Re: Tongue Weight Problem
I find posts on this topic fascinating. . . . and I also find the recommendations too conservative and limiting. Use whatever percentage tongue weight you prefer if your tow vehicle is (what I find typical) a monstrous suv/truck that will be little affected no matter how much weight you place on the tongue.
My towing packages are relatively lightweight, 14' aluminum Sea Nymph with 25hp Johnson outboard, two 6-gal fuel tanks (generally caried in the rear of the boat).
Trailer is a single axle (duh) Shore, and, as delivered new back in the early '90's, was setup with a distance of 6' from coupler to winch tree (term is new to me, but aptly describes that part, I guess).
I was driving a '94 Taurus SHO when I purchased the boat, and felt that the delivered setup put too much weight on the back of my car.
I moved the winch back 4" and have used that setup with all my vehicles since (Honda Accord, Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX, VW Jetta TDI).
I can't lift the tongue with one finger, but with one hand, it is light as a feather.
Pulls behind my vehicles, and I have to check my review mirror to confirm that it is there.
I can adjust the tounge weight by giving attention to how I load gear (fuel, coolers, etc.) into the boat before towing.
Dockside observers used to laugh at me when I pulled up to the ramp in my GSX, but, with on-demand AWD, that little car was like a mini-tractor, and I never had a problem pulling away from mossy ramps that left monster trucks smoking their tires (albeit to pull out much larger/heavier watercraft than my little boat).
As I understand it, the heavier tongue weight recommendations are more about concern that the trailer might pop off the hitch than any other issue.
In my view, the recommendations are beyond conservative, especially when considering lightweight towing vehicles.
I don't know it all, but I can rely upon my experiences. I've pulled this rig across the country with no adverse consequence over the years.
Obviously, a rig that grossly exceeded the capacity of my towing vehicles would not be alleviated by moving the "pod" back on the trailer. Sure, I could balance the weight to avoid having the tongue drag the ground, but the weight of the trailer in such a setup would either pull the rear of my car off the road, or, in turns, would pull the tail of my car off track and cause fish tailing. That, I think, is common sense.
. . . but so, I think, is my view that arbitrary guidelines concerning recommended tongue weight are too conservative.
I don't need a truck to pull my rig, nor do I need to stress my towing vehicle.
Sidenote: The tongue length of my rig is longer than most of what I see on the road - I think the dealer rigged up whatever he had available at the time, but this has been a blessing for me rather than a curse.
There is no ramp that gives me trouble, my tow vehicle's tires never come close to getting wet even in the most gradually sloped ramps. The downside is that, unless you "walk the rail" (tongue of my trailer), you can rarely launch, and almost never retrieve without wading into the water. Not a problem during the summer, but in spring, late fall, and winter, well, that water is really cold, LOL.
Interesting thread, enjoyed reading.
Happy boating.
Caruso
