Extending Tongue

[RTripp]

I have a 12' sears aluminum boat and a 15 hp johnson on a small trailer. Boat weighs about 70 lbs and the motor about the same. So, not much weight. My problem is the tongue is about 5' long, not long enough. My cars back tires are in the water and my exhaust pipe is almost in the water.

Can I add another 5' to the tongue? What do you recommend?

 

[Grub54891]

Throw a pic up here, I think you can extend it, but the " how" comes to mind on doing it properly.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Water on your tailpipe and back tires won't hurt a thing

 

[Grub54891]

I agree with Scott, as long as you don't get in deep enough to get water in the rear differential, if a rwd vehicle.

 

[RTripp]

I'm trying to upload pictures, going very slow.

I'm towing boat with a toyota matrix. And I fish mostly salt water.

 

[RTripp]

[No message]

 

[RTripp]

This original tongue is about 5' long, it's the old 1"x3"
I'm thinking about replacing it with a 10' 2"x2"
Can I get a hitch stand that would fit on 2"x 2"?

 

[RTripp]

[No message]

 

[RTripp]

I can get a winch stand for 2" tongue.

Mod EDIT

 

[Scott Danforth]

by the looks of the rust and corrosion, I would simply look for a new trailer.

 

[RTripp]

the rust and corrosion is just cosmetic. If I get another trailer I would still want to extend the tongue.

 

[RTripp]

I have a welder who will take the 1 x 3 inch tongue off and put on a 10 foot 2 x 2 inch for $100.
The trailer has new wheels, spindles,bearings and tires.
The boat and motor are actually light enough that I don't need a winch.

I'm thinking if I put the gas tank and a cooler in the front of the boat this will give me enough weight on the tongue.
I can also slide the boat more forward so the motor will be closer to the axle.

What do you think?

 

[JimS123]

That trailer needs a lot of work. I don't even see a winch stand. In my mind a longer tongue would make the rig unstable.

You don't need a longer trailer, you need to be able to launch the boat better. When I launch and retrieve I stand behind my car on dry land. If you exhaust is bubbling under water, you are not doing it right or you have the wrong equipment.

Add a winch, get rid of the V-bunks at the bow, add a couple keel rollers, spray Pam on the bunks, replace the bunks, etc., etc.

As someone else said, a new trailer set up for a boat would be the best option.

 

[M2HB]

When I built/rebuilt a trailer for my 12' aluminum boat, I extended the tongue a couple of feet. I replaced the entire tongue with new material. The trailers typically tow better when they are longer. Just make sure you have enough tongue weight after extending the tongue. I put all the items that I'm traveling with, in the bow of the boat to increase tongue weight.
It tows great and it is easy to launch.

On my build, I actually used very little material from the original trailer. I used a small part of the frame and the fenders. I think that is all I used. I used a new axle, new mounts, new tongue, new tires and wheels, etc. I actually titled it as a new trailer since I didn't use any part that had a serial number on it. Keep in mind, it is almost just as much work fixing a little trailer as it is a big trailer.

 

[RTripp]

Thanks for the responses. I did just replace the long bunks in the back. They were 2 x 6 and I put 1 X 6. I took off the brackets which were holding them up and now they are much lower, right on the frame.

A lot of people on this forum agree with M2MB That lengthening the tongue and having weight in the front of the boat make it tow better and easier to back up.

The main launch I like to put in is a long shallow ramp. So...adding length to the tongue still seems like a good idea.
But instead of making the length 10' from the trailer to the coupler I will probably make it 7-8'

I have launched at another ramp which got deep fast and I did not have to put my wheels in the water. But, it's not my favorite place to launch.

I don't really need a winch as the boat and motor are so light. But if I find a good used one some day I will probably get it.

 

[M2HB]

Pictures are worth a thousand words. Some of you launching issues is caused by the height of the boat. Many boat trailers have "V" shaped cross members which allow the boat to sit lower.
If you had a tilt trailer, you could tilt it and launch in shallower water without backing the trailer into the water as far.

I don't know how the coupler is attached to the tongue, but it looks unusual. You tongue is already fairly long for that trailer.

 

[M2HB]

Here is a picture of a trailer that I built/rebuilt. I added 2 or 3 feet to the tongue.

 

[M2HB]

A couple more pictures.

.

This trailer tows like a dream with a long tongue. It is balanced properly, loaded properly, and driven properly.

As I recall, the tongue material is 3" x 3" x 3/16". My steel supplier will sell in 10' sections. This tongue uses most of that up.

 

[ahicks]

My thought is that when you take the trailer to the welder, see if he doesn't have some scrap around that could be used for a bow stop. Even if you don't need or use a winch, a bow stop can make trailering a boat like this much simpler. If he can do that for a few bucks, that would be money well spent in my mind.

 

[JimS123]

Your tongue is already too long. Flexing of that long tube can't be good.

Without a bow stop the boat is not securely fastened to the trailer. Your rig is an accident waiting to happen.

You certainly DO need a winch. That's one of the reasons you have to back in so far.

Ever see a boat fall off a trailer? Ever see a trailer crack in half? Ever see a minor collision with a trailer on the highway? I have seen all of the above. I'm not trying to be overly critical, I just want to see you pursue your sport safely. Also, the accident you have might just be with ME!!

Boating is supposed to be fun. If it takes longer than a minute and a half to launch, and/or you need to walk into the water up to your knees, it ain't no fun.