As I have mentioned several times, our ramp is very steep. I usually drive the trailer to the ramp for loading, while a friend or my wife drives the boat onto the trailer. Because of the steepness, backing the trailer into the water at exactly the right depth is a challenge. Too shallow puts too much strain on the winch strap. Gong too deep allows the boat to float off to one side, over the trailer fender. I have tried with some success to put the trailer in shallow, crank the boat, back in deeper a bit, crank, etc.. Back deeper, and repeat until boat is centered and all the way on the trailer.

But, I would like to put some guides on the trailer. There are basically two methods, both of which are mounted to the trailer. One is a round tube that rolls as the boat moves on or off the trailer. The other is a carpeted bunk that sits in a vertical position and is tilted to match the side of the boat.

What experiences have you-all had with either one of these? Do you prefer the rollers or the vertical carpeted bunk?

On my first boat the trailer had guides. All boats after have not. All are bunk trailers. Don't really miss them.

I have the vertical round rolly guides and Find them very useful.
The boat still drifts off from centering on the trailer so as I'm pulling out of the water I have the first mates hold on to the guide to keep the boat where it belongs.
The secondary benefit of these styles of guides is it give you a really good marker for where the back of the trailer is while backing down without the boat, or backing it into the garage.

+1 for the tall plastic guides, but being the resident BABC Cheapskate I opted to make my own using 2.5" white PVC. I mounted them to the trailier using a set of those galvanized square bars that are used to mount the horizontal guides. I picked up those galvanized bars and the mounting hardware at a local boat dealer who had taken them off a customer's trailer and had them sitting around.

My guides don't roll, but they are PVC with vinyl pads like you see on ski boat trailers. I bought the ones listed below, took the yellow pads off and slid PVC over the end and the padded covers over those. Someday I will get the brackets welded to the trailer.

https://www.easternmarine.com/hull-savr-22-shock-absorbing-boat-guide-kit-1-pair-86104-0

The Marathon, Sea Ray, Sun Runner & Chaparral all had bunk guides. Loved 'em.

I love this so much I'm working on an idea for a similar solution for launching/pulling the SkipperLiner.
Doesn't matter how steep the ramp is if the boat 'n trailer are level-!



---and how about a drop-hitch so you could do that with any boat...


The Party Cruiser had inner rollers, which work great unless the ramp is too steep, which can let the boat float OVER the rollers,
and do this...



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Only set of rear-only guides I've had, was when I MacGuiver'd these things onto the big trailer...



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Speaking of steep ramps, those posts were completely under water, I couldn't even see them. Not that it mattered,
36,000# of boat had no problem destroying them

Frantic love the 1st picture of the houseboat on the trailer.
Never seen that before.

FR, how about sharing a photo of that setup where the houseboat's trailer is hooked up to the tractor?

I only have one other pic, I really wish I had more- I forget where I found these, I'm thinking from someone here on ABC but not sure--

Very cool trailer, really simple and gets itself out of the way nicely too!

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I've been trying to figure out how the wheels extend and retract, hydraulics I'm assuming, but can't make out exactly, but that sure is low to the ground! You can get in that boat with a stepstool while it's on the trailer! I need an 6' stepladder to get in ours! And speaking of wheels, and TIRES, my trailer is a single axle running 15" semi tires, much shorter than 22.5 or 24.5 semi tires; the hull and tires are only about 5" apart--


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--yet our boat is WAY farther off the ground than the other one! I'd also love to know what type and size of tires are under that other trailer. That other boat's probably 5 tons less than ours, but still... that axle setup with the wheels front/back instead of side to side, couldn't be that tuff to add another pair of tires!


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Our trailer fits the Skipperliner perfectly, I just need that other axle setup underneath it! That, and and heavy duty dolly to mount a fifth wheel plate to. Been working on that idea too, I already have 4 sets of 8 ton steel wheels (those should make a nice racket going down a 'ditched' concrete ramp!)

Build an iron track, as in railroad, and steel wheels. How would that work?