The Ranger Slide

[DBBRanger]

I wish I would never have heard of it! Who in their right mind would suggest you loosen all straps to the trailer on your 8,000lb boat, get up some speed and then slam on the brakes in order to make the boat slide forward on the trailer, just until it is stopped by the winch support. All in the name of getting the boat positioned properly. I've done it many times. And I'm not going to do it again!

I think I've figured out what's going on. I believe the boat, while in the water, is at a different angle to the trailer (boat is floating and the trailer isn't, at least usually). Thus, when the boat and trailer come out of the water, the boat pivots down onto the trailer at the stern and that action takes the bow ring away from the winch roller, thus leaving a 3" gap and therefore no support. I've tried to use bunk lubricant of all kinds - maybe it helps the Slide to happen easier but doesn't address the problem. I've tried strapping the bow downward to the trailer rails before taking it out of the water - that only puts tremendous force on the strap and then, once released, the bow goes back to it's normal place off the the roller.

Here's my plan: The next time I put the boat on the trailer, I'm going to loosen the winch structure on my EZ Loader trailer and slide it forward about three inches first, then load the boat. At this point, the boat should be more forward on the bunks, in it's correct position. Once the boat and trailer are out of the water (I'm assuming the boat now will be 3" off the roller), I'll return the winch structure to it's original position such that it will be snug up against the boat. This is a bit of work and certainly a bigger deal than sliding the boat forward, but the stress of the slide is too much on my psyche. I'll see how it goes........

 

[knotflying]

Sounds like a lot of work. Quite frankly, I have left the gap and drove off. By the second traffic light it is in position. At the third light I tighten up the winch. 😀

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

Something to consider, at least on our EZ Loader trailer for our R27, is that there is a support beam at the front of our trailer that runs between the two main beams. This support beam runs perpendicular to the main beams and the tolerance is very close, close enough that I'm thinking if the support stanchion is moved forward 3 inches that the bow hull might run into the beam. Maybe not but I'd suggest taking a close look at your trailer (maybe yours is different) before you make your movements.

Jim F

 

[Irish Mist]

I have tried everything.. and you are correct about the angle.. Impossible to make it tight . I tried slidding it with brakes applied hard.. Slight movement of the boat .. Big movement of everything inside the boat.. I tried winching it tight with a ratchet strap.. A big one.. Broke the strap.. Last time I removed part of the post ( mine is adjustable so I can remove the top 1/2 with the winch) This worked the best.. Allowed me to come more forward with the bow.. To allow for that angle change... I only ended up a couple of inches short... I know I don't really need the post at all but makes me feel good it's there.. I Rachet straight down from the front ring, and ratchet in the middle and stern of the boat both sides , so 5 ratchet straps.. It doesn't move.. I like it close to tight to the winch post , because when I set up the trailer and boat I had 1200 lbs on the tongue so like to keep it at that, If you look where the front thruster hole comes on the trailer when the boat is loaded properly.. Because it is at the bottom ,that doesn't change much when the boat comes up the ramp , making that a good point of reference if you do move the post to load.... There is an easy solution to all this.. Have your boat dropped on the trailer with a travel lift 🙂

 

[Scuffy]

Having recently purchased an R-27 I was told to do the brakes slam bam now it's forward routine. I thought that was kind of ugly. When I launched the boat again I saw a small [portion of my newly acquired bunk trailer's indoor outdoor 😱 carpeting was torn a little on one side. The carpeting was in good shape other than that so I opted to do the front section of our bunks with plastic bunk slides. Just the front 8' or so. My feeling was the back part of the bunks will be wet and the rear of boat will be floating when I put it on the trailer. My hope is that I'll be able to crank the last couple inches a little easier with the bunk slides. I have the boat in a slip currently but will pull it in a couple weeks and we will see how things work out. Backing the trailer in too far makes for more distance from the bow stop when you get back up on the level.
D.D.

 

[DBBRanger]

Something to consider, at least on our EZ Loader trailer for our R27, is that there is a support beam at the front of our trailer that runs between the two main beams. This support beam runs perpendicular to the main beams and the tolerance is very close, close enough that I'm thinking if the support stanchion is moved forward 3 inches that the bow hull might run into the beam. Maybe not but I'd suggest taking a close look at your trailer (maybe yours is different) before you make your movements.

Jim F

Jim,

Yes, I have the beam as well, but mine has a roller right there. I struggle to get the boat to be supported by it. I've made it adjustable, but because of the issue I described, it is hard to get the boat in the correct position to be supported by it. Otherwise, my setup does not come close to the beam. Thanks for the heads up though.

 

[DBBRanger]

Sounds like a lot of work. Quite frankly, I have left the gap and drove off. By the second traffic light it is in position. At the third light I tighten up the winch. 😀

Mike,

I find my boat and trailer combination is much too bouncy if the boat isn't tight to the roller and therefore I hesitate to go any significant distance without tying it tight. Because of the suspension of the trailer, without it being tied tightly, a dip in the road makes the boat look like it will flip backwards - at least from my tiny mirror view!

 

[walldog]

Something to consider, at least on our EZ Loader trailer for our R27, is that there is a support beam at the front of our trailer that runs between the two main beams. This support beam runs perpendicular to the main beams and the tolerance is very close, close enough that I'm thinking if the support stanchion is moved forward 3 inches that the bow hull might run into the beam. Maybe not but I'd suggest taking a close look at your trailer (maybe yours is different) before you make your movements.

