Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Howdy folks,
This is my first ever toon and I was noticing that the 2 high bunks on the trailer that help guide the pontoons onto the trailer were about 5 inches inboard of the inside of the pontoons. Is this the norm? I do know I need to move the boat back about 6 inches or so to lessen the tongue weight. I have about 10 inches of bunk behind the pontoon so that should be no problem. I am looking forward to manuvering this behemoth around the launching ramps NOT!
I hope to see some of you on the water.
cheers,
Paul

My guess is they never were adjusted by the previous owners. Mine also are about 5" away. The trailer manufacturers seem to put them in that location and there they stay, unless adjusted for the boat. I plan to move mine so, I have an inch or so between the toon, just to give a little wiggle room. My trailer bunks are V shaped and should have a self centering effect when retrieving. Far as the tongue weight, don't go too light on the weight. Think there is an equation on weight of boat vs tongue weight. I believe it works out to about 8 to 10 percent of the boat weight. Too light on the tongue weight can make the boat erratic on the highway.
doc

ya.. i think the min you want is 10%. Max like 15%
So if your trailer and toy weight in at say 3000, then you do not want a tongue weight less then 300, otherwise it will fishtail like a motha...

Everything you wanted to know about towing. Here is a site and some data specifically on tongue weight;

http://www.sherline.com/lmbook.htm#refrn5

TYPE OF TRAILER with PERCENT OF WT. ON TONGUE

Single Axle 10% minimum/15% maximum

Tandem Axle 9% to 15%

Travel Trailer 11% to 12%

5th Wheel 15% to 25%

thanks, I'll adjust the bunks a little closer to the pontoons.
Now I have to figure out how to test the tongue weight. And figure out the total weight.
mfg says gross weight is 3100 and motor 564 (Yahama says 402) and I'm guessing my trailer dual axle pretty heavy duty at 1500 that is in the ballpark of 5164 lbs.
At 10% 516 lbs of tongue weight.
It lowers the back of my Chevy 1500 4wd to what I thought was alot, but maybe I'm wrong. I towed it 200 miles at highway speeds and it tracked beautifully.
I noticed in another thread posted by beermunk to 'inflate tires to max cold PSI exactly'. My tires were in the mid-30's as tested when I got home. I believe the max is 70psi.
Does that sound right?
Should I use 70 psi?
Seems like I've got a bit to learn.
thank you all for your advice
cheers,
Paul

If your tire says 70psi cold then that's what you want. 30psi could cause overheat and tread separation at speed.

I checked my McClain trailer spec sticker. Max Load at 65 psi. So I will go with the advice here and use 70 psi as stated on the tires.
thanks again.
Paul

DEFF run em full...
Mine says 50 and i run em at 50.