Minnesota Classic Glastron Forum
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: WetRaider on April 17, 2013, 09:03:48 AM
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I made the trek down towards Springfield, MO yesterday to visit Bud's Motorsports (www.budsmotorsports.com (http://www.budsmotorsports.com)) and brought home a new trailer.
Length over all is about 20-24 inches longer than my current trailer. The safety cables are retractable (no more sagging, dragging chains). I'll have to move the bow rest. The bunk brackets are welded, I haven't measured yet to see how much adjustment they will need. It's not quite as slick as the trailer Mark had under his 150, but I'm sure I'll be real happy with how mine sits on this. Even more so considering the trailer is a 2012, never before titled, and cost only $575 - plus I sold my current trailer to the neighbor for $400 !!
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Nice! I think I've got some adjustable bunk brackets laying around here if you want them you can have them. They are white, and are the style that u-bolt to the cross-members of the trailer so all you have to do to use them is drill some holes.
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That might be cool, Kurtis. I'll have to determine whether they're needed, first. Woke up to a flat on the car today, glad I made it home before having to deal with that. I've got a little touch-up paint to do on it. It got scratched when they were stacked ...
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Nice Dan!
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Good deal!!
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Sweet... looks like a great deal
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Not worth fixing up an old one for that price! You should see some of the used junk people on Craigslist in Mpls. are asking for almost $500 or more
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I'm very pleased with the deal. The guy has some nice trailers, that's for sure. As far as I'm concerned, it was worth the drive.
I added up what I spent on wheels, tires, bearings & spare last summer - $480 ... used that info & the neighbor offered $400. I took it. Now I just need the rain to go away so I can make whatever adjustments are needed and make the switch. I might wind up with a couple inches of bunk extending beyond the hull. I'd rather have that than have my boat hanging 6-8 inches off the bunk (like it was when I picked it up on the current trailer).
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Great deal!
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Rain broke to a sprinkle. The bunks on the new trailer are only an inch wider than the bunks the boat is sitting on ... I could probably lower the bunks, too - an inch or inch and a half.
Ground to bunk height on the new trailer is about 21/22 inches - the old trailer is 24/25 ... I could potentially lower that boat 5-6 inches. We'll see how things shake out.
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Excellent find Dan! Well done especially considering the out of pocket cost after selling the old one!
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Nice find Dan, Congtats!
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Cool deal Dan. I doubt one could ever get a nearly new trailer for that kinda money down here.
Looks like it has a swing away tongue? If so that only sweetens the deal.
My guess would be it's custom fit for a Tracker bass boat but if the bunks are that close, a lil tweaking & you should be good to go.
Yeah don't flat tires in the morning suck ...?
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Yep. Swing away tongue, too.
I'm confident it was for the Tracker/BassTracker Pro Team 175 TXW.
I'll look into whether it's worth the effort to drop the bunks - as far as I'm concerned, the lower the better.
Turned out to be a self-tapping screw in my tire. The head was worn clean off - must have driven with it for a while. Glad it didn't happen while I was on my way home.
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WOW !
That's a SUPER deal !
That trailer from a boat dealer will run ya $1700 ...
Believe me ... I know ... LOL
Wish I waited another year ...
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I agree great deal, my Shorelander cost me $1600...
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I'll look into whether it's worth the effort to drop the bunks - as far as I'm concerned, the lower the better
Yup. Lowers the center of gravity whilst towing, looks cool too ...
Not to mention it makes it easier to get yer stuff in'n outa the boat ...?
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Glad you are happy with your trailer. I bought six adjustable bunks for mine and used a Sawsall yesterday to take the old welded ones off. They came off real easy and then I just used a grinder to take of the weld. I used a little Rustoleum Black to touch up the metal and it looks great. The adjustable bunk brackets pretty well cover up where the weld was. I also painted my adjustable bunks black. I actually had the problem that the boat was sitting too low. I need to get the nose up a little to get the boat forward a bit more and to make sure it drains when parked. I also took a heat gun to the Tracker decals. I ordered a Glastron GT160 one from Garzon to fit in the same space.
