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Author Topic:   Trailer Guides

nats posted 05-08-2009 08:49 PM ET (US)
Suggestions on the what kind of trailer guides you guys and gals happen to have on your Whaler's trailer.I have a 06 Karavan and sometimes when there is a breeze blowing at the boat ramp it gets kinda hard when your by yourself. Suggestions appreciated.
jimh posted 05-08-2009 08:51 PM ET (US)
I use a set of tall PVC tubing guides. They work very well as an aid when loading the boat.
nats posted 05-08-2009 08:56 PM ET (US)
Jimh did you make your own or buy them from a local marine store?
jimh posted 05-08-2009 10:35 PM ET (US)
I got them from BASS PRO SHOP. I think they're made by Tie-Down Engineering. They are 60-inches tall. Caught them on a sale many years ago.
tedious posted 05-09-2009 07:15 AM ET (US)
I have the PVC post style, and they work well. The key with this style is to find ones where the metal extends as far as possible into the PVC - some of them are almost all PVC, and I can't imagine they do much but bend when you lean on them.
I don't remember the brand I got; they're OK, but I would have bought from here: http://www.veveinc.com/shop/customer/home.php?cat=71 if I'd found them first. Note that the steel extends way up into the PVC, and they also have a welded brace where the arm bends.
I also put pipelights on. Better than replacing lights every year - or so the theory goes, we'll see how they actually hold up.
Tim
sapple posted 05-09-2009 07:33 AM ET (US)
I use the tall PVC tubing guides. Purchased at Boater's World. Easy to install, work well. Not too expensive.
Nauti Tauk posted 05-09-2009 08:19 AM ET (US)
PVC pipe guides all the way! For windy conditions they can't be beat. I've owned three aluminum Continental(sp?)trailers and all have had the 60" guides. These tall guides make it much easier to load the boat in the trailer's center since they can be seen although the trailer for the most part is submerged. Highly recommended.
jimh posted 05-09-2009 08:51 AM ET (US)
The tall white PVC tube guides are also useful in other ways. When backing the empty trailer down the ramp they are helpful in locating the trailer's position. I also have set waterline marks on the guides so when backing the trailer into the water I can set the depth of immersion to the proper level every time. This little trick has made loading the boat on the trailer much more consistent.
Chuck Tribolet posted 05-09-2009 09:43 AM ET (US)
PVC posts.
The problem with the bunk board style is that that on a
steep ramp, the boat can float over them on a big wave.
Chuck
fishgutz posted 05-09-2009 09:52 AM ET (US)
Get ones that use a square metal tube inside for attaching to your trailer. The round ones can turn on the U-bolts and will never be straight. Especially if you smack one with the boat while loading.
Also, I've experimented with positioning. I had mine positioned so they were set just as wide as the widest part of the boat. This works well for loading but my boat fenders didn't clear them. Now I have them set even with the widest part of the trailer. It was only a difference of about 2 inches on either side of the boat. It all works great now. They are nice for backing down a ramp when you can't see the trailer but you can see the guides.
GRAND NUSSIE posted 05-09-2009 10:36 AM ET (US)
pvc here also. Helps to back the trailer into the garage at dusk as well.
R T M posted 05-09-2009 04:30 PM ET (US)
I built my own trailer guides for my 13 footer. Cost was very minimal from Home Depot. I used 1 1/2" schedule 40 PVC. for the corners I used long 90s electrical conduit. Also a couple of U clamps. Fortunately my trailer was built in a way that I could bolt the long 90 thru the back of the original taillight brackets. It is very rigid because I was able to bolt the corners and not the bottom pipe only. It makes loading very easy even if I am alone, as I just untie from the floating dock and drive right up the trailer. This in not called power loading as it would be with a float on/drive on trailer, because my boat will just coast most of the way up, and I just step off the bow and hook the winch strap to the eye and crank it up the rest of the way.
