Does my boat look right on this trailer?

[boatman37]

My last boat 250DA had a tri-axle. I would rather overdo things. But this boat was stored at a marina and the marina ordered the trailer and set it up like this.

 

[scoflaw]

Problem with tri axels is they don't turn well on pavement. 6000 lb. axels are a common thing and would be fine for your boat.

Obviously by your posting title, you can see that you have a problem. You don't need to crunch numbers to see that the trailer is not a fit for your boat. Can you move things around ? Sure, but you know it's not right

 

[susanandlance]

Well, It could be the right trailer but deff not set up right, move the winch post forward a foot + in front of the Y, I bet its at least close to right then

 

[Woody]

They've pushed everything else to the max to fit this trailer to this boat, I wonder what the load rating is on the tires.

 

[Woody]

Problem with tri axels is they don't turn well on pavement. 6000 lb. axels are a common thing and would be fine for your boat.

Obviously by your posting title, you can see that you have a problem. You don't need to crunch numbers to see that the trailer is not a fit for your boat. Can you move things around ? Sure, but you know it's not right

I purchased a tri-axle for my 270 Sundeck. I liked it, smooth riding, easy pulling trailer, and more brakes too.

 

[scoflaw]

I purchased a tri-axle for my 270 Sundeck. I liked it, smooth riding, easy pulling trailer, and more brakes too.

Mine did that too. My problem was I had to jackknife it in reverse to get it from the street into the driveway. Those tires wanted to come off the rims with those axles fighting each other

 

[Gofirstclass]

My last boat 250DA had a tri-axle. I would rather overdo things. But this boat was stored at a marina and the marina ordered the trailer and set it up like this.

boatman, the problem with having too much trailer (triple axle for a 250DA) is that it will not compress the springs as much as it should and that will give a harsh ride with lots of jarring. That jarring will shake things loose on your boat.

You may be better off with a double axle trailer that is more suited to the weight you're planning on towing.

It definitely is important to get the trailer set up right. If it's not you could have continuous problems. If it is set up right your boat will ride like a dream.

 

[boatman37]

Actually it rides like a dream now, both with the 1500 and the 2500 but I know it isn't properly balanced. I'm going to move the winch post and try to get it all scaled out this fall when I pull it and see where I stand. Who knows, maybe I am under my limit but I know it has to be really close. 6600lb dry weight + 1300lb trailer puts me at 7900lbs without fuel, batteries, anchor, etc. So looks like I have 635lbs to get to my limit. 75 gallons of fuel is about 500lbs alone (although I rarely tow it with a full tank). The fresh water tank and black water tank are both empty when towing. I will try to figure it all out this fall then see what I need to do.

My old tri-axle rode great too but yeah it was hard on the tires making tight turns.

The tires say max load 2540lbs. They are 4 ply and say for trailer use only. They are Eco Trail ST's. 225/75-15

 

[Woody]

boatman, the problem with having too much trailer (triple axle for a 250DA) is that it will not compress the springs as much as it should and that will give a harsh ride with lots of jarring. That jarring will shake things loose on your boat.

You may be better off with a double axle trailer that is more suited to the weight you're planning on towing.

You can't determine whether a trailer is correctly designed to handle the boat it's carrying by counting the number of axles. A tandem trailer is not automatically better suited to handle the weight than a tri-axle is, nor is it going to automatically give less harsh ride. It's not as if there are only one set of springs to be used in all configurations.

 

[boatman37]

So over the summer I moved my winch post and bunk boards forward about 12". Pulled the boat today so got it on the trailer for the first time since doing this. It does look better and the jack is definitely harder to crank now. Gonna call around and see if any of the plants around here will let me weigh everything on their scales to get accurate weights.
Here are before and after pics:
Before:


After:

 

[Gofirstclass]

I think that looks better, but what the heck do I know?????

If you're looking for a place to weigh the whole rig, don't overlook your trash pickup site. They most likely have a scales and if you're a customer they probably would weigh you for free.

 

[boatman37]

Not sure where the trash pickup site is around here. We do have a scrap medal place here with scales but everytime I have been there there was a line. Not sure they would be willing to do a weighing for a boat. I used to work at a local steel mill a few miles from here and they have scales. I think they used to charge $5 to weigh somebody. I know the police used to bring semi's there to check for overweight. I think my first step is to build my own tongue weight scale and weigh it here but I still want to get total weights on everything.

 

[Seapig]

I’d move the axles aft.

 

[boatman37]

I’d move the axles aft.

