roller vs bunk trailer

J

Jeff Jatich

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21' ft Sea Ray currently on a roller trailer. I need to make improvements to the trailer this winter and was wondering opinions on the two types. The current issue is aged black roller leaving black skid marks on the hull. I plan on painting the trailer this winter and ned lights but do i replace the rollers with non-marring or do i replace w/ bunks. boat is trailered and sits on the trailer when not in use.

can i retrofit the trailer or do i need to find a bunk trailer?
 
They make rollers of other colors then black. Get some rollers which closely match the color of your hull or bottom paint.....
 
i am leaning towards painting the trailer and changing the rollers but I wanted to hear the opinions of this group. Wealth of knowledge lurking here.
 
I had had both roller and bunk trailers. I prefer roller.

I would just change the bad roller.

Goerg
 
At the most basic, it boils down to roller is easier on you, bunk is easier on the boat. Bunks need to be initially adjusted a bit more 'closely' (best word I can think of at the moment - brain a bit foggy) than rollers. Not adjusted pretty close and then not tightened down and keel rollers not tightened down so that the first time you launch and recover the boat the bunks are all ganked up and you can't do a damned thing about it because you only have one arm to work with so you can only look out the window at the trailer bunks being all screwy and try to distract yourself by rambling on the internet so you don't go (even more) crazy.
 
Ive heard rollers are better for shallow water launch but not good for long periods of storage. I was just in the market for a trailer and was told the rollers put pressure points on the hull and a bunk trailer was better because of the even pressure on the hull. This came from a couple dealers I spoke with. I'm no engineer but after looking at both, I can see what they were taking about.
 
Poly rollers rock. If you are worried about off season storage, jack the boat up and throw some 1 by's on top of the rollers....however, I stored my first boat for years on rollers for 5 months per year with no issues.
 
Them polyurethane rollers pretty much don't mark...at least not as much.

As far as support, it all depends on the support points. Long runs with no support of bunks are not good. Count the number of support points of rollers.

As far as keel rollers go, I have repaired a number of keels that got holed by keel rollers, usually on heavier boats. Trailers flex like crazy going down the road. If you've ever found the keel roller bolts bent, you're in danger of putting a hole in the hull.

A boat doesn't need keel rollers.

The last roller trailer I rebuilt because of rusted out tubes, I put in cross members 5' apart for bunks to support the aft section and rollers to cradle the bow section that also aligned the boat as it winched up. Best of both worlds.
 
If you typically use a ramp where you dunk the trailer 'til the boat floats, a bunk trailer is the way to go. Quick and easy to launch and retrieve. Since you are presumably always on fresh water, corrosion of the trailer components isn't really an issue like it is on salt water. On the other hand, if you use a shallow ramp where the boat needs to be winched up on the trailer, a roller trailer is probably the way to go, like others have said, you can get new rollers that won't mark, that will be a lot easier than converting your trailer to bunks, although maybe not cheaper. SeaRay hulls are typically pretty stout and should be fine on a good roller trailer. My SeaRay is a 24' 1973 model and is on a 64 roller Loadrite trailer, has no evidence of anything happening to the hull due to the trailer after 37 years.
 
I've always had a bunk trailer and find it better to store on and less maintenance. I've launched on all kinds of ramps and never had a problem launching or loading with bunks.
 
I have a 21 foot Searay Seville on an EZ Loader roller trailer. Two years ago I had to replace every roller - all 24 of them - every hog ring and every nylon washer. Also had to replace two of the roller racks and all of the hardware that bolts the racks to the trailer. The whole thing ran me nearly $600 (I only use stainless u-bolts and nylock nuts). Now, when launching, you better make sure that boat is over water because when you release the winch strap that joker is off the trailer in a hurry!

I also have a 26' Excel on a MagicTilt aluminum 30 foot trailer rated for 10,000 pounds and it has two 2x8 bunks that are 16 feet long for the rear of the boat and two 2x6 bunks for the entry at the bow. I replaced all four of those this year and spent less than $100 including new mounting u-bolts and carpet for the bunks. The boat doesn't slide off the trailer like with rollers, but it sure does have good support and the bunks I replaced were 13 years old - used in salt water no less.

I like the approach of simpler is better, and roller trailers have a bunch of swiveling, rolling and supporting parts.

If you look at the contact footprint between the roller and the boat hull, it is a pretty small area. The contact footprint between my bunks and the boat hull is a whole lot bigger and run nearly the entire length of the hull bottom. I like that additional support.
 
If you typically use good ramps with enough ramp length and water depth, I prefer bunk. More control, better centering, and better for the hull.
 
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