Not sure how I feel about this weight---

sailor55330

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Aug 16, 2013
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So based on curiosity, I took my boat and truck to the scale today. The boat is a 2007 Glastron gxl 205 on a tandem axle EZ Loader w/ surge brakes. The tow vehicle is a 2008 Toyota Sequoia with the 5.7 4x4 and the tow package. The truck is rated to tow 9100lbs (not that I ever would). It does have the aux oil cooler and tranny cooler along with 4.30 in the rear end and tow/haul mode and 6spd tranny, 381hp and 401 ftlbs of torque---it pulls well for a gasser. Wheel base is either 119 or 122, I can't honestly remember

Here's my question--how would you feel about this weight/setup.

From the CAT scales today---full fuel, no gear

Tongue 520lbs
Axles 3820lbs
Total 4340lbs.

The truck rear end squats just over 1" when towing and the boat sits level. My biggest concern is the tongue weight. The integrated hitch has a sticker that shows 6k and 600lbs tongue weight. With 520lbs tongue weight, I am at 11.9% and have zero sway at any speed. Do you think I'm too close to the max tongue weight on the hitch?

I am an experienced tower with 20+ years of safe towing behind me.

Tell me if you think I should have concerns or if you think I'm overly cautious.

Thank you in advance.
 

smokeonthewater

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Of course 520 lbs is close to 600 lbs.....

You are set up absolutely perfectly

Your hitch is rated to tow with 600/6000 for a couple hundred thousand miles....

Yes a little over cautious..... Would be like worying that 4 gallons was a little too much water to put in a 5 gallon bucket ;-)
 
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MTboatguy

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Based on the numbers, I don't believe you could get closer to perfect for a set up.
 

lckstckn2smknbrls

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Since the weight was with no gear you can take off some of the tongue weight by careful loading of your gear.
 

sailor55330

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Thanks All---

I knew I was within limits, but usually like to have a little more safety margin. I guess when I do the actual math, I do have 15% more tongue weight before I max the hitch. As for loading of the gear towards the back of the boat, there really isn't a lot that we take with us as most trips are just day trips to the lake.. Maybe a cooler, which actually locks into the boat right behind the second axle, so call that 50lbs there and some inflatables. I'd be willing to bet that total gear weight for a day trip is less than 100lbs. About the only thing I could realistically move would be the anchor, but for the 20lbs involved, not sure that's worth it.

It's all good news----except the part where I can't tell the wife we need a new tow vehicle........even though this one is just getting broken in with 68k.
 

smokeonthewater

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understand that 600 lbs isn't the max the hitch can hold, it is the amount that it is designed to carry day in and day out for a lifetime with a wide safety margin factored in already.... example (of course I don't recommend this) my jeep has a hitch rated for 200 lbs tongue weight and 2000 lbs gross but I put a boat behind it for a 1 mile LOW SPEED move with over 800 lbs tongue weight and nearly 10,000 lbs gross weight .... no problem....

A friend of mine towed an 18,000 lb fifth wheel for almost 10 years and many thousands of miles with a 15,000 hitch without realizing it... he even put a jeep on a tow bar behind it for a few thousand miles before I came along and noticed it.... I got him squared away with a bigger hitch btw.

This safety margin you seek is a good thing but it is already factored into your hitch ... if you absolutely max it to the rated capacity you will still be WELL below it's failure point.
 

H20Rat

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MORE tongue weight wouldn't hurt a thing... no reason at all to lower it

Except more tongue weight CAN be a bad thing! It takes load off your front tires, which potentially reduces control as well as braking. Personally, that is high for a tandem trailer. I'd probably aim for the 8-10% range max.
 

smokeonthewater

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Sure it CAN but the point is that on this setup he has no NEED to lower it
Absolutely nothing to gain.
 

sailor55330

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Aug 16, 2013
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The front end isn't "light", but I can feel maybe the slightest "ease" of steering, and then again I may be imagining it. It is definitely not "pointing skyward" by any means. As for tongue weight, I don't think I could really do anything. As mentioned, this is with the boat empty and I have about 1/2"-3/4" between the transom and the end of the bunks, so no room to move anything back.
 

smokeonthewater

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Yep ur golden... Go boating and enjoy a cold beverage for me...
I'm 1000 miles from my boat...
 
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