Trailer weight distribution

[Crooked]

Hi All,
I was going to ask this question in Crackerjack's thread but didn't want to hijack it. I have recently purchased a new tinny (4.2m stessco with 40hp) it is on a simple belco trailer with keel rollers and two small skids at the back.

The trailer isn't fitted with a jockey wheel so is lifted on and off. Basically lifting the trailer off the tow ball takes a fair effort, as does lifting it from the ground to put back on. I know I can solve that by fitting a jockey wheel and will do so before a wreck my back. But my question is is there to much weight forward on the trailer which would be putting to much weight on the tow ball when towing??

The boat I upgraded from was a smaller tinny and I had it set up to be balanced at the axle, would pop off the tow ball with minimal effort, but was a much lighter boat in the first place.

Should I muck with the set up or just leave as is? How much weight is too much, reckon when kitted for fishing, lifting from the floor by hitch I need to exert about 30 - 50kg of force very approximately.

thanks, Evan

[seatime]

50kg sounds too much for that rig, maybe 20kg? too light and it can fishtale when towing, too heavy and you pop a disc.

[Crooked]

Thanks gelsec, it's only a rough estimation, I had a 20L fuel jerry, lifted that and then the boat and the boat was definately heavier by at least 10kg.

Evan

[kingtin]

Evan, you need a total weight at hitch of between 5 and 10% of boat and trailer combined.

You trailer is similar to mine and although my boat is smaller (stacer 3,95 with 25 merc) I would think that it shouldn't take too much effort to lift yours as I have a knackered back and can lift mine easily.

belco don't list trailer weights at their site but it should be on the compliance plate. Your engines weight should be in the handbook and your tinny should come in at around 200 kilos. Don't forget to add weight of gear and then calculate 8% (to be safe). That should be the weight at your hitch. Make allowances for if you travel differently at different times ie petrol/esky etc stored rear or aft of boat.

kev

[kingtin]

meant to add that you can check the weight simply by resting the jockey whell or hitch on some bathroom scales.

kev

[Crooked]

Hey Kev,
Thanks for the advice, I calculated the weight of my rig with gear and it would be about 510kg on an average day out, so 8% of that puts the weight at hitch at 40kg.

I just tried the bathroom scales as you suggested and read 60kg at hitch. I put a 25L tote tank up under the casting deck for ballast when travellling alone so I reckon this is part of the difference. Without this it would be a little less so it terms of the trailer it is probably setup OK or at least enough in the ballpark so I don't have to muck around with the setup.

But I reckon the jockey wheel is a priority as my back is getting sore lifting 60kg all the time!

Evan

[kingtin]

Glad to see that you've got it sussed Evan. You could of course, drop the hitch weight down to 5% if you felt the trailering was handling ok. Personally, I prefer the heavier end of the equation at the hitch as I have a big rig and heaviness at the rear is more noticeable than it is with a smaller rig.

kev

[Wayne_Red]

Hi Crooked
If it is easy move the axle forward a bit to save your back till you get the jockey wheel. It sound a little heavy to me although it would not effect the towing, nothing worse than lifting a heavy draw bar and pulling or pushing to the hitch, certain recipe for a strained back. When you buy a jockey wheel make sure to spend a few extra bucks and buy the swivel one so you don't have to take it off all the time and mount it on the drivers side of the trailer. That way you don't have to don't have to jump the draw bar when disconnecting.
Regards Wayne

[Crooked]

thanks Wayne, yeah I reckon the swivel ones are the go, a lot less hassle and hadn't thought of drivers side issue but good tip. Although still young a crook back could turn me into an old man really quick.

Evan

[Kerry]

50kg sounds perfect :) You certainly wouldn't want to go as low as 20kg (?) 40kg absolute minimum!

[kingtin]

<snip>
When you buy a jockey wheel make sure to spend a few extra bucks and buy the swivel one so you don't have to take it off all the time and mount it on the drivers side of the trailer. That way you don't have to don't have to jump the draw bar when disconnecting.
Regards Wayne

Bloody good thinking Wayne..the number of times I've cracked my shin stepping over the draw bar to get to the jockey! http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_1_38.gif

[seatime]

50kg sounds perfect :) You certainly wouldn't want to go as low as 20kg (?) 40kg absolute minimum!

Kerry, with boats that size you tend to do a lot of pushing around and lifting by hand, when they start getting bigger and heavier I agree the 10% of GTM becomes more applicable. A 4.2m + 40hp should be easy to handle on your own with straining the back too much IMO.

[Mod11]

I tend to go with a ' grunt ' lift. Which if it had to be measured would be somewhere between 30 and 50 kgs.

chilli

[kingtin]

I tend to go with a ' grunt ' lift. Which if it had to be measured would be somewhere between 30 and 50 kgs.

chilli

Depending on age and condition of spine.................in my case, the grunts come at around 10 kilo...............or when I go for a pee ::) ;) ;D

kev

[Sniper]

Swapped the jockey wheel over to the drivers side on my boat the moment I got home from picking it up from the dealer a few years ago. The reason I did it was not only cause its the side you use the most, but is also opposite the winch handle which I cracked my head on at the dealers and thought that if I did it once, I'm gonna do it again so why wreck a fishing trip from the star with a bad headache.
As for the weight on the towball, 40-50kg's sounds about right, but experiment to get the right mix of handling when towing as well.
Cheers
Billyboy

[Kleyny]

I was playing with my trailer today believe it or not there was quite a difference on the ball weight form hitch on the ground to raised past horizontal.

So i got my 55kgs with the trailer horizontal (close to ball height) i done this by moving the boat back on the trailer to take weight off and of course forward to put weight on with it still on the scales. I moved mine back around 4" to take some off. (of course this method you have to be careful the boat is still supported correctly).

Hope this helps

neil

[Crooked]

I was thinking of moving the boat back on the trailer a bit as you suggest Neil, but if as you say it is a bit lighter at horizontal than it is on the floor (where I measured my ball weight) then it is about right. So I think I'll leave it the way it is, tows very well and no effect on tow vehicle which is a hilux.

Just got to fit the jockey wheel, on the drivers side too as don't want to bang my shin or head!

Evan

[crabs]

for a 750kg and up total weight you should have about 75 to 100kg on the ball .
50 kgs sounds about right for a boat that size.
You must have a good load on the ball other wize the trailer will want to pop the ball and that will be a mess on the highway.:)

[STUIE63]

When using the swivel type jockey wheel always swivel it so that the wheel is at the back not facing forward.Check that is locked in .And check it again.Like i say always wheel to the back you don't want it coming free and digging into the road while you are towing.
Stuie