how many rollers?

Xk59D · 29 January 2016, 11:35

hey all,

I'm am debating adding more rollers to help loading/unloading of the rib.

It is a 6.8 ribcraft on an SBS 1800el 2 wheel trailer. It currently has 8 pairs of rollers as per piccy.

the boat is impossible to push off and in order to launch i need to tap the brakes to start it moving, which i may just keep doing as it reduces the risk of a roll off mid slip if the strap and safety cable breaks.....unlikely i know but............

with that in mind, SBS offer a 10 or 12 roller option (i.e 5 or 6 pairs each side of the trailer) and the price isn't too different, i will need to measure to confirm i can move the rear swing beam forward enough to do this but it SHOULD be fine.

Given i have 4 pairs all round now i don't see the point in doing 5 all round when 6 is an option.

the question is really, is this worth doing as it isn't really a cheap upgrade, if it is an upgrade!?!. i need to buy 4x bars at about £35 each plus 8 wobble sets at about £22 each from SBS. not sure if adding essentially another 4 rollers each corner is going to make THAT much difference?

thoughts?

Pikey Dave · 29 January 2016, 11:41

You might make it worse, you're increasing the friction in the system.

two stroke mick · 29 January 2016, 11:43

Is the problem that the slip way has a very shallow angle rather than a problem with the trailer. I assume that this trailer was provided by Ribcraft who would be known a one of the better rib companies.

Jeff · 29 January 2016, 11:53

Have you slackened off the swing arms slightly ,,, so they swing/pivot nicely as the boat moves back? It helps lift the bows more and improves gravity assistance :-) I had the same issue and it worked on my SBS ,,,, previously they remained almost horizontal until baby was almost off!

Xk59D · 29 January 2016, 11:59

hey folks,

the rib/trailer are not from ribcraft direct. the rib, 3 years old now, was sold to the first owner minus a trailer (stacked) so i bought the SBS from JBT on their recommendation. it is a brand new trailer though from Jan 2015 when it was delivered to me.

the swingbeam at the back is quite loose, the one at the front isn't i must admit as i spotted it last time i was out, given the back was okay i assume it isn't the cause, but worth looking at for sure.

the slips are not too bad but it doesn't matter what ones i use, it won't come off on any of them. it has never been an issue as i just bump the brakes and off it comes....i may just stick with doing that.

i am not sure as it is a deep V if the front ones are the issue more than the back as they kind of grab the hull in a way, i simply don't know.

i am concious of spending X and making it worse, better the devil you know as they say.

jeffstevens763@g · 29 January 2016, 12:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xk59D

hey all,

I'm am debating adding more rollers to help loading/unloading of the rib.

It is a 6.8 ribcraft on an SBS 1800el 2 wheel trailer. It currently has 8 pairs of rollers as per piccy.

the boat is impossible to push off and in order to launch i need to tap the brakes to start it moving, which i may just keep doing as it reduces the risk of a roll off mid slip if the strap and safety cable breaks.....unlikely i know but............

with that in mind, SBS offer a 10 or 12 roller option (i.e 5 or 6 pairs each side of the trailer) and the price isn't too different, i will need to measure to confirm i can move the rear swing beam forward enough to do this but it SHOULD be fine.

Given i have 4 pairs all round now i don't see the point in doing 5 all round when 6 is an option.

the question is really, is this worth doing as it isn't really a cheap upgrade, if it is an upgrade!?!. i need to buy 4x bars at about £35 each plus 8 wobble sets at about £22 each from SBS. not sure if adding essentially another 4 rollers each corner is going to make THAT much difference?

thoughts?

Xk59D

its hard to tell but is the bottom rollers resting hard against the chine rails with a sort of downward pressure making it bined if that makes sense it should just roll off in my experiance 6m boat.

cheers

Xk59D · 29 January 2016, 13:14

hey bud,

no the rollers are bang in the middle of the chines, the back ones are the same when the chines reach them

Pikey Dave · 29 January 2016, 13:24

If you have any adjustment left on the cradles, try raising the front rollers & lowering the rear, you might be trying to push the boat "Uphill" when getting it off the trailer.

jeffstevens763@g · 29 January 2016, 13:55

not sure about your trailer but mine was as dave has said a slight up hill on the keel rollers up to the winch post the rear carrier swinging arm [very loose] front carrier just rollers swing up rights solid but i could move the rollers on the front with the boat in position but the rear were solid against the hull so all the boat weight on the keel rollers and the back carrier with the bow hard into the winch post front carrier seemed just a guide.

cheers

Xk59D · 29 January 2016, 15:10

Can confirm the boat is slightly downhill on trailer. Water drains to back at tow height and normal rest. Could raise it more perhaps though but I think need new brackets as in top hole already as I have hit the keel loading before on rear beam....came poorly setup.

matt h · 29 January 2016, 15:18

The more rollers the better. lightens the load on each roller.. fab looking boat by the way Xk59D!

