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Position of transom edge on rear roller? Today's saga... TONGUE WEIGHT?
Instead of asking the forum why my transom straps were almost cut through and what to do about it... A little research was in order. So I was off the a different Alumacraft dealer. One other than the guy that set up my rig.
Upon inspection of a rig almost identical to mine, I discovered my trailer was not even close to being set up correctly. The frayed and broken transom straps gave it all away. My boat was way too far back on the trailer. As in 12" too far! My course was set for the day. "Rebuild" my trailer. The catch... The boat was still on it!! (Lil' lady needed the truck.) Blocking up the boat so it was secure was a chore to say the least. A few 6x6 wood blocks and I was good to go. The rear roller rack was the first to move forward. What do ya know, the next attachment point for those was exactly 12" forward from it's starting position. Hmmmmm.... Next, the axle. Taking careful measurements, and marking the rails, I moved the axle forward 9". Why not 12"? I'm going for a +/- 200lb tongue weight. I need to weight until I can get a scale to make the final adjustments. The winch stand was a breeze. Actually moved this 13 1/4" forward. Here's my question... (Finally) Where should the trailing edge of the hull at the base of the transom rest in relation to the rear most roller? The transom is approximately 2 1/8" thick and currently positioned with the center line of the roller 1 1/4" back from the trailing edge. Is this okay? Or should I get really picky and perfectly center the transom on the center of the roller? Whew.... That was a lot of typing. What say yea? Do I move it a bit more or is it time to --->?
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Nothing smart to say today... Last edited by moose-hunter; 04-29-2012 at 04:55 PM. |
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#2
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I have mine set so the roller cenerline is about an inch ahead of the transom edge.
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#3
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I would call it good. My old Alumacraft-roller trailer was set up so the outer edge of the transom was about 1" past the roller centerlines. The purpose is to support the boat directly under the transom. This helps support motor load. Moving your rollers or boat 1/4" isn't going to make a hill of beans difference.
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#4
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Looks like is time for a frost cold one... Anyone else?
Oh yeah... Is that 200lb tongue weight a decent target to shoot for?
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Nothing smart to say today... |
#5
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Having played with trailer setup on two different boats quite extensively I can offer this advice from experience.
Your roller near the transom edge is correct, what you want to avoid is the situation where the boat could ride up on the winch stand under heavy braking and fall off the roller towards your tow vehicle. In general the bow stop will be just above the bow eye which acts as a stop to prevent the boat riding up any farther. Once you have the proper bunk/roller adjustments made and the bow stop correctly set having the rear keel roller an inch or so ahead of the transom edge is a good rule of thumb, having it closer to the edge won't help anything much...don't forget the safety chain hookup at the bow eye needs to be slack so if the winch strap/cable breaks the boat will move. You don't want to be so close to the edge of the transom with the rear roller that it falls off under that situation. Once you have all those conditions satisfied you can balance the load using tongue weight as a guide, moving the axle position is how this is accomplished. In general you want 10% of the trailer weight on the tongue, more weight makes the trailer less likely to fishtail at higher speeds and in high winds but there is a diminishing return here. Going to the max tongue weight won't make the trailer stop fishtailing if you have incorrect tires (I.E. Passenger radials), it's simply an adjustment you may wish to make if your trailering conditions are extreme such as towing in mountainous terrain with a single axle class two without brakes. That being said I think you will find the 10% rule perfectly suited to your needs assuming your tow vehicle can handle the weight without sagging excessively, on my Dodge minivan I use 7% so I can load the boat with camping supplies which places more weight on the tongue towards the bow. Essentially this puts a maximum of 170pds on the tongue when the boat/trailer is fully loaded to 2000ds which puts less load on the rear of my van...which is usually loaded in the rear with gear that needs to stay dry. How do you figure out the total trailer weight? I use a local weigh scale, I bring the operators coffee early on a Tuesday morning when they aren't busy and they do it for free. There is also a local weigh scale that has a credit card so anyone can drive up and use it. The trick is to weigh the axle wheels and the tongue jack separately and add the weights together, the local weigh scale I use they weigh my total rig weight and then my vehicle alone after I disconnect the trailer. Of course many places just eyeball all these things and call it good enough but I have