That is definitely an option

So went to the scales today.

Details:
Truck = 2018 Ram 2500 6.4 Hemi Outdoorsman CC 4x4 Off-Road package with me in it and 1/2 tank of fuel and 100% stock

Boat = 2006 Crownline 250CR with A/C. CL lists the boat at 6600lbs dry

Trailer = 2016 Venture aluminum tandem axle = 1325lbs as per Venture

Boat was as it sits in the water. About 20 gallons of fuel, 7 or 8 gallons of fresh water and black tank empty. Anchor and all gear was still on the boat.

Truck with me and 1/2 tank of fuel = 7240lbs

Total weight = 15,900lbs

Tongue weight = 680lbs but hitch insert was probably 40-50 so closer to 640 tongue weight

Boat and trailer = 8660lbs. Trailer weighs 1325 so boat was 7335lbs.

Have to factor in the ~40lbs hitch weight. I use a WDH insert but not the torsion bars so it's probably about 40lbs.

Tongue weight = ~7.3%

Fuel tank is slightly forward of the axles so add 50 gallons to get a full tank and estimate that adds 100lbs to the tongue weight would put it closer to about 8.2%.

Can't really move the winch post anymore unless I go about 10" further due to it being right on the V part. That would put too much tongue weight on it. So I either leave it as is or move the axles back a little? It tows perfectly. No problems at all.

Forgot to add, I'm looking at buying a different insert rated at 15,000lbs and my trailer sits slightly higher in the front so if I get a little more drop that will add a little tongue weight too.

 

[Lazy Daze]

How did you measure the tongue weight? Something like... having the trailer disconnected so as the only thing on the scale is the tongue of the trailer (no truck, no trailer tires)... then balancing the ball coupler of the trailer on a 4x4? If so, that's an accurate assessment and that 7% is perfectly fine. Don't move a thing.

 

[Espos4]

If you are up to it, you could make the adjustments to increase tongue weight and see if it tows even better.

The 2500 is a great tow rig (also known as a titty shaker according to my sister in-law) and a little extra weight could improve on your current situation.

 

[boatman37]

I measured the tongue weight by first weighing the truck itself (7240lbs) then I went home and got the boat and only pulled the truck tires on the scale that time (7920lbs). Left the trailer tires on the concrete behind the scale. The 3rd weight was a total with all axles on the scale (15,900lbs). So the first weight with just the truck I didn't even have the boat as it was still at home.

So took the weight with the trailer connected and subtracted just the truck (7920-7240 = 680). I didn't have the hitch insert in the first time so add maybe 40 lbs to the truck weight. I guess the insert would still count as tongue weight? It does rest on the tongue? But that is probably nitpicking anyway....lol.

Titty shaker? hadn't heard that one but it's pretty accurate...lol. Does ride rough with no load on it

 

[Gofirstclass]

The 2500 is a great tow rig (also known as a titty shaker according to my sister in-law).

C'mon Man, you know the rules---without a picture it didn't happen.

 

[Lazy Daze]

I'm not sure that's the correct (most accurate) way to do it. From physics, we know that using a lever changes the amount of force needed to move an object. Your ball hitch is "X" number of feet behind the rear axle. Essentially, from the rear axle to the ball is a lever. This means you were really measuring the extra amount of pounds added to the rear axle. In the end, your tongue weight would be less - possibly quite a bit. And while it may trailer fine in a straight line, you could run into a very dangerous situation if you had to suddenly swerve. I had originally thought your picture showed the axles too far forward, but the number you posted sounded dead on. But with this info, I would move the axles. Or, at the very least, double check the weight the proper way, first.

 

[Woody]

I measured the tongue weight by first weighing the truck itself (7240lbs) then I went home and got the boat and only pulled the truck tires on the scale that time (7920lbs). Left the trailer tires on the concrete behind the scale. The 3rd weight was a total with all axles on the scale (15,900lbs). So the first weight with just the truck I didn't even have the boat as it was still at home.

So took the weight with the trailer connected and subtracted just the truck (7920-7240 = 680). I didn't have the hitch insert in the first time so add maybe 40 lbs to the truck weight. I guess the insert would still count as tongue weight? It does rest on the tongue? But that is probably nitpicking anyway....lol.

Titty shaker? hadn't heard that one but it's pretty accurate...lol. Does ride rough with no load on it

You weighed it the correct way boatman. As far as the hitch goes, we usually slide it in and drive around with it even when we're not towing the boat. I'd consider it part of the truck weight.