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

[Floyd]

BoatUS recommends a tongue weight of 7-10 % of the towed weight. They also have a way to measure your tongue weight at home, using a bathroom scale and some lumber.
http://www.boatus.com/magazine/trailering/2013/June/tongue-weight-diy.asp

Why worry about tongue weight? With some vehicle suspensions there is a tendency for the trailer to fishtail. Having more tongue weight can remedy that, if the tongue weight was too light to begin with. Unfortunately, some people have exceeded the safe towing speed with a light tongue weight and fishtailed out of control before they could slow down enough to get the rig under control, and you can find them on youtube.

How do you determine if your rig has a tendency to fishtail? I guess their isn't a completely safe way to find out. When you find yourself on an empty stretch of highway you slow down to a safe speed, like 40mph, and intentionally swerve to find out is there is any continued oscillation of the trailer. If not, increase the speed 5mph and try again. Repeat until you find some fishtailing, keeping below the maximum speed that you might intend to ever travel.
On a road trip recently I was coasting down an Appalachian pass and found myself going 80mph, which I would never do on a flat highway. Fortunately my rig doesn't seem to have a tendency to fishtail. Things like tire pressures and boat loading and maybe even wind can affect that though, so you shouldn't get overconfident.

I've read that leaving the boat on a trailer with the transom extended past the end of the bunkboards can cause a warpage or hook in the hull bottom if the hull isn't designed for that.

 

[spaz1868]

Looks like most reporting here have 24' models, so I thought I would report my initial test for a 21' model. I moved mine back 3-4" and didn't notice much difference in trailering home from the lake. I plan on moving it a couple more inches back this upcoming weekend and see if the change is more noticeable. I don't have a way to determine the weight difference on the ball, so nothing scientific to show.

Following your progress...I have the same boat and would like to do this mod. How far is your post now from the hitch? And how much does your boat overhang in the back?

 

[giroux68]

This is great info.

 

[RightStuff]

Before:




After, 4" back and 12" off the back of the bunks:




Not sure I'm going to move it any further back since I don't want to get that much more off the bunks in the back.

 

[giroux68]

not to assume, but I would guess the MFI trailer is the same? mine seem heavy at the tounge as well. Glad I haven't got that weld mod done since it's seems kind of wiggly. but I have a new bilge pump and water witch switch to install first.

 

[jcyamaharider]

@mattschepker read this entire thread.

 

[Hana]

If you have a 24 ft boat this mod is a must. Kicking myself for waiting so long to do it. I tow with a diesel F250 so there were no struggles evident. After moving the post back 8 inches drivability is a dream both at low and highway speeds. Just do it!!

 

[Arcadyus]

Has anyone had to do this on 19ft boats? When I towed with my sante Fe you could def feel the boat. Now that I use my Dodge truck it's like nothing back there.

 

[Bubblehead]

I read almost every post and did not see anyone discuss the proper way to adjust tongue weight (correct me if I'm wrong). First I agree that the bow stop should be moved back to allow a little over hang at transom. For me, it was so I didn't damage transducer when loading. However, to adjust tongue weight properly, you are suppose to move axle assembly. Move forward to lower tongue weight and vice versa. Manual says 1"approx 10-15 lbs. I would worry about bunk support if boat hangs off too much.

 

[Betik]

I forget the name right now but someone actually did move the axles. Good success and not much work. The rest of just played with the bow post

 

[Chief]

My tounge weight was to heavy, i moved my post back 4 inches. The tounge wieght is better now and my truck has less squat... the transom is right to the edge of the trailer bunks.

 

[dzeppos]

Great posts everyone and very helpful. I decided to move my post back 3 inches on my 2016 242 trailer and I’ll let you what changes i see. I have a 2018 expedition and i didn’t like the sagging. Even though it still towed well (but don’t have anything to compare it to however) i think your input allowed me to take incremental steps. Seems like a very easy mod. - two turns on the bolts with a wrench, sliding it and retightening. This forum is great. Thank you all!

 

[dzeppos]

Ok - 3 1/2" move of the post back was very helpful. Not a life changer (maybe further back would be even better, but without a scale, I'm going on other people's posts regarding their +15 AR240/242LS trailers.) Nonetheless, the squat on my 18 Expedition is noticeably less, and towing the boat 7 miles in each direction (under 50mph as i had my bimini up) - showed an even smoother ride.
Thanks everyone for their input!!!
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