Problem with target bunks on new trailer

M

Major Tom

New member
Does anyone know the correct placement of target bunks for a CD22? My old Load Rite trailer didn't have target bunks. But I just got a new Load Rite Elite aluminum trailer, and the target bunk brackets on the rear end of the bracket is too low, by about 5", so there's a space.
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Initially both the front and rear brackets were too low, so the dealer (CR's Marine) called Load Rite back and got the "tallest brackets they make". He just fitted them and as mentioned above, the front of the target bunk fits well but the rear is too low.

The good news is that the boat rests well on the rear and center main bunks, and is balanced well... after they adjusted the rear and center bunks and lowered the boat onto the trailer (and when the target bunks were still so low they weren't touching the boat), you could actually rock the boat up and down a little from the bow. I think that's how you want it, isn't it? (rear bunks extend past the transom by 2", tongue weight is perfect).

So the target bunks don't support much weight, but of course I'd like the extra support and insurance. This year we're taking a 2,000 mile trip, and I want to insure that it's set up properly.

The dealer jsut revealed to me that he never told Load Rite my boat model when he ordered it, thus some of the issues. That's another story, and I'm making the dealer make it right, and I also have a call into Load Rite to discuss this. Worst-case I guess I could have a metal shop make me brackets, but I hope to avoid that.

However, since our C-Dory's are a little unusual, I thought I'd see what others have experienced. How are your target bunks fitted?

Also, while I’m at it, the rear bunks are 8” in from the chine. Is that right? I seem to remember Bob Austin saying somewhere that the bunks should be about 2/3 out from the center keel…?
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Thanks!
 
The target bunks on my Load Right trailer are about 2 inches below the boat on my 25. I’ve helped set up a couple of other Load Right trailers this way and everyone smiles when they load. Not sure on a 22 but the target bunks are optional. I towed my 25 about 6000 miles last year with no problems other than flat tires but that’s another story.

Hope this helps. Tom
 
Thanks, Tom, that's good info. I never had any trouble launching or loading on my old Load Rite without target bunks. Think I'm going to set it just flush with the boat to begin with and drop them down later if I need to.

Spoke with Load Rite yesterday, they make bracket sizes all the way up to 30". The current read brackets are 12", and are 3.5" too short. So I just have to get a bracket that will adjust up to 15.5".

Thanks!
 
Looks like I'm very likely going to purchase a new Load Rite trailer for C-Traveler. I was just looking over some past threads to see if Load Rite is the way I want to go. Tom (C-Otter), I came across your post:

The target bunks on my Load Right trailer are about 2 inches below the boat on my 25.
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On Midnight Flyer's trailer, an EZ-Loader, it had a front bow roller, and was set up to be a few inches below the hull when boat was on trailer out of water. The reason being is EZ-Loader said that roller was just to protect the keel from hitting the cross members. It wasn't suppose to support any boat weight. However, I have my target bunks set up on C-Traveler to provide some support at the bow. And reading Load Rite's current owners manual, it says this:

"V. SETTING TARGET SUPPORT BUNKS
Raise the target bunks snugly against the keel to achieve a maximum load of approximately 200 lbs. Overloading target bunks can result in trailer frame damage. A hydraulic jack can be used. Tighten bolts and U-Bolts to 45 ft. lbs."

That being said, I know Tom has had excellent experience and results setting not only his trailer up, but helping others with theirs.

Tom, with thoughts of letting others see this information also, can you take some measurements of C-Otter and her trailer's setup. Looks like I'm likely going to be bringing a new trailer home, then setting it up, moving C-Traveler to my new trailer and then putting my old Karavan up for sale. I'm hoping the factory has built enough trailers for C-Dory's to have the initial set up close to where it should be, but then would be nice to have your measurements when I get the trailer home to tweak it before having the boat moved over to it.

BTW, if anyone may be interested in my old trailer, it's a 2010 Karavan, aluminum with tandem torsion axles. It has disc brakes and I changed out the surge to an Electric over Hydraulic system. I'll put a few photos of it in C-Traveler's photo album if I don't already have some there. I would be looking to sell the trailer likely sometime after February 2021. I trailer around 10,000 miles a year and just want a newer/better trailer. The Karavan is fine for shorter distance hauling in my opinion. The new Carlisle tires on it, LR E, only have about 9,000 miles on them. Date codes 2019 or 2020. I believe the GVWR is 8200. Colby
 
Hey Colby,
FWIW I did get the extensions for the forward target bunks and retrieval has been perfect every time. I had no trouble setting it up myself, IIRC I set the target bunks about 2" below the main bunks.

