Guide-ons for boat trailer

I'm sorry to throw this question in the forum but I know there is a lot of knowledge here. I know most of you run larger boats but any information is helpful. Thanks.

BACKGROUND INFO

I have a 18.5' Stratos 386XF fwith a bunk trailer. When the back end of the boat is loaded correctly and centered I only have about 1/2 inch clearance between the boat and the wheel wells. I constantly have to fight the back end wanting to drift from one side to the other while loading the boat. My first thought is that I have the trailer to far in the water and that allows the back end to float. To compensate for that I've tried leaving more of the bunks out of the water. the boat doesn't drift but it is incredibly hard to get the boat all the way up to the roller as most of the weight of the boat has to be winched up. it seems as though there is this exact "sweet spot" that I have to have the trailer but not all launches are at the same angle of course.

I'm wondering if trailer guide ons installed at the rear of trailer would help. my concern is that I need the guide ons to hold the back of the boat centered but the beam of the boat is wider than the stearn. I assume that the guides will flex allowing room for the beam as it loads. I'm reaching out because there is a lot of experience on this message board. Is there anything I should know regarding this? I'm tired of keeping my fingers crossed hoping that when we pull the trailer out of the water that the boat doesn't drift off to one side. Guide-ons seem like the solution.

QUESTIONS:
1. do they work for this situation?
2. will they damage/mark up the white fiberglass?
3. If they do work What type of guide-ons would you recommend?

thanks for the help folks.

Bryce

Are you power loading or just cranking it up all the way? If your not power loading you might want to give that a try. Anytime I'm power loading I only back the trailer in till there's maybe 4" of the wheel wells sticking out of the water. Basically the boat will center itself.

Install the trailer guide on's on the trailer at the point where the boat beam is the widest or at the fender wells preferably at the widest point of the beam. This gives you the 3 points needed to position your boat on the trailer in the same position each time you load it. The guide on's will keep the boat from moving from side to side and the winch connection point will align the boat as you winch it into the proper loaded position, it will form an imaginary V for the boat to fit in. I have them on my trailer and I think they are mounted in front of the fender wells. Mount them to allow a little wiggle room. My guide on's have PVC pipe over the uprights. Make sure the top edge of the guides are above the gunwale(sp) and contacts the rub rails or you will mark the finish on your boat where the top edge drags on the side. Don't ask me how I know!

I have a 17' tri hull open bow that's on a roller trailer and I like power loading where possible. and it would be impossible to power load without guide ons on my trailer. my bow is wider than the back of the boat but my guide one flex enough to let the bow go through. I don't know the brand of the guides but they bolt to the trailer then turn up and has pvc pipe on them and they work great for my boat. you could get a set like mine or get a set of the shorter ones that's not high enough to hit the bow of the boat. but I don't worry so much about the back of the boat. I have to get the bow centered and then just drive forward and the back aligns itself. the guide ons just hits the bumper rail around the boat and doesn't hurt the fiberglass on the boat itself.

you can go to cabelas web site and type in guide ons and see several types of guide ons and decide which ones would work the best for your problem.

I have the post type guides for my trailer. but they will leave a couple of inches clearance on each side of the back of my boat. but mine are not adjustable but I think the ones at cabelas can be adjusted.

one way to load your boat without guides is to start with the bunks just started under the water. then as the boat gets hard to winch back up about a foot at a time until the boat is on the trailer. another option is to get a fulton 3200 lb 2 speed winch. it has 2 gears for winching fast then a low gear for winching a load. they sell for around 120.00 on ebay. hope something I've said helps you out.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sherman51

I have a 17' tri hull open bow that's on a roller trailer and I like power loading where possible. and it would be impossible to power load without guide ons on my trailer. my bow is wider than the back of the boat but my guide one flex enough to let the bow go through. I don't know the brand of the guides but they bolt to the trailer then turn up and has pvc pipe on them and they work great for my boat. you could get a set like mine or get a set of the shorter ones that's not high enough to hit the bow of the boat. but I don't worry so much about the back of the boat. I have to get the bow centered and then just drive forward and the back aligns itself. the guide ons just hits the bumper rail around the boat and doesn't hurt the fiberglass on the boat itself.

you can go to cabelas web site and type in guide ons and see several types of guide ons and decide which ones would work the best for your problem.

I have the post type guides for my trailer. but they will leave a couple of inches clearance on each side of the back of my boat. but mine are not adjustable but I think the ones at cabelas can be adjusted.

one way to load your boat without guides is to start with the bunks just started under the water. then as the boat gets hard to winch back up about a foot at a time until the boat is on the trailer. another option is to get a fulton 3200 lb 2 speed winch. it has 2 gears for winching fast then a low gear for winching a load. they sell for around 120.00 on ebay. hope something I've said helps you out.

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Thanks Sherman. I do power load where permitted. If I have enough guys with me i will back the trailer in a little at a time. I'm looking for the most efficient way to load/unload by myself or with another in the vehicle. some folks can get impatient at the ramp when I'm trying to center it. Maybe I'm just too picky. thanks again

thanks again to all for your advice/input. I feel as though the combination of boat weight, bunks, and the different angles of the ramps I am always having to try something different. That's life I suppose.