If you can only bolt the bottom tube, than you will have to use a metal tube with metal long 90s, in order to have rigidity. I believe this can be done with metal electrical conduit. Also if you have a heavy boat, and the side pieces are bending on you with the weight of the boat you need to make them more rigid. Buy a couple of pieces of wooden closet poles from home depot, and they will slide perfectly inside the 1 1/2" PVC, then glue new caps on. Here is a picture of my setup.
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c191/floridaboy2053/ Whaler%20with%20Mercury/WHALER3.jpg
rich/ Binkie
HawaiianWhaler posted 05-09-2009 09:05 PM ET (US)
nats - Out here where the wind is often blowing at the ramp or the surge is strong, those vertical pipe guides are insufficient because you can get the bow forward of them and still have the bow go sideways off the trailer. We use long bunks mounted above either side of the trailer to keep the boat aligned with the trailer. In a quick search, I couldn't find any pictures of Hawaiian style side guides but did find this link which shows a similar but shorter version:
http://www.westboatshop.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/ trailer1.jpg
If where you launch and retrieve is calm, the vertical pipe guides may be good enough. If it's windy or there is a surge at the ramp, I suggest you give the bunk side guides some consideration.
Our side guides are basically two "L" shaped square tubes on each side of the trailer, with the short legs of the "L" clamped to the trailer frame and a long carpeted bunk between the tops of the "L".
Aloha.
Rich S posted 05-09-2009 11:36 PM ET (US)
The ramp I have most used is plagued with strong cross current and cross winds. I had some difficulty loading, and had considered the PVC post type guides, until I saw someone who's bow was beyond the starboard guide, but no where near the center of the trailer. It wasn't pretty.
I bought the bunk style, and they work very well for me. It's seemingly impossible for the boat to not self-center on the trailer.
I got mine on eBay. They are exactly like the kit Bass Pro sells: "Shipshape™ Bunk Board Guide-On Kit"
Your mileage may vary.
Phil T posted 05-10-2009 08:40 AM ET (US)
I use rollers.
http://picasaweb.google.com/CascoBayOutrage/ 2009Boating#5310957369025501954
http://shop.easternmarine.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=catalog.prodInfo& productID=5190&categoryID=220

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Author	Topic: Trailer Guides
nats	posted 05-08-2009 08:49 PM ET (US) Suggestions on the what kind of trailer guides you guys and gals happen to have on your Whaler's trailer.I have a 06 Karavan and sometimes when there is a breeze blowing at the boat ramp it gets kinda hard when your by yourself. Suggestions appreciated.
jimh	posted 05-08-2009 08:51 PM ET (US) I use a set of tall PVC tubing guides. They work very well as an aid when loading the boat.
nats	posted 05-08-2009 08:56 PM ET (US) Jimh did you make your own or buy them from a local marine store?
jimh	posted 05-08-2009 10:35 PM ET (US) I got them from BASS PRO SHOP. I think they're made by Tie-Down Engineering. They are 60-inches tall. Caught them on a sale many years ago.
tedious	posted 05-09-2009 07:15 AM ET (US) I have the PVC post style, and they work well. The key with this style is to find ones where the metal extends as far as possible into the PVC - some of them are almost all PVC, and I can't imagine they do much but bend when you lean on them. I don't remember the brand I got; they're OK, but I would have bought from here: http://www.veveinc.com/shop/customer/home.php?cat=71 if I'd found them first. Note that the steel extends way up into the PVC, and they also have a welded brace where the arm bends. I also put pipelights on. Better than replacing lights every year - or so the theory goes, we'll see how they actually hold up. Tim
sapple	posted 05-09-2009 07:33 AM ET (US) I use the tall PVC tubing guides. Purchased at Boater's World. Easy to install, work well. Not too expensive.
Nauti Tauk	posted 05-09-2009 08:19 AM ET (US) PVC pipe guides all the way! For windy conditions they can't be beat. I've owned three aluminum Continental(sp?)trailers and all have had the 60" guides. These tall guides make it much easier to load the boat in the trailer's center since they can be seen although the trailer for the most part is submerged. Highly recommended.
jimh	posted 05-09-2009 08:51 AM ET (US) The tall white PVC tube guides are also useful in other ways. When backing the empty trailer down the ramp they are helpful in locating the trailer's position. I also have set waterline marks on the guides so when backing the trailer into the water I can set the depth of immersion to the proper level every time. This little trick has made loading the boat on the trailer much more consistent.
