Roller trailer setup

[midwestfisher]

Guys, just purchased a 2005 Lund 17 Explorer SS with a 115 hp Johnson 4 stroke.
This has a Shorelandr roller trailer which I am not accustomed to as I had bunk trailers before.
Does anyone know, should the back rollers be right at the transom? Having a little issue getting the boat off and all the info on the web says to have these their. Too much info so I trust you all if you would help I would be very thankful.
Here are pics...

 

[airshot]

Your good from those pics...Rollers need to be reasonably close and yours look good. The number of rollers is also important, make sure you have enough to suppirt the weight, ecpecially on an aluminum hull. Been a boat owner for over 60 yrs, more than half of the many aluminum boats I have owned have had roller trailers, including my current Sylvan. The trick to roller trailers is to have enough rolkers to support the weight. Some roller trailers also have bunks, all depends in the design and weight being carried. Make sure you have keel rollers as well, can't have to many. You have a good brand name trailer, you should be fine.

 

[JL8Jeff]

Yeah, that looks ok for rollers, mine were like that. I decided to change over to bunks and I was able to drop the boat down 4-6" on the trailer which made it easier to load/unload. Yours looks more like a full deep-V vs my modified-V which is a lot flatter.

 

[ripdmup]

I keep my transom a couple of inches proud of the rollers.

 

[midwestfisher]

Thanks all for your help. I will leave it as pictured. Have one question though should the boat just roll off? I had a hard time getting it to roll off easy at the dock.

 

[airshot]

Are you in deep enough ? After lanching pull out the trailer and check the rollers. When the boat is on the trailer are any rollers rubbing on anything ? Any part of the hull rubbing on anything. Unless you have a really heavy boat it should roll off with little effort. My 16' side console at about 1000 lbs will roll very easy if in deep enough, in a steep ramp, I need to leave the winch attached or it will roll off backing down the ramp.

 

[airshot]

Might need some pics of your boat on the trailer to give tiu more help.

 

[LDUBS]

Your good from those pics...Rollers need to be reasonably close and yours look good. The number of rollers is also important, make sure you have enough to suppirt the weight, ecpecially on an aluminum hull. Been a boat owner for over 60 yrs, more than half of the many aluminum boats I have owned have had roller trailers, including my current Sylvan. The trick to roller trailers is to have enough rolkers to support the weight. Some roller trailers also have bunks, all depends in the design and weight being carried. Make sure you have keel rollers as well, can't have to many. You have a good brand name trailer, you should be fine.

Curious, as I've never had a roller trailer (even with heavy glass boats). For a light aluminum boat, do you make sure the rollers are positioned under framing when the boat is fully loaded? In my mind, supporting sheet aluminum at a relatively small hard point between framing would be an issue. But like I say, I have no experience with roller bunks ( or however they are called).

 

[airshot]

Best scenerio is to have a set of rollers on the cross ribs, but can't always be sure of that, so this is why heavuer aluminum boats require lots of rollers !! On my 22' Islander, my trailerhad lots of rollers, I believe there were 4 sets of 4 rollers just under the back half plus at least 4 keel rollers. Then 2 more sets of 4 rollers near the front. Boat sat on that trailer since 1983, barely any noticible marks/ dents on the hull. Current 16' side console has 2 sets of 8 rollers on the back half and 4 keel rollers. No noticible marks/ dents on the hull. This boat is fairly heavy due to 2 group 31 batteries plus a house and a start battery...this equals over 250 lbs in batteries added to the factory 650 lbs. There is maintenence on roller trailers, the rollers do need replaced on ocassion, on my 1983 they were replaced twice, on my current 16' no replacements needed yet (1992). The key to roller trailers and aluminum hulls is to have enough rollers and have them in the right position !

 

[jethro]

I was always under the impression that aluminum boats should always use bunk trailers but I may certainly be wrong.

 

[airshot]

I was always under the impression that aluminum boats should always use bunk trailers but I may certainly be wrong.

Wives tales from days gone by....in the old days trailers only had a couple rollers and aluminum hulls need extra rollers for support and care needs to be used as to where the rollers support the hull. Bunk trailers are much cheaper to mfgr, so that might very well contribute to how often they are used.....

 

[LDUBS]

I was always under the impression that aluminum boats should always use bunk trailers but I may certainly be wrong.

Me too. Intuitively, it seems the rollers can present a very small hard spot that could cause damage. It seems to me a properly adjusted bunk trailer is always going to have more support surface area than rollers. Based on what I read it also depends on the boat's construction. Some are simply more robust than others. I see some old TinBoat posts where guys complain about rollers denting their hulls. I suspect rollers probably wouldn't be advisable on a thin skin boat like mine.

I don't doubt @airshot's experience. It sure makes sense that if you want the obvious benefits of rollers, especially on shallow ramps, the tips @airshot shares about proper adjustment are essential.

My two cents.