Boat on Trailer

[Macgyver]

ya, the thing is, you have a pin holding the ball mount to your truck, but your worried about the same sized/type of pin on a swingaway. doesn't make sense to me ... #-o

 

[bassboy1]

hey bassboy1 how bout this? weld this piece to trailer,https://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200336461_200336461, then weld hitch on this piece and have a removable hitch.https://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200180474_200180474.

Very similar to the telescoping tongue I mentioned. No need to make it from a receiver hitch, can be done with regular steel. Basically, the back half of the tongue, that the winch post is on, that stops even with the boat's bow is hollow. A slightly smaller piece, with the coupler, telescopes in there, and is held in with 2 receiver hitch pins. If you have the telescope section long enough, you could have 2 settings. One with a reasonable length for standard towing, and launching at good ramps, and one where it slides farther forward to back into ramps that aren't as steep.

I have never seen anything like this marketed, but I have seen quite a few people make their own.

 

[welder]

As said above ^^^^for sure support the transom 100% with the bunks [ Flush or 1 to 2 inches out past the transom.
I think Bassboy was suggesting the Swing away toung if you don't have one .

 

[bassboy1]

As said above ^^^^for sure support the transom 100% with the bunks [ Flush or 1 to 2 inches out past the transom.
I think Bassboy was suggesting the Swing away toung if you don't have one .

All but. I don't trust those. I was really posting my concern with those, and I suggested the custom telescopic tongue.

 

[Popeye]

It was I that suggested the swing away tongue. I still think for convenience it is good idea. I would guess that with proper maintenance and especially on a smaller tin boat it would last practically forever.

 

[RStewart]

hey bassboy1 how bout this? weld this piece to trailer,https://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200336461_200336461, then weld hitch on this piece and have a removable hitch.https://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200180474_200180474.

Very similar to the telescoping tongue I mentioned. No need to make it from a receiver hitch, can be done with regular steel. Basically, the back half of the tongue, that the winch post is on, that stops even with the boat's bow is hollow. A slightly smaller piece, with the coupler, telescopes in there, and is held in with 2 receiver hitch pins. If you have the telescope section long enough, you could have 2 settings. One with a reasonable length for standard towing, and launching at good ramps, and one where it slides farther forward to back into ramps that aren't as steep.

I have never seen anything like this marketed, but I have seen quite a few people make their own.

Yes would be cheaper to not buy the receiver hitch. For some reason, I thought my trailer was c channel not box steel. However it is box so this would be an easy job. I moved my winch post foward 10 inches to get the boat all the way on the trailer. So now I can kill two birds with one stone, extend the front by using the telescoping tongue.

 

[RStewart]

What about somethig like this? It looks alot easier than cutting into your trailer and it telescopes out of the way. How about this one bassboy you are more experienced with these things than me.. https://www.xtend-a-hitchnorthwest.com/
Joe

Thats pretty cool. The 5 ft extension would be okay if it would slide inside my tongue. But it is kind of expensive. I think it could be built for a lot less.

 

[Waterwings]

What about somethig like this? It looks alot easier than cutting into your trailer and it telescopes out of the way. How about this one bassboy you are more experienced with these things than me.. https://www.xtend-a-hitchnorthwest.com/
Joe

Thats pretty cool. The 5 ft extension would be okay if it would slide inside my tongue. But it is kind of expensive. I think it could be built for a lot less.

You mention the extension sliding inside of the trailer tongue, but I'm thinking that most trailer wiring is run through the tongue at some point and back through the frame, so some re-routing of the wiring harness would also need to be accomplished.

 

[Waterwings]

Guess we got side-tracked from the original topic kinda, but thought I would add this concerning the talk about swing-away tongues and such. I went out and braved the cold of my garage to snap some pics. The tongue is in the "open" position as I didn't want to open the garage door to let the cold wind in, lol: (It's 23 degrees here at the moment :shock: )

View showing the 1/2" diameter bolt (pin) inserted: (bottom half of the bolt is threaded to accept bottom cap which screws on, with a safety clip inserted through hole in lower part of the bolt)

Side view showing pin inserted with bottom threaded cap on and safety clip inserted through hole below the cap:

View showing bolt pin removed, bottom cap off, and safety clip hanging from where it's attached to the tongue:

One of the things I looked for when I bought both of my rigs was the NMMA sticker (discussed in a previous topic) on the trailer and boat, indicating they had passed stringent standards.

 

[shizzy77]

the set up you have there is many times stronger then the door hinge looking ones. I really dont see that one ever failing.

 

[Waterwings]

Thanks, and hopefully it'll last a long time. I do believe though that just about anything is subject to failure, and periodic maintenance should be done on things. One thing I need to check prior to hitching-up the boat again, is to remove the pin that holds the drawbar to the truck hitch and check it out. Haven't looked at it for awhile and want to check for any signs of wear. It's not one of the stainless pins and is subject to rusting. Once I have some extra $$ I want to replace the drawbar and the locking pin with the stainless material type.

 

[Popeye]

Wow, that sure is a sturdy looking swing away. A lot stronger looking than my Trailstar one (and no, I'm not going out in the 6 degrees to take a picture). I still have the utmost confidence in mine though.

 

[Waterwings]

Wow, that sure is a sturdy looking swing away. A lot stronger looking than my Trailstar one (and no, I'm not going out in the 6 degrees to take a picture). I still have the utmost confidence in mine though.

Your Trailstar is probably identical (except for length) to what my PT-175 Tracker sat on, and I never had any doubts about how it was made either. 8)

 

[Popeye]

Hinge on one side and big pull handled pin on the other.

 

[Waterwings]

Hinge on one side and big pull handled pin on the other.

I always liked the big pull-handled pin on the Trailstar trailer. After I would launch the boat and then park the truck and trailer, I used to pull the pin and lock it inside the truck to prevent theft of it. Occasionally there was too much tension on the pin and I wasn't able to pull it out. I've never been able to pull the pin out of the current trailer after moving the truck with trailer attached. I guess it puts just enough tension on the tongue to [hopefully] prevent someone from pulling it out.

 

[Popeye]

I do the same thing as well as removing the wiring adapter. Both get put on the drivers seat (hard to forget to replace them when they are jabbing you in the... [-X wallet. :lol: