Slippery Boat Ramps

[betursweetbass]

I tow my Ranger with a C/K 1500 Chevrolet Silverado pick up, and I have no shell or equipment on/in the back. Occassionally, I'll experience some wheel spinning when trying to tow the boat up the ramp. What kind of solutions have you guys heard of, or tried that would help in this case?
With gas prices as high as they are, adding weight to the back is not an option I'll consider, nor is buying "off road type" tires. Thanks for your tips ahead of time.

[nb1226]

Maybe you could try to climb the ramp at an angle or ask some folks to ride in your truck to give you some temporary weight.

[Rebbasser]

Try gently engaging the parking brake. It will distribute the pulling power over the two wheels. I also pull mine out of the water in low gear, and as nb said, if you have some folks standing around the ramp ask them to sit in the tailgate-the extra weight can make all the difference.

[carolina-rig-01]

i have a sixteen foot bass boat that i pull with my ford ranger ( 4 cyl ), my truck is a standard and if you kinda feather the clutch it has no problem. but if you are driving an automatic this won't help.

[bassthumb32]

Put It In 4 Wheel Drive

[pig n jig]

Trade boats with me. ,my tin can of a boat is no problem at the launches or towing. The Lady might give ya hell about cleaning up the used baits and old rusty hooks on the floor though. Don't know , try hauling a few empty 5 gallon buckets and fill them full of lake water for weight. then dump them after your boat is out of the ramp.I don't know guess you will have to buy a new tow vehicle ? P N J

[Rodman_Rob]

add a locker to the rear end.

[zooker]

less foot on the gas. your over tourquing the rear wheels. that or your tires are bald.. i launch at differant launchs all the time inculding a very steep one-flat swamp-i have never had any trouble pulling my stratos out of the water. i rarly spin the tires unless i hit pea gravel..
a camper shell won't help much as they are quite light -mine only weighs 75 pounds or so..

zooker

[bass kicker]

shift it into low gear or get a vehicle with front wheel drive

[bassnman30]

Unfortunately, there may be water on the ramp thats left by other boats. Thats a problem that really can't be solved.

[bass kicker]

bring a bag of sand with you to put on the ramp for extra traction

[JB]

moss is a big cultprit up here on the ramps, if you have to back way in to launch, many times its slippery...my tournament buddy and me used to pull a 86 Ranger with his ford ranger, we got the clutch hot on many times trying to get out , 4x4 is the best way to go if you can afford it, or just lock em in for the ramp only

[1FASTLASER]

Betueurbass
Dont feel bad buddy. There are several ramps around here that I have to use that are a pain in the bass to pull my boat out. I got all the power in the world available,new tires etc..etc.. What I do is try and backin where the ramps is dry when pulling her out for the day and if its steep I use the parking brake method. It does help with distributing the power to both wheels. I own a GMC stepside shortwheel base thats putting 395 to the rear wheels so power is not a problem. If I have a partner with me I use the outboard to help get the truck moving without wheel spin. Just put her in gear and give her some throttle and when the truck starts moving kill it and hit the trim. Works like a charm. My ex father inlaw used to burn up clutches beacause he couldnt pull a boat off the ramp without slipping the clutch till I showed him this little trick.

[betursweetbass]

Bag O Sand huh, ummmmm....not a bad idea, well, thanks guys for you tips and suggestions, I have tried the parking break method before, but guess I wasn't doing it right. If your interested, here's a link I found recently about something to use ...I may order a set.

http://www.lionsgrip.com/

Have a good weekend guys, lets' go fishin !!!

[kickinbass54]

what i would so is just let a few pounds of air our of my tires. Your tires are probably really hard so it gives it no give. So just let a few pounds out to give it some give lol.

[bass kicker]

at some of the ramps around here they have a gravel sand supply so you can throw it under your tires

[Rebbasser]

bsb, that is a good idea. Thanks for the link!

[lizardsrule]

I had something similiar once bsb. They will shoot out form your tires, and then you won't find them out in the water. Realy is a waste of money. I don't have any great ideas, unless putting a winch on the front of your truck is a option.

Lizards

[1FASTLASER]

Originally Posted by betursweetbass

Bag O Sand huh, ummmmm....not a bad idea, well, thanks guys for you tips and suggestions, I have tried the parking break method before, but guess I wasn't doing it right. If your interested, here's a link I found recently about something to use ...I may order a set.

http://www.lionsgrip.com/

Have a good weekend guys, lets' go fishin !!!

Thats one of the coolest ideas I have seen in awhile bsb. Never thought of something like that but I have been guilty of dragging lings and whatever I could get my hands on to get unstuck. Really gonna have to seriously think about getting a set of those. I aint go 4 wheel drive and I definatley see a need for them. Thanks buddy.

[Bender]

I am still debating weather or not to put a hitch on my VW Golf Diesel to pull my light boat around locally. It has tractions, electronic diff. lock, etc. but is only front wd so I am worried about getting stuck.
I have driven the truck when pulling my friend's 26' 7-8000lbs. boat out before. It was a new Chevy 2WD 1500 and when you don't light up the tires it actually got the boat out. The key is grip.

[bass kicker]

i was thinking about putting 1 one my ford escort to tow my small boat around but it costs to much

[Rodman_Rob]

I said it once and I'll say it again, one word "LOCKER". On a truck with an open diff, if one wheel starts spinning, the other wheel quits spinning and sending all the power to one wheel. A locker will allow each wheel to spin at the same rate, therefore both wheels will be turning getting traction instead of just one. For a common truck like a chevy you're looking at about $150-200 for an entry level locker (just pulling a boat out of a ramp will be sufficient), for $500-1000 you'll be looking at one of the best lockers money can buy (more for rock crawling).

[flbassman]

Locker like a truck box?

[Bender]

Like a Detroit locker in the differential: http://jawsgear.net/store/catalog/lockers.php?cPath=31
You can get electric and air lockers too. It keeps power going to both wheels instead of an open diff. If you have no money and don't care about your tires you can also weld your diff together.

[pig n jig]

Buy a shimano reel and throw it under the tire that spins. Make sure you use braided line, mono won't tolerate the abuse very well. Y'all got come alongs out there in Texas ?They are cheaper than a shimano and work better for getting a stuck vehicle out. P N J