What effect would cutting 18" off trailer tounge have?

[gunner1]

Would it make the trailer easier to manuever? I went to launch my boat today and the damn thing kept turning very sharply even with relatively small changes in the steering wheel. Fron the hitch to the beginning of the "v" in the trailer is about four feet.

 

[floorguru]

Re: What effect would cutting 18" off trailer tounge have?

My experience is that the shorter the distance between the hitch and the wheels the more difficult the trailer is to manipulate in reverse. Think about trying to back-up your boat vs. backing up a Small UHaul trailer. Just my $.02

 

[Grunt_Sculpin]

Re: What effect would cutting 18" off trailer tounge have?

You are correct! The shorter the trailer the harder it will be to manuver the trailer from the standpoint that it will turn more with less effort. I had a jetski and this was the case, I had a 16 ft boat and this was also the case and as I moved to a 18.5 with a longer trailer it was alot less of a problem. How big is your boat?

 

[searay3]

Re: What effect would cutting 18" off trailer tounge have?

There is also the concern of the size/weight of the boat or load if you prefer. Cutting the tonge shorter will increase the weight on the hitch. You may have to re-center the load on your trailer. Extending the length will have the opposite effect, a lighter hitch weight.

 

[gunner1]

Re: What effect would cutting 18" off trailer tounge have?

You are correct! The shorter the trailer the harder it will be to manuver the trailer from the standpoint that it will turn more with less effort. I had a jetski and this was the case, I had a 16 ft boat and this was also the case and as I moved to a 18.5 with a longer trailer it was alot less of a problem. How big is your boat?

It's a 16 foot aluminum Starcraft.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: What effect would cutting 18" off trailer tounge have?

If you shorten the tounge without moving the boat you will have issues.

Too much tongue weight can lead to the trailer "wagging" like a dogs tail and create a bad situation while driving.... the same with too little. You would end up adjusting bunks or rollers and the winch to make up for a length change.

If you turn too sharp with a short trailer you can run the risk of catching the boat with the tow vehicle and something will be damaged.

Your best bet is actually a long distance ...... possibly longer than you have and most of all practice.

I would not shorten it.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: What effect would cutting 18" off trailer tounge have?

As Bob says, don't shorten it any. You will lot more problems than you are having now.

Put one hand on the steering wheel at the very bottom while backing up using your mirror, if you want your trailer to go right, move your hand to the right, if you want to go left, turn wheel to left, but only with your hand on the bottom of the steering wheel.
See if that won't help you some.

 

[bjcsc]

Re: What effect would cutting 18" off trailer tounge have?

Yeah, that's not a trailer problem...it just takes practice. Make small changes, straighten out the wheel and maintain the angle. If you're turning the wheel more than 180 degrees, you'll be swinging all over the place. When you get good, you'll notice you only turn the wheel 90deg. to the left and 90deg to the right...I know it's frustrating, but the only way to get better is to keep trying...

 

[Mark42]

Re: What effect would cutting 18" off trailer tounge have?

As God as my witness, DO NOT CUT IT. Fer crying out loud, DO NOT CUT IT! Jesus Christ Almighty, DO NOT CUT IT!!!!!!!


Ummmmmm, Get the general idea?


Longer is soooooo much better than shorter.

Unless, you have a few years experience with short trailers.......

 

[burroak]

Re: What effect would cutting 18" off trailer tounge have?

Leave the trailer length as it is, unless you have a storage problem with the tongue being too long to lower the garage door. Cut it if you need to. Re-balance the trailer for proper weight distribution,then practice. Your inability to put the trailer on the ramp and into the water can be corrected by practice. On any given day when you are running errands or on the weekend hook up the boat and trailer and drag it with you where ever you go. You could probably leave it home when you go to church. Otherwise, make it your friend.

You will learn many things about a towing; not to dead end the rig, allow for a safe turning radius (left and right), set up the trailer for backing up on the on-side as well as the off-side and never back up an inch further than is necessary. All of this will be done without the added pressure of being watched at the ramp. If you will take the time to observe others launch and retrieve their boats, you will come away with some very good tips for good ramp etiquette and techniques; commit them to memory and practice them in a vacant parking lot until you are comfortable. The other thing that will become apparent is that there are more Nimrods with less ability than you and they were probably the ones critiquing you attempts. If you have a slow day, live in a small town, or just need a laugh, take a lawn chair down to the ramps with some cold ones if it's allowed, kick back and enjoy the sport. A video camera will verify the stories you can tell later.

