What to do if a trailer is too long for the boat?

[mickms]

I see lots of threads on trailers being too short/not properly supporting the transom, but can it be a problem if a trailer is too long?

Would love to know what the experts here think. I'm looking at putting a 20' boat on a 22' tandem trailer. The centerline (hook to plug) measurement on the boat is 17'6. The trailer measures 18'2" from bow stop to bunk ends.

I have two things on my mind that might cause problems, but I'd be glad to hear any others:
1) the tongue weight will be increased due to there not being enough weight rearward of the trailer wheels.
2) the tie down straps will not secure the rear of the boat properly because they will be free floating rather than snug on the transom

I guess you could fix #1 by moving the axles forward, or moving the bow stop back.... I'm a little nervous about anything that would involve welding through. This particular trailer does not have much behind the rear wheel to begin with (pic below).

IF #2 is a problem, then I'm thinking a stern strap would be an easy solution.




Thanks in advance for the input!

 

[Bondo]

Re: What to do if a trailer is too long for the boat?

I have two things on my mind that might cause problems, but I'd be glad to hear any others:
1) the tongue weight will be increased due to there not being enough weight rearward of the trailer wheels.
2) the tie down straps will not secure the rear of the boat properly because they will be free floating rather than snug on the transom

Ayuh,... for #1,.. you'll need to move the boat rearward, or the axles forward...

For #2,.. you can just add new anchor points for the straps on the trailer...

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: What to do if a trailer is too long for the boat?

adjust the bow stop back to properly fit the boat and adjust the axle's back IF NEEDED to achieve proper tongue weight.

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: What to do if a trailer is too long for the boat?

Just take it step by step.

First: Move the bow stop/winch as far back as you can. It looks like it'll go back almost a foot. Then, is the transom flush with the back of the bunk, or does the bunk and/or the rear of the frame stick out from the transom?

Second: Try to figure out how heavy your boat and trailer is. Sometimes you can find weights in the boat's literature, and estimate the trailer weight. Or, you can go to a truck stop. My city dump would give me the weight.

Third: Weigh the trailer tongue--to figure out hitch weight. (If my bathroom scales will weigh my wife, they might weigh my trailer tongue.) I wouldn't pull a trailer without 10% of the total weight on the ball. Others may have different opinions on the percentage.

Then regroup. I'd try not to move the axle, if at all possible.

Most of the modern boat trailers are pretty tongue heavy. Until you get the boat as far back as you can and weigh the tongue, you won't know what steps to take. Options might include having a welding shop cut out the rear crossmember and then cut a little off the rear of the frame. Then, it's just reinstalling/welding the rear cross member back in.

The trailer looks first class and worth modifications . I just hope you're pulling it with a full size RWD pickup truck or van.

 

[NYBo]

Re: What to do if a trailer is too long for the boat?

I'm with smokeonthewater. You are talking a mismatch of only 8". Your other alternative would be to sell this trailer and get a smaller one. A dual axle trailer is overkill anyway, unless there is something about your boat that makes it extra heavy for its size.

 

[mickms]

Re: What to do if a trailer is too long for the boat?

Hey thanks everybody! So I'm going to see the trailer in person later this week -- it's about 150 miles away from me, but it seems like the best option around for me. Unfortunately boat is not mine yet. We have a purchase agreement and I am getting it in a week or two. The seller wants me to pick it up like yesterday, but I've towed it a few miles already and I don't even want to take the chance towing it home on I-90 on the trailer it's currently sitting on.

I'll be towing with a 3/4 ton "full size" (4x4, trailer tow pkg/class IV receiver). I'm thinking that I'll leave the post where it is on the way home to make sure I have more rather than less tongue weight. Then I can adjust it back when I can check the weight...

Crossing fingers that everything will fit together on the big day!

 

[Lakes84]

Re: What to do if a trailer is too long for the boat?

Keep us informed!!

 

[roscoe]

Re: What to do if a trailer is too long for the boat?

There is no way to determine the tongue weight before hand. You never know if the previous owner moved the axles, or how the previous boat was weighted.

So just wait on that, it should work well enough to get it home as long as you have some tongue weight.

Straps are often at angles, so that should work fine also. An additional strap will add extra peace of mind.

Most important, is the height of the bow eye and the bow stop.

Getting them to line up is where I would concentrate.

It may involve raising or lowering the winch bracket.

In extreme cases, say with a bass boat, you may have to reverse the winch stand, and the winch bracket, to get the bow stop down under the hull.

None of this can be done ahead of time either.

When you load the boat on the trailer the first time, do not winch it up to the stop.

Keep it about 18 inches away from the stop and pull the trailer out of the water.
Look, inspect, measure, adjust.

THen finish loading the boat .

Good luck, don't forget your tool box, spare tires, and floor jack.

