Backing your trailer down the ramp..??

[PokerRun388]

How do you do it?

Personally, I always use the side mirrors,( with and without the boat on the trailer) and I angle the mirrors down a little bit so I can see the trailer wheels/fenders....

Very rarely will I ever use the rear-view mirror, especially w/o the boat on the trailer.... This works well for me!:thumbup:



How about you all? Rear view mirror, Side mirrors? Maybe both?:hmm



Have a great afternoon everyone!:thumb:

[Eli]

I should've know this wasn't a Carbon style topic :D




I use the side mirrors but I've only done it 3 times.

[riverrunner1984]

How do you do it?

Personally, I always use the side mirrors,( with and without the boat on the trailer) and I angle the mirrors down a little bit so I can see the trailer wheels/fenders....

Very rarely will I ever use the rear-view mirror, especially w/o the boat on the trailer.... This works well for me!:thumbup:



How about you all? Rear view mirror, Side mirrors? Maybe both?:hmm



Have a great afternoon everyone!:thumb:

This is exactly how I do it. I never look in the rear-view mirror.
The side mirrors are it for me. If I see the boat coming out the left mirror, I turn my wheel to the left and the same with the right...Thats the way I learned and has been that way ever since.

[Eli]

Newbie!;)

I'm usually launching and retrieving the boat not the trailer.

[RogerThat99]

I bring a forklift in the back of the truck. I detach the boat, unload the forklift, hook the forklift to the boat, put the boat in the water, pull the trailer out of the water, disconnect the forklift, drive the forklift back to the truck, load the forklift back in the truck, back the truck down to the trailer I left on the ramp, connect the trailer, and park the truck and trailer. The whole process takes less time than it took me to write this fictional story on my phone.

sent using Tapatalk.

[314joey]

Here's how they get my boat off and it weighs over 11K lbs.

[HB Vic]

I want to see the last pic in this sequence. I know the forks won't go down that low. No way they drop that in the water. That scares me just looking at it lol http://www.hotboat.com/frm/attachment.php?attachmentid=22266&stc=1&d=1381952901

[WESTERNAERO]

[QUOTE=PokerRun388;42468]How do you do it?

In reverse.:biggrin:

[riverrunner1984]

I want to see the last pic in this sequence. I know the forks won't go down that low. No way they drop that in the water. That scares me just looking at it lol http://www.hotboat.com/frm/attachment.php?attachmentid=22266&stc=1&d=1381952901

LOL i was thinking the same exact thing!

[rivergames]

Lol Gotta be for a photo op

[Stainless]

How do you do it?

Personally, I always use the side mirrors,( with and without the boat on the trailer) and I angle the mirrors down a little bit so I can see the trailer wheels/fenders....

Very rarely will I ever use the rear-view mirror, especially w/o the boat on the trailer.... This works well for me!:thumbup:



How about you all? Rear view mirror, Side mirrors? Maybe both?:hmm



Have a great afternoon everyone!:thumb:

Side mirrors also, learned that way early in life being raised on a ranch. ;)

I see your going to start threads you can participate in, good strategy PR. :D

[Eli]

Here's how they get my boat off and it weighs over 11K lbs.

Have any pics of it getting in the water? Hotboat has a good point.

[314joey]

I want to see the last pic in this sequence. I know the forks won't go down that low. No way they drop that in the water. That scares me just looking at it lol ]

I thought I had one, but I couldn't find it, I'll tell you this, your azz gets all tight when your boat is thirty feet in the air like that, but the fork lift dropped it in the water right where the last pic was.

Here's one more.

[riverrunner1984]

So the boat actually drops a significant distance into the water?

[Bobby V]

Have any pics of it getting in the water? Hotboat has a good point.

Here is a video of another boat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi01XlQ0-JA

[riverrunner1984]

Now it makes sense.

[HB Vic]

Here is a video of another boat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi01XlQ0-JA

I lead such a sheltered life. Had no idea forks could go negative like that. Pretty cool.