Jim F

Jim, I found that the right (wrong) ramp, I would nick the keel of my 27 on that beam. Ranger repaired the keel for me and I put a roller there not for support but to keep the keel off that sharp edge.

 

[knotflying]

Sounds like a lot of work. Quite frankly, I have left the gap and drove off. By the second traffic light it is in position. At the third light I tighten up the winch. 😀

Mike,

I find my boat and trailer combination is much too bouncy if the boat isn't tight to the roller and therefore I hesitate to go any significant distance without tying it tight. Because of the suspension of the trailer, without it being tied tightly, a dip in the road makes the boat look like it will flip backwards - at least from my tiny mirror view!

I use a ratchet tie down strap back to the bottom of the stop stanchion. This provides downward and forward tension and eliminates the bounce you mention.

 

[Irish Mist]

If you hang around the boat ramps a lot you will see the power boat guys leave a lot of their trailer out of the water and power the boat up to avoid this problem... I like to go deep with the trailer to avoid scraping the bottom coat off. I tried powering up the trailer once but lacking on the power side 🙂

 

[knotflying]

Liquid rollers does make a difference.

 

[joempo]

We had "slick bunks" installed to replace the carpet on our trailer's bunks. I didn't like running forward and slamming the brakes to position the boat. Also, after launching the boat this last time, I removed the vertical post and had the base plate welded where the original weld had been been broken by too many "hard slams" during loading.
The "slick bunks" are some type of plastic/nylon material which cuts the friction and allows one to winch the boat into place. The down side is you must not disconnect the winch strap before backing down the ramp because (according to the salesman) there have been premature "dry launchings" onto launch ramps.
I also have a short ratchet tie down strap I use to keep the boat from rocking on the trailer when towing.

 

[DBBRanger]

We had "slick bunks" installed to replace the carpet on our trailer's bunks. I didn't like running forward and slamming the brakes to position the boat. Also, after launching the boat this last time, I removed the vertical post and had the base plate welded where the original weld had been been broken by too many "hard slams" during loading.
The "slick bunks" are some type of plastic/nylon material which cuts the friction and allows one to winch the boat into place. The down side is you must not disconnect the winch strap before backing down the ramp because (according to the salesman) there have been premature "dry launchings" onto launch ramps.
I also have a short ratchet tie down strap I use to keep the boat from rocking on the trailer when towing.

My problem though is that I can winch the boat into place against the winch roller while the boat is in the water but when the trailer comes out of the water, the boat eye moves away from the roller. Are you saying that doesn't happen to you when you have the slick bunks installed? If your answer is yes, I don't understand why

 

[joempo]

Our boat does rotate down in the stern and up in the bow, but not significantly. I wonder if the angle of the ramp makes a difference? I've often thought the ramp where I launch was not steep enough, but I don't know if there is a "standard".
Perhaps yours is at a steeper angle.

 

[tlkenyon]

I have had this issue on both quite shallow (long) ramps and quite steep ramps. Hit the brakes....seems like a rather poor solution, but maybe no alternative except a roller trailer.

 

[nzfisher]

I have been fighting this same issue. The boat is tight against the bow wheel while in the water and slips back when it comes out. Prior to slathering my bunks with Crisco (I am serious) I built a wooden spacer to take up the slack between the bow and the trailer roller on the stem. Now I use Crisco or lard on the bunks prior to hauling out (I use it because it is less obnoxious to the environment than other choices) and I put a hold down on the front of the trailer. Image-

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Usually I can avoid the brake slam by tightening again as soon as it comes out of the water. The "lubricant" seems to do the trick. Probably other lubricants could work as well. I am open to new suggestions.

 

[Hydraulicjump]

When the thread begins with "Who in their right mind would suggest you loosen all straps to the trailer on your 8,000lb boat, get up some speed...." my wife would immediately point out "it must be you, dear, since you are decidedly NOT in your right mind."

And I am one of the guilty parties for suggesting it, having done this technique for more than 20 years with all sizes of boats, mostly university research boats, and watched countless others do it. The friction between the bunks and the boat keep it from hitting the stop all that hard. One time I did bend a stop, but that was from driving the boat out of the water onto the bunks too hard like a dummy. And if you don't want to slam on your brakes, just take the trailer to a steep downhill and apply them as you would if coming to a quick stop. The boat will slide into place. And if stuff flies around in the cabin, well, it was going to anyway at some point.

It's worked many times....until now. I replaced my bunk carpet with an extra fuzzy batch at the same time I switched to a softer bottom paint. Silicone spay did not help (just soaked in). So now, no such luck on tightening it up to the stop in a parking lot. Best bet for me is to drive the boat onto the trailer until it meets the stop. Hook it and cinch it tight. Then pull it out of the water until it settles on the bunks (with about a six inch gap between the stop and the bow stem). Then back it back into the water until the stern just floats, jump out and cinch it up again. When you pull it out again, maybe a two inch gap is left, which is easy to live with. Then put a real strong vertical strap down to the cross brace on the trailer to stop pitching, put the rear straps on, and off you go.

And if you are going downhill and have to apply the brakes, your problem solves itself. Just get out and adjust.

Although not in my right mind about many things, this one has a nice history of working providing the bunks aren't too fuzzy.

 

[knotflying]

Am I to assume that you install the rear strap and leave it a little loose before backing back down the ramp so that the boat is at the same angle as the trailer, but floating a little so you are able to winch it up to the roller?