# Bassboy1 trailer tips article.



## ben2go

https://www.tinboats.net/index.php/Articles/trailer-tips.html


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## S&amp;MFISH

Great article.Covered all the bases I believe.


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## bassboy1

Hey, if y'all have any suggestions, I am more than willing to edit the article (Jim is grumbling at the possible extra trouble as he reads this, I'm sure).

Very likely I left something out.


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## lowe1462

Very well written, I would agree with everything in there.


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## michiganman18

What I use to hold the rear end of the boat down is a pies of aluminum i found in a house someone was remolding that is similar to aluminum square tube. Then i got two springs and bolted one end to the square tubing. the other end of the spring i but a round clip(like on the end of a dog leash) the clips into a drilled hole on the trailer frame. I have an older trailer so for me drilling a hole wasnt a big deal. I can see if i can get a camera and take some pics.


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## Ranchero50

Need a couple sentences about huw to back your trailer down the ramp etc. Personally I look out the drivers window at the rear tire and use that to guage where it's going to keep the tire the same distance off the ramp edge so the trailer goes straight into the water.

Also keeping your eyes open and checking for reference points when you pull up to the ramp to back in helps a lot as doing it the same way each time does.

Jamie


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## ben2go

I use my mirrors.I never turn around and look back.It helps if you can let the tail gate down.My Ranger's tail gate lifts off,so I usually leave it at home.


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## Andy

I agree with Ben. Looking back is a bad habbit to start. Use your mirrors. Although I haven't backed up boat trailers alot, I used to drive a bucket truck with a chipper on the back when I was with Asplundh tree company. I learned it's easier when just learning to back up a trailer if you hold the bottom of the steering wheel. So to all the rookies out there, if you've never done it, give it a try. And remember, it's not a race so take your time. I've seen several people trying to back up to quickly at the ramp and get all kinds of crooked before finally getting in the water.


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## Waterwings

> I've seen several people trying to back up to quickly at the ramp and get all kinds of crooked before finally getting in the water.




yep, that's what happens to me when I get in a hurry, and even sometimes when my head isn't screwed-on straight and not thinking properly. I still use the hand on the bottom of the steering wheel method, plus I use my mirrors and the look-over-the-shoulder method. I need all the help I can get on our _very_ narrow ramps here. :shock:

Come to think of it, since I haven't had my rig out of the garage since October, I'll probably have a few goof-ups at the ramp once I finally, if ever, get it on the water.


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## Popeye

Mirrors for me most of the time. I do look over my shoulder because the dumb mirror on the passenger side makes everything look so small and that is the side I try to put next to the dock (that way the console is next to to the dock and easier to grab from inside the boat). When I am recovering the boat I have my gate up and back seat folded down so I can see just how far out of the water the back ends of my bunks are.


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## bassboy1

Ranchero50 said:


> Need a couple sentences about huw to back your trailer down the ramp etc. Personally I look out the drivers window at the rear tire and use that to guage where it's going to keep the tire the same distance off the ramp edge so the trailer goes straight into the water.
> 
> Also keeping your eyes open and checking for reference points when you pull up to the ramp to back in helps a lot as doing it the same way each time does.
> 
> Jamie


Probably need a whole article on boat ramp etiquette. Seems a LOT of people need that. Of course, most of the people with that issue are pleasure boaters, but some tin boaters might want a little crash course before they attempt a launch the first time. When I get a free moment, I might start working on that, as well as the other article Brine has been pushing me to write.


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## lowe1462

bassboy1 said:


> Ranchero50 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Need a couple sentences about huw to back your trailer down the ramp etc. Personally I look out the drivers window at the rear tire and use that to guage where it's going to keep the tire the same distance off the ramp edge so the trailer goes straight into the water.
> 
> Also keeping your eyes open and checking for reference points when you pull up to the ramp to back in helps a lot as doing it the same way each time does.
> 
> Jamie
> 
> 
> 
> Probably need a whole article on boat ramp etiquette. Seems a LOT of people need that. Of course, most of the people with that issue are pleasure boaters, but some tin boaters might want a little crash course before they attempt a launch the first time. When I get a free moment, I might start working on that, as well as the other article Brine has been pushing me to write.
Click to expand...


Thats true, but around me a few tin boaters seem to forget they can tie their boats to the dock. Instead they like to pull them up on the ramp, blocking one lane of the ramp until they can park their trucks. Overall not nearly as much of a problem as some other pleasure boaters, but a little annoying.


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## ohm

Very well written and the photos are great.


