Extending Trailer Tongue?

[Isaacm1986]

I have a 1989 EZ loader trailer. It is setup for a 19ft boat. The boat that came off of it was a 19ft blue water open bow (fiberglass boat). I am hoping to extend the trailer tongue out by 3ft to fit my 21ft aluminum starcraft. My plan is to buy a longer tongue and bolt it in. My question is, will this work? I know my starcraft is a lot lighter than the blue water was, so i don't see any problems. But i wanted to ask before i go doing something stupid.

here are the pics of the trailer.

[crb478]

If the boat is lighter and you are only going forward two feet it should work. You might want to consider getting a folding tongue kit to add to your current tongue as a way to save space then parking the trailer. Also make sure that you can adjust the trailer to fit the new boat before you commit to switching it over. I have an aluminum trailer that is made for boats up to 21 feet and it is also a single axle trailer.

[Isaacm1986]

If the boat is lighter and you are only going forward two feet it should work. You might want to consider getting a folding tongue kit to add to your current tongue as a way to save space then parking the trailer. Also make sure that you can adjust the trailer to fit the new boat before you commit to switching it over. I have an aluminum trailer that is made for boats up to 21 feet and it is also a single axle trailer.

Thanks for the info. I will look into those folding tongue kits.

[Silver Eagle]

I have a 24 ft. 5 starr trailer .I have been thinking of adding three feet as well. My pontoon boat is also 24 ft long. and if I'm not to carefull the pontoon could hit the side of my truck when making too tight of a turn. I movdr the boat back a foot so that doesn't happen but I'd like to get a longer tongue .The only real problem is no one will sell me what I want. I'm going to change the brakes to a set of disc brakes and the coupling piece will be about a ft. longer ,so that may help me out.

[JB]

Looks to me like you may have a problem moving the axle cradle forward far enough to balance the package.

Otherwise I see no problem as long as you rig it correctly, ie; support directly under the transom and 10% of the weight on the tongue.

Good luck.

[Lawnmedic]

You may be able to just move your winch stand forward and not need a tongue extension.

[Isaacm1986]

You may be able to just move your winch stand forward and not need a tongue extension.

I know the boat will fit with the winch stand moved all the way forward, but then the boat is right up on my jeep. I am hoping to be able to have a couple feet of space between the boat and the jeep.

[Lawnmedic]

Looks to me like you may have a problem moving the axle cradle forward far enough to balance the package.

Otherwise I see no problem as long as you rig it correctly, ie; support directly under the transom and 10% of the weight on the tongue.

Good luck.

10% isn't exact... It's considered a minimum. The majority of a boat's weight is concentrated in the rear(engine). I doubt that the tinny would make an axle adjustment necessary

[Isaacm1986]

So i just took the measurments of the current tongue. It is a 3"x4"x5'. Lets say I bought a piece of 8' galvanized tubing, would adding 3' to the tongue affect the tongue weight a lot? I know my tinny weighs about 1500# lighter than the fiberglass boat that was on the trailer.

I do not know a whole lot about setting up a trailer, tongue weight, and so on. so this is why i am asking. Any advice is helpful.

Thanks

[sublauxation]

My one attempt at doing this failed miserably. I'll do my best to describe this in a way that makes sense. I tried moving my 18 foot boat up 20 inches on the trailer so it would fit in the garage better. When launching as the back of the boat starts floating it essentially pushes the front down and the keel scratched against the trailer tongue and that front crossmember pretty bad. I added a couple keel rollers along the tongue but it made it really tippy when loading/unloading because those rollers changed the angle of the boat sliding off the trailer, and the middle set of 8 rolllers didn't give support at all. If you watch your boat slide off the trailer slowly you'll see what I mean, as the boat slides back the keel drops down in front and probably just misses that front crossmember. Move the boat up too far and it will hit that crossmember. Loading was even worse because the front of the keel would hit that crossmember and you sorta had to lift the boat over it. I maybe could have found a way to make that work but plan B was easier.

I ended up sliding tubing into the back rails of the trailer to make it longer in back, then moved the back crossmember and rollers back further. I was able to slide the boat up about 8 inches from it's original position, and I added about 14 inches onto the back of the trailer. I slid the tubing into the trailer about 4 feet and added 3 grade 8 bolts. Then I cut off the front tongue and added the swing tongue. Again, I hope that makes sense.

Also, I was also really surprised at how much tongue wait I added when I first slid the boat up that 20 inches.

[Isaacm1986]

My one attempt at doing this failed miserably. I'll do my best to describe this in a way that makes sense. I tried moving my 18 foot boat up 20 inches on the trailer so it would fit in the garage better. When launching as the back of the boat starts floating it essentially pushes the front down and the keel scratched against the trailer tongue and that front crossmember pretty bad. I added a couple keel rollers along the tongue but it made it really tippy when loading/unloading because those rollers changed the angle of the boat sliding off the trailer, and the middle set of 8 rolllers didn't give support at all. If you watch your boat slide off the trailer slowly you'll see what I mean, as the boat slides back the keel drops down in front and probably just misses that front crossmember. Move the boat up too far and it will hit that crossmember. Loading was even worse because the front of the keel would hit that crossmember and you sorta had to lift the boat over it. I maybe could have found a way to make that work but plan B was easier.

I ended up sliding tubing into the back rails of the trailer to make it longer in back, then moved the back crossmember and rollers back further. I was able to slide the boat up about 8 inches from it's original position, and I added about 14 inches onto the back of the trailer. I slid the tubing into the trailer about 4 feet and added 3 grade 8 bolts. Then I cut off the front tongue and added the swing tongue. Again, I hope that makes sense.

