www.iFourWinns.com

Several of us have had issues with the trailer / bow eye while loading. The main issue is getting the bow eye in-between the double rollers. I have this mastered at ramps that i know but even the trailer depth and angle is critical. I don't want to get into problems loading on steep ramps which I know can be an issue. I know of one person that had to take his 230 across the lake to another ramp just to load it properly at LOTO. My mechanical mind has struggled with this for months but I think I know what is going on.

While searching the Four Winns parts pages I noticed the 230/240 Horizon has double roller brackets labeled as "small". Looking at the H260 the brackets are labeled "large". The difference between the small and large brackets is actually length versus size. I have often thought if I had a double roller bracket a little longer I would not have the issue with the bow eye hanging up under the bottom roller. So in my mind the large/longer bracket is the solution.

I contacted two sources for pricing on the large/longer brackets and after several days I received replies. My experiment will cost about $90.00 for the two large brackets. I will order them and post a follow-up after testing them out.

Additionally, I have been watching pics of boats on the forum and others noticing some 230/240 horizons have the large brackets and some have the small. I even noticed some Vista's with small brackets and they should definitely have the large/longer.

I called Four Winns to talk tech stuff about this but they seem to be closed for a few weeks in the middle of the summer. ????

P.S. Another thing I noticed is there is no standard for winch strap orientation. My strap (and many others) exits the top of the winch and I have seen many on here that exit the bottom as well. That makes me wonder which is the right orientation???? I remeber one post (sorry I forgot who) modified their brackets so they were longer/larger.

So do you have the right size brackets for your trailer? Some come with the black rollers and others come with the gold ones. Here are some pics of the two bracket part numbers off Four Winns. Sort of hard to visually tell the length difference but the large or long bracket is about 2 inches longer than the 005-0465.

Excellent post! I'll be looking forward to your results. Here's mine:



However, I've never seen a Horizon with the longer bracket. Have you seen one? Any concerns about whether the lower roller would still land on the bow plate with the longer bracket?

_________________


Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

I'm pretty sure I have the longer bracket on my trailer....

I hate this setup! Like you the bow eye gets jammed against the bottom roller which I usually just winch harder until it pulls through which has caused damage to the roller! I also have two clamshell drains that are all bent out of shape because of the rollers (and the top roller is chewed) and the roller always seem to leave marks on the hull

I have been thinking for a while about completely re-engineering this setup but haven't had time to seriously sit down and think it through. A custom stainless bow scuff plate will be the first thing to add.....

_________________
Marc, Kathlin & Nathalie


'89 Chaparral Laser 32

'93 Vista 245, 5.8L w/ King Cobra

Former Boats
'01 H260, 7.4 VP Duoprop
'98 H200, 5.0 GL w/VP SX drive

230Mike - Any concerns about whether the lower roller would still land on the bow plate with the longer bracket?

I do have that concern and that's why I called FW to get the hole to hole dimensions but they are closed right now so I'm told. It appears to me the brackets will be about 2 inches longer but since the over raduis is different I'm not sure how they will land on the scuff plate.

Maybe someone that has the longer/larger brackets can take a measurement for us. I may not be able to order them for another week or so until FW opens back up.

If anyone has pics of their set-up it would be great if you post it like Mike did so we can all make some comparisons.

Although I have a 220 Horizon, my bracket setup is identical to Mike's.

_________________
Paul
2007 Four Winns Horizon 220
Mercruiser 350 Mag MPI w/ Bravo III Drive
2004 Ford Explorer Limited (V8-AWD)
Pomme de Terre Lake (Southwest Missouri)

FWFord,
Out of interest, do you leave the rollers in their "resting" position when putting your boat back on the trailer?What happens when you have the bow rollers vertical?

After living through the same frustration with my bow-eye snagging the lower roller, I have found that starting with the rollers vertical is the single most important aspect of retreiving my FS214.

Erik

_________________
2002 Funship 214
VP 5.7 GX Si
2003 Tahoe

Gordon was nice enough to send me some pics of his roller set-up with the large/long roller brackets on his 268V. I reallt think they will work nicely on my 230/240 but we will see.

I have my rollers in the vertical position as well. That does help alot but sometimes the eye still catches the lower side of the lower roller and I have to winch over the roller with a lot of force. Over time it has gouged the roller in several places.

Thanks
Ben

OK - so it only took 8 weeks to get the parts from FW. I received them today. I primed and painted the new large roller brackets and then put them on. I have no doubt that I will never have the loading issue that was experienced in the past. There is no way the bow eye will end up under the lower roller when loading and the bow eye will not hang up on the lower roller when launching.

I realize the lower roller doesn't rest on the SS bow eye scuff plate but to me the lower roller never left any marks anyway.

I also replaced the rollers with a softer material made by Stoltz. Plus in general they are made better.

The larger roller brackets have a stop welded on them (see last pic) so that when the boat is launched the weight of the longer roller assy drops the rollers down only so far (straight vertical). That way the roller assy is always in the vertical position when laoding the boat. If you haven't had this problem you will not understand what the heck I am talking about!!!

If you are interested in part numbers or whatever let me know.

I had the same problem on my 220 and rigged up a link to hold the bow roller bracket down during loading. It is a bit of a pain but I never had a loading issue since.

I posted my mods here last year but the longer brackets seem like a simpler solution if you don't mind the lower roller off of the scuff plate. Maybe time for me to make some new plates and give it a try.

Steve

Nice job!

_________________


Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

I am VERY interested in ordering a longer bracket. Please send part numbers so I can order them from FW's!!! Hopefully, it won't take 8 weeks though!!!!

_________________
2008 H220 Frenzy - 5.7L VP SX Drive
2013 Tahoe LTZ Tow Vehicle (admiral's ride)
2011 Ford F150 XLT Ecoboost Tow Vehicle

I have read through all these posts and am convinced it will solve the problems with some boats at some ramps. However, there will still be ramps out there that will cause issues. I have one ramp that I use very sparingly (once a summer just out of convenience at a particular launch site) that caused problems with my H260 and now my SL262. Both have the longer brackets so there is not much I can do. At this one ramp not only can you not winch the boat on but you come to a point when winching that the winch handle cannot clear the bow so you have to stop. So, I have to get the boat on as far as I can, then pull the truck out several feet to get the angle a bit better, then I have to use the motor to drive the boat on the rest of the way. C'est la vie sometimes.

As for the SS Scuff plate? All that seemed to do was chew up rollers faster than normal. That is why I ordered my SL262 without it!

_________________
2009 SL262, Merc 8.1L HO 425 HP With
Bravo III "X" Drive and DTS Smart Tow

Part # 005-1070 times two

I found out my parts took so long because I ordered a can of paint from them which they were out of.

Try this source that I used, they should be close to you or they will drop ship. They were $10.00 less each than other FW dealers I called. 217.229.3012

We launched this weekend and had absolutely no issues. I agree with slman that deep ramps (steep drop) will cause the winch handle to not clear the bow. I don't look forward to that situation.

Hey FWFord's, I called that phone number you shared but no one ever answers and no answering machine. Any other on-line stores who might have them?

Thanks

_________________
2008 H220 Frenzy - 5.7L VP SX Drive
2013 Tahoe LTZ Tow Vehicle (admiral's ride)
2011 Ford F150 XLT Ecoboost Tow Vehicle