Weight Distribution

[jstaszko]

I understand the importance of weight distribution and watched the pinned videos but how much weight should be in front of the axle and how much behind. 2500ish LB boat how heavy should the tongue be? I have some nasty boat bounce but know my rear shocks need replacing too.
TIA,
Jim

 

[Silvertip]

The videos didn't tell you tongue weight should be about 10% of the gross weight (boat, trailer, motor and gear)? 2500# (ish) is not a valid weight for establishing tongue weight. Weigh the rig. 10% of that weight is the recommended tongue weight for a single axle trailer. Move the boat forward or backward to achieve the required tongue weight. You can do the math.

 

[ahicks]

I wouldn't consider tongue weight to be an exact science. The 10% rule is going to put you in the ball park. Your 2500lb trailer should have about 250 lb of tongue weight. My experience has been that 50lbs either side of that will still pull just fine if everything else is OK.

Just as important are factors that include the bow pulled snugly into the bow stop to stop/minimize trailer frame flexing. If you look in the rear view and see the nose of the boat bobbing up and down on it's own, usually that's the issue. If the back of the tow vehicle is bobbing up and down a similar amount as the boat is, then you might try messing around with the tongue weight. I'd increase it at that point.

Another factor may be more temporary, like a bilge full of water or heavy "stuff" improperly stowed, throwing the tongue weight off too far.

 

[roscoe]

Also make sure boat is secured down tight to the trailer at bow and stern.
Sometimes an extra strap is needed on the bow.

And make sure you have the tires properly inflated so the entire trailer isn't bouncing.
Under inflated tires will cause it to bounce, the tires to overheat, and wear excessively.

 

[Maclin]

Probably not a factor here, but what is the tow vehicle? Tow vehicles "expect" to be properly loaded regarding tongue weight , and can be a factor if the vehicle is a super heavy duty unit compared to the load. For example, towing a jetski behind an F450 dually, trailer probably gonna bounce.

 

[M2HB]

10% for tongue weight is a good number.
i try to go heavier if the trailer tongue and the tow vehicle can handle it. Too much tongue weight won’t usually hurt you.
Too little tonguenweihjt can cause an accident. With boats, it is easy to get the tongue weight too low by having water in the bulge that wasn’t drained.

 

[jstaszko]

Probably not a factor here, but what is the tow vehicle? Tow vehicles "expect" to be properly loaded regarding tongue weight , and can be a factor if the vehicle is a super heavy duty unit compared to the load. For example, towing a jetski behind an F450 dually, trailer probably gonna bounce.

It's an F-150,l 2wd, SuperCrew. So not a light vehicle but not a super duty, lifted truck either.

 

[Joolz]

Too much tongue weight won’t usually hurt you.

Absolutely not true and poor advice to give someone that is inexperienced in this area. Too much tongue weight will have two very real adverse effects: one it will make the TV's front wheels lighter, possibly affecting control and thus increasing risk of an accident. Two, it will affect the vehicles rear suspension, causing it to wear off prematurely, as well as the tires.

The 10% rule is an approximation, not a sure science. Look at the TV's capability, overall weight, etc. I'm having a similar problem with too much tongue weight for my small SUV and this is something I need to remedy ASAP. As in, before this causes me to crash while making a turn and watch as the vehicle keeps going on a straight line.

To recap: too much tongue weight = REALLY BAD!

 

[ahicks]

I think prior to saying too much = really bad you need to lay out more specifics. If we're talking about a 1000 lb trailer on the back of a 4 door long bed PU with a 12k weight rating, that truck isn't even going to know that trailer is there even if it had half of that trailer's weight sitting on the ball.

I think though, that when you're talking about class 1 and II hitches mounted to the back of a compact SUV, you need to pay a little closer attention.

With the tons of potential variables, sometimes a little common sense will go a long way.

 

[H20Rat]

Most trailer manufacturers recommend 5-7%. Not sure if any of them go as high as 10%! In addition to Joolz' advice above, tongue weight also puts more stress on the trailer frame between the ball and the axle. If you watch a very tongue heavy trailer, you will notice that area flexes A LOT! I've seen trailers snapped in two, usually they are at the limit, and then hit a big bump at interstate speed.

 

[MTboatguy]

We can take everything to an extreme, but with boats most of the time, you can adjust the boat and the axles to get close enough to trailer comfortably. It becomes far more critical with the proliferation of the smaller cars and SUVs that trailer now a days.

