How do I get my boat out of the lake?

[JamesCoste]

Now that I have your attention, I really do have a legitimate, slightly embarrasing question.<br /><br />I have a 2002 Chevy 1500 extended cab 2WD pickup. I took my '83 glastron to the boat dock and launched it fine.<br /><br />When I went to bring it out of the water, I ran the boat up my drive-on trailer and strapped it down fine. When I went to pull out the slightly steep ramp, my back tires spun like crazy. I was backed in far enough that my back tires got wet and one was actually in a little sand and lake sludge that had washed up on the concrete a bit.<br /><br />My problem. There is hardly any weight on the trailer where the boat hooks up to the trailer hitch. It is the largest boat I have ever owned or towed, but it is much lighter than any boat I have owned in the past at the tongue. Most of the weight seems to be behind the wheels of the trailer.<br /><br />I have only owned my truck for about 9 months and have been rebuilding that boat and have only launched it a time or two. My other vehicles were front-wheel cars and had no problem getting traction.<br /><br />What, seriously, should I do? I wish I had 4WD! If I could get 4 or 5 heavy guys to get in the back of the truck, I'd be okay, but I don't know of any.

 

[JGREGORY]

Re: How do I get my boat out of the lake?

Try puttting some sandbags over the axle. Or if possible adjust your winch stand to bring the boat further onto the trailer.<br /><br />Just my 2c.

 

[BrianFD]

Re: How do I get my boat out of the lake?

James,<br />I'm presuming that you've got an automatic tranny. Remember, spinning tires indicate a lack of traction. If you spin a wheel, that wheel is no longer 'biting'. Your vehicle has plenty of torque to get you up a steep ramp, so at all costs, try not to spin. You could try keeping your foot on the brake as you give it gas to keep from spinning your tires. Or try putting your transmission in 2nd and see if that helps. If not, you could try to use your parking brake. Posts on other web sites suggested carrying a few hundred pounds between your rear axle and your tailgate to help give the rear-end more weight. Someone suggested a couple of 55 gal drums full of water... dunno about that one. If it gets to the point where you absolutely can't get up the ramp, you could lower your air pressure to increase your tires surfaces, but again, I wouldn't do that unless I ran out of options.<br />Good luck, and let me know what you come up with and what works/doesn't work.<br />Happy Boating!<br />Brian

 

[RatFish]

Re: How do I get my boat out of the lake?

Try to pull it out again, keeping the back tires of your P/U as far away from water and lake scum as possible. Put something (firewood, dirt, etc) in the back of the truck so you get a little more traction. If this fails, hook up a tow rope from your truck to another vehicle (preferably another tow vehicle) on dry level ground. Get in both vehicles and pull the whole mess up the ramp. I'm sure you'll find someone willing to help. Good Luck!

 

[G DANE]

Re: How do I get my boat out of the lake?

On most european trailers it is possible to move the axel in 3 or 4 holes to adjust weight balance.<br />Are you sure your trailer doenst have this feature ?

 

[Jack Shellac]

Re: How do I get my boat out of the lake?

You need from 5-7% of the rigs weight on the tongue. If you can't get it by moving the boat forward, you need to move the wheels back a notch or two, as G Dane said. Too little tongue weight can also cause your trailer to start swaying on the highway and it can get uncontrollable under the right conditions. It's dangerous---trust me on this.

 

[EatMoreFish]

Re: How do I get my boat out of the lake?

use that extra horsepower you have on the trailer<br />if you have some with you (that you trust) let the motore down a little and let the boat help push you out . kill and tilt the motor up as it come out of the water

 

[L Christopher]

Re: How do I get my boat out of the lake?

You don't give much boat info like lenght and weight. But Jack S. is right you need closer to 10% of your boat and trailer weight on the tongue. The boats center of gravity should be just in front of the front axel.

 

[crazy charlie]

Re: How do I get my boat out of the lake?

Try something simple like a broom scrub brush to clear a path for your tires on the ramp,get that crap off the ramp that make you slip.And keep a bucket of sand to use for added traction.Dont give it too much gas.Once the tires start spinning it works against you. Charlie

 

[Somethings_Fishy]

Re: How do I get my boat out of the lake?

Or you could buy a compact 4x4 pickup to tow it with...

 

[Snailman]

Re: How do I get my boat out of the lake?

This always works for me....<br /><br /> Sorry... I just couldn't resist....... <br /><br />

<br /><br /> Snailman

 

[miloman]

Re: How do I get my boat out of the lake?

i ran into this problem a while back it was a combination of not enough tongue weight and not enough traction sloved by moving the boat forward and deflating tires to 30psi solved it in a hear beat

 

[dhud64]

Re: How do I get my boat out of the lake?

It's all that Chevy power!<br />Try to move boat forward as others say!

 

[Solittle]

Re: How do I get my boat out of the lake?

I carry a rather long medium weight chain with hooks on both ends for those emergencies. It takes only a minute to hook it up to the frame of my truck and most guys at the ramp are more than willing to give me a pull. I attach the chain to the axle of their trailer and out I come.<br /><br />I also carry chock blocks to put under my back wheel to prevent me from slidin in. I use them for both launching & retrieving.

 

[JamesCoste]

Re: How do I get my boat out of the lake?

Thanks for all the advice. I'll weigh it and consider doing a few things next time I go out. I really think my boat does need to come forward (or my wheels/axle go back a few inches) to put a little more weight on the tongue. That would help hold down the back of the truck instead of lifting it when going up a ramp.<br /><br />I really don't mind the "ribbing". It's all part of the learning process for me and the advice was worth the fun ideas as well as the serious ones.<br /><br />Now where's my tractor when I need it ... <br /><br />I have had to get used to driving a rear-wheel-drive vehicle. Pulling out onto a highway at rush-hour on a wet road was an experience with the V8 under the hood. I'm getting used to it ... slowly (slow and steady being the key words).

 

[SeaHorse]

Re: How do I get my boat out of the lake?

I have the same truck. Mine has the positraction rear end which came with the trailer towing option 3.42 ratio. Without the positraction I couldn't even pull my small (900 lb) boat out. With it, when one wheel begins to spin on the seaweed, the other grabs hold and pulls her up. Talk to your dealer about having the positraction rear end installed. It's expensive but much cheaper than trading for a 4 wheel drive.

 

[jwf66]

Re: How do I get my boat out of the lake?

Please DO NOT try what EatMoreFish proposes! It is dangerous and could cause great harm to person and property!<br /><br />Adding extra weight over your axles and taking it slow and easy up the ramp is your best bet, aside from getting a bigger tow vehicle!

 

[tylerin]

Re: How do I get my boat out of the lake?

You obviously need tongue weight, for driving down the road as much as pulling her out. Did you try pulling her out at just a slight angle, if your ramp has the room

 

[JamesCoste]

Re: How do I get my boat out of the lake?

I don't think I was using my Tow/Haul feature, although I don't think that has the positraction feature. I'm going to try pulling out at an angle in the future if I have any additional problems.<br /><br />Plus, stay out of the mud...<br /><br />I normally fish with my 8-year-old so using the boat motor as an additional force to push the boat/truck/trailer off of the ramp won't be tried. I probably won't try it anyway since I don't have tilt and would probably tear off the lower unit.

 

[tylerin]

Re: How do I get my boat out of the lake?

I have the same basic set/up 99 chevy ex/cab. Never had a problem. The tow/haul button is a change in the torque converter,I believe, so it shifts at a higher rpm, nothing to do w/ rearend