New to me 2016 Nitro Z7 !!

[Petroman]

I picked up this boat at Ron Hoover boat sales in Breckenridge, TX. 150hp Mercury Optimax Pro XS, Minnkota Ultrex spot lock trolling motor.
We are loving it… except for one problem…
When we try to trailer the boat we have to back the trailer so far down the ramp that the trailer is completely submerged and my truck bumper is touching the water and my mufflers are gurgling…
I added a 3-inch drop hitch to my truck and that helped a little but I still have to back down almost as far. And the front of the boat still raises up off the bunk boards slightly when the boat is hooked to the winch. Is that normal??
My winch stand is 12 1/2 inches tall and most other Nitro trailers are half of that height.
I’ve ordered an adjustable 9-12 inch winch stand and I hope that helps.
It’s pretty hard to get the boat straight on the trailer when the trailer is out of sight!!
I’m probably going to add boat guides to my trailer!!!
Anyone else having issues like this???

 

[Springfieldguy]

Hi there;
Welcome to the world of Nitro "Shortie trailer tongues." Great for folding/storage in tight places. Unlike Shorelandr, E-Z etc, the length on the Nitro tongues are just short for effortless boat retrieval. That said, we always ensure the trailer is backed into the water with the top of the tires just showing above the surface. Or, with the wheel fender tops just out of the water.
For us, the Mrs. drives the boat onto the trailer. I stand there, my feet just in water to attach the Bow Hook and perhaps a foot of cranking the winch.
Of coarse as stated previously, we spray the bunks with silicone every-other time or so. Makes it so-much easier both ways. Just remember, On Launch,
always, always, keep the winch strap hook Hooked until the boat transom is over the water. Then unlatch the hook and back the boat off the trailer.
That's just our way for 50+ years.

 

[Petroman]

Hi there;
Welcome to the world of Nitro "Shortie trailer tongues." Great for folding/storage in tight places. Unlike Shorelandr, E-Z etc, the length on the Nitro tongues are just short for effortless boat retrieval. That said, we always ensure the trailer is backed into the water with the top of the tires just showing above the surface. Or, with the wheel fender tops just out of the water.
For us, the Mrs. drives the boat onto the trailer. I stand there, my feet just in water to attach the Bow Hook and perhaps a foot of cranking the winch.
Of coarse as stated previously, we spray the bunks with silicone every-other time or so. Makes it so-much easier both ways. Just remember, On Launch,
always, always, keep the winch strap hook Hooked until the boat transom is over the water. Then unlatch the hook and back the boat off the trailer.
That's just our way for 50+ years.

Springfield Guy,
My trailer has a folding tongue and I have put a 3” drop hitch in place to help lower the front of the boat.
I wish I could only back down the ramp leaving the tops of the fenders exposed. However, the tops of my fenders are 18 to 20 inches under water in order for me to be able to trailer my boat.
The worst part is that the boat becomes very hard to center on the trailer and often it’s crooked upon pulling up the ramp.
Therefore I’m searching for boat guides that I can attach to the rear of my trailer. And since I have a long step behind my fender, I’ll have to route the guide bars through or under the steps.
If anyone reads this thread and has any experience or suggestions, please let me know.
Thank you.

 

[Springfieldguy]

Hi friend;
We purchased our 40" Roller Guides from E-trailer.com.
Not too expensive, easy to install and work great. First couple of times the Mrs. drove on the trailer, they were put to the test!
No issues. Now they guide her. Aim between the posts and the boat is centered between the center bunks. The company is located West of St. Louis Mo. Check them out. Check the width needed to clear your rear steps to the roller bunk arm width. Check the customer photos. One mounted the Guide arms On Top of the trailers' channels and across the steps.

In order to launch your boat, the trailer/tires must be some 18 to 20 inches below waterline? I am confused at the moment.
Your single-axle trailer is very similar to ours under the Z17. A shallow landing would put your tires/fenders way above the water. A deep landing may put your tires/fenders way below the water. With your tires/fenders under the water at that depth, you boat should float off the trailer (easily).
I have to just jerk the boat off the trailer with a quick inches-back-up of the truck. Any photos of the rear of the boat on your trailer?
Some possible sort of hang-up. Thanks.