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## MOOSE

WELL I WOULD ADD. FIRST MAKE SURE YOU ARE AS STRIGHT AS YOU CAN GET WITH THE SPOT YOU ARE GOING TO BACK INTO. GO SLOW,ONCE YOU START GETTING CROOKED, PULL UP STRIGHT AND TRY AGAIN. THE SHORTER THE TRAILER- THE FASTER YOU HAVE TO CORRECT THE DIRECTION OF THE REAR OF THE TRAILER. THE BEST WAY IS USE YOUR MIRRORS. IF YOU CAN FIND A BIG LOT SET UP SOME MARKERS AND PRATICE THERE, WHERE NO ONE IS WATCHING AND MAKEING YOU GET ALL SHOOK UP. ITS NOT THAT BAD TO LEARN HOW TO DO THIS. I HAVE TO BACK 53 FOOT TRAILERS UP IN THE BIG CITYS ,ON A ONE WAY STREET,WITH CARS PARKED ON BOTH SIDE OF THE STREET. THATS TRAINING.
OH YEA NO POWER STEERING OR AIR CONDITION, AND ITS 93 DEGREES OUT. [-o<


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## Popeye

Took my wife to the local exotic sports car dealership to practice backing the boat. The looks on the salemen's faces was priceless watching them watch her try to back up between a pair of Lamborghinis with me outside going, "No, not that way!!!!"


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## russ010

Popeye said:


> Took my wife to the local exotic sports car dealership to practice backing the boat. The looks on the salemen's faces was priceless watching them watch her try to back up between a pair of Lamborghinis with me outside going, "No, not that way!!!!"



seriously?!?! I would have loved to see that


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## ben2go

Popeye said:


> Took my wife to the local exotic sports car dealership to practice backing the boat. The looks on the salemen's faces was priceless watching them watch her try to back up between a pair of Lamborghinis with me outside going, "No, not that way!!!!"




I would have fell over laughing at the sales guys and manager.Did they not run outside and try to stop you two?


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## dougdad

I USE MY DRIVE SIDE MIRROR MOST OF THE TIME AND LINE UP WITH THE DOCK IF THERE IS ONE. I FOUND A COUPLE OF SAFETY FLAGS FOR A BICYCLE WORK REAL GOOD TO KEEP TRACK OF THOSE SMALL BOATS THAT SEEM TO DISAPEAR BEHIND THE VEHICLE. SLOW AND SMALL MOVEMENTS WITH THE STEER WHEEL GETS ER DONE.


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## Popeye

russ010 said:


> Popeye said:
> 
> 
> 
> Took my wife to the local exotic sports car dealership to practice backing the boat. The looks on the salemen's faces was priceless watching them watch her try to back up between a pair of Lamborghinis with me outside going, "No, not that way!!!!"
> 
> 
> 
> 
> seriously?!?! I would have loved to see that
Click to expand...


Now I need a place for my wife to pratice backing up this thing. My favorite car dealer is closed. Maybe I'll go down by the Marina and we can practice backing between the yachts that are for sale.


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## Waterwings

How's that camper working out for you guys? Any long trips yet?


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## Popeye

Jean and I went camping last weekend (my 4 day off weekend) to Castle Rock in SW Wiscoland. Here is a link to some of our pictures.


https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157621666976539/detail/


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## Waterwings

Nice scenerey, and I'm bettin' that camper is a whole lot better than sleeping on the ground in a tent. 8)


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## Popeye

Yeah, for some reason that area has suffered from global hardening. The ground up there has gotten real hard in the past couple of years. :lol:


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## Waterwings

:lol:


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## countryboy210

One Other Technique I Use While Backing Down The Ramp. . . No Reverse. Once I Get Going Down The Ramp, I Put It In Neutral. Why Have The Engine Pushing You And The Boat/Trailer Down The Ramp, Or Having To Hold That Much Harder On The Brakes To Not Go Towards The Lake So Fast? Use Gravity, Not The Engine.
BTW- I Also Use Mirrors And Don't Turn Around To Watch.


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## Popeye

I saw a guy get a warning from a Lake County Sheriff's Deputy for backing down a ramp in neutral. Coasting on a downgrade is illegal in Illinois. Officer said it didn't matter if he was on a highway or public boat ramp. Of course it is also illegal to leave your vehicle unattended while the engine is running here too, but I don't shut off my motor when I am walking my boat down the pier to tie it up out of the way for the next guy either.


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## Waterwings

countryboy210 said:


> One Other Technique I Use While Backing Down The Ramp. . . No Reverse. Once I Get Going Down The Ramp, I Put It In Neutral. Why Have The Engine Pushing You And The Boat/Trailer Down The Ramp, Or Having To Hold That Much Harder On The Brakes To Not Go Towards The Lake So Fast? Use Gravity, Not The Engine. BTW- I Also Use Mirrors And Don't Turn Around To Watch.



First time I've heard of free-wheeling down the ramp in neutral. :shock: . 