Also, I was also really surprised at how much tongue wait I added when I first slid the boat up that 20 inches.

Thanks for spelling this out a little for me.

How would i go about figuring out the current tongue weight, and what it would be if i slid it forward?

[I Fish]

I have no first hand experience in this, but I was told by a friend of mine that roller trailers are not good for aluminum boats. He said the rollers cause to much stress where they contact the hull, and the bouncing from the road bumps will flex the aluminum, possibly weakening it and or loosen rivets. This guy has had his boat/marine repair/dealership since 1964. I follow his advice. He says bunks only for aluminum, riveted or welded.

[Isaacm1986]

I have no first hand experience in this, but I was told by a friend of mine that roller trailers are not good for aluminum boats. He said the rollers cause to much stress where they contact the hull, and the bouncing from the road bumps will flex the aluminum, possibly weakening it and or loosen rivets. This guy has had his boat/marine repair/dealership since 1964. I follow his advice. He says bunks only for aluminum, riveted or welded.

This is the first i have heard of this.

Can anyone else chime in on this? Are rollers ok for not for a aluminum boat?

[sublauxation]

How would i go about figuring out the current tongue weight, and what it would be if i slid it forward?

I stacked up a pile of wood and used a bathroom scale. The key is to make sure the tongue is level, a couple inches up or down changes the weight quite a bit. I don't know how it would effect the structure of the trailer but if you can move that front crossmember up a bit it would help in moving the boat forward. It looks like you could move the axle up a foot pretty easily if needed.

[sublauxation]

I have no first hand experience in this, but I was told by a friend of mine that roller trailers are not good for aluminum boats. He said the rollers cause to much stress where they contact the hull, and the bouncing from the road bumps will flex the aluminum, possibly weakening it and or loosen rivets. This guy has had his boat/marine repair/dealership since 1964. I follow his advice. He says bunks only for aluminum, riveted or welded.

I wouldn't trade my roller trailer for anything even with my aluminum boat. Mine has sat on rollers for 30 years. There are some rivots that popped on the inside stringers but I don't think those have anything to do with the rollers. It's never leaked a drop and there aren't any dents in the bottom either after that time. We've seriously abused some boats on roller trailers dragging them around Canada overloaded with gear and never had a problem.

[Home Cookin']

you might find a winch stand that's more vertical than yours so you can shave off some space and move it up more comfortably.
You can also let the transom hang off the rollers some, to buy some space, especially for short term--or do you store the boat on this trailer?
I like the idea of adding a swing tongue; welding an extension scares me.
Balance will be your biggest chalenge but with a light boat, probably manageable.

[Isaacm1986]

you might find a winch stand that's more vertical than yours so you can shave off some space and move it up more comfortably.
You can also let the transom hang off the rollers some, to buy some space, especially for short term--or do you store the boat on this trailer?
I like the idea of adding a swing tongue; welding an extension scares me.
Balance will be your biggest chalenge but with a light boat, probably manageable.

I definitely would not weld a extension on. I would buy a whole new tongue. I priced them out today at my local steel supplier, it will run me $5.50 per FT. That is ungalvanized. I do not know how much it would cost to have it galvanized for me. Or since it is just the tongue, I might not have it done. Just give it some good coats of rustoleum. The trailer will mostly be used in freshwater anyways.

[LippCJ7]

Isaac, I have an issue with getting Galvanized Steel in Denver, I have found that its sometimes cheaper to get it online even with shipping, not always mind you but while I used to think it was size related, I can't find a consistent reason for the price difference. I have to use Galvanized steel for most applications at work. For your application you can get it cut and everything...

Hope this helps and good luck!

[Home Cookin']

now that I think about it more, maybe the tail is wagging the dog. If your trailer doesn't fit, trade trailers. yours is a good brand that appears to be in good shape. Any used trialer dealers in your area?

[Isaacm1986]

Isaac, I have an issue with getting Galvanized Steel in Denver, I have found that its sometimes cheaper to get it online even with shipping, not always mind you but while I used to think it was size related, I can't find a consistent reason for the price difference. I have to use Galvanized steel for most applications at work. For your application you can get it cut and everything...

Hope this helps and good luck!

Where do you buy it online? I have done some searches, but have come up rather empty handed.

[Isaacm1986]

now that I think about it more, maybe the tail is wagging the dog. If your trailer doesn't fit, trade trailers. yours is a good brand that appears to be in good shape. Any used trialer dealers in your area?

There are a few trailer dealers around, and I would not mind trading someone if the deal was right. Sure would be a lot easier. Although, i don't mind making this one work either.

[LippCJ7]

onlinemetalstore.com I have used several times what size are you looking for?

[Isaacm1986]

onlinemetalstore.com I have used several times what size are you looking for?

I am looking for a 3"x4"x9ft. 1/16" thick. The current tongue is 5ft long, and 1/16" thick.

[LippCJ7]

mechanical steel 4"X3"X9' 1/8" thick is $55.20 50.5 lbs

Not a bad price until you ship it that's estimated at $278!!

UPS ground would be about $52 though thanks to googlefu (estimated)

Hummmmmmmmmmmm

onlinemetals.com * 800-704-2157 in seattle call them and see if they have what you need..

[sea_goin_dude]

One additional plus to extending the tongue length is that most boats, trailers will usually track better. That is less sway or maybe fishtailing if that has been a problem.