Did you happen to go shopping in Bud's metal building? He has some great stuff in there sometimes like stainless steel cup holders for $10 or 6 gallon Mercury fuel tanks for $20. You never know what you'll find there. I'm not on Bud's payroll but I think he has some great stuff for anyone that can make it to SW Missouri. Here's a photo of mine. I still have Michigan registration on here. I'm putting in a new floor, transom, and stringers in about a month.
Don
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How bout you start After the IA meet?
Sent from my M9300 using Tapatalk 2
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It looks pretty good on the trailer in the photo and from 15' away! See that big pork chop in the side? - that's where a waverunner hit it about 12 years ago and the gel coat has crazing and looks another color now. And there is no interior to speak of. And the transom is soft - I'm afraid that Johnson 85HP could be on the bottom of Lake Rathbun by the time its all over. I would like to get up there to see some of the boats and get some ideas.
I teach school and get out May 15th so I will have the time to tear into this. I also want to get most of the grinding done before it gets too hot here.
And Dan...from the looks of the photo you came through Lake of the Ozarks. You were right by our lake house.
Don
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Don -
Bud wasn't there when I arrived. His wife walked over from the house, filled out my title paperwork and took my check. I didn't get to look around.
I did go through Lake of the Ozarks ... twice. ;-) It's a nice area - I'd like to boat out there sometime ... in something with a better fuel capacity.
I plan to take the Tracker decals off, too. The bow rest on this trailer is low ... I'm a bit worried that my bow eye will want to sit above the stop. But maybe I won't feel that way when I lower the bunks. I'll have to move the bow rest back as far as I can. Thanks to you & Mark for giving me the heads up on his place. I can't wait to make the switch. Bring on a sunny day and dry ground ...
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Lake of the Ozarks is pretty neat.....100 miles long with 2500 miles of shoreline. But you get a mass of humanity on the weekends during the summer from Kansas City and St. Louis so it can get crowded and rough. You can't have a big enough boat. We always boat and ski in the morning to miss the crowds. Our place is further down the lake where its not as busy. Weekdays, Spring and Fall are great too. That's the beauty of the Arkansas lakes such as Bull Shoals or Norfork - great big lakes and you can literally have them to yourself. That's why I was excited to get a Glastron that's on a trailer - so we can visit some of these other lakes. Bull Shoals is my favorite place to boat.
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I have wanted to try Bull Shoals...Mark (catchnedge) says the same thing you do. Pristine, uncrowded waters. Ozarks...well, crowded masses of drunk idiots on the water with boats they have no business operating....just doesn't appeal to me. :D
But...like you're saying I've heard the farther up the river you go, the less crowded it gets. I hear the weekdays are pretty nice though!
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Yes, we leave the summer weekends to the amateurs. We are 33 miles from the dam so it is not as bad where we are. Bull Shoals is amazing for boating. It's off the beaten path so you don't have the population base to crowd the lake. Prior to cell phones, you could be in a cove on the 4th of July and not see another boat all day. I would be worried by boat wouldn't start.
Back to bunks, welded bunks are nice in that they will never have a loose bolt or move a bit. It's a little more of a pain to get them set up but that's the last time you ever have to think about them.
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This is my thought on the bunks ... since I only need to come in a half inch on each side ... I'm going to leave the welded bracket in place and use a cut-off wheel on the grinder to snip the top of it off at the height I need. Then, I'll drop a new angle bracket down over the top of the existing bracket, put some tack welds on it to hold it in place, then drill a pair of holes and through bolt the new angle to the existing (shortened) bracket. Fresh can of Rustoleum Gloss Black and I should be good to go.
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Ok, this might be an overly simplistic approach, but couldn't you just get a wider piece of wood and/or offset the bunk wood and adjust the fit that way?
Seems like a lot of work to go through for an inch of total adjustment?
