Bow stopper position / boat position on trailer (tongue weight)

[Hai Nhi]

I know we've talked about this. But not about my setup, hehehe. So please come in and chime your advices.

I think my trailer can take a longer boat (thumb up for the next upgrade which I can't wait).

So the boat was sitting about a foot off from the max setting for the bow stopper. I modified a bit by moving the tongue back, and push the boat up a couple of inch. From the look of it I think it's okay in term of balancing & tongue weight and what not.

But last week, when I came back from a ride, I cranked the trailer jack up (2000 lbs rating) and it slipped. I also felt a bit heavier when cranking. So not sure if I should go get it weighted or not.

Is the 10-15% tongue weight applied for any boat weight? My boat: Dry: 8000 lbs I think, plus 100 gal of fuel & thirty something gal of water.
The front of the trailer is bent too. Not sure if it was bent before I bought it, or just recently. Should not be much of a problem though.



thank you.

 

[Ruff Life]

I can tell you my 270 with twin 4.3's which probably isn't much lighter than your 280 on an aluminum trailer weighed 13,800# when I ran it on the truck scales. I see you do have straps that hold the boat from sliding forward on the trailer. Those straps are the most important as the boat will slide forward and really load up the tongue if you hit the truck brakes hard in an emergecy. I have 2 heavy straps connected to the bow eye and going to the trailer that I make sure is very tight before trailering.

 

[1990-270-da-lover]

You should check the trailer manufacturer for the proper tongue weight recommendations. If you have too much weight on the tongue the boat may not track straight behind the vehicle, same with too little weight. It is possible in these configurations to get the boat swaying back and forth so much that you can lose control of the whole rig. Proper load balance is critical for towing control.

 

[Ruff Life]

Definitely check with the trailer manufacturer or owners manual on the trailer for tongue weight. I originally set up for approx 10% on the tongue and it was causing the aluminum beams to bend more than I thought was ok. After talking with the manufacturer of mine they told me to keep it around 600#. The boat and trailer runs straight and true down the road, no swaying and the braking is good.

 

[CliffA]

I can tell you my 270 with twin 4.3's which probably isn't much lighter than your 280 on an aluminum trailer weighed 13,800# when I ran it on the truck scales.

WOW!....i would not have expected that kind of weight....the dry weight of your boat is 7,500 lbs....i would have never thought you could add an additional 6,300 lbs from adding an aluminum trailer, various liquids, and 'stuff'.......

cliff

 

[1990-270-da-lover]

WOW!....i would not have expected that kind of weight....the dry weight of your boat is 7,500 lbs....i would have never thought you could add an additional 6,300 lbs from adding an aluminum trailer, various liquids, and 'stuff'.......

cliff

It may be that the towing vehicle was on the scales at the time the reading was taken. Just a thought.

 

[GJarrett]

The recommended tongue weight for my trailer was 7% not 10%... it figured out to 450 lbs for a 6,400lb load. I bought the trailer from a guy who's been in the business for decades and trusted him to set it up right. I've pulled it a few thousand miles since then with no sway or problems whatsoever - including one emergency lane change/stop with a high pucker factor. It did fine even then.

 

[Ruff Life]

Just checked the truck scale ticket and I was mistaken the weight was only 11,800#. This was boat and trailer only! I also weighed the trailer only at 1,500#. The boat was less than 1/4 on fuel and also less than 1/4 on water. We did have full gear on board.
Rick

 

[Hai Nhi]

The recommended tongue weight for my trailer was 7% not 10%... it figured out to 450 lbs for a 6,400lb load. I bought the trailer from a guy who's been in the business for decades and trusted him to set it up right. I've pulled it a few thousand miles since then with no sway or problems whatsoever - including one emergency lane change/stop with a high pucker factor. It did fine even then.

Where do you get the info from?

I read from etrailer.com, they mentioned 10%-15%.

I tow just fine, no sway nothing. I just concerned because it seems pretty heavier when I cranked my trailer jack (it's broken now, I have to rebuild it next week).

Ruff Life, When you weighed yours at the scale, did you weigh the tongue too?

I plan to weigh my trailer tongue weight with the bathroom scale. I'll probably weigh at a public scale next time after filling in all water & full fuel, just to get an idea.

 

[GJarrett]

I've also always heard 10%, but I got the 7% figure from this guy when I bought a new trailer from him. http://www.bobsboattrailers.com/

I live in SC and bought a 240 Sundancer w/o trailer from a military guy at the Norfolk VA base, and bought the trailer to get it back home. Bob came with the highest referrals I could find for the area and has decades of experience. I asked him why he was setting tongue weight to 7% not 10% and he said with good trailer brakes and proper tiedown, 7% works fine for heavier loads.

I still use 10% for my other lighter trailers. However, after the traffic incident that I survived pulling the boat, I am confident it is completely fine at 7%. What happened was that I was in the right lane of an interstate doing 65 mph when someone on an entrance ramp tried to merge into my right side. I had to hit full braking (engaging ABS) while at the same time abruptly swerving into the lane to my left (which also had traffic that was bailing out to their left shoulder when this happened). The boat/trailer tracked behind me properly.

