Bunk trailers

I have a 02 Alumacraft Tournament Pro 175. I'm thinking of getting a new trailer. I'm getting older and its hard to get my boat on my roller trailer by myself. This thing always floats to one side or the other and will push against the fenders. It is hard to winch up if you pull the trailer out more so you can center it better. I have a Shorelander now. I have see a large number of wide boats like mine with bunk trailers. I would like some information on how you like the bunks or would you switch to rollers. Thank you

Thanks for all the information. To me it seems the bunk trailer is the way to go. I fish mainly larger waters so I would not have a hard time.

I have a 17 & 1/2 ' Yarcraft fiberglass it came with a Shorelandr roller trailer. I put up with it for years. As an old man gift to my self I converted it to a bunk trailer. Wish I had done this sooner. Self loading is a breeze. Call or E-mail shorelandr costumer service have all the part & model # off of trailer(found near yoke). They will guide you on the correct part. You will have to order it from one of there dealers . It's a little expensive but well worth it. Get the right road worthy parts from the manufacture! A friend and I with a rolling auto jack did mine in 2 hours. Good trailing !

I guess, I don't understand how you can not get it on a roller trailer? they line up every time; unless you have an old one roller at the end. Than , they should still have some tilt guides that the boat rides on.

I have a bunk on my starcraft dad has a roller on his lund explorer. I like bunk because I fish the bago chain mostly and like driving my boat on. But as stated earlier if you fish up north more than acouple times a year I would go roller. If you leave the roller out of the water more and put some side rails on the trailer you shouldn't have a problem with centering the boat. We both really like Karavan trailers and he just bought a new one with the blue rollers on it so it doesn't leave black marks on the boat. I still drive the boat on my dad's roller trailer no problem as long as the rollers aren't to far under water. Electric crank would be nice. Also attach a anchor cleat to the trailer with a line leading to the boat so you don't have to hold the boat on the trailer when detaching the clip from the front of the boat. That was his major problem because as soon as you let go of the boat that thing flies into the water

Keep your roller trailer put a electric winch so you can put the trailer in shallow so the rollers can do there job.

If you do some fishing on Northern Wisconsin lakes where the launches are shallow you definitely need a trailer with rollers. Personally I fish Lake Winnebago mostly and I have a bunk trailer. Use it up North on the shallow lakes and it is awful, specifically when loading the boat. Sometimes you have to get in the water to launch it also. Not fun when the water is cold.

Same as Musky for me.....Stratos 385xf with bunk trailer. Carpeted side guides that are near tight to the boat. Centers itself every single time. I also spray bunks with silicone from time to time and can actually crank this fiberglass boat up the last foot if needed. Additionally, with carpeted side rails, I drive my 16' jon boat on my bunk trailer by myself all the time. To the original post....a lot seems to depend on the boat trailer combo with room for some manipulation using glides/silicone if needed. I love my bunks.

Why can't you just drive it on. If it is set up right it should center itself as soon as it hits the middle roller. Mine centers automaticly weather drive on or winch. Do you have a center keel? Are the back rollers the flopper type? I have Chrestliner and Shorelander.

My Trailer is a Trailmaster and the side guides are very tight to the boat. In fact I cannot fit my hand between the guides and the Boat, I realized this when I try to wash the boat. I think this makes a huge difference because in the past 7 years my boat has never loaded crooked, its always centered on the trailer.

For me I prefer bunk trailers as they give more support and I really don't fish places that have really shallow landings. Even with some bunk trailers the boat will go to one side or another. Much of it depends on how the weight is distributed in the boat. If your boat lists to one side, that side will contact the bunks first and shift it to the other side. On my last boat (single console, muskie box under the dash, kicker on the starboard side) that boat sat deeper on the starboard side and would always sit on the trailer toward the port side. The only thing I could do was to put the trailer in deeper on one side which was a guess most of the time, it drove me nuts. To solve the problem I purchased a set of Cabela's Deluxe Rollers Guide-Ons (Item number IK-018953 on line). They are $135 right now. WOW do these things work great. They are VERY adjustable, just get your boat on the trailer where you want it, then install these right tight. In my case I really only needed the one and it put my boat dead center everytime. My current rig has a completely different trailer configuration so it goes one dead center everytime. It came with carpeted guides but I actually took them off as I didn't need them. On my current rig I sprayed the bunks with silicone but to be honest I don't think I needed it and now I almost wish I hadn't done it because now when I drive the boat on, I have to leave it in gear until it is hooked up or it slides backwards. I hope all this helps and have a Merry Christmas.

I have a bulk trailer with the side guides. I had the to heat the guide bracket and bend the rollers in so they are 3/4" away from the boat. This seemed to help a lot with loading. I do have a problem at certain launches on getting the boat all up on the trailer though.

I do have the side guides but they really do not do anything except on windy days. The front always goes on straight but the back ends up on the fenders. With 2 guys you drive it on and have little problems, 1 guy and that when the problem starts. It's not that I can't get it, but when you are at the launch and have people waiting in line to get in or out. That's when you have a problem almost every time.

After years of having roller trailers, I now have my first bunk with guides. I have an Alumacraft as well and fish alone. I am in my late 50's with health issues and have very little trouble with my trailer. When I retrieve the boat the top 1/4 of the fenders are out of the water with the back of the guides just touching the water. I winch it up with not much difficulty. It centers itself every time. I know most people drive on bunks, but when alone it is difficult to do, especially when I cannot climb out of the boat. Besides, I have bent two roller trailers over the years driving on to them.

Do you have side guides? Bunk trailers don't always load easier. In some launches, mine won't always go all the way up to the winch stand. When I get out, it requires me to crank it up another foot. Sometimes that will require navigating a slippery launch pad, or walking in the water. Rollers versus bunks depends on where you launch. They both have their pluses and minuses.

Bunks are great and I specifically wanted them on my trailer - I've got an Alumacraft Navigator - so also a wide boat. You can glide it on without having to worry about it sliding back - it's easy once you figure out where the water line should be backing when backing up each time. Plus, you can unhook before backing w/o worry of it sliding off. sc