Tongue
 

My new trailer has a long tongue on it..Like 5 ft.. Will cutting off 1 ft give me more tongue weight.. I have about 150 lbs tongue weight right now . The boat and trailer weigh about 5500lbs combined.

No trailer expert here but wouldn't it be easier to shift the axles back or move the winch stand forward a few inches and pull the boat forward. Either way would give more tongue weight. Can you post a picture of it? Not sure that cutting 1 foot would actually give you more weight or just a shorter tongue.

I would agree, move the winch stand forward a couple inches and that will give you more tongue weight. if I am correct the tongue weight should be about 10% of the total load

First off are you seeking more tongue weight or are you trying to shorten the trailer and concerned about the effect on tongue weight?

Tongue Weight
 

I am wanting more tongue weight because people say you need 5 to 10%. I have towed the boat up to 80 mph and it seemed ok. People say you will feel the tongue wanting to bounce up and down if if you don't have enough. I don't see that in the mirror. Not sure if I can feel a bounce or not.. My truck is a dodge 2500 quad cab 4x4 so it will absorb almost anything. The winch is a s far up as it can go without jumping over where the I beams come together. That would be like 10 inches up and I have already moved the boat 8 inches up.. i have about 3 inches of bunk sticking out already.. Moving axles would require moving fenders so thats out.. it is brand new and bought from a dealer. He spent about 1.5 hrs moving the boat forward and putting on a new winch stand.. He says its fine and he does seem knowledgeable. The tongue is just long so i thought cutting it down a foot might help so thats why I am on here.Any thoughts either way are apprreciated.
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...s/P1010772.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...s/P1010777.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...s/P1010775.jpg

Chris

Shortening the tongue a foot should slightly increase the tongue weight (it might add 10 lbs). In my opinion this is not worth the trouble. Since the tongue weight is so small compared to what the truck can handle, you are not seeing any bouncing problems. I think the main concern is the lack of tongue weight could allow the trailer to bounce up off the ball. For this reason I would make sure the trailer coupler clamps on to the ball very well. This can usually be adjusted.

I would look at trying to move the boat forward on the trailer if possible.

Since you have that extra long tongue, why don't you mount a box on the front so you can store your straps, jack and other misc stuff you'll need? That's what I did. I also keep the battery in there for the winch, wheel chocks ect. Shortening the tongue will reduce your jack knife ability slightly.

I agree fire... I have already been looking at boxes to put on the tongue...

Chris

If it were mine I would take it to a weld shop and move that break assembly back some. Think about leverage when breaking a bolt or anything. The more space you have from the object to the pivot point the easier it is. All the weight is stored in the rear of a boat. Like the guys said I don't know how much weight it would transfer but That would prolly be my first move. IMO the wheels are far enough back that you shouldn't be have any issue and using a dropped hitch will help some.

Tongue weight
 

Thanks for the advice Kboy.. The only thing you have to do to shorten the tongue is loosten the bolts where the I beam comes together , cut a foot off the back of the tongue beam and slide it back and re-tighten the bolts. The dealer has offered to send it back to the factory which is only 5 miles from here and have them do it for free. The dealer is not sure if it will give any more tongue weight or not. There is plenty of room for the brake lines and wiring harness for everything to move back a foot. I am starting to like the idea of adding a box to the front.. I am sure i can find a 100lbs of **** to store in there.

Chris

Or you can jump the winch assembly over where the beams come together like you said and have a custom bow roller braket made up and move the boat farther forward ...if it dont work out you can easily put it all back....if you cut the tongue theres no going back without replacing it.....

That's not that great of a trailer, and here is my reasoning:

All that wood bunk hanging off the back of the trailer with no trailer cross member and frame support--that wood WILL sag over time. Not only that, this will allow the boat to sag over time, much the same way as having a boat hanging off the back of the bunks. In your case, this will eventually create a hook in your hull. This may sound extreme, but it can and will happen, however major/minor; etc. It is feasible.

I would move the winch stand forward of the Y where the I-beams come together.

Then, make note of where the transom of the boat sits via relative distance from the rear cross member on the trailer; once you have moved the winch stand forward.

THEN, remove the boat and move the WHOLE WOOD BUNK forward to the point where only about 2" of wood is sticking out past the transom of the boat.

Now, I don't know how much tongue weight this is going to give you. It may very well be too much. However, your boat will be properly supported on that trailer that should have I-beams and cross members that are at least 18" longer than they are.

By the way, I speak from experience. My Rocket trailer under my 26' Sonic was built the same way.

Also, I don't see anything supporting the forward section of that hull. Moving the boat forward may very well cause the hull to interfere with the I-beams as well.

In my opinion, every trailer needs front horizontal 2x6 cradle supports for the V section of the forward hull. This will help you guide the boat on especially in wind and current. As it is right now, you risk hull to aluminum contact if you miss the bow stand. That's not good.

Cutting off 1 ft won't change the tongue weight, other than the weight of the peice of steel you cut off. It doesn't have any effect of the boats position over the axles, which is what determines tonue weight.

Ya US1 I think I would agree with that. As far as what Sydwayz had to say , well I dont agree. I went and looked at over 20 boats parked at the same place I keep mine and 90% of them on alum trailers had the bunks sticking out at least as far as mine. The ones that didn't were twin engine boats and the axles were further back to cope with the extra weight of the engines . The bunks are 4x6 cypress. Thats probably stronger than having aluminum hang off back there. The boat does slightly rest on a center guide3/4 the way up but is hard to see in the pic.

Chris

I don't mean to call your baby ugly & I understand your thoughts. But like I said, I speak from experience as two trailers ago I was up against the same issue(s). My used Rocket trailer was only 2 seasons old when I got it and it was never used, as the boat was lift stored. The bunks were absolute junk when I got it; cracked and warped including sagging downward to the aft. I don't remember if they were PT Pine or Cypress, but I did replace them with Cypress when I rebuilt the whole thing. I have several posts here on OSO about my old Rocket trailer and my rebuild.

Bunks
 

It's ok Sydwayz . I understand what you are saying.. I do think there are large differences in steel vs alum trailers and in what bunks are made of.. As i understand it cypress is the best. i also know from experience that the bunks are a wear item and have to be replaced ever so often. I looked at a 25 outlaw on a different brand trailer today.. that boat is similar in dimensions to my boat and the trailer was somewhat similar. I measured the length from hitch coupler to bow eye and length from last cross member behind axles to the end of the boat.. The baja was within .5 inch in the front and 1.5 inches in the rear.. I also looked at my trailer ball as it was new 3 days ago.. It was marked up a little on the top 1/4th but none under the sides of the ball.. Hence it must not be bouncing much.. The trailer is a magic tilt trailer. lots of them around here.
Chris


Chris

Short tongue
 

Careful Sir:
Consider this: If you shorten the trailer tongue, you will reduce the distance between the power unit drive axle and the towed unit axles. A shorter distance may require that you dunk your drive axle tires in the water at the ramp for a proper launch. Traction problems!!!