Has any one moved the post on the Shorland'r trailer?

[greg]

I was putting the new bow roller on last week, moved boat back about 3 inches. decided to just move everything back to meet up with the boat. Does seem to trailer better.

 

[swatski]

Quick update to post #78

I moved the bow stop/post (again) back and forth by various small distance adjustments, just to get a good sense of what it does to the handling - each time I did a couple of short tows of about 5 miles each way (between my home and my marina). Those incorporate a flat stretch of six-lane highway, steep incline/decline grade two lane county road, a stretch of unpaved access road, tight 180 turns on aggregate driveway behind my house, a steep and narrow ramp, you name it.

Again, the differences in handling at various bow stop positions are not subtle. I am so glad this has been brought up here, and I made those adjustments. The end result is a major improvement in handling, at zero cost.

I get the best overall results with the bow stop pushed back by a surprising 8-9" from the original (factory) position! There is another 5-6 inches of room to keep moving the bow stop further back but I wanted some safety margin. I'm still over (heavier than) the target of 7.5% of the tongue weight.

So, this is what my current setup/position looks like. I think it will stay that way.




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[Rod5]

Quick update to post #78

I moved the bow stop/post (again) back and forth by various small distance adjustments, just to get a good sense of what it does to the handling - each time I did a couple of short tows of about 5 miles each way (between my home and my marina). Those incorporate a flat stretch of six-lane highway, steep incline/decline grade two lane county road, a stretch of unpaved access road, tight 180 turns on aggregate driveway behind my house, a steep and narrow ramp, you name it.

Again, the differences in handling at various bow stop positions are not subtle. I am so glad this has been brought up here, and I made those adjustments. The end result is a major improvement in handling, at zero cost.

I get the best overall results with the bow stop pushed back by a surprising 8-9" from the original (factory) position! There is another 5-6 inches of room to keep moving the bow stop further back but I wanted some safety margin. I'm still over (heavier than) the target of 7.5% of the tongue weight.

So, this is what my current setup/position looks like. I think it will stay that way.
View attachment 56387

View attachment 56388

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Man that's a great write up and as always a well thought out test environment. Do you have a pic of the back showing how much is hanging off the trailer bunk now?

 

[swatski]

Man that's a great write up and as always a well thought out test environment. Do you have a pic of the back showing how much is hanging off the trailer bunk now?

Shoot - I forgot, will post. The last time I checked it was overhanging by ~6-7" (a change from negative ~2"). It doesn't always ad up exactly, depends how you load. I push up the bow stop using the hard stop maneuver.
This is one of my favorite mods, no question. Also the easiest and the most obvious - now that I look at it. I don't want to take any credit away from @Neutron though! His original contribution.

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[swatski]

Here are some more pics:
(the trailer is jacked up a bit for good drainage)



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[Julian]

Wow...mine is like Negative 1 inch... @swatski how did you go about weighing the tongue...with a bathroom scale and wood, or do you have a heavy weight scale?

 

[Rod5]

Thanks @swatski that was exactly what I was imagining. 5 or more inches off the back of the bunk... Mine came setup just about flush with the back of the bunk.

 

[swatski]

Wow...mine is like Negative 1 inch... @swatski how did you go about weighing the tongue...with a bathroom scale and wood, or do you have a heavy weight scale?

The bathroom scale method. Very unsatisfying and will give wildly inaccurate reading depending on the slightest trailer pitch/boat pivot to the ground. Unless you can find a place that is just absolutely flat, which I could not.

If one would want to be semi-serious about it, I would consider one of those ball hitches with a build-in scale, calibrate it, and then take several measurements to get some solid averages.

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[Betik]

Quick update to post #78
I'm still over (heavier than) the target of 7.5% of the tongue weight.
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@swatski have you considered the very real possibility that your boat is simply OBESE?

PS. The first time I loaded the boat, I moved my post by 0.5 inches by simply cranking the winch. Finally all that right arm workout from the teenage years is paying off
Given I am a middle aged man now, I learned to use my truck's brakes.

 

[Minh Nguyen]

FYI this is the stock position.

 

[Minh Nguyen]

And I played around with the height on the hitch to get it as level as possible.

 

[blacksapphirez]

And I played around with the height on the hitch to get it as level as possible. View attachment 56423

about 10% or so

I'd like to have those hitches with a built in scale

 

[swatski]

And I played around with the height on the hitch to get it as level as possible. View attachment 56423

I've been thinking of getting one. The concept is great. Do you have any information on how accurate those things are? Does the manufacturer make any claims regarding the accuracy?
Either way though - those must be better than using the bathroom scale method (which frankly is a bit of a joke).
(EDIT: Actually, they are not, at least in the lower range)

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[Neutron]

I would think its got to be close to accurate

 

[Minh Nguyen]

I dont see where it states accuracy but i do see many positive reviews for this hitch. I think etrailer has a 5% off when i purchased a few months back. More info here:

https://www.weigh-safe.com/

 

[swatski]

At 500lbs, it could be accurate. But it is +/- 100lbs, maybe more. In general, those ball hitch scales will not read anything under 200lbs. eTrailer does state those do not read accurately on the lower end: "It would not be the best for tongue weight on the lower end of the scale".

With the bathroom scale method, mine is topping 400lbs after most recent adjustments. Anything at, or above, 500lbs is clearly over the recommended range (5-7%) per trailer manufacturer https://www.shorelandr.com/pages/pf_trstep3.htm

But here is my concern with all those measurements:
The bathroom scale (or any) works okay with single axle trailers, but presents a problem when attempting to weigh the tongue weight of a tandem axle trailer, along with most any other scale. A tandem axle trailer must be perfectly level in order to obtain the correct tongue weight. That is, in my experience, a more difficult task than most appreciate - I was shocked how much difference I see in the weight readings upon re-positioning the trailer. If the front of the trailer is higher than level, even slightly, the weight reading will be higher than the actual true tongue weight. If the front of the trailer is lower than level, the weight reading will be lower than the actual true tongue weight. (Please note this is affected by trailer/tow vehicle planar position/tilt, not just the hitch height)

I think that with those double trailers, getting the tongue weight close to the target (at least 350lbs or so, but probably not much more than 400lbs) and then adjusting the bow stop in small increments based on trailer behavior is what makes sense to me.

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[RightStuff]

The ball only version is pretty interesting (and cheaper): https://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Ball/Weigh-Safe/WSUN-2.html

 

[Minh Nguyen]

This was on uneven ground along w the trailer npt being leveled. This is w me not moving the stop on the trailer at all.

 

[swatski]

This was on uneven ground along w the trailer npt being leveled. This is w me not moving the stop on the trailer at all. View attachment 56427

This picture illustrates some of the issues very nicely.
Not to mention, with the ball-post moving inside the "scale" device at any angle other than 90deg to the ground could be wedged against the shaft and may not move freely - at some point those readings become a bit superfluous.

So here is the question for those interested (maybe a poll is warranted):

If you moved the bow post - does it affect your towing? Do you feel it is an improvement or a detriment?
Would you go back to the factory settings?

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[Neutron]

YES, IMPROVEMENT, NO WAY