trailer upgrade time for a 1986 268weekender

lime4x4 said:
Dave do u have pics of your boat on the trailer?
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John, do you mean me?

I'm not sure if this will help you too much (different trailers), but here's a picture I took that shows the rear/fwd bunks. If you go to ShoreLandr's website, you can look up various trailer models - even get schematics and parts diagrams. My trailer started as an SLR80T, but I took some parts (rear bunk set-up) from an SLB80T and the fwd bunks from another manufacturer. But, the diagram for an SLB80T is the closest.

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I meant u. brain fart..lol.. Anyways took advanatge of the nice weather and swapped boat trailers this weekend. Got some more fine tuning to do yet..

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Looks pretty good, John. Only thing I'd add is to raise your hitch about two inches. From that picture, everything else looks nice.

How do the tires look? Do all four look like they're mounted up nice and square? How about the axles - are they perpendicular to the frame (3,4,5 method) and parallel (measure distance apart at each end) to each other?

Now, when are you painting that blue stripe?:smt001
 
Everything was square. Actually i have to come up another 3 to 4 inches if i go by venture which says it should have a hitch height of 22 inches. Hopefully that will be taking care of this year. The whole boat needs to be wet sanded and buffed. but i did manage to power wash today atleast
 
Another question do they make a centering roller for bunk trailers? The pld roller trailer would always center the boat when loading. i take notice with the bunk trailer when the wife loads the boat it's always off center. Not by much.
 
A boating bud of mine has a Shore Lander, bunk trl with keel rolers. Damn nice trl. He puts a "86" 250cc on it.

btw... nice trk/trl/boat
 
Assuming everything's all set up correctly, you're probably in the water too far - not allowing the bunks to grab the lifting strakes. Those fwd bunks you have should be helping to center everything, as well.

I noticed you have guide posts - I don't use those - so you should be good enough without adding anything else. Sometimes it just takes a little time to figure out the nuances of a new trailer.
 
A couple of more questions. The tongue has a tag on it that says the rec hitch height is 22 inches. Where exactly do u measure that from? I have a 10 inch drop down hitch and if i reverse it so it's pointing up i'm still 5 inches short. Is it okay to have about 12 inches of bunk sticking out the back? My bow stop is as far back as it can go. We were at the lake tonight just to practice and it's not working very well..lol If i back in just enough for the bunks to guide the boat the boat stops moving cause it's hitting the bunks. Then if i back in far enough for the bow to hit the front centering bunks then the stern is going all over the place. There just doesn't seem to be a happy medium here. I'm thinking about installing a set of centering bunks for the rear as well. Would that help or make it worse?

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Is it me or is the truck squatting a bit in the rear? If it is, airbags will change the way it rides and handles the load.

Good looking rig!
 
Yeah it squats just a tad in the rear..lol. I do have a set of air bags ordered. I went with the firestones and a Ride-Rite Level Command II control system
 
lime4x4 said:
Yeah it squats just a tad in the rear..lol. I do have a set of air bags ordered. I went with the firestones and a Ride-Rite Level Command II control system
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Great choice! I had them on my F350 and it was one of the best mods I made to the truck.
 
Ball height is measured from the ground to the center of the ball. Ball mounts have their measurements expressed as +/- inches from the top of the receiver tube. In other words, a "standard" mount is a 3/4" rise, 2" drop. An easy way to figure out what you need is to hook up on level ground. Then drop your jack until it just touches the ground. Make a mark where the "foot" tube emerges from the stationary tube. Then crank it until the rig looks right. Measure the distance.

It is OK to have the bunks sticking out. But, you can still move your stand aft (which will also likely eliminate the truck sagging). If moving it behind where the aluminum frames meet is too much, you can straddle the aluminum frames. Just put a spacer under each end of the winch stand's bottom plate. This might help with loading, too.

Can you take a picture from the rear, showing where the bunks meet up with the hull/strakes?

IF you add some rear centering bunks, you HAVE to make sure that they don't take the brunt of the weight. This means they'll actually end up being "mid" centering bunks. I'd hold off on this.

Do you use power to drive the boat on the trailer... all the way up to the bow stop? You should be able to "steer" the back end of the boat as you power up the trailer.
 
Forgot to add... In regards to the length of the bunks... If you don't move the bunks back, obviously be sure to always retract your tabs! Or, install an auto-retractor.
 
