Trailer Question

[Macless Pete]

How far out does the stern go from the rear bunks in the stock trailer?
I have been calling around for tandem trailers and this is what I get:
1. Venture VATB5925 for boats 23-24
2. Continental A2450 for boats 24-25
3. Ace trailer design for based on trailer for boats 26-28

I would assume that you would want the rear bunks to cover as much as possible, but if the boat has to stick out what shoud be the max with a near 300 pound OB?

Thanks

[Fxwg80hd]

How far out does the stern go from the rear bunks in the stock trailer?
I have been calling around for tandem trailers and this is what I get:
1. Venture VATB5925 for boats 23-24
2. Continental A2450 for boats 24-25
3. Ace trailer design for based on trailer for boats 26-28

I would assume that you would want the rear bunks to cover as much as possible, but if the boat has to stick out what shoud be the max with a near 300 pound OB?

Thanks

I just purchased a LoadRite Elite Aluminum Bunk Trailer for my 26m which should be very similar to the 26x as to how it sits on a Bunk trailer. The model number I purchased is LR-AB27T6000102LTB1. I looked this over a lot before purchasing and found 2 major issues. On the Venture (and most others) they have a 4" by 8" or 6" by 8" bunk. This will not flex to conform to the slight curve in the Mac hull. I verified this by looking at at 26x on a Venture trailer before I purchased. Though this will still work, you have a lot of bunk that is not providing support. The LoadRite Elite has bunks the will conform to the hull. The LoadRite Website is http://www.loadrite.com. Look at the Elite Series to see the bunk design.

The second issue is that the Tandem Axle standard bunk models will increase the load height meaning you will need deeper water to load. I am still working on getting the new trailer setup correctly, so I still have more work to do before I know the final numbers.

Here are some pictures of my 26m on the new trailer.



If your current trailer is still in good shape, you might want to add a second axle to the trailer instead of purchasing a new one. In hindsight, if I knew I would increase the load height, I would have added a second axle to my trailer as there is nothing wrong with it (I just plan to travel 400 miles one way several times a year and wanted the second axle for security).

The Mac Trailer is 21 feet from Bow stop to rear of trailer. You can go with a shorter trailer than the one I purchased because the bunks on the new trailer will extend past the end of the trailer. You do want to pay attention to the max and min distance from Bow stop to end of trailer. A lot of the trailers they say will fit the 26m or 26x are 17 feet from Bow stop to end of trailer, so the taillights will be 9 feet from the end of the boat.

PM me if you have more questions, I might be able to help you out.

Good luck;
Chris

[Gypsy]

Do most people just put a second axle behind the original axle ?
In Johnson's book , He did a lot of trailer frame modification .
I would like to simply get the mounts welded on behind the original axle without all the frame modifications .

[Divecoz]

Just thats been done by numerous members.. Lots of stuff about trailers in the Trailer section of this board and in the mods section..

Do most people just put a second axle behind the original axle ?
In Johnson's book , He did a lot of trailer frame modification .
I would like to simply get the mounts welded on behind the original axle without all the frame modifications .

[Highlander]

The Alum trl axle is bolted directly onto the frame so can a second axle . Although I'd prefer to mount the axles onto a sliding boggie thus allowing me to adj. the tonge weight no matter how the boat was loaded

J

[Fxwg80hd]

Do most people just put a second axle behind the original axle ?
In Johnson's book , He did a lot of trailer frame modification .
I would like to simply get the mounts welded on behind the original axle without all the frame modifications .

If I were to add a second axle to the Mac trailer, I would put a little more thought into it than simply adding an axle behind the existing one. I would think you would want to adjust the position of both axles so they would carry equal weight (or at least close) without adding or reducing the tongue weight by too much.

I saw at least one trailer mod ( in the mods section) where the person describes this effort.

Chris

[bartmac]

There's one overiding criterion when fitting a second axle....that the ball weight on the towing hitch is correct..Some schools of thought determine it to be 10% of the towed load.....BUT if you get it wrong........the whole shooting match becomes a missile, tow vehicle included.A combined weight of at least 4 ton or more not stable at highway speed is not pleasant...so weigh the ball weight to be sure if youre going to modify.Experience with incorrectly loaded trailer (not boat) years ago was not nice....lane changes whether you wanted to or not and braking only made it worse.
The matching of axles and springs would also probably not allow the just adding an extra one.....our prevoius trailersailer trailer had a complete sliding axle group ie both axles and springs on a loadshare able to slide along the trailer frame to balance the whole load

[kasmith21]

As a follow up question to this post....can someone recommend a good method to measure the tongue weight of the trailer? My boat and trailer with gear weighs aproximately 4000 lbs so I would assume that a 400 lb tongue weight would make sense...any thoughts?
Thanks

[Fxwg80hd]

The MacGregor owners manual states 250 to 300 pounds on the tongue. You can weigh it on level ground using a bathrrom scale. I would put a block of wood on the scale and put the tongue jack down on it. You want to get the weight when the tongue is at the same height it will be when conected to the tow vehicle.

[kasmith21]

Fxwg80hd
thanks for the suggestion and I will give that method a try...I am thinking that my trailer weight at the tongue is probably in the 400 to 500 lb area as it sits today. What would be the issues with too much tongue weight? I know if it is too light you can expect swaying.
PS- your trailer looks great...I would say you got a very good deal.
Cheers

[Fxwg80hd]

I am thinking that my trailer weight at the tongue is probably in the 400 to 500 lb area as it sits today. What would be the issues with too much tongue weight? I know if it is too light you can expect swaying.

Too heavy on the tongue and it could lift your tow vehicles front tires and reduce steering ability. Also, you are in danger of overloading the tongue and having it break.

A second issue with being too light on the tongue, the tongue will try and lift off the ball.

Thanks;
Chris

[vizwhiz]

The MacGregor owners manual states 250 to 300 pounds on the tongue. You can weigh it on level ground using a bathrrom scale. I would put a block of wood on the scale and put the tongue jack down on it. You want to get the weight when the tongue is at the same height it will be when conected to the tow vehicle.

Make sure your henway is centered over the axle when you do this so it doesn't factor into the tongue weight.

[Highlander]

The MacGregor owners manual states 250 to 300 pounds on the tongue. You can weigh it on level ground using a bathrrom scale. I would put a block of wood on the scale and put the tongue jack down on it. You want to get the weight when the tongue is at the same height it will be when conected to the tow vehicle.

The Manual also tells you the exact method length of bar & height excetra on how to do this !
or just tie a rope around trl tongue and onto your henway & lift to find the right payload !!
J