RT 178 Trailer Question

[TimH]

I feel like a total dumba#& and am hoping someone with a RT 178 can shed some light on what the problem might be.
I've only used this boat four times, but every time I go to get the boat on the trailer, the front of the boat is anywhere from 4" - 6" below the keel roller. If I try to power load or crank winch and draw the boat up onto the trailer, the boat remains well below the height it needs to be to sit on the roller. When I pull the trailer further out of the water, the situation slightly improves, but the boat still remains too low to rest on the keel roller. In order to get the boat to the proper height, I have to pull the trailer out of the water to the point the boat is no longer floating. I then have to crank the winch handle a physically pull the boat up the rest of the way. This is not easy since the boat is no longer floating. Given the amount of force it takes, I am concerned it will break the winch or run into one of the many metal/weld failures that the winch stands on the RT trailers are know for.
I cannot figure out what it going on. It almost seems like the winch stand is too high. When the boat is fully on the trailer, the first foot of each bunk is not touching the boat. There is about 1"-2" of gap between the bottom of the boat and the top of the bunk. Does anyone know if the winch stand for a 188 or 198 is taller than the 178? It almost seems like the boat has the wrong winch stand on it.

[Tim Kelly]

Put some pictures up. Sounds odd. Is it a ranger trailer?

[Panama]

Pictures would help. I have put a lot of pressure on my winch and never had a problem. But some have... You need to fix whatever it is though... Take some before and after pictures. I think I understand what you mean but am not positive.

Also take some measurements for a 178 owner to compare with your trailer.

[TimH]

Put some pictures up. Sounds odd. Is it a ranger trailer?

It is a Ranger Trailer. I'm fishing again tomorrow, so I'll take some pictures when I go to put the boat on the trailer.

[fishon396]

I got a rt178 and that happened to me one time and I was either in to deep or not deep enough. When I back in with the top of trailer fenders just about a inch or two sticking out of the water it loads good every time for me on most ramps. That’s a good starting point and see how it loads And adjust from there also a Stoltz bow roller is a nice cheap upgrade.

[fishon396]

I can get you any measurements on the rt178 trailer you need today or tomorrow. Next week I won’t be around the boat much but after that I can measure or text pictures to you.

[TimH]

I can get you any measurements on the rt178 trailer you need today or tomorrow. Next week I won’t be around the boat much but after that I can measure or text pictures to you.

That would be great. I'm really curious to see what the measurements are on your trailer. Thank you in advance for your assistance.

[TimH]

I got a rt178 and that happened to me one time and I was either in to deep or not deep enough. When I back in with the top of trailer fenders just about a inch or two sticking out of the water it loads good every time for me on most ramps. That’s a good starting point and see how it loads And adjust from there also a Stoltz bow roller is a nice cheap upgrade.

I will look into a stoltz bow roller. The depth of the trailer you are describing is exactly where I start at, but the problem still exists. If I go deeper, the problem get worse, but the only way to get proper height/alignment is if the boat is fully on the trailer and no longer floating.

[fishon396]

I am not sure what measurements would be most helpful for that problem. I generally just load mine within 4-6 inches from the roller and just winch it on right there at the ramp with no problems. Now I have often wondered if they used the same trailer for the 178 and 188 and just adjusted the winch stand for each model.

[TimH]

I am not sure what measurements would be most helpful for that problem. I generally just load mine within 4-6 inches from the roller and just winch it on right there at the ramp with no problems. Now I have often wondered if they used the same trailer for the 178 and 188 and just adjusted the winch stand for each model.

If you can provide the measurement from the top of the frame (center support) to the bottom of the winch (end of the winch closest to the front of the boat), I would greatly appreciate it.

[fishon396]

I went out and got one measurement to start with not sure if it will help. From the very front of the trailer coupler with a tape measure laying on top of the trailer past the bow roller. I then lined up level with the center of the bow roller bolt and extended it to the tape measure and got 49 inches.

[fishon396]

From the top of my trailer frame center tube to the bottom part of the winch stand front edge is 12 1/4 inches. Also from the top of the frame to the center of the bow roller bolt is 18 1/2 inches. Not positive if that is what you wanted.

[fishon396]

My boat is a 2016 with the original style winch stand not the newer design by there new trailer maker.

[TimH]

From the top of my trailer frame center tube to the bottom part of the winch stand front edge is 12 1/4 inches. Also from the top of the frame to the center of the bow roller bolt is 18 1/2 inches. Not positive if that is what you wanted.

These are very helpful. Thank you. I measured my trailer and the measurements are quite different. My frame to front of winch measurement is 19" and from the frame to the center of the bow roller is 23 1/2" I know you have a trailer that was made by Ranger and not E Z Loader like the 2019's have, but I can't imagine they would change that much. I emailed Ranger to get their take on this issue. I'll be interested to hear what they have to say. Thanks again for measuring.

[fishon396]

Glad to help quite a difference in that one measurement.

[Bill Reynolds]

I have a 2018 RT188 trailer:
Top of tongue to bottom of winch - 12 1/2
Top of tongue to centerline of roller - 18 1/2

This is weird.

[fishon396]

Picture of stand on rt178

[Bill Reynolds]

Picture of stand on rt178

Your’s is the old style Ranger winch stand, EZ-Loader changed the design in mid 2018.
As you can see in the pic, we can’t compare the distance from the tongue to the back of the winch because of the different angle. However, we can compare the distance from the tongue to the centerline of the roller and I still can’t explain why yours is so high.

[fishon396]

Quite a difference there in the upward angle on the new design. You would have thought it would have been mounted with the U bolts in a totally different spot but looks Mounted in the same location. Your right I don’t think any information from my trailer can help solve the problem.

[fishon396]

You think maybe his winch stand needs to be moved forward.