I will get pics of the back of the boat tomorrow. She did try power loading last night and that didn't work. Boat wouldn't move on the bunks. I will try and move the bow stop aft first before adding another set of centering bunks. I'm planning on going to beltzville tomorrow and try backing down the ramp just enough to let the boat float and push it back some then c how far the bow stop has to go. If i can get the boat back some more that would take some of the weight off the tongue. Thanks for your help
 
OK, let us know how it goes. There shouldn't be any reason that you can't power load it and have it center itself - at least reasonably well. Are the main bunks straight/parallel? They're not angled (closer together in the front) are they?
 
Was able to finally get the boat centered this morning. Actually ended up slightly power loading the boat. Here are the pics u asked for

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If you can at least get it part way power loaded, keep the power going - it makes it easier for the person doing the winching. Sort of a poor-man's power winch. Just remember that you can only do this on full-length cement ramps.

In your third picture, I can see that the bunk is still at least a few inches from the inner strake. Move the bunks in till they're just about touching the point where the hull turns into the strake (the high-side of the strake). This is going to raise your stern a bit - you may have to raise the centering bunks as well. It'd be better if you could use those full-length strakes, but the design of the trailer doesn't allow that. No biggie. Doing this will help guide the boat on even better.

Did Venture install the slicks right on top of the carpet? Slicks tend to work better if installed right onto bare wood. Installed on carpet allows the slicks to bend and give which actually creates a little more friction.

You know, sometimes customers (who buy a trailer from us) complain that we charge an hour or two of "set-up" time to properly adjust it to their boat. I should make them read this thread :grin:. Although, the ones who complain are usually the ones who can't do it for themselves, either!

Looking back at the pic in post #22, I think you should definitely either move the boat backwards, or move the bunks (re-drill) forward. That will support more of the hull (and get the bunks away from the tabs). It may help with loading, too, if the boat is leaning onto the centering bunks more than it should.

If they aren't on there, you can get slicks for those 2x6 centering bunks, fyi. That should also help in loading.

How's the lake? All the docks in at both ends?
 
Well my goal is to move the boat back to take some of the weight off the tongue. I would prefer not to move the bunks in due to the fact it would make the boat sit higher on the trailer. I barely clear the one bridge when going to maryland with the boat.lol..The slicks are installed ontop of bare wood but the sides are carpeted. Currently there is no weight on the centering bunks. So it appears all the weight is on the 2 main bunks like it should be. There is a learning curve here that's for sure. We had the roller trailer down pat.. But i think over all the bunks will be much better for the boat. I made the mistake of taking the boat this morning to the lake and just backing it down the ramp just to c if it would center itself. Well needless to say the stern lifted and actually floated off the trailer off to the side. I had the cover on the boat yet as well. so there i i'm climbing up on the bow undoing the cover. Got her started then climg back down the bow to unhook the winch strap and safety chain. Docked the boat call the misses to get her butt outa bed and come down to the lake to reload the boat. u would think that getting a trailer to match a boat would be to difficult but it always is with me...lol Little boats aren't bad those u can push around to help setup. A 9k boat is going to go were it wants to...lol Esp since my methode is trail and error. Take the boat off make some adjustments then reload the boat then do it all over again..lol..The lake was nice this morning hardly anyone there. Both docks were put in last weekend. Also the frt centering bunks are carpet. I'll probably go to a set of slicks once we get loading and unloading down..lol
 
This is a complete new trailer setup from scratch. Yes the bunks may need adjusting to the boat but the first thing should be finding out were the boat needs to sit on the trailer. When I look at the first pic of truck and trailer I gotta say it appears there is too much tongue weight. It doesn’t look so bad if you look at the rear but it tells when looking at the front of the truck. I really think first step should be to identify tongue weight(go to a scale) and then position the boat load on the trailer properly. This will also aid in selecting the correct ball mount so that the trailer rides level. I have a HD¾ like this, and my 280DA w/trailer is 4-5,000# heavier. My front end isn’t raised up like this and the truck absolutely needs no help from air bags. I can’t see moving anything unless it’s known where it has to move to. The lower the boat sits on the trailer and the farther back, the easier it will be to load. I would avoid doing anything that raises the boat and instead add center bunks or rollers if needed. It may be an illusion but in post #12 those centering bunks look off center or something. IMHO
 
I bet she liked that call!:smt101

For what it's worth, I did the entire changeover from roller to bunk while it was in my driveway. But then, you're a lot closer to the lake than me.

You may not be as close to that bridge as you think? From the picture, it looks like you'll only raise the boat about an inch.

The slicks I used for my 2x6 bunks were made by Tie Down. They're a 3-side "cap" style like the ones you have, but made from a little sturdier plastic - if memory serves - going from memory the last time I saw the stuff that Venture uses.
 
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