Boat trailer modification question

[Dwight Harley]

I have a Shoreland'r bunk type trailer that I would like to modify so that it will tilt or pivot and give me a little more accessibility to shallow water or "improvised" boat ramps. I know a pretty good machine shop guy who could do it for me if I could provide him with some suggestions. Have any of you made any modifications like this to a boat trailer?

 

[Ed L.]

Dwight,

A freind of my dad did once. If I remember right he cut the 3" tube tongue in two then he had a guy he knew weld angles on the outside of the tubing onto trailer side of the tongue and long enough to attach the tongue to witha cross bolt and hitch pin. He cross drilled two holes about 4" to 6" apart thru the angles. The rear hole bolted the tongue to the angles and acted as the tilt axle while the other hole held a hitch pin which held the trailer in the horizontal position.

Ed L.

 

[Lee Harker]

I think the trailer manufacturers have a "kit" to do that with. I had an aluminium trailer years ago with a 14' Starcraft fishing boat. The trailer had a deal back , just before the Y that had a pin you could pull and tilt the boat up so it would slide off. In theory, they work ok but in reality they don't. If you do it in shallow water the transom hits the bottom so you have to hang off the bow to get the works straightened out...if you tilt it and try to winch the boat on, it hits the back of the bunks and you have to horse it up anyway. Good luck.

 

[Mike Allen]

Another option is to insert a smaller tube inside of the original tongue of the trailer. Mount the hitch to this smaller tongue. Drill a hole through the two tubes and insert a pin through both of them. This keeps your trailer the same length as it was in the beginning. When you launch in a shallow body of water you pull the pin and pull some of the inner tongue out of the outter tongue. You can now make your trailer anywhere from 1 foot to six feet longer. You will need to have multiple hole drilled in the inner tube so that you can adjust the length of the trailer. All of this will allow you to back your trailer into deeper water but keep your truck on good ground. I live in Alaska and launch my boat from the beach. This modification keeps my truck out of the saltwater.


Mike