What trailer's better - Bunk or Roller?

[TomT]

ok guys. On another thread in this room, a few of us started a discussion about which is better, a bunk or roller trailer? I make the analogy, to Ford & Chevy cars, as i truly believe, either will do the job, providing that they are the proper size, and have been set-up/adjusted properly.

For my own selfish reasons (forgive me, i'm in the market for a new one), we're talking dual axle trailer with brakes, with a boat weight of about 5,700 lbs. with boat, engine & gear.

Things to consider are :

Bunk or roller.

galvenized or Aluminum.

Trailer Brand (ez-loader, Load Rite, Ace, etc.)

Power winch (BRAND?) or hand crank. (more impartant for roller. Not needed on bunk?)

Well, unless i've missed something......that's a start. Let's hear some opinions. - Thanks. - TomT

[74Formula233]

Tom,

Having the same boat as you (basically), you know where I stand...had mine on both types, had experience with both.

Bunk (traditional Cypress, not the "plank style") with front "centering" bunks ("plank style" to cradle) like mine, Aluminum, no power winch needed....hand crank with STRAP, NO CABLE. HD Drop-Jack.

FWIW

BTW, brand is debatable, depends on price, options, brands of smaller items etc. I went with ACE for price and quality. Also considered a dealer in OHIO that carried their "own name....SPORTLINE" trailer made by LOAD RITE ( a very good trailer-maker).

http://members.aol.com/trailerphotos/sportline.html

[jawz12]

we all know i'm in the marine repair buisness...with that said,i have 4 service trailers-all are roller,all are galvanized...as for winches,i use the rule open spool on the big trailer and the others have "power winch 912's" the "pull off winches" are manual hand crank...ok...what's a pull off winch??? that's how you "unload" a boat from a trailer,the pull off cable runs from the winch to a pulley attached to a chain,which is attached to the trailer frame,when you crank the winch,it pulls the boat back on the trailer-cool huh???
back to trailer choices...the bunks are terrible where there is a tide swing that's pretty good-the trailer needs to be completley sunk to float the boat off and when it's time to retrieve the boat onto the trailer,the trailer needs to be sunk again...this can and will be a little tough on a ramp at low tide...
the new urethen rollers are completley non marking,and it's like the boat is on ice skates-it flies off the trailer and it's equally as easy to retrieve-NO NEED TO SINK A TRAILER TO LAUNCH OR RETRIEVE A BOAT,i only wet the tires...
you want the disc brakes-drum are a pain in the azz-read that as they will lock up after sitting for a long time...torsion axles-NOT LEAF SPRINGS!!!
beware that some mfg's don't galvanize the inside of the channels,these will rust from the inside out-one such mfg is venture...that's the reason for the cheaper price...i have load rites and sealion trailers-they have served me well-these are not "prom dates" they get used and abused,they all have stood the test of time and being waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay overloaded on occasion...
i've given you the same advice i give to customers-one guy in particular,didn't take the advice i gave him for his new boat-he bought the bunk...he later told me that he was quite sorry he didn't take my advice and he sold the trailer and purchased a roller trailer...
people will tell you about "contact points" on a roller trailer...think of it like your wife or girl friend wearing the high heeled pumps...she's walking on your back and it hurts-the spkiey heel is burying itself in your back,now picture the same girl walking on you back with flip flops-doesn't hurt as much-right...
remember this and get your mind outta the gutter...the rollers on a cheap trailer are few and far between-contact point-a proper roller trailer has lots of rollers,the contact point are spread out...makes sense huh....
now back to the bunks,there's 2 planks running up the sides of the boat-the weight is spread over these planks and the keel-it's the imovable object...now picture the keel supports not contacting the hull...the planks are supporting the hull-the bulkheads will be damaged as well as the stringers can and will be popped off the hull-don't believe it??? i've seen it first hand....
as for "jacking" a trailer up for the winter-forget it !! it's a waste of time...smarter move is to cover the tires-the uv rays will dry rot the tires...
last note...bearing buddies are the absolute best !!!!

[Shutterbug]

Bought a dual axle E-Z Loader last yr. My Cox from 1987 had served me well. The rollers are gray and non marring. Had the factory install more rollers. 912 powerwinch. Oil bath hubs, not much I could do about that but no problems last yr. and like being able to see the oil level.

Just a thing with me, but I can't fathom the thought of having to submerge the trailer. As previously stated the back tires get wet, no water on the rims, let the winch do the work. Hate the thought of the hubs/bearings being in salt water. Stick with galvanized, keep it clean, will last a long time.

