Fit a 17' boat on my existing trailer? (used to hold a 15')

[BigB9000]

I went and measured my trailer for the boat I might buy. the boat is a 17' and my boat is a 15' but I was hoping to use the same trailer.

from the rear of the bunk to the front of the trailer where a boat's bow should be is 14.5 feet. I could probably squeez another 5 inches out of it, making it 15 feet. But i just dont know....

ideas?

here is the boat:

and here is the trailer:

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Fit a 17' boat on my existing trailer? (used to hold a 15')

you can replace the bunks, and hang past the frame another foot.

 

[steelespike]

Re: Fit a 17' boat on my existing trailer? (used to hold a 15')

You need to be able to move it forward enough to get some tongue weight.
As I see it clearance to the tow vehicle is probably the key.You may be able to get some room be removing the tailgate on the truck.
Extend or move the bunks so they support the boat at the transom.
How is the clearance between the fenders?I'd carefully put the boat on the trailer and get an idea what you need.Is it possible to move the wheels back a little.

 

[timdan94]

Re: Fit a 17' boat on my existing trailer? (used to hold a 15')

I remember when my dad got a new boat the trailer wasn't quite long enough so he had the marina weld an extension on the tounge so that the winch post could be moved forward so the boat would fit.

 

[BigB9000]

Re: Fit a 17' boat on my existing trailer? (used to hold a 15')

Truck?

See that is the main #1 problem. I cant move the boat too far forward to have excessive toung weight. This is being towed with a car, a 1996 Caprice 5.7L. Cant support too much in the rear.

Its all I have. That or the ranger...... Car has more power.

 

[109jb]

Re: Fit a 17' boat on my existing trailer? (used to hold a 15')

I'd extend the tongue AND extend the bunks. You will most likely need to do both to get the boat to balance properly and give the proper tongue weight.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Fit a 17' boat on my existing trailer? (used to hold a 15')

I would say it's not too big of a problem, you can either extend and/or increase the dimensional size of the bunks out the rear a bit more, then judge whether or not it has sufficient tongue weight or not. I've done several like that, I made longer, thicker bunks that hung over the back about 18" and pushed the bow stop up about a foot. I just got done doing the opposite, I had to make a longer trailer fit a shorter boat. Since it was a tilt trailer, I couldn't push the bow stop back any further and the bunks were already as short as the motor would allow. I ended up making a custom bow stop with a 4" longer reach arm to make it work. I have also extended both tongues and frames to get the proper fit, but I have a welder in my shop and years of welding experience. I extended the tongue on one of my own trailers to gain some distance from the water when launching the boat with my Ranger since I'm not real fond of stepping out into the water. I cut out the old tongue tube and replaced it with one 3' longer, I in turn made new longer bunks that hung over the rear about 14" and moved the bow stop back to balance the rig. It now tows better and is a dream to launch with.