Tongue Weight

DC20

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Dec 5, 2007
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361
So the tongue is maybe 100 pounds. Does anyone see a problem with moving the winch post up on the trailer another 5 or 6 inches?
 

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DC20

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Dec 5, 2007
Messages
361
Re: Tongue Weight

It is way too light, I have to hold down the tongue just to hook up to the ball, it bounces the whole time while towing.
 

kenmyfam

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Aug 10, 2006
Messages
14,392
Re: Tongue Weight

Move everything up (except the axles) till you get the tongue weight around 10% of the total weight. Go from there. More weight in the bow will fine tune it from there.
 

Fed

Commander
Joined
Apr 1, 2010
Messages
2,457
Re: Tongue Weight

Having a close look at where the boat is sitting on the bunks I wouldn't move the boat at all, it looks too happy right where it is.
Get it hooked to your vehicle on level ground, stand back and have a look at your towball height compared to the trailer.
Remember with slipper springs as the trailer tilts forward the front axle takes more weight which moves the balance point.
Not the case if you have rocker/equalizer spring setup.
You make have to raise your towball height, failing that I'd be moving the axle back.
 

DC20

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Dec 5, 2007
Messages
361
Re: Tongue Weight

It has torsion axles.Only has about an 1/8 of a tank of gas, tank is located about midway. Right now I can fold the jack up and the tongue will just balance itself about 2 feet off the ground.
Maybe I should fill the tank up first before I move anything???
And yes I just got the boat:)
 

JB

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
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Mar 25, 2001
Messages
45,907
Re: Tongue Weight

Terrible rigging of that trailer. You are lucky you haven't busted the hull or at least created a bad hook.

First: Move the winch stand as needed to get the transom on top of the end roller and rigidly supported. Leave it there. Looks like it needs to move FW about a foot.

Then: Move the axle/spring cradle as needed to get about 10% of the total weight on the tongue. That will probably be 8-10" FW.
 

Fed

Commander
Joined
Apr 1, 2010
Messages
2,457
Re: Tongue Weight

Treat the torsion axles the same as slipper springs, they do not equalize the load.
It looks to me in the 3rd picture that the bunks are right under the transom at the rear & perfectly positioned, a little hard to see though. No point in pulling the boat on further than the back end of the bunks, are there any rollers down the centre at all?
Looks like it's a trailer for a larger boat.
Getting the towball height right & moving the axles back will make it the best it can be.
 

rwidman

Lieutenant
Joined
May 27, 2004
Messages
1,396
Re: Tongue Weight

So the tongue is maybe 100 pounds. Does anyone see a problem with moving the winch post up on the trailer another 5 or 6 inches?

It is way too light, I have to hold down the tongue just to hook up to the ball, it bounces the whole time while towing.

If you have to hold it down, it doesn't weigh "maybe 100 pounds".

You need to be more scientific and accurate than that. The tongue weight should be 7% - 10% of the total weight of the loaded trailer for a single axle trailer. 5%-8% for a multi axle trailer. That's with the trailer level.

You will have to weigh the loaded trailer before you can make any intelligent modifications.

It's most important to have the boat properly positioned on the trailer. This means, the end of the bunks or rear most roller should be directly under the transom of the boat. Adjust your winch post until you achieve this.

Once this is done, move the axle(s) forward or backward until you have the correct tongue weight.
 

Plotus

Cadet
Joined
Aug 15, 2010
Messages
23
Re: Tongue Weight

I'm sure you know, but on downhills at speed, the tow vehicle will be all over the road because of the boat trailer steering the tow vehicle. You have to have some weight on the tounge or it gets squirely quick. Also you will not have sufficient weight when pulling out of the boat ramp as the front of the trailer will be lifting. In your pictures in the back..... the stern should be even with the carpeted rail, not hanging off a foot. See all the weight hanging back...... not good.
 

JB

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
Joined
Mar 25, 2001
Messages
45,907
Re: Tongue Weight

Terrible rigging of that trailer. You are lucky you haven't busted the hull or at least created a bad hook.