Popeye said:


> I saw a guy get a warning from a Lake County Sheriff's Deputy for backing down a ramp in neutral. Coasting on a downgrade is illegal in Illinois. Officer said it didn't matter if he was on a highway or public boat ramp. Of course it is also illegal to leave your vehicle unattended while the engine is running here too, but I don't shut off my motor when I am walking my boat down the pier to tie it up out of the way for the next guy either.



I normally leave mine running while I'm launching the boat, but will turn it off when loading, especially if I'm by myself and the only one loading that day.


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## Popeye

Waterwings said:


> I normally leave mine running while I'm launching the boat, but will turn it off when loading, especially if I'm by myself and the only one loading that day.



I'm at the ramp less time when recovering the boat than I am when launching. Put the trailer in the water, drive the boat on to the trailer, shut off the motor and tilt it up, walk to the bow, hook the strap, jump off the boat and drive to the parking lot where I secure the boat, stow all my gear and wipe the boat down.


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## Waterwings

If I'm by myself my loading seems to take more time, as I'm usually able to get the boat fairly well up onto the trailer using the rear tm. Most often I don't get it all the way to the bow stop, so I crawl over the bow, get on the trailer, hook the winch strap to the bow eye, while sitting on the trailer's spare tire, then sit on the truck tailgate and crank the boat the rest of the way up. Then I drive it up the ramp, park in the designated area, and secure everything. I'm fairly fast at it, but still takes longer than launching.

The trailer spare tire makes a great seat, and does keep me from falling off the trailer when hooking-up the bow strap. :lol:


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## Popeye

I use my main motor to power load and usually end up less than 6 inches from the bumper stop.


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## Zum

I power load as well,I often wonder how much trouble it would be if I had to use a TM.
Lol,some launches would be off limits to me...they barely cover my bunks.


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## Dowclan

Gents,
I just bought a 14' dbl wide Lowe boat with a Venture Trailer. The boat appears to be hanging over the back of the trailer too much (36"). The boat is equipped with electric motors, one bow mount and the other is a transom mount and six each, 6-volt batteries. It is decked out with 5/8" plywood, aluminum and pressure treated wood for bracing supports. The tongue weight is 70lbs without the batteries (took them out to charge).
Should the transom be even with the back of the trailer? Or is it more important to be concerned with the tongue weight with the boat fully loaded?

Thanks,
Dave


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## bassin026

I purchased the ultimate bunks ( I am a senior with hip and back problems) and they are great BUT 
I have trouble as all ramps are angeled and trying to take tension off the strap is an experience, can you or anyone
give me some hints on how to handle this problem???
BASSIN026


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## Popeye

bassin026 said:


> I purchased the ultimate bunks ( I am a senior with hip and back problems) and they are great BUT
> I have trouble as all ramps are angeled and trying to take tension off the strap is an experience, can you or anyone
> give me some hints on how to handle this problem???
> BASSIN026



Perhaps if you attach a short section of carpeting to the front end of the bunk board, it will help hold the boat in place when you release tension on the strap. I replaced the bottom half of my carpet on my bunk boards with Glide Slicks and left the top half carpeted for the same reason.


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## bassin026

Thanks Popeye, I'll do that today


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## bassboy1

bassin026 said:


> Thanks Popeye, I'll do that today


Another thing to try is to release about 6 inches of winch line before you back down the ramp. It may not be the weight of the boat pulling on the winch, but instead the fact that the back of the boat started floating, and since the bow is up against the stop, has started binding. I've had that issue before.


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## bassin026

Popeye's answer to my question on ultimate bunk boards was right on the money, I had some carpet left from
decking my boat, put it on and went to the ramp, everything was perfect -- Thanks Popeye


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## Popeye

Glad it worked out for you


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## rusty.hook

Need a couple sentences about huw to back your trailer down the ramp etc. Personally I look out the drivers window at the rear tire and use that to guage where it's going to keep the tire the same distance off the ramp edge so the trailer goes straight into the water.

Also keeping your eyes open and checking for reference points when you pull up to the ramp to back in helps a lot as doing it the same way each time does.

The above was posted earlier. 
This is my answer to the question or statement. 
Raise your lights up on side post about 4 feet tall. Therefore you can see the post when backing down real easy and it will keep your bulbs from bursting and corroding as well. Just have 2 brackets made and either use the bought ones like in pic below or make a bracket like I did on my other boat for the lights. Or just make a bracket to put pvc pipe and a plug on so you can see.


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## rockbass

that's a neat idea with the lights on the guides. i might try that. i have a ford explorer. when unstrapping and preparing the boat to launch, i open the back hatch and keep it open. i use the mirrors a little bit, but mostly turn my head to the back as i can see the entire boat and trailer through the open hatch. my kid is usually back there holding the rope for when the boat floats off the trailer, so i have to pay attention to him as well. when by myself, i back it about half way in, get out and push it the rest of the way. when pulling the boat out, i also leave the hatch open, but i use the mirrors as i'm facing forward to drive up the ramp. leaving the hatch open allows me to see the whole boat and trailer even when using the mirrors.


