Thread: Trailer Upgrades

As I age I am discovering that I need to slow down and think about things. Used to be I would see a large object needing lifted and I would just grab it and go, but now days I need to just slow down. I am considering my options more often. Like jumping out of the bed of the pickup truck, which still seems natural to do. Now I pause and decide it might be better to slither out. No sense in busting something. Besides all that pain, besides the loss of function, the costs are sky high for repairs. An entire industry is just waiting to prey on me should I accidentally break something. Who knew ?

So I decided after reading some recent threads here to make some upgrades to my trailer. There are two areas that could cause me to injure myself needlessly. Exiting the boat after driving it onto the trailer, and skinning along the slimy trailer. The other is cranking the boat fully onto the trailer. In my younger years I would laugh and climb around like a monkey, but now days I have to think.

There is a nice little ramp just down the street and the fishing in that lake is great. The ramp however is easily the steepest I have ever seen, which is why almost no one ever uses it. Launching is easy enough but landing gets tricky. The trailer cannot be backed into water to it’s regular depth as that results in the bow being well below the winch when I crank it in. So I must leave more trailer out of the water to align the boat properly, which means I am further away from the wide area where the frame sections meet near the winch. I have to skin my way along for several feet on a 2” wide slippery and now wet, factory slickened up section of aluminum frame. The reaching down from the boat to gain a foot hold is probably where I will make my mistake.

I can imagine slipping off, banging my knee and plunging into the frigid and icy waters of a Florida lake. Probably a big gator hanging out there just waiting for someone to fall in. So I made a calculation, pay for a side step thingie of some kind or pay for an ER visit and physical therapy sessions and such. Besides the pain, besides the loss of function, besides the pure embarrassment of arising from the below the surface wearing a wig of seaweed, the cost to fix ME will be astronomical.

Here she is coming in at $109.



6” x 30” all aluminum including the diamond plate surface and extends out and away from trailer frame 9”. I suspect I will be able to reach down to that with my aged toes. I know right where I will bolt that devil on, too. It fits frames up to 2” wide and 4” high. If your frame is larger you can call the Ve-Ve, Inc company as they have adapters to fit any size frame. Can be found on Amazon as well but you still pay shipping and the price is same. Holds 300 pounds. Matches my fenders.

Next issue is because that ramp is steep and the boat is barely on the trailer to begin with, cranking becomes an issue. I am still very strong however cranking that boat is tough. I even dip the bunks to get them wet then position the trailer. So I searched old threads here and found some discussions about this subject and one mentioned the Fulton F2 winch.

Coming in at 175 dollars, here she is.



It will make an excellent addition to my boating experiences. Two speeds, so a regular winching feel and then when things get tough, flip a switch to switch gears to put the power to her. Aluminum frame and fully enclosed it looks to be made to last. Comes in three weights- 1,000/2,000/3200 pounds. They figure that a 2,000 pound boat would need 1,000 pounds of winch as the boat is sliding on an angle. I figure differently and got the 3,200 pound model as I want the 2,000 boat to be landed if there is something really wrong at a some wilderness ramp and I need the power. Pricing is all over the place on this item so be sure to look around real good.

As with anything in life, there are tradeoffs. The regular gear will be like cranking a regular winch, however switching down to power up will require more revolutions. No issue for me, but thought I should mention. The handle is adjustable in length and can be mounted to either the right or left hand sides.

I could see me eventually wrenching my shoulder using the stock winch, or simply doing like everyone else did and finding another lake to fish. So if my shoulders are good to go, and I haven’t tweaked my knee, and my hait remains free of vegetation and snails and such, I might actually be motivated to do some fishing. I will be more likely to load the boat and go if the ramp is close and if I know I do not have to overcome some evil obstacle course as well as a strong man contest. So these are two upgrades that I see as well worth the money spent and now I can spend my time worrying about other things. Like someone stealing them…..Hah.


Keep in mind injuries rob you of so much that we never really consider how life would be different, until we are stuck with a bum knee or a sore shoulder. My next upgrade will probably be something more fun.

No doubt that fishing is the easiest part of going fishing. Maybe these yak guys have it figured out.

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