trolling motor too? put on a 46 lb thrust minn kota endura along with the outboard. (the bass hunter has just the trolling motor)

No offense to anyone,

but my opinion is to forget the front hitch. You don't need it, it won't teach you to drive with a trailer, and you will have to be good with the trailer eventually to maneuver many boat ramps.

It's not that hard in the end, if you look around you, go slow, and pay attention.

I wouldn't spend $3 to put a hitch on the front of your truck because all it's going to do is add more confusion to the equation.

I do not have an outboard motor. I have trolling motors.

I am just going to have to hook the trailer up and practice backing up the boat. I need to find a bicycle flag or something to stick on the boat while I practice. The boat is not able to be seen with my side mirrors. I can barely see it out of the rear view.

I usually drop my tailgate to see better when backing my boat.

I agree with Mike, but be careful that your tailgate doesn't have a chance to hit the trailer.

I also agree with Dave that you need to learn to back that trailer. The hitch on the front is fine, but what if someone blocks you in a parking lot? If you're going to drive the trailer down the road, you've got to be prepared to handle backing it up.

My tip on learning to back it is to remember that you're "pushing" the trailer. Don't try to memorize which way to turn the wheel, that will just confuse you. Go find a big, empty parking lot and spend an hour at a time learning how the trailer reacts to your steering inputs. Go slowly and be patient with yourself. Start with the trailer straight behind you and make small movements with the wheel. If the trailer gets too far out of your control, stop and pull up to straighten it and start over. Just like a cast you've lost control over, you have to stop and start over, especially when you're new.

Over-correcting is a common trailer newbie mistake. Backing a trailer is a lot like fly casting: it requires a lot of feel an intuitive reaction that can only be acquired via hours of practice. Good luck.

Thanks for the advice. I will do some practice before long. I think tomorrow I am going to spray another type primer on the wood transom and spray paint the boat. I have thought about replacing that wood, and with the money issues and stuff, I have talked myself out of replacing it. I still have to get at least one battery. I had wanted a back up battery. But the money ran out about 3 weeks ago. So, I will go with what I have. Once it is painted on the inside, my friend can do the wood seats. I will need to cut the styrofoam and glue some of it together to make it work right for the inside of the seat. I have not done that yet because I didn't want any spray of primer or paint to get on it.

I think the hardest thing for new people to backing a trailer is learning to follow the trailer. What I mean is that once you have the trailer STARTING TO TURN, you must reverse YOUR wheels to FOLLOW THE TRAILER around the curve you want it to make. Also it doesn't take much distance to get a trailer turning, before you need to follow it. The shorter the trailer is, the quicker it turns, so the quicker you must follow it.

Another way to think about it is think about you picking up the tongue and trying to turn the trailer. To do so you push sideways, but must then quickly get in front of the trailer and push straight for it to go in the direction you turned it to. If you don't the trailer keeps turning. Reversing your wheels and getting in front of the trailer or (following the trailer) is what I am referring to when you are backing.

I know guys that can hop in a truck and back down a drive way (or narrow ramp) only using their mirrors, & I know guys (like me) that have to turn around & look behind operating the pedals & steering wheel by feel. Try it out on a empty parking lot before ya go to the ramp. I just takes time & common sense.. ditto on the no need for a front hitch.

I wish most boaters coming to a ramp had a front hitch. It would double the number of boats that could be launched and recovered. How many times do you just want to walk over to some clowns rig, grab him out of the drivers seat and back the rig for him???

I have that reaction occasionally, but I try to do the same exercise that I use in the car these days. Instead of getting upset, I think back to the last stupid thing that I did in the car or the boat that caused me to have to give the "my bad" wave to someone. That usually gives me a bit more patience. You can also always offer to help, sometimes folks will take it and sometimes they won't, but if you offer it in good faith it is almost always taken in good humor.

The last time I went out in my boat I had to wait on a husband and wife. The husband was having her back the boat in and she didn't do it right the first time which resulted in him getting angry at her and backing it in himself. I'll bet that was a fun day of fishing for all parties involved. I used that time to double check the things that you think you'll never forget like the drainplug and winches.

Later that day when I came back to load there was a gentleman who was loading his boat alone and had to make two passes to get it on the trailer. I asked if he needed help and he politely refused. After he pulled out of the water I backed in and managed to get my rear passenger tires off in the grass. When I tried to pull up I just spun on top of the ground. That same gentleman walked over and asked if I needed help. I ended up getting it out with a little creative 9 point turn. I'm sure that fellow would have probably offered to help me anyway, but I think we would all have a more pleasant time on the lake if we looked for a way to help a fellow fisherman, even if they are using some weird system that relies on the weight of the lure to make a cast.

With all that being said, Yucca, you're right, there are a lot of folks who could do with some more training vis a vis pulling a trailer, and not just at the boat ramp. I notice a lot of folks are scared of semi trucks on the highway. I tend to be a lot more weary of U-Hauls and big RVs than I do semis just because I know most truckers understand how to handle their rigs, but I'm not so sure of the fellow from New Jersey who is driving a 24' van and pulling a trailer with his Accord on it for the first time.

Like they used to say on Hill Street Blues: "Let's be careful out there."

What he said!
+1
Time, patience and practice, lot like learning to tie fly's, you get better every time. (remember my Nutria Fly)

Run.

Well thanks for all the advice. I wonder how long it will take me to learn to go in reverse worth a flip, with the trailer connected. Well this ought to be interesting anyway...LOL.

You will learn. Just take it easy and maybe try to launch the first couple of times when it isn't busy busy busy.

Another suggestion for backing is to have your hand grip the steering wheel on the bottom of the wheel. That way you turn the wheel the direction you want the trailer to go. Try it - it works.

Its very easy once you get the hang of it. Trust me if you practice every once in a while, you will be 100% better then most people out there. I have seen some people at the launch who should just pay someone to launch it for them.