Lift Trailer 1-2"

[cdrymalla]

As many people do, I have a problem with the prop guard dragging, especailly when getting into my garage. Essentially I have a low spot in the driveway about 4' short of the lip of the garage, and the prop guard hangs on it while backing in and drags while towing it out. For the last couple of years, I have placed a 2x10x8' in front of each wheel and used that to give me enough clearance to get over the lip. This is getting old, and I am finally serious about raising the trailer so I can back in without aligning the board, and so forth.

I have a 2000 air nautique on a Dorsey single axle trailer. From what I have read here are some options:

1) New Leaf Springs - I do think mine are sagging as the rear shackle is pointing toward the back and I have read that is a sign your springs have flattened a bit too much. if I go this route, how do I size the new ones - e.g., length, capacity, etc... Are the new ones going to sag within a few months anyway?

2) Longer Shackles - I have a shackle at the rear of each leaf srping that is about 3" - what if I went to a 4-5" shackles? It seems like this would be really easy, but what other problems would this cause? Misaling the axle slightly?

3) Spacer - a spacer between the spring and the axle seems eay enough, but I am thinking not the best way to go.

4) Prop Guard Wheels - I am likely going to add these in addition to one of the above - anyone have pics of a good setup?


Thanks in advance for any comments.

[mdvalant]

or you can lower your receiver on your truck if you haven't done so...get a nice drop hitch!

[east tx skier]

I had a 2" lift on my last trailer and it didn't help all that much with driveway dragging for the money I spent on it. I still had to switch to a 5.25" drop hitch and hit my driveway at a severe angle to make it not drag. I had a guy who did lifts on motor homes do it. First thing he had me do was get the axle aligned. After that, he put 2" lifting blocks on the axle with longer u-bolts and, to assure that I didn't pull it all apart if I dropped the trailer off the end of a ramp, he welded the pins in place. I dropped the trailer off the end of a ramp later that year and was happy I had paid someone to do it right. Again, for all the trouble I went to, the returns were small and the problem with a steep incline in the driveway persisted.

Rollers are the answer.

Dorsey used to sell a poly roller kit, which I bought from them when I bought my 98 with a Dorsey trailer. Obviously, you can't buy from them anymore, but it is something you can easily do yourself.

The wheels are 3" poly rollers, which I'm sure you could get at tractor supply. The brackets are steel and weld onto the prop guard. I have them mounted so that they hang just a fraction of an inch below the guard. You can hear them when they hit, but they protect the trailer and don't score the driveway like steel wheels do.

Yes, the low profile steel wheels are very nice looking compared to the poly rollers. But if you're trying to protect your driveway, take my advice and go with the larger, uglier poly wheels. The steel wheels will really chew things up.

You can see my big ugly green wheels in this picture.

[DanielC]

Does the trailer sit level with the tow vehicle, and loaded boat on level ground? If the hitch on the tow vehicle is high, the prop guard will be low.

[Texan1554]

I've read a lot on this... prop guard rollers seem the best option.

[cdrymalla]

Thanks for the input - I am aware of the drop hitch idea, and I already have the hitch lowered as much as I would like to do. It already drags the belly on steep ramps, and lowering it anymore would make that a bigger issue.

I am not as concered with general scraping whiule traliering, but with the specific instance of getting the prop guard over the lip in the garage/driveway - the 2" thick boards (probably more like 1.5-1.75) give me enough clearance to do that so that is why I think raising the trialer is the best option.

I know wheels have been suggested. While I agree they are a good option and I will probably try them, I am not trying to keep the guard off the pavement, but to help it get over the lip. To do this the wheel would have to sit low enough (or far enough back) that the wheel strikes the lip of the garage before the rear edge of the prop guard.

Any comments on selecting new leaf springs - they are cheap and I probably need some anyway, so that may be a good start.

[mdvalant]

I think this is a driveway fix rather than a trailer fix...

[cdrymalla]

I think this is a driveway fix rather than a trailer fix...

Haha - yeah no! I am not planning to cut the cement lip in the garage and if you see the driveway, you would understand that is not an option.

[east tx skier]

Try the leaf springs before the lift. Cheaper and will probably do the trick just fine. I used to do the board thing, too. Always wondered why that worked (3/4" board), but the 2" lift did not.

Let me know when you're ready to get rollers and I'll shoot you some pictures of the Dorsey setup.

[cdrymalla]

Try the leaf springs before the lift. Cheaper and will probably do the trick just fine. I used to do the board thing, too. Always wondered why that worked (3/4" board), but the 2" lift did not.

Let me know when you're ready to get rollers and I'll shoot you some pictures of the Dorsey setup.

Thanks. If you have any pictures you can send, that would be helpful...I am planning on doing the rollers anyway. Like I mentioned above, my only concern is ensuring that the rollers catch the lip of the driveway prior to the back edge of the prop guard - maybe I can just mount them back an extra 1" or so...

[Texan1554]

A heavy duty rubber piece cut at the angle needed along with the rollers might be your simplest sollution.

[chris196]

I went through this exact same thing.
See my thread from a few years ago:
http://www.planetnautique.com/vb3/sh...rance-question

unfortunately, the forum was switched to new software and the pics didn't make it over. I'll see if I can find them.

[chris196]

here are some pics of mine.
shows how I cut and raised the prop guard.
Also, the before and after of adding the lift kit.

[cdrymalla]

I went through this exact same thing.
See my thread from a few years ago:
http://www.planetnautique.com/vb3/sh...rance-question

unfortunately, the forum was switched to new software and the pics didn't make it over. I'll see if I can find them.

Thanks, all of the info is very helpful. I will look into the rollers and springs.

Chris,196 - You may have said this in your prior thread, but did you just cut the prop guard, bend it to be a bit more narrow so that it fit within the upper poriton that was not cut and, bolt it in? Also, did you have a piece of flat bar that ran front to back from the center of the prop guard, i.e., uner the prop shaft? If so, did that just flex upward as you moved the prop guard up?

[chris196]

Thanks, all of the info is very helpful. I will look into the rollers and springs.

Chris,196 - You may have said this in your prior thread, but did you just cut the prop guard, bend it to be a bit more narrow so that it fit within the upper poriton that was not cut and, bolt it in? Also, did you have a piece of flat bar that ran front to back from the center of the prop guard, i.e., uner the prop shaft? If so, did that just flex upward as you moved the prop guard up?

yes, I just cut it with an angle grinder and bent it inside the tab I left. Then drilled it and bolted it together. The center portion bends fairly easily. I've seen other brands of trailers where this will not work. the prop guard is beefier. But the dorsey works fine. It's also why I didn't go with rollers. That vertical member of the prop guard just doesn't look strong enough to me to support the weight of the boat. And the way the rollers attach, it seems like not all the force goes straight up, but some through the bottom bend. Anyway, that's my opinion and what I did worked great for me. I've included another pic to show the prop guard before I modified it.
I notice you're in Austin, as am I. If you'd like to see what I've done, drop me a PM and we can arrange a time.