Other (Truck) Ski launch system with boat attached

b.lee

b.lee

Team Cheeseburger
Location
Lapeer County, MI
Well the GF always wants to take the boat out and I'm sick of leaving the skis behind. (SJ and X2)
I want to take one ski with us so I have something to mess around on.

So I'm curious if anyone has done this before (with a boat attached) or if anyone has any ideas.
The boat is a 18.5ft bowrider, I'm not looking to disconnect the boat trailer at all. The boat launch is small and disconnecting/reconnecting the trailer is a pain in the rear.

I was planning on buying an electric winch because I'm lazy and plus it should speed up the loading and unloading of the ski.

I'm thinking of a semi permanent structure/ramp with a slide out extension to reach the water.. maybe on a 30 or 45 degree angle, that points out the tailgate and to the extreme right side of the bed.
I need some type of design that will allow me to launch the boat and the ski at the same time.
So after the boat is off the trailer I can just put the tailgate down, pull out the ramp extension, reverse the winch and the ski will slide off to the right hand side of the boat trailer into the water. (tailgate can stay down all the time if needed.. or I can take it off completely)

Any help would be appreciated... I know the whole truck ramp thing has been beat to death, I tried to search but not getting the results I'm looking for.
 
swapmeet

swapmeet

Brotastic
Location
Arlington TX
Would you want to launch it after you've launched your boat? You could add some bunks to the middle of your trailer and slide it down that way... have extensions from the bed to the bunks? I guess if you have a hand crank jack for the trailer that might not work.
 
b.lee

b.lee

Team Cheeseburger
Location
Lapeer County, MI
swapmeet said:
Would you want to launch it after you've launched your boat? You could add some bunks to the middle of your trailer and slide it down that way... have extensions from the bed to the bunks? I guess if you have a hand crank jack for the trailer that might not work.
Click to expand...

Ya, I usually unhook the boat and back in... boat floats off, GF has the boat on a rope and moves it out of the way.

I like your idea of adding some bunks to the middle of the trailer but it is pretty far underwater after the boat is launched.
And yes, there is a hand crank strap and hand crank jack on the trailer ... so going to the right side might be the best option. The lake we frequent has one boat launch and the dock is on the left hand side of the boat ramp. (why I keep thinking the right hand side is my best option)
 
MCrider

MCrider

Location
Jackson MI
If the trailer is already deep under why not just launch just off center to miss the bow stop for the boat?
 
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b.lee

b.lee

Team Cheeseburger
Location
Lapeer County, MI
MCrider said:
If the trailer is already deep under why not just launch just off center to miss the bow stop for the boat?
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure the ski would still hit the outside frame rail of the boat trailer. It's a wide beam boat so the frame rails on the trailer are a little bit wider.
Maybe it would work tho...I would have to hook up the trailer and take some measurements.

My idea is a ramp that is fixed at a 30 or 45 degree angle so gravity will help me unload the ski, but instead of the ramp pointing straight back, it would sit more diagonal in the bed. So the front of the ski would be on the drivers side, and the rear of the ski would be pointing out of the passenger side of the bed. Then some slide out rails that would extend into the water
 
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aytee

aytee

Location
south dakota
this would require some engineering and fabrication but i think it would work... could you make like a hitch hauler type deal on the front of the boat trailer? make it removeable(so you can turn going down the road) just 2 rails that you can pull onto then spin the back of the ski into the bed of the pickup and pull it into the box from there? this would require removal of the tailgate then just slide it off the side of the trailer and back on after riding... or make a ramp at an angle off the trailer to come out of the box into the water at an angle with the tailgate removed.... just tossin around ideas to get some gears turning.. i have never done anything like it so not sure for sure....
 
mthomps

mthomps

Location
Cleveland
I have a similar problem when my family takes the boat out. Only one vehicle with a hitch so the ski goes off it's trailer and in to the back of the jeep. Then after the boats in the water I have to park, disonnect the trailer, then beg people to help me lift the 300+ pound superjet in to the water. I won't miss a day of a boat wake surfing so I just gotta deal...

Could you make a beach cart that's level with the tail gate and just slide the ski on to it from one side?
 
aytee

aytee

Location
south dakota
deftons56 said:
Hitch hauler with a hitch. Easy.
Click to expand...

would all depend on boat and trailer set up... i know some you can't lift the tongue of the trailer.. some that you can lift with a finger... too much tongue weight would be a big problem.. if the trailer is light on the tongue it would work long as your main beam is strong enough to hold it...
 
M

Mcote1230

Location
CT
What about a hitch hauler behind the boat? Back into water...remove ski...remove hitch hauler....remove boat? Load in reverse order
 
Vumad

Vumad

Super Hero, with a cape!
Location
St. Pete, FL
Buy a trailer for a 22-24' boat and put it on the front of the trailer. Set the boat back to counter the weight of the ski. Put a beach kart in the bed of the truck.

You are over engineering it and going to spend a lot of money.

If you are going to over engineer, at least do something good, like build a rack on the back of the boat opposite the ladder and carry the ski on the boat. Launch boat, go to ride spot, launch ski from boat.

The easiest solution is to go with the bigger trailer, but if you are going to spend a bunch of money making some crazy contraption, don't go with the off center bed mount that is going to be a hassle on the end anyway.
 
Vumad

Vumad

Super Hero, with a cape!
Location
St. Pete, FL
Twinturbostang said:
holy :):):):) $500!?!?!?!?
ours is twice as strong and half the price! And yes if you want you can dril a hole for a pin put in a htch and pull a trailer behind the Rad Dudes Hauler.

http://www.raddudesfi.com/raddudesfi.com/Part_-_Hitch_Hauler.html
Click to expand...

I think it's amusing that you guys won't drill these holes and do the set up for an extra fee, because you don't want to be in the position of liability in the event of failure, but then recommend the modification with directions as a selling point like that doesn't make you libel. It makes no difference if you design it like that or not. You lose the defense the moment the civil attourney says 'so you wouldn't sell it like that because you felt it was dangerous, but you told my client to do it themselves with inadequate knowledge and tool set." You're better off just setting it up and saying 'don't exceed 500lbs' than you are saying 'we didn't do it because its not safe, but well tell you how to be unsafe if it makes you want to buy the product'. Silly IMHO.
 
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