Roller vs bunk for fisherman 222

[UncleMike]

Hi all,
Need a new trailer for a fisherman 222. Trying to decide between roller or bunk. Looking to do more trailering to new locations around New England so ramps would vary. A large portion of time, would be launching with just me and 14year old son, so the roller is attractive for semi-solo use. Curious what other members recommend or use.

 

[SeanC]

For launching and retrieving solo I prefer the bunk trailer for my 228.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

I’ve owned both and prefer bunks as well. I also have a 228 Seafarer.

 

[Pfu]

Like the bunks for peace of mind. Recently saw boat with rollers land in back of truck when stopping quickly. Could be a host of other things but for me will take bunk every time.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

My previous boat was a 21' Arima, of which I was on the Arima owner's forum for quite sometime before I ended up selling that boat. During that time I was on there, I remember the story of a guy that bought a brand new roller trailer for his boat. As he was backing it in at the boat launch, he took the safety chain off before the boat/trailer were in the water and the boat ended up on the concrete boat ramp.

 

[TMANN]

I'll never own another roller trailer. They do have some advantages, but I got tired of having roller issues.

 

[Hookup1]

I like my bunk trailer. I feel it's better for the boat. But I don't splash it. Because of my 1,300 mile trip each way to Florida in the winter I pay the marina to pull it off and put it back on. This trailer has never been wet.

If I were dropping my boat in at a ramp I liked my old roller trailer better. Easier to get the boat on and off. But I sold it because all 3 axels were rotted from the inside out.

As far as premature launches that is an operator error. I have one of them on my resume at Smith Mountain lake.

 

[luckydude]

One more vote for bunks. This topic came up before, I said bunks, and some wiser person did have a decent argument for rollers but I don't remember what it was. Nevermind, I found it. Rollers are better in shallow water. So imagine a lake launch and the lake gets deeper very slowly, you have to back your truck into the lake to float the boat off. Not ideal.

But unless you have the shallow launch problem, bunks are the way to go.

 

[seasick]

I have both. In general I prefer bunks but the ramp I use in NY has a decent slope. On the other boat, the ramp is slopped less and rollers make it easy to winch up the boat snug when hauling.
My advice is to take a look at what other folks are using at the areas you would be launching.
Note also, that some manufacturers specify tha trailers be bunks and not rollers. That is not an issue for Gradys