I do power load when I can. however it seems that in order for it to self center I have to have quite a bit of the bunks out of the water Like Erie Eye suggested trying. The weight and friction of my boat on the bunks in this case makse it almost impossible to power on all the way to the roller. I then attach the winch and crank it as far I can. but then as Sherman said in his post, I have to back the trailer in a little bit at a time in order to lighten the load enough to winch it without pulling the bow eye through the boat! :)
Thanks again for helping a rookie boat owner. I've had the boat for 4 years now but only get to take it out 2 times a year it seems. so i still consider myself a rookie!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wakina

Install the trailer guide on's on the trailer at the point where the boat beam is the widest or at the fender wells preferably at the widest point of the beam. This gives you the 3 points needed to position your boat on the trailer in the same position each time you load it. The guide on's will keep the boat from moving from side to side and the winch connection point will align the boat as you winch it into the proper loaded position, it will form an imaginary V for the boat to fit in. I have them on my trailer and I think they are mounted in front of the fender wells. Mount them to allow a little wiggle room. My guide on's have PVC pipe over the uprights. Make sure the top edge of the guides are above the gunwale(sp) and contacts the rub rails or you will mark the finish on your boat where the top edge drags on the side. Don't ask me how I know!

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thanks Wakina. I am leaning towards installing the post style as you mentioned. The tough part for me will be the width that I will be mounting them. I only have 1/2" room between the hull and the carpeted fenders as it is. I will probably install them up against the rub rail and then back them off 3/8"- 1/4" leaving a little gap. that should keep the boat from drifting and riding up one feder of the other. Thanks again.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bdrieck

thanks again to all for your advice/input. I feel as though the combination of boat weight, bunks, and the different angles of the ramps I am always having to try something different. That's life I suppose.

I do power load when I can. however it seems that in order for it to self center I have to have quite a bit of the bunks out of the water Like Erie Eye suggested trying. The weight and friction of my boat on the bunks in this case makse it almost impossible to power on all the way to the roller. I then attach the winch and crank it as far I can. but then as Sherman said in his post, I have to back the trailer in a little bit at a time in order to lighten the load enough to winch it without pulling the bow eye through the boat! :)
Thanks again for helping a rookie boat owner. I've had the boat for 4 years now but only get to take it out 2 times a year it seems. so i still consider myself a rookie!

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When power loading first back the trailer all the way in the water to saturate the carpet on the bunks. Pull back out far enough to be able to squirt some cheap dish liquid soap on the bunks toward the front of the trailer where the boat seems to get stuck, that makes them slippery and it does help getting the boat further up the trailer bunks.

You might want to try this before installing guides. After you have launched, if you want to spray the bunks that is fine but not required. Load your boat as normal, just don't winch the boat forward, but DO attach the bow strap. When on level ground, not on the angled ramp. Tap your brakes---lightly! The boat will slide forward up to the front roller. Then you can winch the strap tight. It is easier on the strap and on you. No real difference on the hull as you normaly are winching the weight up anyways. If done correctly, the boat stays centered since the rear bunks have done this for you. If that makes sense. Works on boats from 17 to 23ft that I have experienced.
Nothing wrong with guides as long as they do not vibrate going down the road causing rub rash due to being mounted to close to the hull.

bdrieck ....

The stern should not be floating when you pull the boat out of the water. The weight of the boat should be entirely supported by the bunks at that point, or as you have found, the boat can drift sideways at the last moment and be askew on the trailer. I have found on my trailer that if I leave about 2" of the fender above water my trailer is well positioned to load the boat. I then power it forward until it stops and then winch it the rest of the way. A few suggestions: Make sure that if anyone is still in the boat that they are in the stern to reduce the load on the winch. Also, I have used a product called Slydz-on to treat the carpet bunks. It is a liquid solution that is sprayed on the bunks periodically and helps the boat slide on making it far easier to crank it up. I think I got it from Overtons. One final thought. Make sure the winch is high enough on the post that you are still pulling forward as it nears and not down. My 2 cents worth. Heres to good fishing and low stress boating.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Defernaut

bdrieck ....

The stern should not be floating when you pull the boat out of the water. The weight of the boat should be entirely supported by the bunks at that point, or as you have found, the boat can drift sideways at the last moment and be askew on the trailer. I have found on my trailer that if I leave about 2" of the fender above water my trailer is well positioned to load the boat. I then power it forward until it stops and then winch it the rest of the way. A few suggestions: Make sure that if anyone is still in the boat that they are in the stern to reduce the load on the winch. Also, I have used a product called Slydz-on to treat the carpet bunks. It is a liquid solution that is sprayed on the bunks periodically and helps the boat slide on making it far easier to crank it up. I think I got it from Overtons. One final thought. Make sure the winch is high enough on the post that you are still pulling forward as it nears and not down. My 2 cents worth. Heres to good fishing and low stress boating.

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Thanks Defernaut,

For whatever reason this boat is load on the bunks and can hardly power up if I don't have the stern float a little. I will look into the carpet treatment. In general I use the fender as a reference as well. the problems come in when the ramps have different slopes to them. I usually launch at turtle creek so maybe I should look elsewhere and give it a try.

Thanks again to all for your advice! This is an awesome message board!.

I woul look at the bunk style or the post guides then invest in the ones you think will solve your problem. I'm getting ready to switch my 21' boat from a bunk trailer with post guides to a roller trailer and I know I will need the guides to center the front of my boat on the rollers. I could center the boat with the bow line then drive on the trailer or winch it up. but its just easier and faster to just drive up and let the guides center the boat then drive on up.

I use a 4000# electric winch on my trailer for the times I cant power load. and it will pull the boat right up to the bow roller. and that's on my bunk trailer. I just back in where my bunks are about half covered then start the boat on the trailer and hook up the electric winch and winch it up. if the guide ons doesn't solve your problem you might want to think about going to a electric winch. just get one big enough to winch the boat all the way on the trailer. the winch I plan on putting on my roller trailer is the superwinch lt 4000 lb off ebay for 179.99.

good luck on the guide ons.