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Any suggestion for keeping a light boat and trailer from tipping when not hitched to a truck? I like to climb in and tinker during the week and have to be careful not to go beyond the trailer wheels or it will pop up in the air.
We use an adjustable jackstand under small utility trailers when loading them without the truck attached. Put in underneath, and use the tongue jack to jack it up solid. Won't move a bit.
I have the same problem. My axle is in the center of the trailer. I have thought about moving the axle back, there are holes already drilled for this. The drawback to that is with the wheels farther forward I can back farther down a ramp without taking a chance on backing off the end. With the drought we are having here in Ky right now that is very possible on some of the launchs. I built a frame out of 2x4's and place it under the rearend of the trailer. You can raise the tongue jack like mentioned and tighten it or use some c-clamps and clamp it to the trailer.
The situation that you are describing usually (not always) indicates a less than optimal tongue weight.
If you do not want to re-balance the trailer, scavenge some pop-up tent trailer leveling legs and weld them onto the rear of the frame. Junk yards have these old pop-ups most of the time.
I saw one where a guy bolted on two bicycle kick stands to the rear cross member to support the rear when not hitched to the truck, he used two of the aluminum stands that can be cut to fit. The boat was an old wood row boat, he put the stands on so he could work on the boat in the garage and not worry about it tipping back.
