Ski on Trailer

[DarrenCar]

Changed ski's recently and I want to check my positioning on the trailer. Is this the ideal position for the ski where it rests on the front bumper? Should it be lower below the ridge or is it good as it is?

[Erierunner]

That's where mine makes contact. Never had a problem. The ski's weight should be held by the bunks. Not the bow stop. I think what's more important is how the winch line pulls the ski. I try to keep mine level the way yours is.

[K447]

I prefer to keep the winch bow roller right above the bow eye, so right under the hull ridge at the bow eye.

Alternative is to position the bow roller higher, just barely under the front bumper or rub rail/hull seam.

The idea is for the bow roller to not only prevent the hull from sliding forward, but to also support the front of the hull during up and down motions. PWC trailers can flex and even twist significantly going over potholes, curbs, etc. The bow roller can provide a firm connection between the front portion of the trailer and the front portion of the hull.

I have posted photos elsewhere for how I have configured my own Triton trailer to my Yamaha GP1800 hulls. I found the factory Triton blue rollers to easily abrade the Yamaha hull paint so I replaced them with Stoltz orange bow rollers.

[DarrenCar]

Do you know what Stoltz rollers would be best I see a few different orange ones. The Blue ones ARE already leaving marks on the hill.

I prefer to keep the winch bow roller right above the bow eye, so right under the hull ridge at the bow eye.

Alternative is to position the bow roller higher, just barely under the front bumper or rub rail/hull seam.

The idea is for the bow roller to not only prevent the hull from sliding forward, but to also support the front of the hull during up and down motions. PWC trailers can flex and even twist significantly going over potholes, curbs, etc. The bow roller can provide a firm connection between the front portion of the trailer and the front portion of the hull.

I have posted photos elsewhere for how I have configured my own Triton trailer to my Yamaha GP1800 hulls. I found the factory Triton blue rollers to easily abrade the Yamaha hull paint so I replaced them with Stoltz orange bow rollers.

[K447]

Do you know what Stoltz rollers would be best I see a few different orange ones. ...

For my Triton trailers I use Stoltz ULT-3 bow rollers. 3 inches wide for the inner roller.



For the winch strap guides positioned just below the bow roller on the winch stand I cut down the 4 inch keel roller Stoltz RP-4 or RP-45 to just barely 3 inches wide.
Stainless steel bolt.
I may have added a 5/8" nylon sleeve inside the RP-4 roller to reduce friction (and take up the slop) with 1/2" SS bolt.



Note: Cutting 1/2" from the soft keel roller ends is a bit tricky. Do not cut your fingers off if the saw blade grabs into the soft material.
Use a jig to hold on to the thing and avoid excess friction heat and/or too much blade speed.

[toledoupsguy]

For my Triton trailers I use Stoltz ULT-3 bow rollers. 3 inches wide for the inner roller.



For the winch strap guides positioned just below the bow roller on the winch stand I cut down the 4 inch keel roller Stoltz RP-4 or RP-45 to just barely 3 inches wide.
Stainless steel bolt.
I may have added a 5/8" nylon sleeve inside the RP-4 roller to reduce fritcion (and take up the slop) with 1/2" SS bolt.



Note: Cutting 1/2" from the soft keel roller ends is a bit tricky. Do not cut your fingers off if the saw blade grabs into the soft material.
Use a jig to hold on to the thing and avoid excess friction heat and/or too much blade speed.

thanks for your reply here and to my PM, I was thinking about this one since it was closer to the stock roller but I know you are happy with your setup so I'll most likely get the same one.

http://stoltzind.com/photos/images/page49.html

[K447]

thanks for your reply here and to my PM, I was thinking about this one since it was closer to the stock roller but I know you are happy with your setup so I'll most likely get the same one.

http://stoltzind.com/photos/images/page49.html

Either should work.

I like the larger end bells for the odd time that somehow the ski gets crooked on the bunks during loading and the bow tries to poke past the winch stand.

[Carzan]

Not trying to hijack the thread but it is about positioning on a trailer. So where exactly should the skis ride? What I mean is how far forward or back on the bunks. I have two GP's on a triton elite trailer. I suppose the dealer would set up the trailer however I didn't get the trailer where I got the skis so I'm not sure they did any adjusting. Currently my skis are lined up wit the back Rail of the trailer. Meaning the backend of the skis is even with the rearmost crossbar of the trailer. This allows the attached rear straps to be perfectly vertical when attached to the skis. The bunks stick out about a foot when the skis are loaded and in place.
However I'm not convinced this is actually the correct position for the skis due to the fact that the tongue weight seems to be on the really heavy side. So what should the tongue weight be if the skis are correctly positioned on the bunks?

[K447]

How much trailer weight is actually resting on the coupler/tow ball?

[Carzan]

Don't know. Haven't weighed it. But I can hardly lift the tongue. I've had 18 foot boats that weren't as heavy as this one. I read on the Triton website that recommended is 10-15% of total trailer weight with load. So I guess I'll have to find a scale to weigh it if I really want to find out.

[K447]

... Haven't weighed it. But I can hardly lift the tongue. I've had 18 foot boats that weren't as heavy as this one.

I read on the Triton website that recommended is 10-15% of total trailer weight with load.

So I guess I'll have to find a scale to weigh it if I really want to find out.

Two Yamaha FX PWC (with fuel) plus the trailer itself is going to be something around 2250 pounds.

(822+120)=942 pounds for each ski, plus oil + whatever

15% of 2250 is circa 340 pounds.
10% is 220+ pounds

[Carzan]

Two Yamaha FX PWC (with fuel) plus the trailer itself is going to be something around 2250 pounds.

(822+120)=942 pounds for each ski, plus oil + whatever

15% of 2250 is circa 340 pounds.
10% is 220+ pounds

Yup. I just need to weigh it to see.

[toledoupsguy]

Yup. I just need to weigh it to see.

Yes you really need to weigh it because I am at 295lbs tongue weight with mine being about 8" behind the rail. Other thing is I have never seen any Triton chart that shows anything other than 7-10% which is impossible with 2 big heavy 4 strokes. Conventional wisdom though is 10-15%.

Edit: Actually just got home and measured and mine are 10" behind the rail.

[Carzan]

Here is a pic of the document from Triton's website

[toledoupsguy]

Here is a pic of the document from Triton's website

Then there's this one"

http://www.bigriversltd.com/files/5513/9032/8738/2014_TRITON_PWC_FIT_CHART.pdf