Trailer Side Guides?

[BuzzStPoint]

I thought I seen it here, but may have been somewhere else. Someone made a tutorial on how to make the guides for the trailer.

I believe it have metal brackets, and PVC for the sides.
Anyone familiar with this?

 

[Baytown.boy]

Re: Trailer Side Guides?

I was on another site, tinboats.com and found these trailer guide ons that could also be used as light poles. They are ladder stabilizer safety items from home depot, lowes, or harbor freight tools that can be bought real reasonable and put to good use. Cut the ladder stabilizer in half and you have two seperate poles. Or mount a 2" X 4" on them and use as side guide-ons see pics below

 

[BuzzStPoint]

Re: Trailer Side Guides?

Ladder stabilizer... Never would have thought of that...

I just found it.. Remember I emailed it to myself.
Here was the one I was thinking of.
http://www.eharder.com/Nova II/Trailer/Guide-on.html

There's a launch we go to that has some good current. So When I retrieve the boat I have to have the boys push the boat to try and get it center.. There's been a few times I've misses and you hear the dreaded scrape as the boat missed the roller.

I'm gonna check out the stabilizer, that might be easier.

 

[Baytown.boy]

Re: Trailer Side Guides?

I bought these at a trailer supply store before I saw these on that other site. I just drive up, align the bow with the trailer winch and drive all the way up, no problem. Keeps you on straight. These are the lights I have on mine now. see pics below. I live on the Texas Gulf Coast and saltwate eats eveything up, so thats the reason for the extended lights. Also, I fish year round, so whenits fairly cold here, I dont want to get my tooties wet, so I drive on, lean over hook the triler hook in my boat bow eye and hop out and drive out.

 

[BuzzStPoint]

Re: Trailer Side Guides?

I'd like to put my lights on the poles too.

Mine are under the boat. You can see them but your normal train of eye doesn't look down that low..

I didn't think it was a big deal, But I was going to the launch and stopped at the gas station and someone followed me in and told me the lights are kinda hard to see.

 

[Baytown.boy]

Re: Trailer Side Guides?

I forgot one thing about the poles. In the dark, your backup lights on your truck/car will have some refelection off the poles making it easier to see where the trailer is when backing up.

 

[BuzzStPoint]

Re: Trailer Side Guides?

While the link I posted looked like nice poles.
I decided to go another route.

I used the ladder extension and a 10 foot pcv pipe. I cut 3 three foot sections. I used the clams that came with the ladder extension. I also bought some bolts (Not stainless) so i could drill through the pipe and extension and bolt it. But I'm waiting on that.

I want to test it out and see if this will help me out.. I don't see why it wouldn't. But my luck I would drill and bolt, then need adjustments.

Total cost. 28 bucks. Once the guides are where I want them, I'll move the lights.

 

[jeeperman]

Re: Trailer Side Guides?

I have the tall round aluminum bent tubing with rotating pvc pipe over them. They are not bolted or welded to anything, instead they are held with two u-bolts to a crossmember.
They are tight enough that it takes all I have to push them foward or backward.
This works good with my rather squared off bow on my boat because if I come in not lined up good enough, the guide gets pushed forward as it rotates at the u-bolt mounting.
Thus they do not bend or break and I can simply push it upright again.

But make sure they are tall enough when the trailer is in the loading position at your favorite ramp. They should be well above the rub rail when loading the boat.

Not just a couple of feet above the rub rail when the boat is on the trailer in the parking lot.

 

[64osby]

Re: Trailer Side Guides?

I used some left over alum. bleacher supports, mounted to the bunks and supported by a doug fir 2x4, cut some small pieces of the 2x4, rounded them a little and stapled on carpet. Creative engineering

These work great for me as long as I don't get the trailer too deep.