First: Move the winch stand as needed to get the transom on top of the end roller and rigidly supported. Leave it there. Looks like it needs to move FW about a foot.

Then: Move the axle/spring cradle as needed to get about 10% of the total weight on the tongue. That will probably be 8-10" FW.

I misread the pix. :( The boat is correctly positioned on the bunks I missed before. Do not move it.

You only need to move the axle back to get your 7-10% on the tongue.

My apologies. :(
 

DC20

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Dec 5, 2007
Messages
361
Re: Tongue Weight

The boat does hang off the back an inch maybe an inch and a half. There are no rollers, only the two bunks, should I install a roller at the very back? So I will move the winch post forward an inch and a half so it's fully supported, then I will look into moving the axels. Sound good???
 

jeeperman

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Aug 2, 2001
Messages
1,513
Re: Tongue Weight

The boat does hang off the back an inch maybe an inch and a half. There are no rollers, only the two bunks, should I install a roller at the very back? So I will move the winch post forward an inch and a half so it's fully supported, then I will look into moving the axels. Sound good???

Are the axles u-bolted or bolted to the frame via a cradle that will allow them to be moved?

I would first try moving the winch post as far forward as it will go with the rear most u-bolt remaining behind where the side rails are bolted to the tongue.
That appears to be about what is needed to get the transom even with the bunks. A little more wont hurt anything either as the bunks ends are the first portion to rot and thus are not supporting anything anyways.
 

marlboro180

Lieutenant Junior Grade
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Jun 23, 2009
Messages
1,164
Re: Tongue Weight

The boat does hang off the back an inch maybe an inch and a half.

Not in pic # 3 that you posted, but that pic is from 2007. Did something move in the past 3 years? ( like a hard stop, and the winchpost slid forward/ bent?) But, you say you just got the boat, so I dunno.....:confused:

Got a decent recent pic of the transom/ bunk position? How about the trailer hooked up to the tow vehicle??
 

DC20

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Dec 5, 2007
Messages
361
Re: Tongue Weight

Sorry, pics were just taken, please disregard the date.
I will go home and take more pics of the transom.
 

rwidman

Lieutenant
Joined
May 27, 2004
Messages
1,396
Re: Tongue Weight

The boat does hang off the back an inch maybe an inch and a half. There are no rollers, only the two bunks, should I install a roller at the very back? So I will move the winch post forward an inch and a half so it's fully supported, then I will look into moving the axels. Sound good???

That sounds good. You don't need rollers. I was talking about a roller trailer, the kind withmany rollers instead of bunks.
 

gozierdt

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jun 13, 2010
Messages
364
Re: Tongue Weight

With the design of the trailer, you've got options. I'm in the group that emphatically states you MUST get more weight on your hitch. It's very well documented many places that having less than 10% of the total towed weight on the ball can be very dangerous in downhill braking situations. And I don't believe lowering the hitch ball height will give you anywhere near that kind of change. You can safely pull your boat forward I'd guess a foot- until the transom is in vertical line with the support bolt on the rear bunk mount. I don't think you'll need that much, but you will actually support the transom better, the further you pull it forward. So move your winch post and pull it forward until you get the desired hitch weight. If you think the bunks look ugly you could even cut off the exposed part- but you would loose some of the protection from the galvanizing, so that's probably not the best idea.

It does look like you could move your wheels- in the center pic it looks like there's a u-bolt just forward of the wheels, if so moving the axles may be fairly easy, but it also looks like you've got surge brakes, so you'll have to play around with the brake line to move the axles forward. And the trailer looks pretty long for the boat length. I'd personally rather move the boat forward, and get the boat up closer to the tow vehicle, than leave the boat way back where it is now.
 

Mi duckdown

Commander
Joined
Apr 14, 2007
Messages
2,575
Re: Tongue Weight

the boat is cradled perfectly. if the axles can be moved foward. go for it.
 
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