CONTINUOUSWAVE

[Separated from another discussion and now its own thread]

Where can keel rollers and their mounting hardware be puchased?

The keel rollers, axles, and brackets are widely available from any trailer parts vendor. For example, see

https://www.easternmarine.com/rollers

The STOLTZ brand polyurethane orange rollers are popular.

For keel roller brackets, axles, and other hardware see

https://www.easternmarine.com/boat-trailer-roller-brackets-hardware

One complete assembly will be:

• one bracket
• one roller
• one axle
• two end caps
• two washers

Order extra end caps, as they can be a bit difficult to install or remove.

For dual keel rollers at each trailer crossmember, four long bolts sandwich the brackets on each side of the crossmember. Thus you will need to get more hardware, which should be good quality galvanized steel:

• four long bolts, usually 0.5-inch diameter
• eight washers
• four elastic stop nuts

If only a single keel roller is to be fastened to a crossmember, a square-bent U-bolt is used. If the trailer crossmember is a tubular beam, the U-bolt should match the beam size so it fits snugly. Really large crossmembers may not be accommodated with U-bolts. Drilling a hole in the crossmember can be done, but be sure to drill the hole on the centerline of the crossmember; a hole there will have the least effect on the strength of the beam.

While EasternMarine is a good vendor, I also like http://www.Sturdybuiltonline.com as they offer stainless hardware and have non-marring rollers, similar to Stolz, at a much lower price.

They also sell assemblies of the roller, shaft, nuts, axle and bolts in one unit.

Phil, specifically, I'm trying to duplicate the double rollers that you have on your 17 OUTRAGE boat trailer pictured in a thread about six months ago.


Fig. 1. A LOAD-RITE trailer shown as purchased in another thread and owned by PHIL T.
Note: the four keel rollers were added to the stock trailer. See below for details.

Those roller assemblies in Figure 1 are not dual-roller assemblies. They are just single rollers on single brackets mounted back to back, as described earlier.

If you want a dual-roller assembly with a pivoting mechanism that can mount to a cross-beam, E-Z-LOADER makes a 12-inch heavy-duty keel roller assembly:



The advantage to the pivoting pair of rollers is they will adjust to bear the weight equally. I don't know how much their mounting height can be adjusted.

Regarding the keel roller bracket mounting height for conventional single rollers, you may find that on trailer with bent crossmembers that are lowered in the center, a keel roller bracket won't be able to be mounted high enough in some situations without resorting to drilling the crossmember for the lower bolt fasteners.

Walt. From STURBYBUILT I ordered

• two 12-inch keel roller kits
• two 100inch keel roller kits

I them dry-fit the on the frame and measured [the length of the bolts needed]. I went to my local hardware store and purchased 1/2-inch diameter stainless bolts, washers, and locknuts. I think the bolts were 6-inches long.

I just looked at prices: WOW--a big price increase since I fitted out my boat trailer.

LoadRite's offerings are now way too expensive for my taste.

Thanks to you both, I think I can get this done. Like Phil says, one just needs a bigger stash of cash these days.

For the long bolts to hold two brackets on either side of a trailer crossmember, the best arrangement is to find bolts that are just the right length and are not threaded for the entire length, that is, only threaded at the very end of the bolt. By using bolts that are not threaded in the sections that will rest on the crossmember or have the bracket resting on the bolt, the bolt strength will not be weakened by the threads; there will also be be less chance for corrosion.

Here is a cost analysis for one 12-inch keel roller installation. I use the prices at easternmarine.com and their part numbers:

One complete assembly will be:

• one 12-inch roller bracket; #86153, $17.50
• one Stoltz Orange Poly 12-inch roller; # 5291042, $31.25
• one 5/8-inch diameter axle; #86189, $9.25
• two Pal nuts; # 5212024, $0.95
• two washers; # 5291042, $2.50

TOTAL= $64.90 excluding taxes and shipping.

The above does not include the the four long mounting bolts, washers, and nuts. These can be purchased at a local store. Hardware can also be ordered online. Using BOLTDEPOT.COM as a source and figuring on the bolt length as 6-inches:

• 1/2-inch x 13 TPI hot-dipped galvanized 6-inch long hex bolt #77, $2.04
• 1/2-inch x 13 TPI hot-dipped galvanized hex nut, #2617, $0.33
• 1/2-inch Zinc platted flat washer, #2998, $0.28
• 1/2-inch Zinc plated lock washer, #3028, $0.10
• Total for a quantity of four of the above for use with one bracket: $11.00.

(I am surprised by these hardware prices; they seem low. I expect hardware store prices to be higher. Also, if you specify higher grade fasteners or stainless steel fasteners the cost will increase significantly.)

Adding the bracket assembly and the hardware gives the total cost of one roller as $76, exclusive of tax and shipping

A set of four 12-inch rollers and brackets will be about $304.