| What does your tongue weigh? #22630 07/28/03 10:54 AM 07/28/03 10:54 AM |
Joined: Jun 2001 Posts: 283 hobie541 OP
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Posts: 283 | Not a joke post, but sure sounds like one....what is the tongue weight on your trailer?
Mine seems kind of heavy, and I'm planning on moving the axle forward to make it lighter. What do you figure it should weigh?
I'm towing a Hobie 20 with a gear box up front, and a sail box down the length.
Thanks!
Tim J.
Tim D. Johnson
Hobie 20 #690
Bald Eagle Yacht Club, Fleet 52
www.beyc.org | | | Re: What does your tongue weigh?
[Re: pschmalz]
#22633 07/28/03 01:04 PM 07/28/03 01:04 PM |
Joined: Nov 2002 Posts: 5,558 Key Largo, FL & Put-in-Bay, OH... Mary
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Posts: 5,558 Key Largo, FL & Put-in-Bay, OH... | I've never heard of a Cat trailer that didn't tow well. I have. We have had two tongues break because of the buffeting from the tailwind of the motorhome, causing the trailer to start whipping from side to side. This has only happened with trailers that have long tongues that do not have triangulated supports from the front of the tongue back to the main frame. Some people trailer their boats backward on the trailer, and one reason that some do it is because with the sharp bows facing forward, the bows catch the wind and can get an oscillation going. Other people trailer the boat backward just because it is easier to raise the mast when it is sitting up on the trailer mast stand and you don't have to do that initial cling-and-jerk maneuver. (But if you drop it, you will probably dent the top of your vehicle.)
Last edited by Mary; 07/28/03 05:00 PM.
| | | Re: What does your tongue weigh?
[Re: hobie541]
#22634 07/28/03 01:18 PM 07/28/03 01:18 PM |
Joined: Jun 2001 Posts: 12,310 South Carolina Jake
Carpal Tunnel
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Posts: 12,310 South Carolina | Mine is about 250lbs...with my scooter loaded between the hulls!
Prior to some serious trailer surgery, the trailer and boat weight was 900lbs (400lb+ Nacra 6.0 on a galvanized trailer, and a large alumninum toy box). The target as per most trailer guidelines is 10% of the overall weight should be on the tongue - so it should have been 90lbs instead of the, difficult to man handle, 195lbs that it was.
I lengthened the tongue on my trailer by 6' and moved the axle forward 33" so I could balance the trailer better and be able to leave my mast on the trailer behind my RV. Without compensating for the weight of the steel this would put me with 100lbs on the tongue. As mary pointed out, I found that the additional unsupported 6' set the tail wagging the dog behind the RV or whenever a truck would pass me in my small truck. Back in the shop for some additional 110lbs worth of reinforcements with the intention of being able to put the scooter on the trailer this time. Tongue weight with just boat and trailer is back to about 180lbs (thanks to all the steel after my calculation). But I can get it behind the RV, with the scooter, and it's rock solid now.
Last edited by Jake; 07/28/03 04:13 PM.
Jake Kohl | | | Re: What does your tongue weigh?
[Re: Mary]
#22636 07/28/03 04:55 PM 07/28/03 04:55 PM |
Joined: Jun 2001 Posts: 74 Reno, NV pschmalz
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Posts: 74 Reno, NV | We have had two axles break because of the buffeting from the tailwind of the motorhome, causing the trailer to start whipping from side to side. I find it very hard to imagine an axle breaking from this kind of side loading. I can imagine that it would cause accelerated bearing wear and, if not corrected, eventual spindle failure. Bracing of the tongue itself shouldn't have any impact on towability (although it will make the trailer sturdier) - The center of mass, center of drag, and position of the axle should be the predominant factors. I didn't think about buffeting caused by a large RV when I wrote my first post. You are not going to solve that problem by adding a large weight like a scooter to the front of the trailer, though. To resist buffeting, what you want is as much weight on the trailer's wheels with as long a lever arm between the ball and axle as possible (if you don't belive this, think about what would happen if you had no load on the wheels). Because the friction force is not quite linear with the load on the wheels, the lever arm term is slightly stronger, so it does pay off to move the axle back even though that will decrease the load on the wheels. Increasing the tongue weight in and of itself does nothing though. I have been thinking about building a new trailer for a while, and I've been checking out other people's trailers at regattas. None of the ones I've looked at had more than 50 lbs. tongue weight loaded, and none of the owners complained about towability. Take it with a grain of salt, your mileage may vary, etc, etc. Being able to manhandle the tongue easily is a very nice feature in a trailer. | | | Re: What does your tongue weigh?
[Re: hobie541]
#22638 07/28/03 06:23 PM 07/28/03 06:23 PM |
Joined: May 2002 Posts: 217 jcasto1
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Posts: 217 | I think a trailer tongue should weigh about 100 lbs, or more. I have moved a trailer axle backwards, because it was too light ("perfectly balanced, he said"), and oscillated too much when loaded. My current trailer I moved axle forward to lighten tongue load - it was too heavy to pick up easily, and didn't roll well on the cheesy plastic wheel up front.
Think about this - what company has most experience with the "average guy" and a trailer? -- UHAUL. What does it say on every trailer they rent? - "Load most of your weight in front of the axle".
Jim Casto NACRA 5.5 & NACRA 5.7 Austin TX Lake Travis
| | | Re: What does your tongue weigh?
[Re: pschmalz]
#22640 07/28/03 10:21 PM 07/28/03 10:21 PM |
Joined: Jun 2001 Posts: 283 hobie541 OP
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Posts: 283 | My main difficulty was that of being able to manhandle the tongue. Too heavy, and I'm guessing it's nearly 150 lbs or more. Time to lighten the load. I plan on doing so Thursday after work.
We'll see what happens!
Tim
Tim D. Johnson
Hobie 20 #690
Bald Eagle Yacht Club, Fleet 52
www.beyc.org | | | Re: What does your tongue weigh?
[Re: hobie541]
#22642 07/29/03 07:15 AM 07/29/03 07:15 AM |
Joined: Jun 2001 Posts: 1,911 South Florida & the Keys arbo06
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Posts: 1,911 South Florida & the Keys | Tim, I had the same problem with my trailer after I moved the sail box forward. I moved the box back on the trailer to the original position and the problem went away. Can you move the box and cradles back vs the axle? My tongue weight is 70 lbs, even my 16 year old can move it to mow the grass.
Eric Arbogast ARC 2101 Miami Yacht Club | | | Re: What does your tongue weigh?
[Re: pschmalz]
#22644 07/29/03 10:16 AM 07/29/03 10:16 AM |
Joined: Jun 2001 Posts: 12,310 South Carolina Jake
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Posts: 12,310 South Carolina | in my case, the tail wagging was the tongue flexing because it was unsupported for a good length. The trailer wasn't swerving but it was wiggling side to side (like a snake). The scooter had nothing to do with trailer stability but the reinforcements I added were beefed up to be able to handle the additional load that far forward of the axle.
Jake Kohl | | |
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