Trailer sways

[fishin'ND]

I've noticed excessive sway on my Ranger trailer. I'm going to replace the tires, due to wear and have the trailer aligned, but what causes the swaying. Too much or too little tongue weight?

[David/MN]

Too little weight will cause the rear end to fishtail.....

dw

[brian1785]

So, what do you do to make more tongue weight in this case?

[eyewitness]

If you have a reciever hitch already it is simple. There are mounting bars for your ball that come in varying degrees of drop height from flat to 4-6" of drop. Eye up your trailer the way it sits now and see how much you need to drop the tongue to help it ride close to level, then buy the appropriate mounting bar. If you don't have a receiver hitch and only a bumper hitch, you will either have to have one installed, or take your trailer in and have the coupler on the tongue changed to a raised coupler. Either way, it is not safe to trailer a boat the way you have it now. If you ever get a flat you could have your vehicle suddenly jerked to one side causing loss of vehicle control which would not be good. Usually the outcome is not pretty and hopefully no one gets hurt. Sounds like you're taking this seriously which is good. It's just amazing how many folks don't. Also, if you really want to do it with accuracy, use a bathroom scale and set it on something that will be the same height as your receiver will be riding at. Don't forget to drop it slightly as your vehicles rear suspension may drop a little once loaded. The tongue weight should be 80-100# at the height it will ride at.

[Fishin'ND]

OK. I've made sure the trailer is level with my receiver hitch 3 years ago. Now, if I need more weight on the tongue I'll have to move the winch stand forward an inch or so and check the weight. I believe I've read somewhere there is a certain percentage of the total weight of the trailer, boat, motor and gear that should be on the tongue. Does anyone know what that is?

[REW]

Check your tongue weight -
The weight on the ball should be 5-7% of the towed weight.

i.e. - if you have a 3000 lb rig - you should have a tongue weight of about 250 lbs.

Many folks say - that if they can't lift the tongue, that there is too much weight. Wrong -
Get the weight on the hitch to that 5-7% level and you will be fine.

If you need more weight on the tongue - either move the boat forward on the trailer, or move the wheels back on the trailer.

If you have a problem doing that - take it to your dealer for help.

Take care
REW

p.s.
Another thing that might be causing your problem - is the way that you have rigged or loaded your boat.
Often - the addition of a kicker - is enough to make a rig - go from a very good trailing rig, to a very bad trailing rig. Hanging a 100- 200 lbs of motor on the transom, can make a difference.
Is it possible that you have loaded the boat - with gear - in the back of the boat - that could be moving the weight back?

[Smiles]

I had the same problem with my Ranger Trail trailer when I switched from a full size pick up to a Grand Cherokee. I have contacted my dealer , the Ranger factory and trailer hitch installers. Here are the rules: 1) You must have a minimum of 10% of the towed weight on the tongue. 2) A tow vehicle with a long wheel base tows better than a narrow wheelbase vehicle. 3) A tow vehicle with a wide stance is better for towing.
You can correct your problem by moving your boat forward, on the trailer an inch or so. You can buy anti sway bars for your rig from trailer/ hitch installers & you can buy load leveler hitches as well, if your trailer is not level and if your tow vehicle sags in the rear.
All this assumes that your towing vehicle has enough power and torque to handle the job. Good luck on getting your problem solved.

[ranger 690]

Just curious is the model your towing 690vs with asingle axle trailer i have the same problem over 67mph ,towing with either a ranger 4x4 or astro van

[Tire man]

Check your tire pressure on the tow and the truck!

[Smiles]

My Ranger dealer told me that the Ranger 690's on single axle trailers could sway if towed by vehicles with short wheelbases and narrower stances. This was not an issue with 690's on tandem trailers. My own unit happens to be a 617 and it towed great behind a full sized pick up and the problem happened only when I towed with a Jeep Grand Cherokee.
You can solve your problem by having enough tongue weight, getting anti sway bars for your trailer and/or a load leveler hitch for your trailer. You'll have to go to a specialty shop, if you need those devices.

[johnp034]

What are you towing with, and is it set up properly? Could have a bearing on part of your problem.

Johnp034