trailer sway and wheel size

[fisher91blue]

Have a 1973 dual axle trailer with 8 inch wheels. When I was towing last fall on the highway there was a significant amount of trailer movement left to right. Would larger wheels reduce that type of sway? Boat is aluminum, 18' with I/O.
Thanks!

 

[GA_Boater]

Too little tongue weight causes sway more than anything else. Do you know how much the trailer/boat combo weighs and the tongue weight?

 

[fisher91blue]

Hmmm, good question and I see your point. I think the total combo is about 2,200 lbs not sure what the tongue weight is. You can lift tongue off the ball with very little effort. I wonder if I can adjust the trailer somehow to get a little more weight on the tongue. I guess shortening it would do that.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Bingo there is your whole problem... You need 2-300 lbs on the ball

 

[GA_Boater]

Sure sounds like you need more weight on the ball. Move the winch post forward to see if it makes a difference. The axle can be moved toward the rear. Both do the same, but I would start with the winch post because you can do it easier and in smaller increments.

 

[smokeonthewater]

You would have to shorten the tongue a LOT to make much difference IE not gonna happen... Either move the boat forward or move the axle backward.

 

[thumpar]

The bow stop should be pretty easy to move forward. Most of the time they are just bolted on with squared off u-bolts. Just loosen them and move it. With my trailer and can't pick up the tongue.

 

[ihearth2o]

What are you using for a tow vehicle? Shorter wheelbase tv's are more prone to sway too.

 

[fisher91blue]

Towing with Honda Pilot which has pretty short wheel base.

 

[fisher91blue]

good tips all, I'll probably start with moving the winch post, don't want to mess with axles because I don't wan't to do trailer alignment after

 

[smokeonthewater]

Generally you don't have to do any alignment
If it's a tandem and is adjustable you just loosen and/or remove bolts/ubolts and slide the axle subframe back.

 

[mla2ofus]

2200 lb boat on 8" wheels??
Mike

 

[UncleWillie]

Also, make sure your tires are inflated to their full rated pressure.
Soft tires will tend to cause the trailer to over-correct any side forces and keep the swaying going.

 

[fisher91blue]

mla2, yup, that's how she came. pretty sure it's the original trailer

 

[dozerII]

From looking at the photo it doesn't look like moving the boat ahead on the trailer is an option, there is very little tongue left to work with and the stern is right at the last roller or end of the bunk. I think moving the axle assembly back is going to be the best way to gain the required tongue weight.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Yep no way you are gonna get anywhere moving the boat...
Move the axles back.... Start with about 18" and check tongue weight.

 

[JASinIL2006]

mla2, yup, that's how she came. pretty sure it's the original trailer

That looks really odd. I don't understand why they'd put such large fenders on the trailer if such small wheels were intended.

 

[ihearth2o]

Could just be the angle of the pic, but it already looks like you have little tongue to work with. The characteristics of your rig, especially in reverse, by moving the bow stop even closer to your tow vehicle will take some getting used to. Take care not to get yourself in a jack-knife situation. In fact, I might actually opt to adjust the axles instead of the bow stop if it were me.

Also, the Pilot's wheelbase is probably borderline for an 18' boat. General rule of thumb is 110" of wheelbase for a 20' trailer and add 4" for every additional foot of trailer. Pilot is right at 110" and your boat as it sits on the trailer should be about 20-22'. Of course this doesn't account for any physics, road conditions or when a trucker passes you at highway speeds so YMMV.

 

[WIMUSKY]

mla2, yup, that's how she came. pretty sure it's the original trailer

Those tires look like they belong on a snowmobile trailer......... The trailer may came with them, but that doesn't mean they're the right size. You may want to research that trailer.......

ps. Tough to tell in the pic, the trailer looks level,but, the tongue isn't angled up a little?

 

[gm280]

WOW so many thing I can see that I would change. Tires and wheel would be one of the first things I would change. Larger tire/wheels would run smoother and longer with less bearing issues. And yes I certainly would move the wheels back to increase tongue weight. But with proper tires and wheels would change the trailer hitch point as well and could need either drop hitch or raised hitch. hard to tell with that picture. But anytime you have an unbalanced weigh setup on any trailer, it will wonder all over the road and if driven fast enough, it will flip the trailer as well or push the vehicle out of control. You would be better off with too much tongue weight then too little... But a properly setup trailer is a dream to pull... JMHO!