TOPIC: tongue weight issue cure

the hillbilly way ...
the tongue weight on the 600 was almost neutral
you could put your hand on the top of the engine and it would raise
take your hand off and it would just balance there
the axle couldn't be moved aft without major reconstruction on the trailer so...
took a 25lb iron weight from a Weider bar weight set and ground a notch to clear the valve stem and mounted it in the rim of the spare tire
I think it looks ok and not real noticeable

without


with ...

Excellent idea!

I really dislike any trailer that has an axle fixed and not easy to move. I have an old utility trailer that is like that and I have been known to use my VT rock (about a 50# granite rock from one of my kid's former VT mountain property) to set in the middle front of the trailer so it doesn't sway all over the place going down the road!

Frank

Hey, some people pay good money for a custom job like that. Great idea.
Gunna take a toll on your biceps though, you'll have to spend a few minutes each day doing curls with the trailer tongue.

By not filling the tongue with concrete, I think you missed a great opportunity to make a future "previous owner" story.

Looks alot nicer than the Chevy flywheel I put on a winch tower about 30 years ago. It looked a little better when I painted it black instead of just being rusty. It still was pretty hillbilly!!! I kind of like the concrete idea for a head scratcher for the next owner.
Bill

Correct me if I'm wrong, Im here to learn. Shouldn't the tongue weight be 9-11% of the gross trailer weight? Just checking because next month I am adapting a 15' trailer to my 13' 9" boat. Seems you started with a 0# tongue weight, adding 25# just does not seem enough? But I have been wrong in the past.

consider it in the principle of a lever
it's not how much you add..it's where you add it
and it towed like a dream up to 80mph.

consider it in the principle of a lever
it's not how much you add..it's where you add it
and it towed like a dream up to 80mph.

Could you move your winch post/bow stop forward to move the boat forward? Look like they are adjustable.

the axle needs to move aft
and this is a cut it apart and reweld operation
the boat is already too far forward by about 4"
my little weight works perfect
and as to the fill it with concrete...I was going to use 5lb lead ingots
till I found out dad got rid of them

Glad your trailer handles great by adding the weight. As for understanding the lever, I designed and build ultralight aircraft in the 80's. The wheels are the fulcrum, the body the lever. The further back the weight is placed, the less the effect. ( imagine placing the load behind the fulcrum would have a negative effect) The weight directed is calculated and called the moment. A 25# weight placed on the ball would add 25#. Placed 2' back in a 10' distance from fulcrum would = 80% of 25# or 20# added tongue weight. Still glad that helped. I think I'll place the tongue on a scale and measure my changes to aquire the 9-11% weight.

GOOD INFO
not an engineer...just do what works
I really wanted to move the axle (and the boat) aft but ran out of time and did what I had to
had another 25# that could have gone on but was leary of the integrity of the spare carrier

I'm not an engineer either, the ultralight things in the late 70's was crazy people building in there garage thing. It did catch on though.

I be to differ. The "ultralight thing" did catch on and is still going on today despite the damage that liability insurance costs did to the industry. It suffered the same way that private aviation did. There were excellent manufacturers, good manufacturers, screwball manufacturers, and irresponsible manufacturers, just as in any industry. I had an aerobatic ultralight with floats that was an absolute BLAST to fly.