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Doran - I'm trying to get the bunk to sit snug against the bottom side of the strake. As it is, the strake would be sitting on the bunk and all weight concentrated there.
The bigger result for the effort is the reduced height. I can drop it another 2-3 inches. If it were possible to make the drop without changing the position of the bunk, I'd just scoot the bunk over a half inch and bolt it down again on the same bracket.
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So you do have an alignment issue. Got it...I thought it was too wide and you were trying to snug it up. Carry on.
I'm assuming the ice has been off of Rathbun for a while too so the ramps are open I'm sure.
For the Iowa meet attendees...there will be no shortage of water in June...
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You may want to get your boat on there so you have a little bend in the bunk to match the contour of your hull depending how long your bunks are. I put 6' bunks on my trailer and had to match the contour of the hull. It wasn't a straight line. I put a bottle jack under the front bracket to force it up a bit and then tightened the bolts/nuts. It took me more time than I would have guessed to get everything adjusted perfectly.
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Don -
You can come down to Rathbun and help me with that part. :-)
The bunks on the new trailer are 8'6" - I know I won't need that length. I considered swapping the wood bunk out for a 2x4 of composite decking material. Just a thought - not something I'd be doing until later, anyway.
Doran -
Yes, the ice is gone. Water is inching its way to 40*. The run-off from all this rain will help. We should have a really, really green campground. I need to round up a second tow vehicle so I can get out there and put both trailers in the water at the same time. I am remembering after all our snow in winter of 2010/2011 the lake was at 20,000+ acres. The good thing is the low temps have kept a lot of the chemicals off the farmland so far, so the run-off should be generally clean. I don't know anyone planting yet.
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I am in the same situation with my trailer, I ended up getting my hands on this for free, very lucky. Need to move my bunks a little each way.
(http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb163/motoxconnection/Boat%20Trailer/CVZ18012.jpg) (http://s208.photobucket.com/user/motoxconnection/media/Boat%20Trailer/CVZ18012.jpg.html)
(http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb163/motoxconnection/Boat%20Trailer/55A9167C-47C9-4D66-818A-75F304098B0A-3814-000007557AC405B1.jpg) (http://s208.photobucket.com/user/motoxconnection/media/Boat%20Trailer/55A9167C-47C9-4D66-818A-75F304098B0A-3814-000007557AC405B1.jpg.html)
The only thing wrong with the trailer was the lights didn't work, put new LED's on and there is a rusted spot on the rear cross member. Going to cut that out and weld a new piece of metal in. Once I get the bunks in the right place, I am going to reposition those side guides in tighter to the side of the boat to make sure they can aid in guiding the boat in the right position.
Good luck with the adjustments, you got a heck of a deal, nice trailer.
Rich
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Rich - You can't beat free. Looks like you've got to come in just a little bit more than I do, but same end result - everything is concentrated on the strakes. And just like you said, they don't provide much guide for the boat when you're trying to pull it up at the ramp. Looks like you did the same thing with a zip tie - I had a bunk come lose on the drive home and zip tied it down. I guess that happens when you drive an empty trailer 275 miles.
Also - your big guide-on pads, that keep you from washing sideways in a current, don't they keep you off that nice big step? One of the reasons I wanted this wider trailer was the opportunity to have a step on each side that would allow me to reach into the boat without having to get a step ladder out.
Have you used Ospho on that rusted cross member? http://www.ospho.com (http://www.ospho.com) I am going to pick up a quart of it to treat the few scratches that have become rusted on mine before I touch it up. From your first picture, I wouldn't guess there is enough rust to warrant cutting it out and welding in new. When I did some custom handrails in Texas, I knew the welds would rust first ... I set the sections of railing outside for a week, sanded down anything rough, sprayed them all with Ospho, painted with Rustoleum - they passed my five-year warranty without any rust showing up. I think the quart runs $12-$16 and is more than enough to have on hand.