[314joey]

So the boat actually drops a significant distance into the water?

Yes, if you look closely where his wheels are, the wheels are right up next to a concrete head wall and the fork lift can sissor down all the way down to set the boat into the water and the boat just floats off the forks, I wish I had a better picture, I know it's different, out West everybody trailers, but down here a lot of bigger boats have boats shipped and dropped in the water like this, it's not cheap.

[Eli]

Here is a video of another boat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi01XlQ0-JA

Thanks Bobby! You rock!!! That was very sweet of you to find that video!


Now someone tell me WTF am I doing living in CA? I need to move to FL! That's the smarter state! I don't mind bugs and I love people who are older and wiser than me...not that I don't like younger people...now I have to see how to get licensed there without taking the bar!

[Havasu Party Bus]

The forklift will lower the boat all the way down in to the water! They do it that way in the Delta as well to put the boat in storage. Some of them boats don't ever see a trailer.

[Eli]

Yes, if you look closely where his wheels are, the wheels are right up next to a concrete head wall and the fork lift can sissor down all the way down to set the boat into the water and the boat just floats off the forks, I wish I had a better picture, I know it's different, out West everybody trailers, but down here a lot of bigger boats have boats shipped and dropped in the water like this, it's not cheap.

Is there a specific reason why you don't use the trailer?

I find this fascinating!

[314joey]

Is there a specific reason why you don't use the trailer?

I find this fascinating!

Eli, these are my reasons, when I bought the boat it was staying at LOTO fullitme, so it sat on my lift all the time back behind the house, we didn't need a trailer, when we bought a house down here we talked about buying a trailer or just having it shipped when we wanted it moved back and forth from LOTO to Florida.
Our Formula is a big heavy boat, it weighs over 11K lbs so not only would you need to buy a trailer, you would need at least a F-250 truck to pull it, we decided that since I hate to drive to just have someone drag the boat for us, if you have a trailer and truck what do you do with them when you're not using them, all the insurance and pita maintenance, easy decision for us.
One more thing, even though we have brackish water up by our house in Florida, when you dip a trailer in saltwater it's not good for them and you either sling the boat off like I did or get all the saltwater washed off the trailer which is a bitch.

Glad to answer any questions, the boat floats off the lift really easy.

[Wendi]

I put one hand on the steering wheel, turn my entire torso around and look out the back window. I know it sounds weird, but it works for me. Mirrors when I'm in the water and watching for hand signals.

[Bobby V]

I put one hand on the steering wheel, turn my entire torso around and look out the back window. I know it sounds weird, but it works for me. Mirrors when I'm in the water and watching for hand signals.

This is the way I do it. Except for the hand signals. We have 2 way radios and it makes it so much easier to talk then guess what the person in the boat is saying. Especially in Havasu and there is a wait. You can talk to each other to know where you are at.

[Wendi]

This is the way I do it. Except for the hand signals. We have 2 way radios and it makes it so much easier to talk then guess what the person in the boat is saying. Especially in Havasu and there is a wait. You can talk to each other to know where you are at.That works! It's funny because poor WMC had to do everything for years. Than one time I said no one is hear why don't you teach me. I learned so quickly and now I do it for friends too. It's made his life so much easier. I do it even better buzzed LOL!!

[chevellesb406]

I've always done it Wendi's way with no problem, however, it has been impossible to teach anyone else to successfully do it that way. The best way I was informed worked magic for my lady friend who could never get the hang of it and it involved the side mirrors. Simply put, I told her whatever mirror the boat or trailer appears in, point the steering wheel at it till it starts to go away. Instantly it clicked for her and never had a problem again. The different ways we all work...

