What's the best bow roller I can get?
 

Tired of black marks. [ATTACH=CONFIG]511757[/ATTACH]

http://www.championtrailers.com/bow-roller/ or http://www.easternmarine.com/Bow-Stop-Rollers-V-Shapes/

:ernaehrung004::ernaehrung004::ernaehrung004:
Thanks again Griff!!!

If thats does not work buy a good heavy car wash mit and cut an opening on the front side disassemble the roller and slip mit over the center piece of the roller. problem solved.

I have the polyurethane rollers. Now I get yellow marks

If you are spending time and money on your bow/winch stand; ditch that setup, and buy the best:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]511822[/ATTACH]

They will sell and ship the stand and winch mount. I GUARANTEE you will love it better than your current setup. I've loaded the exact same hull on dozens of setups and this one is best.

http://www.loadmastertrailerco.com/options2/
http://www.loadmastertrailerco.com/

Also, the BEST thing you can do for your bow roller or rubber/silicone contact points is LUBE THEM.

I keep a can of this in the toolbox on the trailer.
http://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Perform.../dp/B00383YM8W

Spray down the contact points, and even the point(s) on the hull as it get's close to the bow stand. Any marks that are left will wipe right off with a cloth. Works like a champ!

A buddy has that on his Myco trailer. I don't care for it myself. I'm always the one to do the truck and with that setup, it's always a guessing game on how far up to load the boat. Just last week it took 2 times to reposition the boat, and now it's too far forward by an inch or so. Kinda hard to play the gofast boater pulling forward to eyeball the transom only to need to back back in while the fishing boats are waiting to pull out :) We've always said we need to put a zip tie on the cable as a reference to the winch spool, but never have.
I like my Eagle double roller winch stand. Winch up till the bow eye stops under the top roller, done. Pull away. Like a pro :D

Very simple fix.
If you have a winch strap, put a Sharpie permanent marker stripe across the strap, directly across the top of the spool. This length--to the bow eye will never change, regardless of the angle of the ramp/boat.

I have a cable on mine, and this is my indicator:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]511827[/ATTACH]

It took me longer to walk out to the barn, snap the pic, and upload it than it did to implement. :D The yellow is paint and the red is electrical tape.

I was retrieving with the help of my buddy and his Father-in-Law a few months ago. My buddy was watching me while rotating the winch handle, and was asking "how far up?"
His Father-in-Law was looking over his shoulder and said: "Come on! Any dumbass can look at the winch and figure that out!" I laughed my ass off.

You'd think with the higher cost of a Myco over other brands, they'd supply all owners with a sharpie and a piece of tape. :)


That's kinda the same concept we have discussed.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]511832[/ATTACH]Sydwayz I should of posted this pic too, my bad. Is the performance bow winch still better than the set up I have?

I put a Stoltz roller, no issues yet. The old one did leave marks. Make sure it can turn also.

In my opinion, yes, it is.

Any idea how much the Loadmaster costs?

Padraig

I emailed them pix today. They are going to call me tomorrow with a price, I'll post it here when I get it.

I want to say it's a few hundred bucks for both pieces. Nicest part about it is that it's adjustable.

Great idea!

I think it was about $350 painted to match.

That is not bad.

Thanks,

Padraig

If you want your bow roller to not make a mark it needs to be able to roll. Here's how to do it in about 30 minutes for $5 or less.

Trailer bow rollers are generally "4 inch" rollers for all but the smallest trailers. As you can see in the picture below, the roller is actually 3 3/4 inches wide. They are made this way because the rollers need clearance to roll. That makes sense right?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]511876[/ATTACH]

My roller also had two outside rollers that do not roll. We will have to deal with these at a later date but they are little more than guides anyway.

The rollers are held between two forks on the winch stand. These forks are 4 inches apart. The roller attaches with a 1/2 inch bolt (you will need 3/4 inch wrenches to remove it). So get out there and remove the roller. When you do if you look at the sides of the roller you will probably see witness marks where the roller has been jammed up against the support forks. This is what is preventing the roller from rolling. Here is what mine looked like.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]511877[/ATTACH]

Inspect the 1/2 inch roller bolt. If it is bent even a little bit you will have to replace it. A roller will not roll on a bent shaft. Actually it is very easy to bend this bolt if you hit the roller at all during loading. We will talk about your driving skills later (only kidding, I've done it or else how would I know about it?).

Now run down to your nearest hardware store and get some 1/2 inch and 3/4 inch PEX water tubing. This is where the $5 comes in. Actually you only need about 5 cents worth, but they have minimums. If you live in a newer home you may even have some laying around making this a free upgrade. Get a replacement bolt while you're there if you need one.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]511878[/ATTACH]

You will notice that the 1/2 inch tube fits very neatly into the 3/4 inch tube. PEX is also very slippery stuff which will make this a self lubricating roller.

Cut a piece of the 3/4 inch (hacksaw is fine) tube slightly longer than the width of the roller. Lets say 3 7/8 inch or a little more. Cut a piece of the 1/2 inch about 4 inches or a little longer. If is it longer you may have to spread the forks on the winch stand slightly. Cheating like this is acceptable. Actually you will probably have to bend them out anyway because some dufus somewhere probably tightened the bolt too tight collapsing the forks and binding the roller which prompts you to be doing this modification in the first place.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]511879[/ATTACH]

Get a 7/8 inch drill bit and drill the hole in the roller out to that size. A drill press makes it easyier. The roller material is sticky when hot so it will tend to grab and turn. Watch those hands. I held mine with a large pair of channel locks.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]511880[/ATTACH]

Now press the 3/4 inch PEX tube into the roller. It is a perfect fit requiring a light tapping with a hammer to push it through. I just held the roller in one hand and the hammer in the other. The roller sleeve should protrude slightly and evenly from both sides of the roller. It will look like this when you are finished.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]511881[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]511882[/ATTACH]

Now slide the 1/2 inch spacer into the roller sleeve. It should protrude from the sleeve about like this.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]511883[/ATTACH]

Now install the roller on the trailer. As I mentioned earlier you may have to spread the forks slightly to do this. Easily accomplished with the same pair of channel locks that you held the roller with during drilling.

Now is when you find that the 1/2 inch PEX water pipe in your house is not really 1/2 inch in diameter. Yep, ripped off again. It will take a little persuasion with the afformentioned hammer to get the bolt in. Do not tighten the bolt beyond a nice snug fit. The PEX is a very soft material and will collapse easily. Use a nylock self locking nut to secure the bolt.

What we have done is two things. We have created a roller sleeve that protrudes beyond the face of the roller. This sleeve will contact the support forks first and prevent the roller from binding up on them when it rolls. It acts as a thrust washer. Next we have made a spacer from the 1/2 inch PEX. This spacer will prevent the bolt from collapsing the forks and binding up the roller. It also makes a very nice self lubricating bearing.

So if you are not down in Key West partying with the racers, then you may as well head out to the boat shed and get on with making at least one thing better before your next trip.

Enjoy.

Dan

They called me back yesterday, $350.00-$400.00 painted to match.

When I talk to loadmaster yesterday they said they didn't want to sell it to me because they did not think it would do me any good since my bow eye was so low. I do like that set up though I wish it would work. I'm standing in water now when I crank it taught. It looks like with that set up it would've got me out of the water.

Maybe I just dont get it. My buddy has a Myco with the style above, mine has a roller. I don't see any advantage of either. As mentioned, the roller is a no brainer, just winch until it hits. The other just mark the cable.

Does someone see something as an advantage?

Thanks Fellas for the input:drink: Stoltz and a new winch strap tonight. [ATTACH=CONFIG]512666[/ATTACH]