How essential is a level trailer?

D

Dandelion

Cadet
Joined
Apr 29, 2008
Messages
17
I tow a 3000 pound boat on a tandem trailer, and have a Class III hitch. My ball mount has a 2" drop. It's about an inch low. In other words, the trailer would be perfectly level if my ball mount had a 1" drop.

That's an easy $20 fix but does an inch plus or minus make a difference?
 
E

External Combustion

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 21, 2007
Messages
608
Re: How essential is a level trailer?

An inch won't make any discernable difference. A couple of inches would for a torsion axle set up or seperately suspended springs. Three or four would be the limit for springs using an equalizer and almost no limit for a walking beam suspension.
 
ebry710

ebry710

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Jan 29, 2008
Messages
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Re: How essential is a level trailer?

Dandelion said:
I tow a 3000 pound boat on a tandem trailer, and have a Class III hitch. My ball mount has a 2" drop. It's about an inch low. In other words, the trailer would be perfectly level if my ball mount had a 1" drop.

That's an easy $20 fix but does an inch plus or minus make a difference?
Click to expand...

Welcome to iboats.

I wouldn't worry about 1".
 
cbavier

cbavier

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Apr 8, 2007
Messages
1,363
Re: How essential is a level trailer?

Welcome to I Boats.
An inch down won't make any difference but an inch up could if you do a lot of hauling or haul long distances towing. Keep an eye on the skeg. Make sure your outdrive or motor is in the full up, trailering position so you don't drag your lower unit. It's hard on them especially at the boat ramp. ;)
 
D

donnymac

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Aug 6, 2007
Messages
99
Re: How essential is a level trailer?

My trailer was perfectly level until I figgered out that if I go with a 2" drop I'm no longer overheight for the ferry. It's a $28 savings. The boat sits a little low at the front but I havn't felt any adverse affects. Ferries, yeessh.
 
cbavier

cbavier

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Re: How essential is a level trailer?

donnymac said:
My trailer was perfectly level until I figgered out that if I go with a 2" drop I'm no longer overheight for the ferry. It's a $28 savings. The boat sits a little low at the front but I havn't felt any adverse affects. Ferries, yeessh.
Click to expand...

If it's not level. It's better to be low at the hitch than it is to be high. It's just added a little more tongue weight by dropping it.
 
M

mickjetblue

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 23, 2007
Messages
509
Re: How essential is a level trailer?

For on the road purposes, an inch or two may not matter, as long as nothing
is close to dragging. I once had a hitch that was a little lower than it needed
to be, and occasionally, whenever I pulled into a parking lot where
there was a low dip, it would hit the road.

It really doesn't take much of a dip for a low hitch to hit bottom,
so level is better than lower.
 
Captain Caveman

Captain Caveman

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Joined
Mar 1, 2005
Messages
924
Re: How essential is a level trailer?

Remember that if you are bottoming out when going from a driveway/parking lot into the street, take the dip at an angle. That should prevent your hitch or trailer from hitting the ground. The same applies with your boat motor. If you don't have it tilted up, make sure that your trailer crosses dips at an angle and you won't bounce your motor off of the payments.
 
cbavier

cbavier

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Re: How essential is a level trailer?

Captain Caveman said:
Remember that if you are bottoming out when going from a driveway/parking lot into the street, take the dip at an angle. That should prevent your hitch or trailer from hitting the ground. The same applies with your boat motor. If you don't have it tilted up, make sure that your trailer crosses dips at an angle and you won't bounce your motor off of the payments.
Click to expand...

Always tilt your motor up ALWAYS! Same with an Outdrive put the lower unit in the trailering position before loading and unloading the boat at the ramp or you'll tear the skeg off and probably the prop. I do... usually lower the outdrive after I park the boat in the yard and when it's in storage but when trailering, launching or retrieving the outdrive is always up all the way.
 
Joe_the_boatman

Joe_the_boatman

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Apr 14, 2005
Messages
482
Re: How essential is a level trailer?

bruceb58 said:
Please explain how this adds tongue weight.
Click to expand...

Viewed from the side, while the vertical center of gravity (boat & trailer) doesn't move, the horizontal one does as the tongue is moved up or down (vertically).

At the extreme, imagine the trailer sitting almost 90? with the tongue up in the air - it would have almost no tongue weight (none when it gets to a full 90?).

Or, imagine a teeter totter with a suspended weight in the middle of it.


In fairness, a 1" drop would make the weight change very small.
 
cbavier

cbavier

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Joined
Apr 8, 2007
Messages
1,363
Re: How essential is a level trailer?

bruceb58 said:
Please explain how this adds tongue weight.
Click to expand...

Bruce it was already explained by Joey. Yes dropping one inch won't make much difference and it also won't make any difference in his towing either. It's all balance and pivot point. The weight being towed and the longer the point of gravity the more the difference. A 36 Ft Fifth wheel two inches high at the hitch will put additional stress on the rear axle or vice versa. On a boat it's not that big of a deal unless you have a really BIG BOAT.
 
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