Negative Tongue Weight on a 19' Tunnel

**lbhsbz** · 07-15-2016, 05:18 PM

Mine is single axle trail-rite, with clamp on axle/fender/suspension. It's as easy as loosening 4 U bolts and sliding it back, but every time the boat is off the trailer I'm at the river in 100° + heat that puts a damper on my motivation to do anything productive.

**bahnerboater** · 07-15-2016, 06:26 PM

Ya I wish mine was tandem and the axle could be moved easily. But unfortunately thats not the case.

**Steve-S** · 07-15-2016, 06:31 PM

I thought your trailer is a tandem axle ?

**Steve-S** · 07-15-2016, 06:36 PM

Originally Posted by lbhsbz

It's as easy as loosening 4 U bolts and sliding it back, but every time the boat is off the trailer I'm at the river in 100° + heat that puts a damper on my motivation to do anything productive.

Do it at home . Lower the jack stand to minium height . Place jacks behind suspension , crank the jack stand all the up . Should lift the axle high enough to easily move .

**W2F a V-King** · 07-15-2016, 06:52 PM

Originally Posted by bahnerboater

Tried that once. It definitely helped but was a pain in the butt to get in and out because they had to be all the way up under the bow. looking for something more permanent or at least easily removable

Have you considered actual weights?
Tractor weights come in different sizes, and you can stack them, then remove them when needed. Easily add how ever much weight you need.
Even Plastic coated bar bell weights would work stacked on a pole mounted the the front.

Just some outside the box ideas...but like most here have suggested the correct ways to get proper tongue weight would look better and be a done deal. jmo

**bahnerboater** · 07-18-2016, 05:04 PM

Sorry Steve Typo I wish mine was a Single axle NOT Tandem axle haha

**bahnerboater** · 07-18-2016, 05:06 PM

VKing Barbell weights wouldnt be a bad idea It wouldnt look ideal but a small pole mounted on the tongue would get the job done.

**bahnerboater** · 07-18-2016, 05:18 PM

Here are a few pics of the tongue of the trailer. You can see how little of space there is between the bottom of the bow and the trailer. Also a picture of the back showing the boat is even with the skids. Doing some more looking this weekend though I discovered if I did move it forward about 6 inches the straps could hook on the trailer from inside the rail not over the outside. Something I may try next time I put it on the water is shifting it up and tow it home that way and see what happens.

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**Onetime** · 07-18-2016, 09:00 PM

To me it looks like the boat needs to go forward.
Going to need a different floater bar. Longer and maybe with a curve.
Could put spacers under the bunks with longer bolts to have the boat sit higher on the trailer if needed.

Could be you've got a 18' trailer and trying to fit a 19' boat??

**bahnerboater** · 07-19-2016, 11:24 AM

I have always thought this trailer wasn't right for this boat. Bahner built mainly jet boats so i am sure its meant for a heavier jet boat but it has always seemed a little short. Not much room between the tip of bow and tip of tongue. I will definitely look into a different floater bar. the bar can be adjusted forward the problem is if i move the boat too much further forward it will be really close to the tongue and my tailgate will not open. Spacing the bunks higher is another option I can explore. I guess its time for trial and error. Only way to know for sure which works best is try them out. The right thing to do would be buy a trailer meant for this boat but that can get pricey and these Hensely trailers were really well built.

**W2F a V-King** · 07-19-2016, 03:06 PM

Wouldn't raising the bunks raise the boat? And then require more depth backing into water to launch the boat? Which takes the tow vehicle closer to and deeper in the water.
Just trying to imagine what exactly is taking place....

James

**bahnerboater** · 07-19-2016, 03:48 PM

raising the bunks would put me deeper in the water but with as flat as the boat is I wouldn't worry about that too much. It doesn't take much water to launch it as it is. The only reason to raise the bunks would be if i changed the floater bar to a different style. I think I have enough ideas to try that are simpler first. I am going to start by getting the exact weight of trailer and boat package. I know it has 2 2200lb axles but it is no where near full capacity. I will drive it through the scales full with fuel and gear and then calculate how much weight I need on the tongue. If i were to guess I would say no more than 60lbs within the first 3 feet of the trailer would do the job! I will keep yall posted on how it goes

**150aintenuff** · 07-20-2016, 04:13 PM

move the boat forward, slide floater bar forward, you have PLENTY of tongue you only need enough room that on a swing the bow doesnt hit the truck on a tight turn...

**Steve-S** · 07-20-2016, 04:37 PM

Even if you would move the boat too far forward for turning ; you can add a swing-away tongue hinge and lengthen the trailer tongue to the correct length you need .

**jpf091959** · 07-25-2016, 11:27 PM

Looks easy to me, leave the boat where it is.
The distance from the front clip to the point where it anchors on the center beam can be modified. Just take some solid bar stock/plate and weld it in place. You should be able to load it up with about 80 lbs. Either that or cut the front section off and weld in a few feet of thick wall, paint to match and done.