2020 FSH 210 and Tongue Weight Question

[vesder21]

So after searching since the beginning of spring I finally picked up a new to me 2020 FSH 210 yesterday!!! The boat has 19 hours on it and looks brand new! I ended up cancelling my 252 reservation because boat is much more manageable to tow around.

My question is after we towed it back (approximately 350 miles) last night and then tried to lift the trailer off via the trailer jack; the ball would not budge and was stuck. Since it was pitch black out I could not figure out way it would not release and only after shining a flash light I noticed that the hitch adapter (the metal piece that the 2" ball attaches to) was bent slightly downwards. It's not significant, but make it impossible to remove until I pulled the pin that holds it onto the hitch and then drove the vehicle forward until it came undone.

Anyway, from what I read the boat is roughly 3k + trailer 1k so 4k total with most of the weight in the back where the engines are. My wife's SUV towing is rated at 6500 pounds along with the actual hitch which is attached to the frame of the SUV. The hitch adaptor is also rated at 10k pounds and the 2" ball I purchased is rated at 6k.

The only thing I can think of is the tongue weight being slightly too heavy, but have not heard of this being an issue from anyone else. As you can see from photo #1 when initially hooked up the boat/trailer sit nearly parallel to the ground with maybe a slight drop? Do you all think I need to purchase a 1 or 2" riser to increase the height where the trailer attaches to the hitch ball? (and that is what caused the bend?) Other thought?

Otherwise I can't wait to start customizing this boat, which will be used on Lake Erie (off the shores of Cleveland, Ohio)!!!!

 

[Dumbassbass]

That trailer should be matched to the boat as far as tongue weight goes you may want to replace the Toyota hitch with a drawtight and may want to get a 2 inch raise or whatever would be required to level the whole rig.

 

[Elliott]

From your photo #2, it looks like your ball is at an angle, and that would cause the problem you are experiencing. You need to buy a new tongue (not a new receiver) that will hold the ball perpendicular to the ground. Based on the markings, your tongue is strong enough so unless you did some serious off roading your current tongue was not bent by the trailer. It is also possible that the ball can be remounted to make it usable, but I doubt it.

 

[vesder21]

Yes the tow ball mount in photo 2 was bent slightly down after six hours of towing. Prior it was perfectly straight as both parts were brand new. When I put the trailer on the ball initially everything was nice and parallel as shown in photo number one. I will try to flip it upside down and remount the ball to see if raising it up in inch helps???

 

[Elliott]

If it bent it, I would not reuse it. I would buy a higher rated unit that has the correct amount of drop or rise.

 

[Liveto99]

I have the same boat from 2018 I’ve towed it extensively to Florida and back to N.Y. Your vehicle is more than capable and the receiver is more than capable. Return the hitch to Lexus, it bent and get a refund.
I use this hitch it works great an can be adjusted for a lot of trailers. It is also light to put on and take off. Aluminum so it does not rust. Use a locking hitch pin so no one takes it, I used this one.

 

[Chevyguy2021]

I recommend B&W hitches. I will never own anything less every again.
I have their adjustable rise/drop and it one serious piece of equipment.

 

[JASmith]

I recommend B&W hitches. I will never own anything less every again.
I have their adjustable rise/drop and it one serious piece of equipment.

Agreed, they are phenomenal pieces of equipment. Just bought one when I got my 210 FSH as well!

 

[vesder21]

Also newbie question but are the brakes on these trailers electric or basic hydraulic/surge?

I think part of my problem is that I towed it back without a brake control module (the car has a round seven pin adapter but no signal) so I noticed that the breaking system on the trailer tongue was depressed back. I had to stick a screwdriver underneath and move it forward and use the lockout key disable The trailer breaking.

Anyway I purchased and installed a Prodigy P2 brake control module, but wondering what settings to use? It has electric over hydraulic and just regular electric mode. I think these trailers just accept electric???

 

[2kwik4u]

Prior it was perfectly straight as both parts were brand new.

I wouldn't assume it was straight or level just because it was new. It shows no sign of damage, and I would bet a beer or two that it wasn't bent by the trailer. Even the scuffs on the ball show it was biased to a "top front" position while in motion. I'm guessing it locked because the trailer is downhill and the truck sagged a shade, and the parking location had the two "pulled apart" slightly, making it feel a bit locked in.

Either flip this one, or get an adjustable one and you should be good to go.

 

[Julian]

A number of people have found that the tongue weight from the factory set up on many Yamahas is too high. There is a travelling tongue scale available in the classifieds section. Many people (myself included) have simply moved the bow stop back to lower the tongue weight to 5-7% of boat+trailer+fuel weight.

