a little to take some weight off the winch. If you have someone with you and they can operate the tow vehicle, it makes it easier., but make sure you are well clear of the winch/vehicle before it is reversed.
quadfisher
Posts: 1146
Date Joined: 28/09/10
Centre of the universe?
I have a melride by chivers , and its a full roller , with blue strips on plates angled towards the rear roller , you can start taking the wieght with the winch
with the boat 2 foot either way and it just slides and centres .
No interest in the company but its the best and easiest trailer I have used or seen , its a beaut.
It winchs up a 5 metre haines on 5 to 1 speed with one hand almost no strain . the only thing is it slides off the trailer like s,,t off a blanket ,
the first time we launched it was like holy hell thats slick.
quadfisher
Superfish
Posts: 101
Date Joined: 27/05/12
Quite happy to add some
Quite happy to add some guides if they do a good job Russ. Makai your suggestion is definatly worth a shot as well mabe i have been a touch to deep but i have done shallower in the past and found it hard to pull the boat up .
Jewskip
carnarvonite
Posts: 8627
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Too Deep
Sounds like you are going too deep with the trailer and as you state it makes cranking the boat up hard work, then the easy fix is get a 2 speed winch or go electric because if you go for a loadmaster? set of rollers that sit right at the rear of the trailer it is going to make cranking just as hard unless you are prepared to learn to drive the boat on
scubafish
Posts: 949
Date Joined: 15/08/12
I would think about this.
https://www.whitworths.com.au/eziguide-boat-loading-system
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uoszErusK4
http://img.gg/BQ91Sys
ranmar850
Posts: 2702
Date Joined: 12/08/12
+1 for the Easy-Guide
I had one of these on my 6m tinny trailer, which was a Roadmaster clone with the centre rollers like yours. Does a great job, too, if you have a crosswind--once you have the bow into the vee of the easy loader, and the winch rope on, it will just pull around straight even if the wind is blowing it sideways.
Drive on can be difficult with a trailer setup like yours, and the side wobble rollers, instead of bunks, actually make it harder. The wobble rollers will get the wrong side of a strake if you are off-centre, and you are screwed. At least a solid bunk doesn't tend to do that unless you are a really long way off. Due to your configuration , you can't add the slides on the transverse frames all the way up which make it slide onto centre, like my new one does, below. Made for drive on, if you get off-centre, the skids just make it go back onto the rollers. A mate built a trailer same time as I built mine,same Roadmaster tyoe design and he added a sloping frame across the rear, with a skid on each side, which makes it centre OK. But he is loading a plate Westerberg, and won't really do any damage if he gets it wrong--bit different with a glass boat, much more potential for damage.
If you look at the back frame on mine, below, thats sort of what he has, just angled a bit more . But of course, that wouldn't work with the Easy-Loader. You would have to choose between one or the other. And, as it was said above, don't get in too deep with that kind of trailer.