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## rusty.hook

When I am unloading my boat, I tie the rope to my winch and slowly back down in nuetral until I get to the water. I have more control over my truck that way, no surging. If your foot slips off the brake, that way your not automatically headed for the drink!! I Let the boat float off and then pull out real slow and get out and then tie the boat off. When backing down empty trailer, I again put it in nutreul and slowly back down till I am right with the water. Then drive on reach over hook the eye and hop out and drive out and take care of all things then. It makes it real nice, when you have 2" white pvc pipe about 4' sticking up on each side of your trailer to see where you are going, either in the dark and full daylite. In the dark, with the pvc pipe, there is some reflection off the brake or back up lights off the pipe for to see where your going.


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## Hanr3

I read the link posted in teh initial post to this thread and while I agree with most of it, there is more to teh story. Bunk trailers are designed to be float on trailers, while roller trailers are designed to be powered on trialers. Which trialer to use really depends on where you live, or rather the lakes you fish and the docks they have, and your prefered loading/unloading method.

Rather thatn tpye a long disertation, heres a link.

This guy did a great job going into numerous aspects of trailer design, boat ramp styles, and the proper way to set-up a trialer for each type of ramp. Granted its mostly about Boston Whaler boat, however the same basic information applies to Tin boats as well. 
https://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/trailering/trailer.html

It's a long read, and the link to tongues is packed full of great information too.


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## mephitic

Great article, very informative. I've been looking into guide on's for my trailer. They would most certainly assist with the loading of the boat  ... Not sure if I want the PVC style or what at this point. Been looking around for ideas. We'll see what happens.


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## Hanr3

Popeye said:


> I saw a guy get a warning from a Lake County Sheriff's Deputy for backing down a ramp in neutral. Coasting on a downgrade is illegal in Illinois. Officer said it didn't matter if he was on a highway or public boat ramp. Of course it is also illegal to leave your vehicle unattended while the engine is running here too, but I don't shut off my motor when I am walking my boat down the pier to tie it up out of the way for the next guy either.



First time I heard either of those laws.


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## KevinC1980

One tip I use for backing my boat trailer down the ramp is I put a tall piece of PVC pipe on each side at the back so I could see where the trailer was. When its empty I cant see the trailer in my mirrors I have a huge '07 Toyota Tundra 4 door long bed and I only have a 12 ft jon with a short narrow trailer. On the front of the pieces of PVC I attached an amber marker light and wired it into the running lights, again to help see the trailer and the light is perfect for night backing. It isnt the most high tech deal but it makes it much easier to back the trailer when you can see what the trailer is doing without seeing the trailer.


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## Bugpac

i got a 50' rope, I attach it to the front of the boat and take it to the drivers door, I back it the rest of the way in and hold the rope while the boat floats off, i get out and pull it off to the side around the trailer and i am launched.


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## Spook

That article just made me have a Well Duh ! moment to myself about a bunk placement issue I was having haha thanks for the good read


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## flatboat

bugpack i kinda do the same thing , i fish by my self a lot . i make a loop and drop it over my winch post . i spray my bunks with silicone and it slides real easy , just back up when its good just hit the brakes for a second to get it movin and it slides right off . had a fellow ' help' me one time. i got in the boat told him to back slow and not to hit the brakes till the motor was in the water , man he was movin kinda fast ... hit the brakes that thing slid off 10 ft from the water . kinda feel silly with the motor on the concrete and the bow 10 ft in the air . sure got some looks that day


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## rusty.hook

I added these guide ons with lights. Either with or without lights it would help a bunch. Mine has the lights, helps light up the ramp in the dark also when the brakes are applied.
Also when backing up, use the bottom of the steering wheel to back up, not the top. If you need to turn left then turn the wheel to the left, if you need to turn right then turn it to the right, that way works great for me.


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## Trapper02

Clicked the link to the article in the original post, bad link.


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## russ010

try this one...

https://www.tinboats.net/articles/10-trailer-tips


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## Trapper02

thank you sir!


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## nlittle

The tips article link seems to be broken, is there an update?


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## THUMPER144

Link is broken. Any idea how to get to it?


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## Mark_Fisher

Please fix the link to the tips pasg. Inquiring minds...

Sent from my GT-P3113 using Tapatalk


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## clemmy

Couldn’t get either link to work to article, so used the Wayback Machine:

https://web.archive.org/web/20120116053934/https://www.tinboats.net/index.php/Articles/trailer-tips.html

Hope it helps!

Craig


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## Jim

Here is the new link: https://www.tinboats.net/trailer-tips/

Thanks for the heads up with the broken links!


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