If I were to fit a limited slip differential to my Hiace would it help it get up slippery boat ramps? Or do I actually need a locker to do that?

ikw777 said..
If I were to fit a limited slip differential to my Hiace would it help it get up slippery boat ramps? Or do I actually need a locker to do that?

Boat ramps are generally pretty symmetric, left side just as slippery as right side (or is that port and starboard?), there's usually not much twist in the ramp that would unweight one of the driven wheels. So neither of those diffs would help much at all. Put down 2 rolls of carpet long enough to be weighted by the front wheels on the dry section of the ramp.

thedrip said..
Get a compressor and let your front tyres down to 12-16psi. Then five minutes or less to reair. Diff locker won't work real well for the reason given above and if you get an automatic (read cheaper) diff locker then it will make all sorts of weird noises on road which get annoying.

Don't you mean rear tyres?

Get some bags on sand and put them in the back over the rear wheels. Extra weight will help with traction.
Won't always be enough but Ive had slippery days were 2 guys standing on the tow hitch makes all the difference.

Many years ago my tow car was a morris minor 1500, front wheel drive, we just got the mates to sit on the front guards.
And to add to that we sometimes left a mate in the boat and he powered up the motor to help push up the ramp. Always good for a laugh

So just add weight to back of your van, or as climber said, draw bar extension, if you have a good solid jockey wheel a 5 metre length of rope (or what ever length you need to keep out of the slippery stuff) will do the trick to both launch and retrieve, as was the way it was done with the old wooden clinker ski boats when trailers didn't have winched and we floated the boat onto the submerged trailer.



A great idea is a spare wheel, hub, bearing etc on a swing away bracket that can be used at the ramp or beach











Or just go to a better boat ramp

Get some tips from these guys. They seem to have it figured out.

myusernam said..
no need for sandbags, simply move your trailer axle/s more rearward to increase your towball weight. just add a fair bit and you wont have an issue

100% agree. I used to have a vl towing a 16ft f/glass boat and had the same issue.
I moved the boat way forward but it became to heavy on the highway and had limited steering ( quiet scary) so I got a weight distribution hitch. Worked very well and I'm sure you would find one second hand somewhere. Alot cheaper than air locker or lsd and can be taken with you if you sell the car.

If you struggle to pull out of a slippery ramp again, try getting someone to leave the boat engine on and put it in forward. The boat will effectively help push from the back. I have a run about boat and pull with a falcon wagon and have never had trouble, but my brother had a heavy ski boat which sat somewhat high on the trailer, and the lack of bee in the water meant all the weight was on the trailer as opposed to being floated by the boat. When a slippery low tide ramp was presented, we would knock the v8 into gear and help the thing get pulled out. Don't floor it though or it may jump off the trailer, and with an outboard perhaps lift the leg somewhat so you don't drag on the ramp.

Buy some maxi tracks