Trailer Tongue Weight

I decided to check my tongue weight on a recent used purchase of a 29 foot Powerquest that came with a trailer. To my surprise the weight was only 100 pounds on a 6500 pound boat. I have attached a photo showing where the bow support is mounted up against both side I beams. Would it be realistic to mount the bow support in front of both I beams. This would move the boat up closer to the tongue and hopefully get me at 650 pounds of tongue weight. I don't know what else I could do to fix this problem.
ThanksView attachment 190241

Re: Trailer Tongue Weight

If the boat is sitting properly on the trailer, leave it alone.

To attain the proper tongue weight, you need to jack up the trailer, and move the axles rearward.

Re: Trailer Tongue Weight

and if the boat is overhanging the rear then YES definitely move it forward and having the winch stand in front of the side rails is absolutely fine

Re: Trailer Tongue Weight

To correctly rig your trailer for 5-7% of rig weight (tandem axle trailers):

1. Position boat for support of the transom, moving the winch stand as needed.

2. Move axle/spring cradle as required to adjust tongue weight.

Re: Trailer Tongue Weight

JB said:

To correctly rig your trailer for 5-7% of rig weight (tandem axle trailers):

1. Position boat for support of the transom, moving the winch stand as needed.

2. Move axle/spring cradle as required to adjust tongue weight.

Click to expand...

I did not know the tongue weight is different on a dual axle trailer than a single axle trailer. From what you said it looks to be cut in half. I also never considered moving the axles backward. I think I will first try moving the bow support forward which would be a lot easier than relocating both axles.
Thanks for all the good information.

Re: Trailer Tongue Weight

If you move the bow support forward and the boat along with it....where will the transom be resting on the trailer? Transom support is far more critical in order to maintain hull integrity. By moving the boat forward on the trailer what will the point on the bow run into on your tow vehicle? Re-think moving the axles...

Airshot

Re: Trailer Tongue Weight

And you'll need to back the trailer into the water that much farther as well.

Re: Trailer Tongue Weight

+2 on "Re-think moving the axles..." airshot
Not near as hard as you're thinking.

Re: Trailer Tongue Weight

Thomv said:

I did not know the tongue weight is different on a dual axle trailer than a single axle trailer. From what you said it looks to be cut in half.

Click to expand...

It ISN'T ....... a trailer is a trailer...... to an extent you can get away with a lower percentage on a longer trailer but that doesn't make it REQUIRE a lower percentage.


Do NOT move the boat to set tongue weight... move the boat to position it correctly on the trailer.... move the axles to set tongue weight...

SOMETIMES you get lucky and positioning the boat correctly on the trailer just happens to improve tongue weight.

The transom of the boat should be positioned VERY near to the end of the bunks or the last rollers on the trailer.

Re: Trailer Tongue Weight

My bunks actually extend about 1 foot past the ends of both main "I" beams and my boat transom is sitting inward from the ends of both bunks by about 1 foot. I think I could definitely move my boat forward 2 feet and then my transom will be right at the end of both my "I" beams. This definitely will increase my tongue weight. Looking at my attached picture I feel I still will be okay concerning the distance of my bow to the back of my Expedition.

Re: Trailer Tongue Weight

Whatever you do, DO NOT leave it as it is. 100 pounds of tongue weight is only 1.5% - oh, and does that 6500 pounds include the trailer weight? The closer to 10% you can get, the better the trailer will tow. I bet it's squirrely at 1.5%!!!

Re: Trailer Tongue Weight

smokeonthewater said:

SOMETIMES you get lucky and positioning the boat correctly on the trailer just happens to improve tongue weight.

Click to expand...

True. When I bought my 16' the stern of the boat extended way past the rear rollers of the trailer. Before doing anything else I moved the winch post forward until the rollers were within a couple inches of the boat's transom.

After doing that I weighed the tongue and it was carrying 7-8% of the total weight. The manual for my Mitsubishi Outlander recommends 5-10%. I only needed to adjust the height of the winch on the post.

Just for the record, I've bought 3 boats on trailers and not ONE of them was set up correctly when I brought it home. Every boat was positioned too far back on the trailer.

Re: Trailer Tongue Weight

Boat trailer manufacture require 5-7% on a tandem BOAT trailer, when other trailers want 10% or more.

I talked (phone) to Jerry Townsend several years ago and one of the questions was about why a tandem boat trailer was only 5-7%. and a camper, utility, etc. were +10%. The short of it, was there is no advantage going higher for a tandem boat trailer.
I asked the same question to the owner of Boat Trailers, Boatwheels, Custom Aluminum Boat Trailers . Yep, same, no advantage. 5% is what most customers ask for and he has no problem with it.

I'm setup for about 6%, 400lbs. empty (fuel not in consideration), loaded I'm under 7% 500lbs. The truck and trailer are level empty and never more than 1" drop at the hitch loaded. For my peace of mind, this is perfect, turnpike speeds, rain, panic stops, even on snow covered roads it handles great.

My original setup was 12% 800lbs and ran it for years, but was just never right. So a phone call to Jerry and a little face to face at Boatwheels with the trailer, and decided to believe the experts and make a move. If it works I'm good, if not then I could always go back, no biggie.

I did the math (thanks Jerry) marked the trailer and moved the axles one time. The move took less than hour from start to finish. The results were as stated above, perfect for 5-6 years now.

Every setup is different, and to go against everything I'd done in the past on trailer setups was hard.

I guess sometimes it's just hard to believe the boys that design and build something are right. :facepalm:

Looks/sounds like the boat itself is good on the trailer. Transom beyond the trailer and the bunks beyond the transom is common. So just move the axles to your manufacture's specifications.
It's just not that hard to move the axles.

huts


Classic Whaler: Boston Whaler: Reference: Trailering: Calculations

Re: Trailer Tongue Weight

View attachment 191147View attachment 191147I now have about 500 pounds at my tongue after making all of the adjustments. Please see my picture at the rear of my boat. Need to know how much of the bunk I should cut and if I do cut it how much should the bunks extend past my transom?

Re: Trailer Tongue Weight

anywhere from flush to 2" behind