 

[Springfieldguy]

Just thought of this:
What kind of Bow Latch do you have on the trailer? Just a Bow stop roller against the Bow eye?
Or could it be a Latch type? (Drotto)
Reason being, it sounds like your Bow is being held in place while the stern floats up until the bow releases from the Stop.
ie. With the boat deeper in the water, the whole boat now floats with the bow now higher and free of the Stop.
Just a thought.

 

[DONAOL]

Springfield Guy,
My trailer has a folding tongue and I have put a 3” drop hitch in place to help lower the front of the boat.
I wish I could only back down the ramp leaving the tops of the fenders exposed. However, the tops of my fenders are 18 to 20 inches under water in order for me to be able to trailer my boat.
The worst part is that the boat becomes very hard to center on the trailer and often it’s crooked upon pulling up the ramp.
Therefore I’m searching for boat guides that I can attach to the rear of my trailer. And since I have a long step behind my fender, I’ll have to route the guide bars through or under the steps.
If anyone reads this thread and has any experience or suggestions, please let me know.
Thank you.

Have the 2021 Nitro Z19 Sport and just purchased this winter a Honda Ridgeline. Had problems loading my boat onto the trailer, because the bow kept hitting under the front bow stop. Tried different tow bar drops. Mostly had problems at steeper ramps. Ended up raising the front of the trailer bunk with a 1” board. The wench base is not adjustable so I could not lower the wench. Pretty much fixed the issue.

 

[Petroman]

Just thought of this:
What kind of Bow Latch do you have on the trailer? Just a Bow stop roller against the Bow eye?
Or could it be a Latch type? (Drotto)
Reason being, it sounds like your Bow is being held in place while the stern floats up until the bow releases from the Stop.
ie. With the boat deeper in the water, the whole boat now floats with the bow now higher and free of the Stop.
Just a thought.

My problem is not in launching the boat so much as trailering it.
My trailer came with the standard hand cranked winch and strap.
I recently installed a Boat-2-Trailer latch that stands at the same height as my bow roller did.
But I did a thing…
I unbolted my winch stand and removed it to see if my boat bow would drop any without the winch stand and latch in place and it really did not. Maybe a half inch or so.
I thought maybe my winch stand was too high, but I guess not.
I’m looking at getting some sort of roller guides and hopefully that will help with the problem of centering the boat before pulling up the ramp.
I really love the Boat-2-trailer latch system since all you have to do is pull up the latch release lever and it releases the boat. You can do this while in the boat.
Then when it comes time to trailer it again you just drive in and it automatically latches on to the bow hook and you’re ready to kill the motor and trim up and pull up the ramp.
I’ll keep trying different things until I get it figured out…
Thanks everyone for your input!!

Just thought of this:
What kind of Bow Latch do you have on the trailer? Just a Bow stop roller against the Bow eye?
Or could it be a Latch type? (Drotto)
Reason being, it sounds like your Bow is being held in place while the stern floats up until the bow releases from the Stop.
ie. With the boat deeper in the water, the whole boat now floats with the bow now higher and free of the Stop.
Just a thought.

 

[Petroman]

Have the 2021 Nitro Z19 Sport and just purchased this winter a Honda Ridgeline. Had problems loading my boat onto the trailer, because the bow kept hitting under the front bow stop. Tried different tow bar drops. Mostly had problems at steeper ramps. Ended up raising the front of the trailer bunk with a 1” board. The wench base is not adjustable so I could not lower the wench. Pretty much fixed the issue.

Danaol,
That’s something I could certainly try pretty easily.
Thanks for the suggestion !!

 

[Scott Dahlberg]

I have a Z-7 Sport 2014, I tried the Drotto boat latch, but it actually made it harder to get boat back on the trailer. The front of the boat is too flat. To get the Drotto to work right I had to put the trailer it too deep for the bunks to keep it straight.
I went back to the original plastic roller. Driving it on works great on some launches, and on others I just have to get my feet wet.