[Stainless]

That works! It's funny because poor WMC had to do everything for years. Than one time I said no one is hear why don't you teach me. I learned so quickly and now I do it for friends too. It's made his life so much easier. I do it even better buzzed LOL!!
I have an image of you backing the trailer at 20 mph, big splash when it hits the water, and yelling com'n WMC get the fucker on the trailer, lets go! :D

[hbchgirl]

I put one hand on the steering wheel, turn my entire torso around and look out the back window. I know it sounds weird, but it works for me. Mirrors when I'm in the water and watching for hand signals.

Haha... I don't that's weird at all, cause that's how I do it too! NRI is always telling me to use my mirrors... which I do once I have the trailer pretty much in the water and watching for his hand signals.

[hbchgirl]

I have an image of you backing the trailer at 20 mph, big splash when it hits the water, and yelling com'n WMC get the fucker on the trailer, lets go! :D

LMAO!!! :LMAOsmiley:

[Eli]

Eli, these are my reasons, when I bought the boat it was staying at LOTO fullitme, so it sat on my lift all the time back behind the house, we didn't need a trailer, when we bought a house down here we talked about buying a trailer or just having it shipped when we wanted it moved back and forth from LOTO to Florida.
Our Formula is a big heavy boat, it weighs over 11K lbs so not only would you need to buy a trailer, you would need at least a F-250 truck to pull it, we decided that since I hate to drive to just have someone drag the boat for us, if you have a trailer and truck what do you do with them when you're not using them, all the insurance and pita maintenance, easy decision for us.
One more thing, even though we have brackish water up by our house in Florida, when you dip a trailer in saltwater it's not good for them and you either sling the boat off like I did or get all the saltwater washed off the trailer which is a bitch.

Glad to answer any questions, the boat floats off the lift really easy.

Thanks!

Basically it's a personal preference and not any thing to do with FL boating.

I hate towing a boat ...well being the passenger when a boat is being towed. So, I'd pick your option too. :)

[314joey]

Thanks!

Basically it's a personal preference and not any thing to do with FL boating.

I hate towing a boat ...well being the passenger when a boat is being towed. So, I'd pick your option too. :)

YUP, nothing diff about Florida boating other than the saltwater isn't good for a trailer and I don't care for towing a boat either, that's obvious.

[Skee]

Side mirrors only,until this past weekend where I had to retrieve the race boat not on the trailer and it was to narrow to see and the ramp was steep,so I had to use the rear view,otherwise......

[hpboats83]

I do it the same way Wendi does. I can do it with the mirrors but am much faster the other way.

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[RVRKID]

Usually the mirrors but every once in awhile over the shoulder when trailer only.

[RVRKID]

I lead such a sheltered life. Had no idea forks could go negative like that. Pretty cool.

I believe if you go to Newport and have some drinks at Woodys you will see it across the bay at the boat storage place.

[GRADS]

Depends on how fast I want to back down. With a triple axle the easiest way is to look out the back window. With shorter trailers I use mirrors.

[rschap1]

I use the side mirrors until I get lined up next to the dock or pier at the ramp.
Then I turn around either stick my head out the window back wards or open the door to look back.

Here in Michigan forklifts like Joey's are common at nearly every marina.
They usually offer in and out service where your boat gets rack stored in a barn, storage building, or an outdoor rack until you call and tell them to drop it in a slip.
Roll in a few minutes later and float away.
Usually cheaper than renting or leasing a slip for the season AND your boat's bottom does not get covered in algae or discolored.

[Waterheater]

I always use the side mirrors. I'll never forget when my Dad was teaching me how to back the trailers up. I think I was 12 and trying to back the trailer in at one of our local lakes here. I keep trying to use the rear view mirror and look out the back window. He keep telling me to use the side mirrors, and I was having a hard time with it. Finally he looks at me and says, Don't look out the back window, that's how girls do it. I still remember like it was yesterday, looking at him and have those words burn into my brain. Ever since then I've used the side mirrors. On a side note, now when I'm help someone back in that is new to it, I tell them that. Some think it's funny and some don't. :D

[HB Vic]

I usually close my eyes and hope for the best :D