Xk59D · 29 January 2016, 15:38

Better pic may help...... Can see the front is a little higher than back rollers.

Thanks Matt, very nice boat yes.

Chris Caton · 29 January 2016, 17:40

I've got same SBS trailer as you, and a similar size rib, Revenger 715 (23ft), rolls on n off trailer with little effort, trailers around 10 years old now, we refurbed it last winter, re-galved the frame, swing beams etc, and added a 3rd swing beam mainly to help when recovering onto the trailer on The Menai, fast currents sometimes! as you mentioned the keel is close to the swing beams try moving the rollers closer together, will lift the hull a bit and may make it move easier, also give all of the rollers a wood spray with a silicone lubricant occasionally, makes a difference

willk · 30 January 2016, 09:39

Just spotted this.

Couple of random thoughts:

Have you "serviced" the rollers? They should spin freely by hand. Same for the beams - bolts just nipped tight enough to stop the beams flipping during recovery. I spray thinned grease into my rollers. Lots of semi seized rollers will cause the situation you describe - even with a heavy boat. I had to power the willkcraft off the trailer before I did mine - after one season of corrosion and crud.

My previous trailer was an SBS2000 - very similar to yours. The boat (a Redbay 6.5) always clipped the rear beam on recovery. Despite closing the rollers in it remained an issue. I carpeted the beam and that "solved" the problem. I see a lot of carpeted rear beams in boat parks, so I guess it's a common issue

Xk59D · 30 January 2016, 10:35

the rollers the last time i checked (maybe 6 months ago granted) all spun freely as i was looking for a reason you can't push it off the trailer.

my thinking was there simply isn't enough rollers or the ones at the front are pinching the V as it were and causing the issue. i do know for a fact the front swing beam is tight and intend to fix that shortly, only noticed it last time out.

as for the rear beam, i was in clyde outboards other week there and they had a new SBS trailer and an indespension sitting there, the SBS has a MUCH shallower V on the beam which would explain why some end up hitting the beam. i fitted a large roller on the beam to stop it from happening, downside is if you miss it i can't imagine the mess it would make.....hope never to find out! i also made docking poles to help with the issue and i have a keel guard sitting to fit.

this is the result from the way it comes from SBS, it has all been fixed ofcourse but it was a terrible noise to hear first time loading it.

Chris Caton · 30 January 2016, 12:21

no wonder you weren't happy with the original setup, that looks a real mess

one thing I have noticed with the SBS swing beams is that some beams will rotate more than others due to the length/position on the "stop" on the ends of the swing beam, I swapped mine round so the one which didn't rotate as far went on the front where you don't need as much swing, which left both the rear beams to swing freely for launch/recovery. if the beam is just tight on the pivot backing the nylon nut off half a turn should let it rotate easily

Xk59D · 30 January 2016, 12:32

this was another reason to look at going to 6 roller pairs atleast on the back, it should give me enough clearance to avoid the keel ever hitting again, just now i need to aim for an 8" wide roller.

i may just upgrade the back ones and see what happens, i will try to raise the front ones some more, it means drilling new holes in the arm but hey ho, if needs must.

willk · 30 January 2016, 12:45

Achieving a state of nirvana aside, is there a reason why you don't just drive off the trailer? Sometimes a rig that needs a wee nudge off can be handy.

Xk59D · 30 January 2016, 13:05

i have never tried it with this boat, i have just got used to launching with a bump of the brakes.

i think what i'll do is i'll buy the 6 pair upgrade for the back to help with keel missing the swing beam and i'll raise the front up. i can drill another couple of holes to get the beam up maybe 2", anything else needs new brackets so i'll do that and silicon up everything and loosen off the beams a touch.

Ian M · 30 January 2016, 16:17

Probably not a great help, but here's my roller set up, never lubricated, never touched infact. The only thing that I do religiously is to hose them off quickly after every outing. Boat almost falls off the trailer every time.