Newer 24ft boat in shorlander trailer must do mod!

[jcyamaharider]

If you haven't heard or seen anyone talking about the newer 24ft boats tounge weight being very high well I am telling you now it is! I had an Ar230 beofe this boat and it always towed like a dream. Get this boat and even with a 3/4 ton truck this boat felt heavy. Like I tow a 15,000 camper with the same truck kind of heavy. I seen the posts by @swatski and everyone else and I said what the heck. I hooked up the boat and tow 30 minutes away to put the boat in the water to move the boat back on the trailer. It moves back 5 inches and I pull out of the water. Readjust my bow stop and I take back off down the road. HOLY CRAP! There it is. Back to easy towing instantly! If you are on the fence do it, you will not regret it. Plus it only takes about 2 minutes to do with an empty trailer.

 

[Julian]

And if you want to be really sure of how much weight you have on the tongue now....get in line for the tongue hitch scale:

https://jetboaters.net/threads/traveling-tongue-scale.17380

I moved mine about 4-5 inches too and was delighted with the result!

 

[MidnightRider]

If you can't wait for an actual tongue scale you can make your own fairly accurate tongue scale.

 

[Betik]

at the current paste, there is a very good change the traveling scale will in Ouachita next Friday and Bahia Mar for the June crossing.
for the record, I think I hold the record for towing with 875 lbs of tongue weight. LOL

 

[Betik]

@ttzz if I recall correctly @swatski tried the homemade scale and he could not get a good read out of it. And it swatski cannot make it happen, I am not even going to try.

 

[swatski]

If you haven't heard or seen anyone talking about the newer 24ft boats tounge weight being very high well I am telling you now it is! I had an Ar230 beofe this boat and it always towed like a dream. Get this boat and even with a 3/4 ton truck this boat felt heavy. Like I tow a 15,000 camper with the same truck kind of heavy. I seen the posts by @swatski and everyone else and I said what the heck. I hooked up the boat and tow 30 minutes away to put the boat in the water to move the boat back on the trailer. It moves back 5 inches and I pull out of the water. Readjust my bow stop and I take back off down the road. HOLY CRAP! There it is. Back to easy towing instantly! If you are on the fence do it, you will not regret it. Plus it only takes about 2 minutes to do with an empty trailer.

Scales shmales. Get on @Betik list, but - in the meantime - just move the post!
You can do it like @jcyamaharider describes, or when the boat is off the trailer, and be done.
I did it in several "move-and-test" steps and mine ended up being moved a good 8-9".
Huge difference - this is an essential mod for this combo in my book.

Now, as much as I wish I could take some credit - this is 100% @Neutron mod.
I'll find the original post/link.
(I'm severely jet lagged sitting at the airport in Copenhagen and my eyes are closing...)

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[swatski]

Here it is (I think):
https://jetboaters.net/threads/has-any-one-moved-the-post-on-the-shorlandr-trailer.13136/

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[MidnightRider]

@ttzz if I recall correctly @swatski tried the homemade scale and he could not get a good read out of it. And it swatski cannot make it happen, I am not even going to try.

To each his own. I've been successful with this method in the past, but for sure the traveling scale would be the optimal, easiest, more accurate option.

 

[Jameson Clark]

To each his own. I've been successful with this method in the past, but for sure the traveling scale would be the optimal, easiest, more accurate option.

Did you move yours back? If so, how much?

 

[Ronnie]

@ ttzz, I like the DYI scale you raised (not really needed for me since the bow stop on my mfi trailer cannot be easily moved), it seems like a good option to buying a specialized scale for one use (I have enough tools like that already).

How do you check that the dyi scale is working?
I was thinking about laying a 2”x 4” across it and leveling it at the back end to simulate a trailer tongue then standing on it to see if the rig weight is the same as if I stood on the scale directly. Do you think this would work?

 

[MidnightRider]

Did you move yours back? If so, how much?

No I have not yet, been too busy on other mods. When I say "used this method in the past" I'm referencing past trailers. Plan to get to this in the next week or so.

 

[MidnightRider]

@ ttzz, I like the DYI scale you raised (not really needed for me since the bow stop on my mfi trailer cannot be easily moved), it seems like a good option to buying a specialized scale for one use (I have enough tools like that already).

How do you check that the dyi scale is working?
I was thinking about laying a 2”x 4” across it and leveling it at the back end to simulate a trailer tongue then standing on it to see if the rig weight is the same as if I stood on the scale directly. Do you think this would work?

You can test it by just standing in the spot where you would put the tongue at the 1' mark and do the calculations, should come out to be close to your actual weight. The images below are a crude example - in the past I use two 2x4's nailed together and put on end with a notch on the bottom of each end to except a 3/4" pipe for more stability. But as you can see even this crude example is pretty much spot on. Point 'B' is 1' in from 'A' and 'C' is 3' from 'A' and 2' from 'B'. Total is 3'. You stand at point 'B' and I get a weight of 55lbs. Take 55lbs * 3' (total distance 'A' -> 'C' and you get 165lbs. Then I check my weight on the scale alone and its about 165lbs. Because of the multiplication small changes matter. Smaller the balance points the more accurate it is. Make sure you zero the scale after you put the board on it. Hope this crude example helps. Edit: When you do your actual trailer tongue weight I'd use 4' or 5' as your point 'C' to keep the calculations inside your scales capability.