 

[jitts3]

Do you know what the actual weight of your boat and trailer is. 10-15% seems very excessive if it is as heavy as rufflife's boat or heavier. You need to check the tongue weight rating on your trucks reciever and the drawbar you are using. One Ton trucks are nice. But they can do incredible towing with 5th wheels and goosenecks since the tongue weight is placed over the rear axle. With the tow behind hitch excessive tongue weight lifts weight off of the front axle and this causes braking and steering control issues.
I have never seen a weight distribution system for boat trailers yet. And with some people towing 15,000 boats, using a "straight bar" settup to me is risky.

 

[Hai Nhi]

No I don't have the weight. I will go weigh next time when fuel & water is full for the next trip. But figured probably 14k-15k inclusive.

I have a WD system but I need to get an adapter for boat tongue but not sure if I have enough room there any more (I pushed it all the way back so the bow stopper can touch on the boat bow).

I towed long distant (2-3 hours a couple of times, 4 hr once) without any tracking issues. But I know in emergency situation everything changes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jitts3]

What does this weight distribution system look like. I am used to this on my travel trailer. I grew up around this settup.
http://www.equalizerhitch.com/

The trailer under my 240 is junk. I am wanting to build my own with the A frame similar to the campers so I can use the same system.

 

[ChuckW]

There's a lot of info on here about towing set ups. I use a weight dustribution hitch. Approaching 100k miles on my trailer. Check out here... http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php?p=322017

Chuck

 

[jitts3]

Yea, the same idea. They just go wider than the trailers main bar mimicking an A frame. Interesting. I have never seen one in person. Very cool.

 

[JAMZ]

Here is what happened to me in Chicago from a quick stop. Straps to the front is a very good idea.

 

[jitts3]

Here is what happened to me in Chicago from a quick stop. Straps to the front is a very good idea.

A quick stop in Chicago. Imagine that!
What was that broken bracket to and did the boat get hurt?
I just realized you are literally down the road from us. Kinda. We are in FDL.

 

[Hai Nhi]

The previous owner only had straps (2 front & 2 rear). The boat was off from the bow stopper about 1 foot or so. But when I tow, I don't like the feeling of the boat bouncing up & down. That's why I moved the tongue back as much as I can, then moved the boat up about 6". Now bow is resting on stopper. 4 straps are still in place.

Yeah, where's that broken piece from?

 

[JAMZ]

A quick stop in Chicago. Imagine that!
What was that broken bracket to and did the boat get hurt?
I just realized you are literally down the road from us. Kinda. We are in FDL.

That is the bracket that holds the winch to the brace. I just got the boat from Michigan City, headed to Neenah, WI. I had a car cut in front of me to get on the off ramp that was stopped. Luckily he was smart enough to go to the left of the car that was stopped on the edge of the highway ramp. Or I would have creamed his BMW. It was a two hands on the wheel with full force on the breaks. I did not know that anything happen until I pulled the boat out at the end of the season. The winch bracket snapped, after looking at it. The boat must have pushed forward and cracked the bracket. I did not have front straps just rear. I really never though something that heavy would shift. I won't do that again. Here is some picks.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21214822@N04/sets/72157640731203234/

 

[MonacoMike]

Just checked the truck scale ticket and I was mistaken the weight was only 11,800#. This was boat and trailer only! I also weighed the trailer only at 1,500#. The boat was less than 1/4 on fuel and also less than 1/4 on water. We did have full gear on board.
Rick

In similar conditions my boat and trailer weigh very close to your figure and my dry weight is 6500 lbs. My trailer is a little heavier. My take is the OP's outfit weighs similar once he scales it.

I've also always heard 10%, but I got the 7% figure from this guy when I bought a new trailer from... I asked him why he was setting tongue weight to 7% not 10% and he said with good trailer brakes and proper tiedown, 7% works fine for heavier loads.

I still use 10% for my other lighter trailers. ...I am confident it is completely fine at 7%.

I agree with GJarrett, towing a 5000 lbs. load and a 10,000 lbs. load are totally different animals if using a 3/4 ton truck. A few facts and issues on this tongue weight confusion. Most hitches on 3/4 ton trucks are rated for 5000 lbs. total and 600 lbs. tongue weight for a drawbar pull. (All weights give or take a 10% or so) The higher weight limits are for the weight distribution setup and then the tongue weight can go up to 1500 lbs. or so. The bottom line is we must find the compromise between the two maximum tongue weights for a safe comfortable ride.

As noted previously few boaters have a WD setup on their outfits so we are in a dilemma, we have a 12,000 lbs. load, no WD, and a 10% tongue weight would be 1200 lbs. doubling the maximum tongue weight for many trucks. If I were to do all the weights and math I'd bet my trailer is near 7%. I set mine using to two methods to arrive at a comfortable setup. One, does it drop the rear of the truck and how much? Two how does it feel to drive, does it sway, does the front of the truck feel light, or does it push? a one inch move on the bow stop can make a big difference in the road feel and two inches is like a different outfit.

MM