[74Formula233]

Couple things I forgot to mention about rollers:

Lose one without noticing, and you'll likely wind up with a nice gouge in your hull bottom. Happens all the time, I also see rollers in the water at the ramps often LOL. Granted, this is usually due to lack of maintenance, but there's one disadvantage. You'll get tired of greasing and changing cotter pins and washers on the 72 rollers you'd need to "properly" support your boat on one LOL.

As far as support, check some boats on roller trailers and see how many rollers you can spin or almost spin while the boat is loaded. With non-marring rollers (hard as hell, won't deform), you'll find that sometimes some don't even touch the hull, leaving those that do to take the load. One thing about the black softer rollers, is they do support better than non-marring because they flatten out some when loaded, but streak like hell. Look at the pics of my old one and my boat LOL.

Here's a couple links to some discussions of this very issue on other boards.

I did a general search on "rollers vs. bunk" and these were the relevant discussions that came up on the first couple pages, after weeding out classified links and non-relevant ones.

Here's "Noreast", which is a bunch of guys native to you and I:
http://www.noreast.com/discussion/Vi...D=62108&page=1

Here's "ClassicMako", also many "native" guys:
http://www.classicmako.com/forum/top...?TOPIC_ID=4831

An Outer Banks link:
http://oregoninlet.us/flyfishing/top...?TOPIC_ID=1356

Here's "The Dull Truth"....er I mean THT (Though the admin and some members are asses, there still are many guys there with good info.)
http://www.thehulltruth.com/forums/t...56429&posts=12

Here's "Offshore Only":
http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...ead.php?t=6469

A Q&A on BoatUS:
http://www.boatus.com/trailerclub/qanda/02dec.asp

Here's another link:
http://www.marinemechanic.com/site/page178.html

[Proheat]

I've had both type trailers- same as above- Been there, Done That!

I've been told by the dealers that the bunk trailers support the best. You have to submerge the trailer pretty much completely to load the boat. When I had the bunk trailer, sometimes I had a hard time to get it to load straight- IT SUCKED!!

I like the new roller trailers. They form to the shape of the hull and move independently to load the boat on the trailer. Just like Jawz said- it is like being on ice. If you are not carefull, you can drop the boat on the ground quickly.

I definately reccomend the disc brakes!
I'm gonna share a story with you:

In 2001, I bought a new Loadrite roller trailer (drum brakes). The first trip to launch the boat and I kept hearing noises from the wheels. When I checked, the hubs were hot. I took the trailer back to the dealer and found that the brake adjusters litterally fell off and flew around inside the drums. The dealer repaired it. Took the boat to Delaware and hubs were extremely hot- called dealer and they blamed the fact that it was a heavy 25 foot boat and was normal from stopping. Ive had many trailers before and I knew better. Took back to dealer and supposedly had brakes set to"FACTORY SPECS". Next, I took it on vacation to Chincoteague Virginia- hubs were extremely hot again, but made it there. When we went to leave Chincoteague, the brakes lockes in middle of main intersection- back up and they release, Pull forward and they lock again. Back up and release again(by now, traffic is blocked 4 ways with honking horns). Got pissed and threw into 4wd and pull straight- brakes snap and release. Got it home and contacted Loadrite- they say they have a problem with aggressive brake pads and send new ones out and they get put on. End of season. Next season, tires need replaced from bad wear. Fenders cracked from vibration- had to be repaired. Broke down at 1:00 am in Dover Delaware when the one of the bearing decides to fall apart. Sunday am.- at autoparts store getting new bearings to install. Got it home and replaced all bearings and seals. Take on several trips- wheels lock up when trailer is empty, but ok with boat loaded on it. One weekend, after a late night shark trip and we are on the way home, something makes trailer swerve and brakes feel odd. Pull into Symyrna Rest stop and brake drum is glowing red. Waited to cool down and rubber brake line cooks and melts out of metalfitting. After a couple hours and they are cool, I loosen brakes with tool and go home.
I write a nasty e-mail to Loadrite and describe all the problems that I have had. Believe it or not- I got an immediate response that they are gonna give me a brand new 2002 trailer with the same serial number. They stuck to thier word and about 2 weeks later I have a new trailer! The new trailer is excellent and I haven't had a bit of problems with it in the past 4 years.

I guess what I'm saying here is that Loadrite stood behind thier product and made good for it. I love the new roller style- it slides the boat off really easily. I would probably buy another one from them again. As a matter of fact, I still own 5 Loadrite trailers right now.

This is just my opinion and experience.

Thanks,

Barry

[Tuna Beware]

Just like everyone else its just an opinion but I have had both bunk and roller and I prefer the bunk. Seems like it always goes on straight, dont have to winch it up but maybe a few cranks. I have an ez-load, galv., aluminum looks good, but since I have never owned one I have no opinion.If you have the option of disc brakes I would go with them, I switched over from drum and like them alot better (stops better and more stable while stopping). These are just my opinions, hope it helps out