 

[jeeperman]

Re: What to do if a trailer is too long for the boat?

Looks like a painted steel tubing trailer.
Notorious for hiding rusted out frame members behind relatively good looking paint.
Make sure to examine the entire bottom of the entire trailer frame for paint bubbles and rusted out spots/areas.
Could be a three hour drive to look at a pile of rust held together by paint.

 

[DBreskin]

Re: What to do if a trailer is too long for the boat?

A dual axle trailer is overkill anyway, unless there is something about your boat that makes it extra heavy for its size.

Trailer configuration depends on load weight and axle rating. I pull a 3200lb boat on a single axle trailer but the axle is rated for 4500lb. 3200lb boat + 700lb trailer + 300lb fuel/gear = close to max rating.
Most of the single axle trailers I've seen have 3500lb axles; considering 1000lb for trailer and gear leaves only 2500lb for the boat and a 20' boat can easily exceed that.

 

[Sabbath]

Re: What to do if a trailer is too long for the boat?

Not meaning to hijack the thread, but im having a similar problem.

I have one boat which is approx 5m long, which is on a good, solid trailer. I recently bought another boat which is 4.2m long and on a not so good trailer.

I was thinking of doing as suggested and moving the winch post backwards but was worried about the weight distribution over the rear of the trailer being pushed back further over the axle. I would like to try to avoid moving the winch post a great distance. Or, if it is too much of a stretch to put a 4.2m boat on a trailer that is carrying a 5m boat?

Thanks

 

[GTS225]

Re: What to do if a trailer is too long for the boat?

Seems to me everybody's missing the obvious...............get a bigger boat!

Roger

 

[Starman8]

Re: What to do if a trailer is too long for the boat?

Most trailers built with that much winch stop adjustment are built to handle "that much weight adjustment", and on a duelie, no big deal with 2 axles

 

[Lakes84]

Re: What to do if a trailer is too long for the boat?

Mine is loaded similar...take a look at the photo. Tows like a dream and doesn't weigh my truck down nearly as much as my Ranger does, which is a lot lighter than this one.

 

[mickms]

Re: What to do if a trailer is too long for the boat?

Looks like a painted steel tubing trailer.
Notorious for hiding rusted out frame members behind relatively good looking paint.
Make sure to examine the entire bottom of the entire trailer frame for paint bubbles and rusted out spots/areas.
Could be a three hour drive to look at a pile of rust held together by paint.

Jeeper - Your advice was right on ... I went to see the trailer today -- met the guy at the halfway point between us -- and was very glad I had a mirror with me. On top, the thing looked pretty decent, a few rust bubbles on the fenders only, but the underside had many areas of the framing I could flake with my finger. More concerning, there were evidently once 1/4" drain out holes at the low points in the tubing, but they were rusted shut, making me think that internal rusting is likely. Also, the brake rotors weren't just "a little pitted", they were more like rusty millstones.

Meanwhile, during the 10 minutes or so I talk to do a walk around, a small puddle of brake fluid had collected on the ground under the actuator. I made the guy what I thought was a decent offer all things considered, and he huffed and puffed about never again driving out to meet somebody, and drove off without even negotiating a little.

I thought to myself, well, I should be so stupid again to drive 1:30 to see something that sounds like a good deal! I guess this seller is counting that somebody will give him his ask price without thoroughly checking for underside rust, or bothering to look for line leaks... and it might have even been me!

 

[giericd]

Re: What to do if a trailer is too long for the boat?

i have transported dozens of boats from Bonita Center to boat shows using mix and match traillers. the boats would come off the dry storage rack and placed on what ever trailer was available as long as we followed the rule of a smaller boat can go on a bigger trailler a bigger boat can not go on a smaller trailler. since we were fork lifting them on to the trailler we had to make sure the bunks were set up ok for that boat. very important you check the bunks or you could very likely cause spiderweb cracks on the bottom of the hull. we would hook the winch up and keep it tight, use a bow strap to hold the bow down, now the boat can't slide back and you wont have any bow bounce, then tiedown straps securing each side of the transom to the bunks, idealy you want the transom strap attached to the trailer further back to prevent the boat from sliding forward if you had to stop fast. we just had my buddies 25'CC on a trailler made for a 30' yellowfin. since he was using this trailler he had to pull the boat up to where the bow fit snug to the bunks while some one on the back of the boat watched the lower units of his motors to tell him when to stop so the lower units wouldn't hit the rear cross member of the trailler. we then would have to trim up the motors to clear the cross member while some one winched the boat up, then he could lower the motors straight down again on the other side of that rear cross member. getting it off the reailer involves backing down a little further on the ramp to get 3/4 of the boat floating,motors up, and guess who gets the fun task of pushing this thing off the trailer!!!