found being a little more scientific will keep you out of trouble on the highway when you need to pass or a big rig goes by in the oncoming lane doing 80mph...the worst time to have a trailer start swaying on you. Other factors to consider that may apply to you is double axles, type of suspension system on the trailer (leaf springs are more sensitive than independents) and trailer braking systems that need that 10% tongue load to work effectively. I will say this, I have rarely seen a dealer adjusted trailer setup done properly...seems like they give that job to the least experienced tech in the shop. All you have to do is drive through a boat dealership and see how many trailers have the jack on the wrong side so you have to hop over the tongue to set it...it should be on the drivers side away from the winch so the handles don't interfere with each other and The spare should be on the passenger side so if you need to remove it on the side of the highway your not doing so on the traffic side. All common sense things if you think about it. |
#6
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Chuck-- all good points & its refreshing to see someone who actually understands the intricacies of trailer setup. And yes, you are correct in your observations of dealer setup as you'll see many instances of the same trailer supporting different size boats &/or motors with little or no difference in setup. Proper ride height & weight distribution is always the key. I agree with your 7% rule as this also allows the operator to lift the tongue to move the trailer by hand if necessary for either hook-up or just moving it around the garage. Also takes some of the load off the trailer jack.(Double bonus). Taking it a step further, the coupler must be adjusted for your particular ball. That should be done immediately when you pick up your trailer (boat,snowmobile,cargo, whatever.) There are a multitude of different balls in use today with different neck heights and balls are for the most part somewhat oblong, not round as most people think. They will wear out & develop grooves in them. These should be replaced. Yet, even with all this attention there is no guarantee that your coupler won't uncouple in certain conditions. That's why you have safety chains, right? Accidental uncoupling could result in catastrophic occurrences & its well documented. I've been preaching trailer safety for years & have developed a hitch bracket which eliminates detachment of a trailer in motion & works extremely well with a standard ball height of 2 3/4". You can see it on my website. This could save damage to your rig or worse. Towing any trailer should never be a nervous experience.
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#7
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Moose,
Weigh your loaded rig. What does the fully loaded boat trailer weigh. i.e. boat, motor, trailer, full load of gas, gear in the boat? A 200 lb tongue weight sounds light for many boats. But I don't know the total loaded weight of your rig. Take the rig over a scale and weigh it. i.e. take the boat onto the trailer, disconnect the boat and leave it on the scale and get just the rig weight without the car. Then multiply by 10% and that should be your tongue weight. It seems that most average size rigs have a tongue weight that is closer to 300 lbs. Yes, it means that you can not lift the tongue - But that is what tongue jacks are for. That is also why when my first tongue jack wore out, I replaced it with a 1000 lb capacity high lift tongue jack with a pair of jack wheels on the bottom of the jack. Much easier to move around with two wheels under the jack than one wheel. Good luck REW |
#8
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After doing a quick calc of known weights in and around my boat, the 200lb. target will be no where near 10%. More like in the neighborhood of +/- 350lbs.
Status: I've moved the axle the final few inches to match the rest of the components. A total of 12" forward. At that point, tongue weight maxed out my 330lb. capacity scale. I moved it two more times for an extra 4" (total of 16" forward) and it still pegged the scale. I'm concerned that if I go much farther I'll run out of rail before finding my "balance point". That said, I'm going to call it a day until I can get her weighed. Then, if I get the nerve up, I may bring the axle up a wee bit more. Or not.... It all depends on if the crappies are biting.
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Nothing smart to say today... |
#9
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Moose,
To have more weight capacity on the scale, just use two scales. Put a plank between the two scales and weigh the combined weight of the plank. Then, put the trailer jack wheel on the plank. The tongue weight will be split between the two scales. So, add the two scale readings together and subtract the weight of the plank and you should have your tongue weight. Take care REW |
#10
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I believe the owner's manual for my Shorelander roller ( model SLR22L) suggests 5-7% tongue weight, with the 10% target for lighter weight boats. It also states that for maximum support the center of the rear rollers should be approx. 4 inches from the transom.
http://www.midwestindustries.com/doc...s/11SLR22L.pdf This is a nice reference link to look up your specific model trailer if you don't have a manual. |
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