 

[McMark]

What tongue weight are you shooting for on the 24’ boats. Mine pulls fine and when the boat is fully on the trailer the bunks are just at the edge of the running surface of the hull.

 

[jcyamaharider]

What tongue weight are you shooting for on the 24’ boats. Mine pulls fine and when the boat is fully on the trailer the bunks are just at the edge of the running surface of the hull.

The thread that swatski posted has all of the facts in it, but straight from shorelander 5-7% tounge weight for our boat trailer combo. Lets just say 6000 pound combo that puts us at 300-420 pounds.

I would almost say I am still over 400 pounds right now if I had to guess.

 

[Ronnie]

@ttzz , thanks. I will give it a try not to adjust where my boat sits on it’s trailer but just to check the tongue weight.

FYI on my previous tow vehicle the back end always sagged when towing the boat, even with heavy duty struts installed. My new vehicle has an auto leveling system which caused the back to ride high until I got a different tongue with a longer drop. Now the trailer sits level and the tow vehicle rides better than I’ve ever experienced before. So I want to see, preferably confirm, that my tongue weight is where it is supposed to be roughly 10% of the total tow weight.

Thinking about this a little more I need to take the rig to a scale anyway to see what the vehicle and boat/trailer weigh separately and loaded. Maybe the management will let me bring in an auto stand to try and get the tongue weight as well. That is, put the stand on the scale and the trailer tongue on top of it while the trailer wheels are off of the scale.

 

[Julian]

Thinking about this a little more I need to take the rig to a scale anyway to see what the vehicle and boat/trailer weigh separately and loaded. Maybe the management will let me bring in an auto stand to try and get the tongue weight as well. That is, put the stand on the scale and the trailer tongue on top of it while the trailer wheels are off of the scale.

This is the other way to get the tongue weight using a commercial scale (from etrailer.com):

Commercial Scale
Another way to determine your trailer's tongue weight (and get your vehicle and trailer weights) is to take the trailer with your tow vehicle to a scale at a truck stop, quarry or material supply center. For a small fee, you can weigh your tow vehicle and trailer there.



A. Determine Weight of Vehicle with Tongue Weight

Your vehicle and trailer must be fully loaded and fueled just as they will be when you are leaving for a trip. First, drive on to the scale with all 4 wheels of the truck and record the weight of the truck with the trailer attached.



B. Determine Weight of Vehicle without Tongue Weight

Next, unhook the trailer and jack up the trailer tongue so there is no weight on the hitch ball. Make sure that the trailer jack is not on the scale. Record the weight of only the truck on the scale. This is your gross vehicle weight (GVW). Now, subtract the GVW from the weight of the truck with the trailer attached. This will give you the tongue weight of your trailer.

A - B = Tongue Weight

 

[Julian]

I also wonder about this photo using a scale under the trailer jack.....any physics guru's here that can confirm that the weight at the jack is the same as the weight at the receiver? If it is the same...then you could just put the jack on the commercial scale (if it weighs that small of a load).

 

[Stevepro172]

2018 AR240, back is flush with the bunks and my tongue weight is 500lbs (I use a sherline scale). Ram 2500 and trailer level and pulls fine.

the biggest mistake I have seen is not having the trailer level. If it is out any amount it will effect towing. My buddy who shall remain nameless was pulling his 21' boat with an under sized SUV and when looking at it looked like a deep V between the truck and trailer. He goes to me, "think I should pull back the boat"? Nope, get a real truck to pull your toys, the Pilot will just not handle it!

 

[jcyamaharider]

2018 AR240, back is flush with the bunks and my tongue weight is 500lbs (I use a sherline scale). Ram 2500 and trailer level and pulls fine.

the biggest mistake I have seen is not having the trailer level. If it is out any amount it will effect towing. My buddy who shall remain nameless was pulling his 21' boat with an under sized SUV and when looking at it looked like a deep V between the truck and trailer. He goes to me, "think I should pull back the boat"? Nope, get a real truck to pull your toys, the Pilot will just not handle it!

So since you are above the 5-7% specified by the manufacture I would be curious to see if you did move your bow stop back even 2-4 inches if you seen any gain. My truck had no problem pulling my boat either. 600 horsepower and 1100 foot pounds of torque I better not, but I did see a huge improvement. Getting ready to tow 6 hours to Chicago so I will report back when that trip is done.

 

[gmtech16450yz]

Hey how come you guys are moving the BOAT and not the AXLES? The tongue weight on my 212 was too high, I simply moved the axles forward. They slide along the frame rails, they're meant to be moved that way to adjust tongue weight. And there's no need to put the boat in the water to do it, just loosen the clamps and slide the axle carriers forward. Taking some weight off the axles by jacking up the trailer frame helps.

I personally would rather have axles a little further forward than to have the boat further back on the trailer.