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No I haven't tried that product, let me know how you make out with it. The trailer is boxed material meaning it isn't three sided. I know it isn't water tight because the tongue is removable and if you get it down in the water enough, the trailer would fill with water and there are only a few tiny drain holes. Personally, I see the design as flawed. When I get the boat off the trailer, I am planning on drilling holes in the bottom in several locations to make sure water has a way out if it gets in. My guess is that is how that spot rusted anyway. Hard to tell if there is a bunch of rust in that particular area. My buddy said we can just cut out the bad, make a new steel piece in the shop and weld it up. The side guides, yes, they are useless in my opinion where they are, the step is blocked. Once I get the bottom side adjusted and done the way I want, I will address the position of those. Done correctly, they could enable my wife to put the boat on the trailer.....well, maybe not but you know what I'm saying.
Rich
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I'd make those guides removable ... throw 'em in the car with you so you can stick them on the trailer before you back down in the water, pull 'em off when you get it out.
Mine are bolted on - but they don't block any steps, either. Might just leave them where they are if they aren't hurting anything. Might even snake a wire up each side and put a small light on each to get some extra brake lights up in someone's face.
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That is a great idea! That is what I love about this site, someone always throws something out that makes you wonder why you didn't think of it yourself. Thanks!
Rich
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I would move the bunks out a little not in. I would put them in between the strakes. That way it will give you a little room for error when landing the boat. Just my thought as there would not be any room for error if you moved them in towards the center of the trailer.
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In that application, Shawn, you're dead right. My GT is narrow enough that I only have a single pair of bunks, not the double. I suppose I could add some close together in the center, but that's probably overkill.
Rich - I'd follow Shawn's advice and send those bunks out several inches.
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The inner bunks should support directly under the engine where most of the weight is. The outers are not as important. Here is how mine is set up and works good.
(http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t124/lincolnman1969/Boat/file_zpsbc91c024.jpg) (http://s159.photobucket.com/user/lincolnman1969/media/Boat/file_zpsbc91c024.jpg.html)
(http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t124/lincolnman1969/Boat/file_zpsb50c2ccf.jpg) (http://s159.photobucket.com/user/lincolnman1969/media/Boat/file_zpsb50c2ccf.jpg.html)
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Overtons has some LED lights that fit on the top of a 2" PVC pipe for guide-ons. $30 for a pair. They are pretty slick. My wife and I do not launch boats or wallpaper small bathrooms together - not good for marital bliss!
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Hahaha. My wife is good for launching, so long as the motor starts on the first turn of the key. She doesn't like sitting in the boat trying to get it started ...
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Maybe you should be in the boat and her in the vehicle???? Be sure to explain forward and reverse and the accelerator and the brake. And don't yell while any of this is going on. My favorite is the people at the ramp that forget the drain plug and the boat is taking on water while the driver is headed up the ramp. Or driving up the ramp dragging the outdrive. Ouch.
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Thanks Shawn, I will do exactly that. Thanks for those pics, that helps me visualize position.
As far as the wife launching, that would be bad. She folds like a lawn chair under pressure. I am in the process of building a fence around the yard. The most difficult post I put in the ground was the one she helped me with. Told her to go inside, I would figure it out on my own.....lol, good thing she is pretty!! hahahah
Rich
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Don - I'm usually the one in the boat ... but she gets embarrassed if it doesn't turn over right away. We've had the issue twice and it really annoyed her...
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OK. Beautiful weather outside today. Looking to make some trailer adjustments after I get my new deck ledger, posts & beams leveled.
Does anyone have experience, or a nearly sure-fire way to measure out where to set the bow stop? Without lowering the bunks, I'm afraid the bow stop roller would want to sit below the bow eye. Just eyeballing this thing, I'm thinking I might need an extension on the roller so that I don't pull that boat so far forward that my tongue weight gets to high.
