Author Topic: Picked Up My New Trailer  (Read 17376 times)

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Offline WetRaider

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Re: Picked Up My New Trailer
« Reply #20 on: April 18, 2013, 09:33:54 PM »
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 ...
If you didn't get wet, you didn't have fun ~ WetRaider

Dan O'Connor
1979 GT 150 / 1976 Mercury 1150

Offline dgmeyer

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Re: Picked Up My New Trailer
« Reply #21 on: April 18, 2013, 10:56:30 PM »
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.

Offline dorelse

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Re: Picked Up My New Trailer
« Reply #22 on: April 18, 2013, 11:36:10 PM »
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!
1990 Sierra 1700

Offline dgmeyer

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Re: Picked Up My New Trailer
« Reply #23 on: April 19, 2013, 08:09:52 AM »
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.

Offline WetRaider

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Re: Picked Up My New Trailer
« Reply #24 on: April 19, 2013, 08:26:20 AM »
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.
If you didn't get wet, you didn't have fun ~ WetRaider

Dan O'Connor
1979 GT 150 / 1976 Mercury 1150

Offline dorelse

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Re: Picked Up My New Trailer
« Reply #25 on: April 19, 2013, 09:21:19 AM »
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?
1990 Sierra 1700

Offline WetRaider

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Re: Picked Up My New Trailer
« Reply #26 on: April 19, 2013, 09:28:30 AM »
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. 
If you didn't get wet, you didn't have fun ~ WetRaider

Dan O'Connor
1979 GT 150 / 1976 Mercury 1150

Offline dorelse

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Re: Picked Up My New Trailer
« Reply #27 on: April 19, 2013, 09:31:57 AM »
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...
1990 Sierra 1700

Offline dgmeyer

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Re: Picked Up My New Trailer
« Reply #28 on: April 19, 2013, 09:38:15 AM »
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.

Offline WetRaider

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Re: Picked Up My New Trailer
« Reply #29 on: April 19, 2013, 09:57:37 AM »
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.

If you didn't get wet, you didn't have fun ~ WetRaider

Dan O'Connor
1979 GT 150 / 1976 Mercury 1150

Offline CVZ18Fan

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Re: Picked Up My New Trailer
« Reply #30 on: April 20, 2013, 05:52:15 AM »
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.





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

Offline WetRaider

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Re: Picked Up My New Trailer
« Reply #31 on: April 20, 2013, 07:36:48 AM »
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 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. 
If you didn't get wet, you didn't have fun ~ WetRaider

Dan O'Connor
1979 GT 150 / 1976 Mercury 1150

Offline CVZ18Fan

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Re: Picked Up My New Trailer
« Reply #32 on: April 20, 2013, 07:51:31 AM »
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

Offline WetRaider

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Re: Picked Up My New Trailer
« Reply #33 on: April 20, 2013, 08:41:00 AM »
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.
If you didn't get wet, you didn't have fun ~ WetRaider

Dan O'Connor
1979 GT 150 / 1976 Mercury 1150

Offline CVZ18Fan

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Re: Picked Up My New Trailer
« Reply #34 on: April 20, 2013, 09:00:09 AM »
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

Offline fireman24mn

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Re: Picked Up My New Trailer
« Reply #35 on: April 20, 2013, 09:17:39 AM »
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.
I think this has become an addiction.


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Offline WetRaider

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Re: Picked Up My New Trailer
« Reply #36 on: April 20, 2013, 09:25:30 AM »
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.
If you didn't get wet, you didn't have fun ~ WetRaider

Dan O'Connor
1979 GT 150 / 1976 Mercury 1150

Offline Jason

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Re: Picked Up My New Trailer
« Reply #37 on: April 20, 2013, 11:13:31 AM »
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.



Jason S.
1974 Glastron Carlson CV16SS 140 I/O
1986 Glastron Carlson CV23 260 I/O

Offline dgmeyer

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Re: Picked Up My New Trailer
« Reply #38 on: April 20, 2013, 01:34:17 PM »
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!

Offline WetRaider

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Re: Picked Up My New Trailer
« Reply #39 on: April 20, 2013, 01:59:59 PM »
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 ...
If you didn't get wet, you didn't have fun ~ WetRaider

Dan O'Connor
1979 GT 150 / 1976 Mercury 1150