Bunk Setup

[tpenfield]

Re: Bunk Setup

1/2" . . . could probably just tweak the height of the bow roller.

 

[limitout]

Re: Bunk Setup

I just got back from the boat. It looks like the transom is extending about 1/2 inch past the end of the bunk. So the question now is do I play with the bunks or move the winch tower thing on the front forward.

yep, that's the best way to do it. just move your bow post forward then secure it temporary and winch the boat forward until its completely on the bunks then reposition your bow post to fit snugly again. may just have never been set right since it was bought new

 

[the machinist]

Re: Bunk Setup

Just a question, rather hard to tell from the photo, but seems there may be a lot of tongue weight here. If so, sliding the axles forward would help.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Bunk Setup

but seems there may be a lot of tongue weight here.

Curious how you would know this.

 

[the machinist]

Re: Bunk Setup

Just looks that way unless he has large twin V8s & I/Os, but photo angle can be decieving.

 

[agallant80]

Re: Bunk Setup

There is allot of toung weight, It flattened the rear end of my 1500 and made the 2500 squat a bit. With that said the boat and trailer were bought from the dealer as a package and they "set it up" what ever that means. I don't really want to get under her and start playing with the axles and moving them around. Its a 3 mile trip from the storage place to the lake and while the coast is 150 miles away I have never had a problem with control taking her down there for a long weekend.

 

[Grandad]

Re: Bunk Setup

There is allot of toung weight, It flattened the rear end of my 1500 and made the 2500 squat a bit. With that said the boat and trailer were bought from the dealer as a package and they "set it up" what ever that means. I don't really want to get under her and start playing with the axles and moving them around. Its a 3 mile trip from the storage place to the lake and while the coast is 150 miles away I have never had a problem with control taking her down there for a long weekend.

A heavy tongue, though not good, won't harm control, as long as the tow vehicle is able to carry the weight. If you go the other way, with the tail end heavy, you can lose control quickly. The tail can start to wag sideways and resonant motion can build to a point that throws the tow vehicle out of control, swerving all over the roadway before it rolls over. - Grandad

 

[agallant80]

Re: Bunk Setup

How is heavy tongue weight not good? I can understand taking up the suspension travel in the rear not being good and I have heard school of thought about loosing stearing control but is there something else?

 

[limitout]

Re: Bunk Setup

too much tongue weight cant lift the front suspension of your truck and cause steering loss especially when hitting bumps

too little tongue weight can make it tail heavy and cause the trailer to want to sway as well as lift the rear suspension of your truck and cause traction and breaking loss especially when hitting bumps or heavy breaking

you want 10% of the combined boat and trailer weight to be on the tongue, if your truck suspension is maxed out then you need to look into suspension assist springs to give it added capacity or you need to get a bigger tow vehicle. remember its not just the suspension but the breaking capacity as well that needs to handle the load you are pulling

don't move the axle unless you have to, it is way too easy to do it wrong and end up with everything out of alignment and riding crooked. moving an axle take a lot of time and careful measurements to get it right but anyone can slide it around and end up with the axle out of alignment for the rest of its life. if you are going to move it then take the boat off of the trailer before you even try adjusting anything, its not a job to do lying on your back under a boat

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Bunk Setup

Generally the axles are mounted as a sub assembly.

every time I've done it it was SUPER easy... never removed a boat from the trailer either.... I simply jacked up the trailer, removed the bolts... slid the axle assembly to the next set of holes and put the bolts back in.... Pretty much idiot proof

I know not all have pre drilled holes to line up but a tape measure from the coupler to each side will get things straight

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Bunk Setup

How is heavy tongue weight not good? I can understand taking up the suspension travel in the rear not being good and I have heard school of thought about loosing steering control but is there something else?

generally more tongue weight up to about 25% makes a trailer tow better as long as it doesn't exceed the vertical capacity of the hitch or tow vehicle suspension or cause the issues above.... eventually extreme tongue weight makes a trailer tippy but that is in the over 60% range... think of a tricycle with an extra kid sitting on the handle bars....

 

[idonthaveaname]

Re: Bunk Setup

Actually it looks to me like you may not have enough forward weight. Your tongue weight should be around 700lbs. If that weight doesn't flattened the rear end of your 1500 or make the 2500 squat a bit then it's obviously not heavy enough. Then again... 400lbs could do that as well. You won't know the weight until you weigh it. The second thing is your rear should not sag down much when you attach the trailer. Essentially it should remain relatively even keeping your trailer/boat level. With side posts you would know when your bow is approaching the winch/bow roller. With guides on each side you will always be centered. Another suggestion would be to add a couple of bunks right about where you are standing. This would block the hull from traveling further and you would know you hit home without whacking the bow roller. Loading/unloading alone can be tough so get all the advantages you can.

 

[idonthaveaname]

Re: Bunk Setup

Got to thinking about this a little more and recalled seeing something about tandems should have much of the weight distributed across the axles (unlike a single axle) and only about 5% across the hitch. Something to look into and may be why it seemed (pix) the boat was too far back. It may be correctly situated.

 

[idonthaveaname]

Re: Bunk Setup

I just saw this was from last year...sorry mod. That red line thing didn't show