From what I've researched, tongue weight should be 6% of total boat, gear & trailer weight for a single axle trailer. Which means, for me the tongue weight should be around 120 lbs (based on a 2,000 lb. max total, including tailer)
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Got my new adjustable bunks on the Bud's World Tracker trailer today. They were galvanized but I sanded them and used etching primer and then painted them Rustoleum black. We'll see how that works out. I raised the front bunk so the bow eye would go forward which put the transom about 2'' inches in on the back of the bunk. I was able to leave the welded back bracket right where it was and just loosened the bolt so the board could be a little angled. Worked out fine. Tongue weight seems good too. Heavy enough that I can lift it by hand with a good effort. Everything went great except the part where I hit the top of my head on the leaf spring bracket and drew blood. Ouch.
I need to get some of those plastic rollers. The black rubber ones are marking up the hull.
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Looks good!
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Yea, looks great! Wish I would have painted my brackets too....
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Yes looks good except for the blood. ;D
As for the bunks, do most bunks stop level with the trailer frame, stick out past or in towards the front a bit?
I would think end at the trailer. For whatever reason, mine are uneven. Probably happened when the seller and I were welding them back on in their new locations. Didnt really pay too much attention where they were at as were in a hurry and I'll be replacing them soon.
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I like those brackets. Since my trailer is new, I don't want to mess with grinding off welds on the frame of the trailer - I'm going to stick with cutting the welded bracket down from the top.
The bunks on this trailer stick out about 4 inches past the rear cross member of the trailer. I plan on cutting them even with the cross member - but I've got the length to play with.
Kurtis may get to help me out with he plasma cutting table, too - I'll have to extend and raise the vertical brackets that hold the bow stop/roller. Those I'll grind off at the winch plate, weld new ones on, and re-paint the whole assembly.
The deck at home is almost done. Windows out and patio doors in is the game plan this weekend. Hopefully I can get the trailer swap completed next week.
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Wondering about this idea for trailer bunks ...
If I use a 2 x 6, instead of a 2 x 4, I'm thinking I can run it across the table saw to bevel the top outside edge.
Other than lowering the brackets by an inch and a half, I can keep the verticals in their welded places. I might buy some new angle and cut the angle at 4-1/2 inches, so that I can overlap and bolt the new angle onto the existing verticals but have the support underneath the width of the 2x6 ...
Any obvious reasons why I should do it this way? I'm thinking the trailer should still center as long as I'm ok on the inside of the lower strakes. I believe those strakes are fairly consistent from front to rear, except the leading foot or so ...
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I got my bunks beveled today. Kurtis had cut some 2x2 angle brackets for me.
I'll pick up some carpet either tomorrow or Tuesday and get the bunks wrapped. Tomorrow I should get the bunk brackets cut down and the new brackets bolted on. To mate the first time, the brackets will be loose enough to pivot. My sample cuts of 2x6 match up the angles very nicely on the hull. I'm excited to make the transfer ... pictures coming when I get the new brackets/bunks in place.
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Don't know how you find the time Dan, but well done! Can't wait to see pics!
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Here's my pre-setup ...
New trailer bunks (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T2Qa6gWxx0#ws)
The spacing between the bunks sets them snug to the outside of the lower strake, with the beveled 2x6 so that both the hull and the next strake sit on the bunk. For now, the brackets are loose, in place with only a single bolt, and not yet cinched down. As I pull the boat up onto the trailer, the brackets will allow the bunks to rock until they're at the proper angle to support the hull with full contact. Once out of the water, I can tighten down the bolts and drill through a separate smaller bolt to use as a "set screw" to hold the angle.
Btw, Tim Cichosz (Still_Fishin) told me once not to use stainless bolts and stainless nuts together. I forgot his advice. The first time I put the brackets on, so I could lay down the bunks and mark the holes for drilling, I couldn't get the nuts back off. Took the trailer down to the shop and had the guys pull out their impact tools ... after about 2 minutes, the bolt had finally broken. Not sure how much force is required to break off a 1/2" stainless steel bolt, but ...
For now, I've got a zinc coated nut with nylon insert on stainless bolts.