Just remember practice does not make perfect, but perfect practice makes damn near perfect.

 

[MikDee]

Re: What effect would cutting 18" off trailer tounge have?

Backing up a jetski trailer, is alot harder then backing a 19' boat trailer, just because of the shorter distance from your rear bumper to the axle. Do not make your tongue shorter, it would only make it harder to back up straight. I've jacknifed my jetski trailer once already this season on my pickup leaving a nice little dent in the bumper, because of this.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: What effect would cutting 18" off trailer tounge have?

Bigger distance from hitch to the trailer wheels, the easier it is to reverse. I had a small box trailer many years ago for camping. It was the worst thing that i have ever tried to reverse. However take a look at a semi truck reversing and the distance between the hitch and the trailer wheels. It is so much easier although much longer.
Practice makes perfect.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: What effect would cutting 18" off trailer tounge have?

as said don't cut it. will make backing harder, loading and unloading harder, will change the center of gravity, and extremely effect the tongue weight. as said my jet ski trailer is a royal pain to back, and i've been backing trailers of 44 years. my fishing boat aren't bad, and my 30' long trailer on the deck boat is a dream to back. as said PRACTICE, put guide ons on the trailer so you can see it when the trailer is empty. years age my dad put a broom stick with just one bolt, when he went to back the trailer he would raise the broom stick, so he could see it. then when loading the boat the boat would knock the broom stick down.

 

[burroak]

Re: What effect would cutting 18" off trailer tounge have?

Bigger distance from hitch to the trailer wheels, the easier it is to reverse. I had a small box trailer many years ago for camping. It was the worst thing that i have ever tried to reverse. However take a look at a semi truck reversing and the distance between the hitch and the trailer wheels. It is so much easier although much longer.
Practice makes perfect.

You are partially correct. The greatest advantage the driver of a semi-tractor has is that the fifth wheel (pivot point) is directly over the rear axles. No matter how short or long a trailer is, practice is the solution to all the problems discussed in this thread. If a long tongue were the answer, all trailers would be fitted with an extended tongue. In mentioning that, a tongue extender would be a possible cure for a lack of practice in developing trailer backing skills. One could also explain that it was done to facilitate launching from shallow ramps (which would be true).

As far as jack knifing a rig to the point of kinking the tow vehicle, slow down and pay attention. Short trailers inherently are problematic due to the aforementioned reasons; but is no excuse for poor rig handling. If you want to observe skills in towing and backing, watch a farmer back a farm wagon with a ten foot tongue hooked to a draw bar with a 1' bolt in a sloppy hole or watch an over the road driver show off by backing a set of pups to the dock without dropping the back trailer. It's not easy and very few can or want to do it; but with practice it looks effortless. Boaters, to a man, are proud of their craft handling skills. I doubt if the same pride is taken in their trailering skills. Machismo kicks in and it is assumed that there is a gene in the male DNA that infers competency in machine operation.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: What effect would cutting 18" off trailer tounge have?

You are partially correct. The greatest advantage the driver of a semi-tractor has is that the fifth wheel (pivot point) is directly over the rear axles. No matter how short or long a trailer is, practice is the solution to all the problems discussed in this thread. If a long tongue were the answer, all trailers would be fitted with an extended tongue. In mentioning that, a tongue extender would be a possible cure for a lack of practice in developing trailer backing skills. One could also explain that it was done to facilitate launching from shallow ramps (which would be true).

As far as jack knifing a rig to the point of kinking the tow vehicle, slow down and pay attention. Short trailers inherently are problematic due to the aforementioned reasons; but is no excuse for poor rig handling. If you want to observe skills in towing and backing, watch a farmer back a farm wagon with a ten foot tongue hooked to a draw bar with a 1' bolt in a sloppy hole or watch an over the road driver show off by backing a set of pups to the dock without dropping the back trailer. It's not easy and very few can or want to do it; but with practice it looks effortless. Boaters, to a man, are proud of their craft handling skills. I doubt if the same pride is taken in their trailering skills. Machismo kicks in and it is assumed that there is a gene in the male DNA that infers competency in machine operation.

Pivot point to trailer wheels.
The greater it is the easier to control small amounts of movement at the trailer wheels.
Do the math.

 

[burroak]

Re: What effect would cutting 18" off trailer tounge have?

Pivot point to trailer wheels.
The greater it is the easier to control small amounts of movement at the trailer wheels.
Do the math.