Chuck Tribolet	posted 05-09-2009 09:43 AM ET (US) PVC posts. The problem with the bunk board style is that that on a steep ramp, the boat can float over them on a big wave. Chuck
fishgutz	posted 05-09-2009 09:52 AM ET (US) Get ones that use a square metal tube inside for attaching to your trailer. The round ones can turn on the U-bolts and will never be straight. Especially if you smack one with the boat while loading. Also, I've experimented with positioning. I had mine positioned so they were set just as wide as the widest part of the boat. This works well for loading but my boat fenders didn't clear them. Now I have them set even with the widest part of the trailer. It was only a difference of about 2 inches on either side of the boat. It all works great now. They are nice for backing down a ramp when you can't see the trailer but you can see the guides.
GRAND NUSSIE	posted 05-09-2009 10:36 AM ET (US) pvc here also. Helps to back the trailer into the garage at dusk as well.
R T M	posted 05-09-2009 04:30 PM ET (US) I built my own trailer guides for my 13 footer. Cost was very minimal from Home Depot. I used 1 1/2" schedule 40 PVC. for the corners I used long 90s electrical conduit. Also a couple of U clamps. Fortunately my trailer was built in a way that I could bolt the long 90 thru the back of the original taillight brackets. It is very rigid because I was able to bolt the corners and not the bottom pipe only. It makes loading very easy even if I am alone, as I just untie from the floating dock and drive right up the trailer. This in not called power loading as it would be with a float on/drive on trailer, because my boat will just coast most of the way up, and I just step off the bow and hook the winch strap to the eye and crank it up the rest of the way. If you can only bolt the bottom tube, than you will have to use a metal tube with metal long 90s, in order to have rigidity. I believe this can be done with metal electrical conduit. Also if you have a heavy boat, and the side pieces are bending on you with the weight of the boat you need to make them more rigid. Buy a couple of pieces of wooden closet poles from home depot, and they will slide perfectly inside the 1 1/2" PVC, then glue new caps on. Here is a picture of my setup. http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c191/floridaboy2053/ Whaler%20with%20Mercury/WHALER3.jpg rich/ Binkie
HawaiianWhaler	posted 05-09-2009 09:05 PM ET (US) nats - Out here where the wind is often blowing at the ramp or the surge is strong, those vertical pipe guides are insufficient because you can get the bow forward of them and still have the bow go sideways off the trailer. We use long bunks mounted above either side of the trailer to keep the boat aligned with the trailer. In a quick search, I couldn't find any pictures of Hawaiian style side guides but did find this link which shows a similar but shorter version: http://www.westboatshop.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/ trailer1.jpg If where you launch and retrieve is calm, the vertical pipe guides may be good enough. If it's windy or there is a surge at the ramp, I suggest you give the bunk side guides some consideration. Our side guides are basically two "L" shaped square tubes on each side of the trailer, with the short legs of the "L" clamped to the trailer frame and a long carpeted bunk between the tops of the "L". Aloha.
Rich S	posted 05-09-2009 11:36 PM ET (US) The ramp I have most used is plagued with strong cross current and cross winds. I had some difficulty loading, and had considered the PVC post type guides, until I saw someone who's bow was beyond the starboard guide, but no where near the center of the trailer. It wasn't pretty. I bought the bunk style, and they work very well for me. It's seemingly impossible for the boat to not self-center on the trailer. I got mine on eBay. They are exactly like the kit Bass Pro sells: "Shipshape™ Bunk Board Guide-On Kit" Your mileage may vary.
Phil T	posted 05-10-2009 08:40 AM ET (US) I use rollers. http://picasaweb.google.com/CascoBayOutrage/ 2009Boating#5310957369025501954 http://shop.easternmarine.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=catalog.prodInfo& productID=5190&categoryID=220