Looking for some advice before tomorrow morning...

[redneck joe]

Danny im not the expert but i think you have enough meat left on the bunks to move the post back. Other, smarter people will chime in.

 

[dozerII]

Great looking boat you bought. Have you had a chance to weight the whole set up, that is really the only way to see what you need to do. Drive on the scale, weigh the axles, then back up and weigh the tongue and axle combined unhooked from your vehicle then subtract the axle only weight for your tongue/total weight. It should be 7-9%

 

[roffey]

Danny, I think my boat is similar to yours and is in my garage. I can take a picture of how it sits on the back bunk if you like and post? My boat is a 20 foot bow rider but on a single axel trailer. I can move the post forward or back and it's not a big deal. I had to move the boat forward on the trailer to get it in the boat house, lol.

 

[Alumarine]

What is the weight rating on the VIN plate?

It might be possible to remove the welds on the axle brackets and move the axle depending on how they're mounted.
It's hard to tell from the pictures.

Have you looked up what the weight is for the boat with motor?

As dozer said, the best bet is to weigh the the whole thing properly. Possibly at a highway scale or a scrap dealer.

 

[Ned L]

It might be possible to remove the welds on the axle brackets and move the axle depending on how they're mounted

OR, if moving the axels makes sense, simply have a second set of brackets welded on and ignore the original ones (providing they're not in the way).

 

[Danny C]

I cannot move the Axles without moving the fenders and step plates which are all welded to the frame. I would really like to avoid all of that.

Last night I leveled out the trailer and measured the receiver. It is 17.5" off the ground at the bottom of the ball recieverand 19.5" off the ground at the top of the ball receiver. (makes sense for a 2" receiver). I then measured my hitch on the car with the drop in it and wouldn't you know it, it is 17.5" from bottom of ball and 19.5" from top of the ball so it looks like I may have the correct amount of drop.

So if I do have the correct hitch drop, then the tongue weight of the trailer is the only think that is causing the drop in the suspension (rough estimate of at least 5". can verify next time I hook up boat).

I may be able to take the boat to a local scrap shop tomorrow to get weights of everything.

Marc C: There is no Vin Plate on trailer to get such information. Another issue I ran into...

 

[oldjeep]

Also, if the trailer was made for a smaller boat, wouldn't that put a smaller boat further forward and make the situation even worse?

No, the winch post would be further back. Looks forward of what I would consider normal.

 

[Danny C]

Just weighed her at a local scale. 4500# just rear axles. 5100# rear axle and jack...

 

[oldjeep]

If that is really only 600lbs of tounge weight then get a receiver for your truck that balances the weight on the axles.

 

[dozerII]

Just weighed her at a local scale. 4500# just rear axles. 5100# rear axle and jack...

That puts you at 11% on the tongue a little more than I like but within the 7-12% some recommend. I'm thinking a new receiver to get the trailer level behind your tow vehicle and if you could move the hull back to the ends of the bunks I think you should be good.

 

[redneck joe]

Have you checked you vehicle suspension?

 

[keith2k455]

I would agree with moving the boat back the little bit you can and then getting the correct drop hitch. If you still have problems after that, check your suspension.