Bunks vs roller trailers

K

Karnic

Well-Known Member
Joined
16 Sep 2015
Messages
292
Visit site
Hi Guys. Im completely lost in what trailer to buy for a new boat.
Lenght of boat 565 m ( 18.5ft)
beam 240 m
weight 680
outboard 115 weight 180 aprox.
Would a trailer with 1000 kg carrying capacity be safe? Planning to add an auxiliary outboard. Distances are short ( Half an hour) and would drive slowly.
The 3 dilemmas are:
1 Carrying capacity of trailer is enough?
2 Bunks or roller? Would use trailer Very few but will store boat on trailer when not in use.
3 Approximate height from floor to keel with boat sitting on trailer due to overall height for storage reasons.

Would really appreciate all type of info cos completely lost and worried.
:confused:
 
I'd personally never have a trailer with bunks as you need to completely immerse the trailer and go further down the slipway to launch and retrieve. Rollers make life so much easier.
 
+1

I'd recommend a trailer with rollers, properly adjusted to seat the boat as low as possible, balancing (in normal laden condition) to a tongue weight of no less than 50 kg.

The capacity of the trailer simply need to match the actual weight of boat and gear. Add it up and see. Move things to the car if that will avoid going one class up.

PS! Do not underestimate the value of a proper winch!
 
I would suggest 1000 is very marginal.-remember you have fuel and all that boating clobber and beer. It is less the trailer will collapse, but if things do go wrong then your insurance company just might be delighted not to have to pay out on your car and trailer and boat and anyone injured.
Roller is ALOT easier than bunks, but your boat is not that heavy and it also depends on the slipway. If you launch in very shallow waters, as opposed to somewhere very steep, then it is a lot easier to roll the boat back on - and get the damn thing OFF the trailer. But rollers are quite expensive.
If you can find a boat park near a marina or slipway you can get an idea of road to boat height, if that is what you mean. Assuming there is some sort of windscreen 6-7 ft from road to top, but I am not sure what you are trying to measure?
 
Thanks for your opinions and help. The approx measurement i want is from floor to keel (with boat sitting on a standard roller trailer) in order to get the maximu height of boat cause max height of boat is 1.85m.
 
There will be differences in trailer manufacturers' design so go for the lowest build.

V-shaped frame, whel size and tyre height profile + adjustable rollers are key points to watch. The widest trailer might provide for lowest total height but a certain goun clearance is needed for the trailer to be usable in general. You will of course have accept that the engine can't be tilted fully down when on trialer.
 
I'm going to dissagree with the majority & say I prefer bunked trailers for the following reasons
1 the trailer has a higher carrying capacity for a given gross weight because the trailer is lighter
2 usualy much cheaper
3 less danger of boat sliding off the back if the strap gives way half way up the ramp
4 seen lots of gouges in boat hulls where rollers have poped off or flipped up when putting boat on
5No rollers to seize & leave black stripes up the hull
6 load is usually lower to the road
Yes you do need to get a bit deeper but I don't mind that personally
 
Humm, yes a thorny question and with many 'good' answers, each proclaiming there's is the real answer.
Suggest that you look at the Boston Whaler web site where an answer lies in that company's opinion.
Keel rollers are strongly recommended, not bunks or multi side rollers that support the hulls sides, but strong and effective keel rollers, enough to take the whole weight of the boat. The rational appears to be that side rollers and bunks can damage the 'lay up' of the hull as the sides of a boat were /are not made to take such strain such as when winching a boat onto the trailer.
But there are a lot of trailers with side rollers and bunks made, but are they recommended by boat builders?
Road legal, well as we know the trailer /boat combination should be Road Legal whatever the distance, short or long, and when you come to sell the outfit in time to come, a non road legal outfit is certainly not as easy to sell.
 
Last edited:
Having been a trailer boater for more years than I care to remember for ease of use I would recommend a full roller trailer . Why not phone the boat main dealer for their take on what you need. Assuming your boat is as your forum name then Yellow Penguin Parkstone Bay Marina, Turks Lane, Poole, Dorset BH14 8EW 01202 710448 should be able to help
 
We used a bunk trailer many many years ago and this year got a new boat on a roller trailer.. I have to say the roller trailer certainly feels easier to manage.. Recovery is certainly easier in that the boat can be rolled on rather than having to be "floated" and dragged on so the trailer (and car) doesn't have to go in as deep.. With the relatively shallow gradient slipways around here I would not like to try manage our boat on a bunk trailer.. Also the roller trailer self centers where I remember having to take the bunk trailer back into the water to shift the boat a little when it was off center..
 
I've had experience of both bunked and roller. The bunked trailer was very secure and the bunks do support the boat well. The down side was that it could be a litre tricky to launch and retrieve as dealing with the friction of the bunks. My last boat was on a roller trailer and was a dream to launch and recover, the rollers do give good support, launching was a breeze and we used to drive the boat back on the trailer as the rollers would centralise the boat, drive right on, winch the last few inches and attach the safety chain, recovery in less than 5mins. Would always go for roller if we go back to trailer boating
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top