 

[vesder21]

My trailer issues continue and I think the damn thing is just cursed.

So my wife noticed that the right side light of the trailer lights were out when I backed up the other day. I unscrewed the enclosure to find the bulb had exploded so I thought nothing more and replaced it this morning. Everything worked again so we took the boat out this afternoon and afterwards while loading up I checked the right side trailer lights again only to find they were not working again.

Long story short when I unscrewed the enclosure I found out that the bulb exploded again! both times there was water in the enclosure, but that is expected since the enclosure dish is not waterproof. (Unless these lights are supposed to be waterproof? the other small bulb is also burnt out)

I figured the only thing that could be happening is that the bulb gets hot and then when I dip the trailer in the water it breaks because of the temperature difference. However the left side does not do this so I'm perplexed???

Thoughts? The trailer is less than a year old so if I needed to warranty do I just take it back to the Yamaha dealer?

So strange!

 

[Frank Marshall]

Are you unplugging your trailer electrical before you put the trailer in the water? Most of us do.
Still bulbs don't last. I switched to Shorlander LED tail light. Haven't had a problem since.

 

[vesder21]

No, I did not unplug, but will from now on. What’s puzzling is that the left side has not had any issues.

 

[vesder21]

@Frank Marshall are these plug and play?

The image from the link looks like there's an adapter so did you not have to run wiring all the way back up to the front and reattach to the 7 pin connector?

 

[Frank Marshall]

Yes they replace the standard non-led light, and the plug is matched up to Shorlander.

 

[Frank Marshall]

A number of people have found that the tongue weight from the factory set up on many Yamahas is too high. There is a travelling tongue scale available in the classifieds section. Many people (myself included) have simply moved the bow stop back to lower the tongue weight to 5-7% of boat+trailer+fuel weight.

I moved my bow stop forward to reduce the overall length of boat and trailer in order to fit in my garage. It now fits by 1-2". To get the tongue weight back to 5-7%, I moved the axles forward.

 

[Dixie Highway]

Step #1-weigh the trailer (as you’d launch it) and set tongue weight to 5-7% as per Shoreland’r. For me, this involved moving the trailer axles up about 5” or so. This is not for a novice, I recommend if you go this route to measure, measure, measure. Usually measure diagonally and front to back to keep the axles square to the trailer. Option B is to move the winch and bow stop back, but I didn’t want to hang the boat off the back any more.

Step #2-once this is complete, hook up to the vehicle. I recommend an adjustable hitch mount so you can get it perfect. If that isn’t an option, level the trailer and measure ground to top of ball socket on the trailer, then try to get a hitch mount that will get you close. Err “over”, as that vehicle likely squats 2-3” with the 275-350 lbs of recommenced hitch weight. Bear in mind, you don’t tow a boat “dry”. You tow it at the “dry weight“ you are figuring, plus 250 lbs of fuel, plus gear, coolers, etc.

Step #3-take the brake controller back. These are surge brakes that operate off inertia to activate. No controller necessary. That being said, if you decide to unhook your electric before launching the boat keep this in mind. The reverse light circuit is what “locks out” the surge brakes, so if you unplug you might have to use the lockout D-fitting to reverse especially up a hill.

Step #4-I also recommend LED conversion. I never unplugged my trailer for 2 seasons and never had an issue. If you do those I recommend a clear silicone around the seams to make sure they are water tight.

 

[vesder21]

@Dixie Highway thanks for making this forum a great place for people to gather information and learn!

1) I think you are right and my trailer is probably not set correctly and eventhough I do most things myself I do not feel comfortable adjusting the tongue weight/moving the axels or winch. I may take it to a shipyard next year.

2) yes I've done this

3) yes, after a few others suggested that I clean out the electrical trailer adapter I noticed that there are NOT 7 pins even though it's circular. I then looked up the UFP 60 system and you are correct it's a surge system so I uninstalled the module on Saturday and sent it back to Amazon.

4) since I rather not unplug and pop in the break override adapter, per @Frank Marshall 's recommendation above I ordered both left and right LED break lights easier today!

thanks again for all your help!

 

[Floridaman79]

Are you unplugging your trailer electrical before you put the trailer in the water? Most of us do.
Still bulbs don't last. I switched to Shorlander LED tail light. Haven't had a problem since.

My 6 month old 210 FSH was blowing the taillight fuses in my truck. Turns out it was the incandescent bulbs. I also swapped out with sealed LEDs and haven't had a problem since. On those with trailer brakes, the pin for the reverse lights disengages the brakes, so if you disconnect the trailer lights you would have to put in a mechanical stop for it. Those surge brakes work really well for preventing the trailer from backing up.