If you ever wondered the best tips on how to launch a boat from your new boat trailer, this article will give you all the information you need, plus some additional tips from our professionals.
Your custom boat trailer is a slide-on trailer so it is designed to have the boat driven onto the trailer. If you put too much of the trailer in the water you will have trouble loading the boat properly since the trailer’s bunks and guides are not able to be used. The boats bunks and guides are only able to guide the boat on the trailer when the trailer is not fully submerged in the water. It is recommended that you submerge the trailer up to about halfway up the fender which should always leave the last v-block exposed. You will want to experiment to find the optimal amount of the trailer that needs to be submerged for different tides and boat ramps. From our experience most customers that have trouble loading the boat on the trailers are putting the trailer too far into the water.
Experience matters with this so it is important be patient. Practicing should be done in off hours or off season to get uninterrupted practice at the ramp.
It can take a few launches to get good with launching a boat from your trailer. Our boat trailers are built for the long haul and superior towing. If you are launching at a low water ramp that has a very shallow drop off you may experience difficulty launching. Some manufactures will use smaller tires that do not pull as well for these kinds of ramps. If you want to have a trailer built for shallow drop off ramps please let us know we can customize but it is not how we build our trailers standard.
If you have electric over hydraulic brakes you will also have a battery located at the top of the coupler. This battery can never be submerged even if you need to hand crank the boat onto the trailer because of boat mechanical issues. If the battery is submerged it will void the warranty and ruin the braking system.
Tips on How to Trailer Your Boat
Pulling a boat on a trailer should be effortless when the trailer is in proper condition and the load is properly placed on the trailer. We recommend that you service your trailer once per year and have it looked over thoroughly. We offer this service at our St. Petersburg location. The most common issues we see with trailers are failing hubs and blown tires. No trailer no matter how well built can survive harsh saltwater conditions without be thoroughly cleaned after every use and maintained.
Weight Distribution on a Trailer
It is important that you keep the majority of the weight in the front and centered of your trailer’s axles. Having too much weight in the rear will make the trailer pull in an unsafe manner. We recommend having at least 10% tongue weight placed on your trailer ball. You can verify this with a trailer hitch weighing device. The more tongue weight (10% to 15%) you have the more control you will have of your trailer. You also need to make sure your tow vehicle can handle the tongue weight as well. If you see your tow vehicle squatting heavy in the rear that is a sign that you may have overloaded your tow vehicle or are pulling a load much larger than your tow vehicle can handle
Turning While Pulling a Trailer
Pulling a trailer that is in good condition with proper weight distribution should be very easy. Most people run into issues when turning the trailer. If you turn your wheel too soon you will notice that the trailer will follow a tighter turning radius that the tow vehicle causing the trailer to enter the sidewalk or take out mailboxes. When going around a turn the trailer will follow the pivot point of the tow vehicle. The pivot point for must trucks is the position of the driver and passenger mirrors. So when you turn your trailer, you should make sure you wait to turn the tow vehicle until your tow vehicles mirrors have cleared the curb or any obstacles. Most accidents occur when the driver starts the turn too early and this will cause the trailer to follow a path that is far different than the tow vehicle. Going slow around sharp turns and waiting to initiate the turn will also help make sure your trailer stays away from obstacles.