I have personally seen a lot of vehicles towing boats to the lake that are undersized for the boats they are towing and indications that the driver does not know how to set their trailer up to tow properly.

Towing a 3000 plus boat and trailer on a vehicle that weighs in less than the trailer boat combo, is not smart. Make sure you have the proper vehicle and the trailer with payload is set up correctly.

 

[KJM]

can you move the axle back to increase tongue weight? my axle is connected with u bolts and looks to be adjustable. the boat is as far ahead as it can go without running past the back rollers (did that). maybe the rollers can be moved ahead instead? don't mean to hijack another persons thread but while we ae on the subject......

 

[Silvertip]

Most trailer manufacturers recommend 5-7%. Not sure if any of them go as high as 10%! In addition to Joolz' advice above, tongue weight also puts more stress on the trailer frame between the ball and the axle. If you watch a very tongue heavy trailer, you will notice that area flexes A LOT! I've seen trailers snapped in two, usually they are at the limit, and then hit a big bump at interstate speed.

Yet most vehicle manufacturers and generally, most trailer outfitters recommend 10%. Tandem and tri-axle trailers require less tongue weight to tow properly.

 

[jstaszko]

F150, 2wd, 5.4 v6, crew cab. I moved the winch mount up a couple of inched. Installed new Billstein 4600 shocks in the back and it's much better.

When hooked should the trailer be completely level / slight tongue up or should it be a little tongue down?

 

[MTboatguy]

I always set mine up level if possible, if there is anything preventing, I go a small amount of tongue up

 

[jstaszko]

Ok, thanks, I had a slight tongue down angle before the new shocks, now it's a slight tongue up.

 

[M2HB]

Absolutely not true and poor advice to give someone that is inexperienced in this area. Too much tongue weight will have two very real adverse effects: one it will make the TV's front wheels lighter, possibly affecting control and thus increasing risk of an accident. Two, it will affect the vehicles rear suspension, causing it to wear off prematurely, as well as the tires.

The 10% rule is an approximation, not a sure science. Look at the TV's capability, overall weight, etc. I'm having a similar problem with too much tongue weight for my small SUV and this is something I need to remedy ASAP. As in, before this causes me to crash while making a turn and watch as the vehicle keeps going on a straight line.

To recap: too much tongue weight = REALLY BAD!

I will respectively disagree with you.

You may have more experience than me since I've only built equipment trailers and some boat trailers on and off since the mid 1970s. As long as the TV will handle the weight, being slightly heavy on the tongue weight WILL NOT hurt anything. When I say "usually" I'm not referring to 50% tongue weight. I recommend between 10% and 15%, again, as long as the TV can handle it. I didn't mention "as long as the TV can handle it" because most people would understand that when I said "usually". Slightly heavy (15%) again, as long as the TV can handle it, will not cause an unstable trailer. Go the other direction and get below 5% and you can have serious issues. The 10% rule is approximate and if a person is going to make an error, make it on the high side, not the low side.

I would NEVER recommend under 10% tongue weight. Over 10%, and I must reinforce within reason, will not cause issues.

 

[M2HB]

I will go into more depth, with boats and tongue weight. As I have said in many earlier posts 10-15% tongue weight is what I recommend. If the TV a person in using is limited to 10% tongue weight, of what a person is pulling, they are probably pushing the limits of the TV much more so than is wise. Equipment trailers are easier to set up because the load can be secured and you usually know how it is loaded. Example, I will put a tractor on with the most weight forward. Usually these trailers will have pintle hitches. If I turned the tractor around the other direction, to load it, I may not have enough tongue weight to be safe.
Boats create an issue where there can be water in them that you aren't aware of. That water, as you accelerate, or if the tongue is slightly upward, can end up in the stern and significantly reduce the tongue weight.
Too little tongue weight can rip the trailer right off the TV. Excessive tongue weight, within obvious reasonable limits of the TV, won't cause instability, like little of no tongue weight will do.

 

[JimS123]

Lots of variable here. Most people overdo the tongue weight. I'll give you my opinions based on 50 years of towing boat trailers with 100% success.

First, buy a drawbar that levels the trailer.

2500# single axle - 150- 175# on the tongue. If its a tandem, 125#.

Put the boat in the proper place on the trailer's frame and leave it there. If the tongue weight isn't right, move the axle not the boat. Its silly to have a boat trail good if the rollers / bunks don't properly support the hull.

Set up / fix the tow vehicle so the springs / shocks carry the weight without sagging.