Trailering question

[Johnseed]

After 20 years with a stern drive our family is excited to have our first inboard- a 2002 Malibu Sunsetter. We always power loaded the sterndrive and just snugged the winch and drove up the ramp. The boat self centered and self leveled....of the 10 or so times out with the Malibu we've only managed to get it on the trailer right one time. What gives? I've tried deep, shallow, winch, power all with no consistency.

 

The trailer is a shorelandr with only one set of bunks and the guide poles are like 6" from the rub rail on both sides. This is most likely NOT the original trailer but what gives???? The bunks are spaced just outside the center hull chines if we can load it level. Any suggestions??

[Jetsetr]

It’s trial and error to get the trailer in the right depth.

My Echelon likes just the tops of the fenders out of the water to have it float most of the way on with the right angle. Too deep and the bow eye is too low, too shallow it take a lot of power to get it on correctly. I put a piece of tape on left guide post I can see in the mirror so I know it’s in far enough. Gotta play with it.

[oldjeep]

Depends on the angle of the ramp, and if your trailer doesn't have V bunks at the front it makes the loading even more finicky as the bow will tend to want to come in under the roller if you have the trailer a little too shallow. I'd see if there is anything you can do to adjust your guide posts to get them closer to the rails. Otherwise - err on the side of a little shallow to start so that the boat is able to settle on the bunks. 2 bunks is going to be a tough load no matter what, the good modern trailers have 6.

[BCM]

I regularly load a friends late '90s Malibu. After I drive it on the trailer and shut the boat off, I sit on the engine cover to center my weight. If the boat driver is not in the center of the boat, it loads off center.

[Keith_Menard]

My Gekko is tough because of the droop nose. I now back the trailer in and then pull it back out until the tips of the front bunks show. Works pretty well.

[kurtis500]

My trailer has removable post that the boat driver can reach out and grab to center or etc. It’s also good to hold the boat in place when pulling it up the ramp. just a thought.

[Johnseed]

What is ideal spacing for the guide posts from the rub rail? Currently it like 6" on each side minimum.

[LeonL]

Guide posts? Ideally you wouldn't want to touch them

[Wayne]

@Johnseed can you post a picture of the trailer? I’ve never seen an onboard on a shorelandr. Does it have a prop guard? If the trailer doesn’t have a prop guard I would highly consider starting a search for a replacement trailer that is meant for your boat.

 

Ideally the guide posts should be a little wider than the widest point on the boat. On your Sunsetter it will be near the drivers/spotters seats.

 

 

[oldjeep]

Shorlandr makes a lot of inboard trailers.

[Johnseed]

I'll grab a couple pics tonight. It is an inboard trailer with a prop guard and dip in the cross member to allow for the tracking fins.

 

We tried not backing in as far last night as well as having my wife move to center before pulling up the ramp....almost right....like 1.5" off in the back but the front is right. Maybe even less in the water? The wind this time of year doesn't make things easy either.

[BraceMaker]

A couple items, the poles cannot be that tight to the hull because the hull is wider across at the seats than in the rear where the poles are once it is loaded. You can use bungies to pull the hull equally to both sides, or I've seen people make foam wedges to put in the gap. When we're pulling I usually have someone fend the boat off from the dock slightly so its well centered and you only need to come up a few inches before it stops floating.

 

Get your boat unloaded before you haul it out or you risk people having injuries.

[Vernon Reeve]

How far off from center is it? Is it touching the wheel fenders? I usually don't worry about it if it's a little off center as long as it's not touching the fender protector. The road bumps will center it eventually. I've also seen where a couple guys will just push up on the side rub rails to rock it until it gets perfectly centered. I have a 2003 Malibu Response LXI on a tandem axle Extreme trailer and have no problems. We back in far enough to get the bunks wet, then pull out until the water line is on the reflector which is on the front of the wheel fenders. Then power the boat on.

[Hallpass]

It seems like they are almost alway off a a couple of inches to either side, even if I have a lot of experience with that particular boat and do everything right. With a ski boat, most times I just push it over to perfect center while the bunks are wet. With a wakeboard boat that's a lot tougher. If the boats is only off by a couple of inches from center, I find that it usually bounces itself to center by the time I drive the one mile from ramp to home. FWIW.

[Johnseed]

Here's a couple pics from the back. My concern is the boat sitting on the port chine....is that hard on the boat to do that?

[Johnseed]

 

[Wayne]

What is the weight rating on that trailer? I’ll reiterate that I’ve never seen a Malibu on a Shorelandr. Most Malibu specific trailers have 4 bunks where there is a pair of bunks on either side of the chine.

 

The bunk should not be ON the chine. Either inside of it or outside of it. Looks like by the way that trailer is made it would be easier to widen them a little.

 

 

[dbaconaz]

looks like that is not the original trailer. might need to search for an upgrade

[Johnseed]

I wondered about moving the bunks outward a bit....I can't find a rating plate but would guess the boat to be at the upper limit of what a single axle can carry at 2800#. It pulls fine but luckily we are only about 3miles from the ramp and rarely need to pull above 30mph.

 

I've starting looking for possible trailers as I agree it is most likely not the original that came with the boat and my wife and I both think that could be the root of the problems

[oldjeep]

Bunks definitely need adjustment. How many lugs on the wheels. That will give you a clue to axle capacity.

[Mick04]

Your boat looks fairly centered in that pic, going by drain plug and center of trailer. Is it possible to adjust bunks outward an inch or two each? When perfectly centered, my TXi has about 1.5 inches of space between the edge of the chine and the bunk.

[Johnseed]

Thanks for the suggestions....I'll try moving the bunks out some next week. The season is winding down quickly here in KY. Balls were pulled from our course last weekend.....jugs don't feel so good on the shins.

 

BTW the axles have 5 lug rims

[Wayne]

@Johnseed guessing you have a 3500 to 4000 pound rating on that trailer. My Response LXI trailer is 5080 lbs for reference.

[Johnseed]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Last night I moved the bunks outward about 1/2" each side and left the trailer a bit less in the water. It loaded centered and not on the bunks goofey like it had been doing. BOS is awesome!

[Oldkier]

Be careful when widening bunks, the boat will sit lower on trailer and could damage rudder or prop.