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Looks good, show us some pics after the boat is on it.
Rich
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Success !
The bunks worked out great. I need to have the bow stop re-fabbed then I'm good to go. I'll upload more pictures with sunlight tomorrow ...
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looks like a perfect fit!
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Looks great Dan! Looking forward to seeing more pics of your custom bunk boards too.
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Here's how it all turned out, BoatBuckle installed and all ... the only thing missing is the winch stand (which was in place to bring it home from the lake, removed in the driveway for modification) ...
These attachments all port side ...
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p286/Hyperacme/CGOAMNpic%203/Dan%20GT150/20130518_114814_zps0f613f4e.jpg) (http://s131.photobucket.com/user/Hyperacme/media/CGOAMNpic%203/Dan%20GT150/20130518_114814_zps0f613f4e.jpg.html)
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p286/Hyperacme/CGOAMNpic%203/Dan%20GT150/20130518_114913_zps425a9639.jpg) (http://s131.photobucket.com/user/Hyperacme/media/CGOAMNpic%203/Dan%20GT150/20130518_114913_zps425a9639.jpg.html)
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p286/Hyperacme/CGOAMNpic%203/Dan%20GT150/20130518_131422_zps29a2620e.jpg) (http://s131.photobucket.com/user/Hyperacme/media/CGOAMNpic%203/Dan%20GT150/20130518_131422_zps29a2620e.jpg.html)
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These attachments starboard side ...
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p286/Hyperacme/CGOAMNpic%203/Dan%20GT150/dan1_zps3f0f04cc.jpg) (http://s131.photobucket.com/user/Hyperacme/media/CGOAMNpic%203/Dan%20GT150/dan1_zps3f0f04cc.jpg.html)
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p286/Hyperacme/CGOAMNpic%203/Dan%20GT150/dan2_zpse8230fd2.jpg) (http://s131.photobucket.com/user/Hyperacme/media/CGOAMNpic%203/Dan%20GT150/dan2_zpse8230fd2.jpg.html)
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p286/Hyperacme/CGOAMNpic%203/Dan%20GT150/dan3_zpscf1fd428.jpg) (http://s131.photobucket.com/user/Hyperacme/media/CGOAMNpic%203/Dan%20GT150/dan3_zpscf1fd428.jpg.html)
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Hey Gregg ... that second image above is right side up on my computer ... I don't know how or why it fell over on the upload ??????? ???
Last photo, the ugly, scarred up keel ... with bow rest / winch stand removed.
The rub-rail stays pretty close to 14" off the outside trailer frame - the whole thing has dropped so much, will be incredibly easier to launch and load ... only now I look at it sitting there and thing "well that thing's not much bigger than a lawn tractor ... "
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p286/Hyperacme/CGOAMNpic%203/Dan%20GT150/dan5_zpseae75c58.jpg) (http://s131.photobucket.com/user/Hyperacme/media/CGOAMNpic%203/Dan%20GT150/dan5_zpseae75c58.jpg.html)
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When I click on pictures it opens in a blank screen ...
Sure is nice to have a brand new trailer !
EDIT ...
Think I figured it out ...
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Nice job, I wish we were going to your June Meet & see all the great work in person. :'( :'(
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Looks great!!!
Did the nose shoot under the the tongue when you loaded it? I added a roller on the front support to help bring up the bow, it helps out a lot on steep ramps...
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Joe -
The nose was right at the same level as the stop roller on the bow rest - to get it pulled where I wanted it to sit on the bunks, I did have to lift the bow to get it over the top. Pulling the bow rest out, so that the hull could lie flat across the length of the bunks dropped the nose a good 4 inches. I've got new pieces measured out so that I can hack off what's there and put on a low-rider extension that way the stop roller sits snug at the top of the bow eye.
Gregg, you're right, the new trailer is really nice. I'm very happy. Thanks for the help with the pictures! Other than being dirty from a trip home in the rain, I feel like the boat doesn't live up to the trailer now ...