Newbie to boat trailering... I need some help...

[Cobalt232]

Re: Newbie to boat trailering... I need some help...

I'm 260 and my two good friends are 200+. If we all sat on the extended platform and jumped up and down I would never be concerned about the front of the boat lifting. If my boat had that little tongue weight I would never pull it with your Pathfinder period. If you get the tongue weight right I wouldn't be concerned about towing it unless I had to stop it. This is the reason I bought a v8 4Runner instead of the v8 Pathfinder. It wasn't pulling, but stopping power!!!

 

[Mike Zee]

Re: Newbie to boat trailering... I need some help...

You didn't catch that in the Ohio did you? ( Your Avatar ))

Mon River, near Belle Vernon PA. Caught it on a trout magnet, 2 lb test. 1st trip out in the small boat and i wasn't even really fishing. I just wanted to run the boat a while, grabbed my trout rod on the way out of the garage. Casted out in the current, then under the dash messing with some fuses for the fish finder. Heard the rod bouncing off of the boat, thought i was snagged up-until it pulled about 50 yds off of reel. It just about spooled me. Couldn't have been more than 5-6 wraps of line left when we caught up to him. 45 min fight to get it to the boat. It's my personel best fish (Fresh water)

 

[aussieflash]

Re: Newbie to boat trailering... I need some help...

Gday MC,I like your boat.Shame you cant use it till May.We dont understand that in Aussieland as everyday is boating season.
Your boat does look like its sitting back a bit too far.I have the opposite problem with way too much weight on tongue.P.O liked it that way so he could do higher speeds on highway.I have to shift my axle forward (adjustable) as the boat transom is already right on last roller.Was told never let boat transom overhang last roller/support....makes sense.

 

[otgdy]

Re: Newbie to boat trailering... I need some help...

You're getting very good information here.

I agree that you may not have sufficient tongue weight on your hitch. My local city dump will weigh me for free. Truck scales at the truck stops can also weigh you. You may just need to adjust your winch forward to stabilize your load.

There's nothing more frightening than looking in your rear view mirror and seeing a 5000 pound load swinging back and forth--I learned the hard way.

There's no substitute for a proper tow vehicle. Your truck would be okay for short hauls--maybe up to 50 miles. You just don't have the horsepower or long wheel base that gives V-8 half ton truck's towing stability. (My 3/4 ton diesel crew cab is good up to 12,000 pounds.)

ChampionTrailers.com has a great FAQ section on universal trailer questions. Surge brakes work better and are less a hassle from 3000-6000 lbs on a boat. From 6000 lbs. up, electric brakes work better, but their lifespan is short if used in salt water.

Under no condition should anyone ever use a weight distributing hitch on any boat. They're for bumper hitch travel trailers only, and are commonly used with a friction style sway control. I use them with my travel trailer.

I also agree that you may need to shift the weight but also remember you pull a big boat with a ford pinto if you beef the rear suspension enough. (Couple of 4x4s work well) . Thing to remember is the main issue is stopping it once it gets going. Your Diesel crew cab is find and dandy. You also have 13in plus brakes. That is what makes it a better tow vehicle. Get surge brakes for the trailer forget the electric you will be running after corroded connections/bad grounds for as long as you own it. There is a place in DE that has great prices on surge brakes. I got the surge unit 12000lb+, 2 brake assemblies, stainless lines, 4 wheels and tires for less than a grand.

OTG

 

[MCNPathfinder]

Re: Newbie to boat trailering... I need some help...

Thanks for the continued help. I hadn't checked my post in a while here. I just picked up some electric brakes yesterday, and trying to do some searching around to see what the best thing to do is as far as electric vs. surge. How does one control the braking power of surge brakes? The electric ones have a controller right? I guess given the tendancy of this trailer to wobble, I'd like to have as much manual control as possible without having to rely on the brakes of the car to get it to stop. If it starts wobbling really bad I want to be able to apply just the trailer brakes to straighten it out. Does that make sense? I realize I'll probably have to beef up the suspension on my tow vehicle too in addition to moving the boat foward. Thanks for the help! BTW, I'm supposed to bring it to the mechanic this weekend, super stoked about being one step close to getting on the lakes!

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Newbie to boat trailering... I need some help...

Well typically Electric brakes have a controller in the tow vehicle but new trucks sometimes have the controller built into the truck but YES electric brakes have a controller that the driver can adjust as he/she tows to what he/she likes.

Surge brakes by contrast are controlled through the coupler, the coupler moves which actuates the brakes, problem is if they are out of adjustment the only way to adjust them is to stop and manually adjust the coupler tension on the braking system but once they are adjusted properly are just as effective as electric brakes.

I have had both and currently have surge but would not have any issues with either, I am a fresh water boater and I hear that saltwater boaters prefer one and not the other but I don't know which so you will have to wait for one of them to give you advice on that.

One advantage to electric brakes is as you say you can actuate the brakes on the trailer without hitting the brake pedal, most brake controllers have a lever on the front that allows you to manually brake the trailer without braking the tow vehicle and can be used if your trailer starts to wander back and forth while towing, but understand a trailer that wanders like that is most likely not setup properly or something else is wrong, its a warning sign so beware.

Adding suspension components to the tow vehicle is a good idea when they are added properly and I don't want to give you any bad advice so how about you tell me which vehicle you would like to modify and I will tell you what I would suggest, I have added Airbags to my 1 ton Diesels as well as add a leafs and I know I prefer airbags but again keep in mind there is no way to make a 1 ton 2010 Ford Explorer simply by adding a few cheap parts and have it be a good idea LOL, Make sense?

 

[Cobalt232]

Re: Newbie to boat trailering... I need some help...

If you're purchasing electric brakes to stop the swaying I think you need to do everyone a favor and not tow your boat PERIOD! That is just completely irresponsible. I tow a 6200# Cobalt behind my 4Runner and it has never once swayed and I would not ever be concerned about a panic stop. I've also pulled the trailer with no brakes and it still stopped ok. That was only because there was an issue with the placement of the brakeline from the factory. It was fixed ASAP. If you can't get it to behave behind your vehicle you shouldn't tow it!