However, if I were to get a new trailer again, I'm not sure I'd go with Loadrite. I'd probably go with EZ Loader or one of the custom shops in FL. IMO the quality is not what it used to be. And the customer service is simply terrible. I got the Elite Aluminum, loaded with EOH brakes, SS on everything except the rotors themselves. A very expensive trailer. In the past 2-3 years here are the problems I've experienced. Granted, some of them aren't a big deal, but in total it's been a bit of a pain:
-after 6 mos. the wiring failed, I rewired the whole trailer. they used non-tinned wire, used trailer metal ground, no spearate ground wiring.
-After almost exactly 2 years the EOH unit failed completely... a $750 part. (Titan/Dexter) I called so many times to LR and got nowhere I finally gave up with them... the warranty was virtually useless.
-LR doesn't return calls, they often don't answer the phone, and getting through to someone who can actually help is almost impossible. There are many other posts on THT and others saying the same thing... they jsut don't want to talk to customers. I probably made 20 calls to them, spoke to a human maybe 4 times, and only one person was somewhat helpful, but ended up giving me incorrect part numbers on another part I needed.
-Luckily, after many phone calls I found a person at Dexter who very kindly sent me a replacement EOH unit at N/C, even though I was 6 mos. past the Dexter warranty. Now that's great CS, and I'm now a Dexter supporter for life.
- I finally got through to a somewhat helpful LR person to order replacement bearing and hub kits, got the part numbers (both LR #s and industry standard #s) and waited until they arrived. Yet, the seal part #s in the kit were wrong, and they didn't fit. But it was the "correct part" according to LR. Nope. I had to order the seals separately from another company (who was able to identify the correct part over the phone in 2 mins).

-I've had a few other smaller issues, the fenders are insanely light gauge metal, marker lights blew out (not LED's, replaced all the lights), etc.
The main trailer and bunks are good, but they cut corners now wherever they can on everything else, it seems.

Granted, my dealer was terrible, and if you get a really good dealer it might make all the difference. Then again, where I was then, in upstate NY, most dealers could care less about selling trailers, and if you didn't buy your boat/trailer from them you're pretty much out of luck. We're in FLA now, and it's a much better market.

Anyway, just my 2 cents. Best of luck!
 
lHmm, thanks for that timely information. I'm probably overthinking and stressing myself out too much on this trailer deal. But I tow 10,000 + miles a year, and still want to buy a trailer that's not going to break the bank. Today I also started looking more at Venture. Their Command series looks pretty competitive to the Load Rite I'm looking at. I should probably move this to another thread talking about trailers. Colby
 
But I tow 10,000 + miles a year.....
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:lol: :lol: :lol: I had to laugh!!

How different we all are in our use of our C-Dorys. My trailer is totally shot. It has zero brakes (even the hydraulic lines are broken and drag on the road); the surge brake unit doesn't function; the hubs and lugs are so rusted, no one will ever be able to loosen them again; I never grease the hubs, hell, I never service the trailer in any way; the brake lights haven't worked in years; the wiring is completely non-functional.

You get the idea :wink:. The difference is that I put on about 10 miles a year; drive no more than 1/2 mile at a time; never exceed 15 MPH and there are no hills to speak of; only on rare occasions do I see another car coming in either direction; there are no police on this 12 square mile island.
 
Sandy, I have the perfect trailer I can sell you in the spring! Haven’t figured out a price yet but likely no more than $3000. EOH disc brakes with a new actuator this year. Either LR E tires with 10000 miles or brand new LR D tires with 1000 miles. Twin axle aluminum with bunks. :) Colby
 
It might be possible. I've got Hontoon gathering in March and we spend most the month there. April always seems to be a month I'm not doing much if any boating. Colby
 
Reading thru this thread again, with interest. Now that I have my new loadrite, I found the same issue that Major Tom did with the target bunks. The brackets are too short, and there was a lot of space between the hull and the target bunks. Earlier I was able to alleviate some of that by getting some longer brackets from LoadRite. That allowed the front of the target bunks to just barely put pressure on the bow, while the aft end of those target bunks were still about 3-4" below the hull. Recently I decided to add the older shorter brackets to the aft brackets, so as to extend them so the target bunks could go tightly against the hull. But what I'm finding is that with the boat trailer at an angle on the ramp when launching or loading, I have to back the trailer in far enough to also submerge those target bunks to just float the boat off or on. I'm glad I saw this thread again, as I forgot about C-Otter Tom having his target bunks 2" from the hull and working out for him. As of right now, I had already removed the extra brackets from the aft end of the target bunks, placing them once again 3 or 4" from the hull. I also repositioned the bow stop a bit differently after reading from another blog about placing jack stands under the trailer frame in front of the front axle and then raising the tongue jack to take the little bit of stress off the front of the trailer. That actually caused the bow roller to drop almost 2", Then I moved the bow roller back against the bow, tightened the bow strap winch and ran the tongue jack back down. Although as I think about it, I'm not sure if that is going to work as advertised. The problem talked about in the other blog was that the aluminum frames flex more, and it's the boat really that helps strengthen the front of the trailer frame as the boat should be pulled tight against the bow stop when winched in. But if you have any weight of the boat on the main bunks, it's going to rest more on the front of those bunks at first as the trailer is at an angle on the ramp, with the boat level in the water. Seems to me even with the boat winched tight against the bow stop, as you pull the boat out, and the hull settles on the front of the main bunks first, it's still going to be putting more stress on the front of the trailer causing it to still flex downward a bit. Ok, that should be clear as mud... Anyway, think I'll lower the forward end of the target bunks a bit more to where Tom's are and see if that starts working better for loading. Should allow me not to have the back the trailer in as far.
BTW, so far I've had pretty good luck with any questions or concerns I've had by contacting the loadrite representative that I worked with thru the initial dealer and sale. I did have some lighting issues due to pinched wiring, bringing the new trailer home, but I was able to take care of that and Loadrite made good by sending me out a new center taillight assembly and some good will clothing. (TShirt and hat). The only other thing I found odd, is that they didn't have a high enough capacity battery for the break away system on the EOH brakes, and I wonder if they corrected that with new trailers after mine...Colby
 
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