My buddy has one on his boat trailer it works out great. Most often he is in the boat and I back him in. His has a rope to release it when he is in the right amount. Then I think it’s auto reset. When he drives on it latches and I can pull him out. I think if alone could pull the rope from back of truck slide boat off?
I’ll ask him which brand and his thoughts. When I catch up with him next. He leaves for a few months during cold weather season.
Update-Placed order this morning, total $305.98 with $15.99 shipping & no tax. Decided to go with short handle. ![]()
Friend has one , I noticed it can be a little tricky getting it to latch . Also watched a guy two weeks ago at Strawberry on the boat ramp take two or three stabs at it before it latched , noticed him looking over the bow to make sure .It looked a bit awkward . I am sure some are better than others getting lined up .
Bought my dad one a few years ago money well spent in my opinion. We did have to move the winch forward a bit to get the boat all the way on the trailer.
I’ve got the Drotto latch on my trailer and it works well. One thing you need to know is that you need to float the boat before the latch will release so you need to back the trailer much further in to the water than without a latch system. Boat doesn’t just slide off the bunks but has to float up so the latch can release.
Roger, did you get the Drotto? I had Rogers PM install one on my new Lund purchase last Spring. I have the long handle. The boat release is flawless. I can reach it from inside the bow of the boat without issue. The trailer must be in far enough such that the back of the boat rises every so slightly from the trailer bunks. When retrieving the boat, the trailer should be backed in such that you must apply engine power to move it forward on the bunks and engage the Drotto latch. Trust me, it gets easier with each repetition.
One thing you should pay close attention to is this: do NOT leave the handle attached during travel to and from the lake. It can bounce up and down and release the latch. The boat isn’t going to come off the trailer during travel, but you may get a surprise the next time you launch when the boat floats away from the trailer before you were ready to board.
That was stated in my manual. Maybe it doesn’t apply to a short handle. Check to make sure.
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I launch with a 40-ft rope from the trailer to the bow eye. Back in, bump the brakes, and off she floats. Then I EASE forward until the boat gets pulled right to the ramp edge. From there, I walk it to the courtesy dock.
For retrieval, I power onto the bunks until I touch or almost touch the winch roller. At that point, I do have to climb down into the water to winch it tight. If it’s cold, I put on boots when I go fetch my vehicle. I fish solo, so I’d have to get wet to pull out, regardless.
Just received my Boat2Trailer latch today. A tweener project amonst other projects to install since the others are not up in the schedule yet.
So Rodger what do you think of it? I replaced my boat with a bigger one last year and hated climbing over the front of it so i put a Boat 2 trailer latch on it and love it. I got the long handle one because I fish 90% of the time alone. I use it 4 to 5 times a week and haven’t had any problems with it. It did take a few times of using it to get the angle set right.
I’ve used it 2wice, the first time was install and next was installing locks. Haven’t used it enough to get use to it, yet. Having to get trailer set in a different position will come in time finding the sweet position. I do like it so far
Ran across another boater at E Canyon 2 days ago who had a latch system to trailer his boat with. So I looked up the website from a decal that was on his latching kit. Since I’m a loner for most trips I make, I found this would be perfect for when I release or trailer the boat. The company that designed this has a 6-step questionnaire to determine if it will work for my boat. My decision is positive in the purchase but where I’m stuck at is the type of handle to get.
1st of all, the long handle comes supplied with an extension (if needed) so the boat can be released from trailer after backing into the water by going to the bow while in the boat to release or attaching a long rope. The latch system resets automatically for when the boat is trailered, and driver can pull boat out of water to attach winch strap & safety chain.
2nd of all, this is where I’m stuck, as a loner I have always backdown to the water’s edge and removed safety chain & released winch strap. The next option is I can get a short handle which when selected comes with actually 2 short handle, one is for manual release at the water’s edge & reset is manually made after pulling trailer out of water or an automatic reset handle, but release happens after boat is in the water just like the long handle.
3rd of all, I’ve been leaning towards the short handle to release at water’s edge like I have always done. What I like is no more leaning over bow to attach winch strap, no crawling in back of truck to attach strap, or wading. BTW, I have also seen videos in the past of the Aussies advertising a similar system. The short handles are not interchangeable with the long handle kits or visa-versa.
Finally, Made in America
They must have had seniors in mind for this. ![]()