In one sense you are correct. It is a function of amplitude. A longer tongue obviates a need of refined skills, much like a sawed off shotgun increases the probability that someone unskilled will hit a target rather than using a bow and arrow.

No amount of math will permit you to push a 2" fender washer in a prescribed path with a stick. It's just practice.

I did the practice.... spotted trailers for a LTL trucking company for many years. The math is: 30-40 trailers per night (on-side and off-side). I've dragged everything from a yard trailer to 53'ers. Agreed the shorter the trailer the quicker it can get out of shape and with less misalignment than longer trailers. It's a matter of having pride in developing a skill (putting food on the table or just executing a walk-off launch, never looking back.) And when you hit one.... admit it, you get a shameless smug feeling, right? There aren't many things that will make a boater's chest swell than to have a sweating novice, with a complaining wife, and whining kids, ask you to spot their trailer for them. And you'll feel better if you don't take the five-spot that he tries to surreptitiously slip you.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: What effect would cutting 18" off trailer tounge have?

In one sense you are correct. It is a function of amplitude. A longer tongue obviates a need of refined skills, much like a sawed off shotgun increases the probability that someone unskilled will hit a target rather than using a bow and arrow.

No amount of math will permit you to push a 2" fender washer in a prescribed path with a stick. It's just practice.

I did the practice.... spotted trailers for a LTL trucking company for many years. The math is: 30-40 trailers per night (on-side and off-side). I've dragged everything from a yard trailer to 53'ers. Agreed the shorter the trailer the quicker it can get out of shape and with less misalignment than longer trailers. It's a matter of having pride in developing a skill (putting food on the table or just executing a walk-off launch, never looking back.) And when you hit one.... admit it, you get a shameless smug feeling, right? There aren't many things that will make a boater's chest swell than to have a sweating novice, with a complaining wife, and whining kids, ask you to spot their trailer for them. And you'll feel better if you don't take the five-spot that he tries to surreptitiously slip you.

Do not disagree with you I was a driving instructor for many years teaching everything from a moped to a 53 footer. Practice is what it takes but it is easier to get into trouble with a shorter pivot point to trailer wheels distance.

 

[180shabah]

Re: What effect would cutting 18" off trailer tounge have?

Gonna interrupt the chest thumping for a minute here to ask a question?

Gunner1 - Does it seem to always go left, or always go right?

Your axle may not be squarely mounted. measure from the center of the hitch to each end of the axle. Both sides should be equal.

 

[burroak]

Re: What effect would cutting 18" off trailer tounge have?

Gonna interrupt the chest thumping for a minute here to ask a question?

Gunner1 - Does it seem to always go left, or always go right?

Your axle may not be squarely mounted. measure from the center of the hitch to each end of the axle. Both sides should be equal.

Thumpus Interruptus....I understand the desire to snipe from the sidelines. Your query about the axle possibly being misaligned on its own would have been just another area to examine, but your attempt at sarcasm will engage you in the dialog in the same spirit that you interjected yourself.

Are you an alignment expert? Don't leave gunner1 holding his sack. If you posit a possible flaw, at least specify the techniques and methods for diagnosis and remedy. I'll continue to follow this thread because I have a yard cart with an out of square axle and can possibly use your advice.

What in the original thread would lead you to believe the axle is whacked? My thesis was, with practice any trailer can be backed with an acceptable results, whether it is a shorty or maximum length, bent tongue, or a cocked axle.

If he did indeed have a out of square axle, the trailer would be eating tires (which would pale by comparison to missing a ramp on occasion.)

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: What effect would cutting 18" off trailer tounge have?

Thumpus Interruptus....I understand the desire to snipe from the sidelines. Your query about the axle possibly being misaligned on its own would have been just another area to examine, but your attempt at sarcasm will engage you in the dialog in the same spirit that you interjected yourself.

Are you an alignment expert? Don't leave gunner1 holding his sack. If you posit a possible flaw, at least specify the techniques and methods for diagnosis and remedy. I'll continue to follow this thread because I have a yard cart with an out of square axle and can possibly use your advice.

What in the original thread would lead you to believe the axle is whacked? My thesis was, with practice any trailer can be backed with an acceptable results, whether it is a shorty or maximum length, bent tongue, or a cocked axle.

If he did indeed have a out of square axle, the trailer would be eating tires (which would pale by comparison to missing a ramp on occasion.)

Funny, but true !!!