26M trailer sucks

[ezaction]

I just picked up my new 26M last weekend and towed it 300 miles home. Couldn't go over 60 MPH without the trailer getting squirrely. My tow vehicle is a Ford Expedition with towing package. The top of the ball is 16" before putting the trailer on (dealer recommended 16-18").

I am no towing novice, and neither is the Expedition. I've towed flatbeds loaded with cars, horse trailers, U-haul car haulers, etc. thousands of miles and can back them up like a pro. Which brings up another issue; got home and ready to back the M up into the RV bay and it wouldn't go! The trailer brakes were on. Made an emergency call to the dealer. Had to use duct tape to keep the little metal lockout key in place in order to backup! Sheesh.

My theory is that (besides a crappy trailer) there is too much weight on the ball. And possibly the trailer tires need more air. I'll try those things, but not convinced it will ever pull decently.

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

A poorly behaved mac trailer is often caused by too little tounge weight. You need at least 300 lbs on the ball. The trailer frame needs to be level or slightly down toward the ball. If it sits slanted up it will get tail happy. Tire pressure should be the normal 50psi.

The brakes on when backing is the normal behavior of all trailers with surge brakes. You need to use some sort of lockout, especially when backing up hill or over curbs, etc. On the "X" trailer the only choice was a pin or spacer to keep the sliding hitch from compressing the brake piston. I have heard that the "M" trailer has a 5 wire connector with the 5th being for the backup light circuit. This lets you use a solenoid lockout that recirculates the brake fluid back into cylinder so the brakes are not applied when backing.

Yours also isn't the first Expedition that has not towed well. While it is a full size rig it is sprung quite light for that cushy car like ride. I find even my bigger Suburban 1500 is sprung to light for optimum towing. My old Suburban 2500 with it's true truck rear end didn't have any problems at all. Adding a helper spring to stiffen up the rear helps as does a rear sway bar with good bushings.

[Harry van der Meer]

I put heavy duty swaybars on my Ford Explorer and I do not have any sway problems, provided there is enough weight on the ball. For long and especially highway trips, I put my luggage in the V-birth and make sure the gas tanks are empty.

[Frank C]

As mentioned above, make sure you have 8% of the rig wt on the tongue. Your new, bare boat and trailer should weigh about 3300, plus the outboard. A 70 hp vs. a 50 hp motor can make a significant towing difference by adding an extra 100 lbs. at the extreme end of the load. If the dealer failed to float the hull fully forward to the bow stop, it could cause an aft-bias.

I try to have zero fuel in the lockers. If I do have a full 6 gal tank, I move it forward of the pedestal on the cockpit sole (26X). All other gear should be on the v-berth or on the forward cabin sole. This part of your load is carried mostly at the forward trailer bunk. The objective is to have all stowable weight forward of the trailer axle.

The trailer is not great, but it is serviceable. The problem you described is not trailer related.

[Kevin]

Interesting that some people have squirrely handling and others don't.

I have a new 26M pulled by a Chevy 1/2 ton. Shortbed with extended cab. No problems towing up to 70, and I shouldn't be towing that fast anyway.

50 hp motor and spare tire mounted on the front of the trailer so that might be adding a bit more weight forward. Anchor in locker and 2nd in the v-birth so substantial weight forward.

I tend to put fuel tanks in the pickup when full.

[Robert]

I tow with an Isuzu Trooper, smaller and lighter than the Expedition. Troopers are fairly tight in the suspension when new. When I started towing I had old shocks and tires with the vehicle recommended 35 psi rear and 32 psi front. I did not notice much sway but that day was my first time towing anything bigger than a lawn mower trailer.
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My Mac26X trailer came with about 40 psi in the tires. Soon after I discovered that the trailer tires were bias ply rated 1460# each and I changed them to marathon radils rated 1860# each and I made sure every trip to have 50 to 52 psi in them, the 52 was to allow room for a little loss in pressure and still have at least 50 psi in there. I also made sure to have around 40 psi in the Trooper's tires for firmer handling when towing.
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I also was concerned about being as safe as possible and I needed new tires and shocks anyway so I made sure to get tires rated as having excellent handling by reading places like http://www.tirerack.com and the tire manufacturers pages. I did the same research on shocks. The new tires and shocks made the towing more confident feeling.
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Later for off roading and towing and for my curiosity, I upgraded the rear coil springs to a more progressive spring that added 1" of height to the rear and a cranked up the front torsion bars to keep my Trooper level. At this time I also added the matching shock absorber set all around and poly sway bar bushings. My Trooper's handling was much improved around town while not towing. When I towed with this setup, the rear end hardly dropped down with the tongue weight and the handling was like the trailer was not there.
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I still only had a 6cyl 175hp engine. I wanted more power and MPG towing so I found this web page http://www.directhits.com and bought a complete set of low resistance spark plug wires and the "directhits" and resistorless plugs. The kit went on in less than an hour. I actually installed them while the trailer was hitched up and the Suzuki DF50 was getting its annual checkup. On the way to the outboard dealer (Salt Water Marine in Wilmington NC) 150 miles I got 9.9 mpg as I always had. On the way back I got 11.2 mpg and the engine had lots more torque available and ran much smoother in the top RPMs. I could actually leave it in 5th gear and cruis control.
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Now I was all set up to and very happy towing, then I was rear ended (not while towing) hard enough to crumple the roof of the full sized 1995 Volvo that rear ended me as if a tree had fallen on it, and its door would not open. My Trooper's air bags went off, but it was still very driveable since the trailer hitch took the hit the back of the Trooper still looked OK except for the bumper cover and a small wrinkle in the fender. The air bag replacement alone was $6000 so the insurance company totalled it. I replaced my Trooper with a newer one, but have not changed any suspension stuff yet. I will do that when it is time for tires again maybe next year.
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Chip, check out the DirectHits for your Tohatsu 50 2 stroke, they have a satisfaction gaurantee so you can get your money back if desired. Ask for assistance in choosing the right stuff and they will put a kit together for you. Tell them you don't believe in these things and fully expect to send it back. Then report what performnce and MPG difference you see. Your cold engine should start easier too.

[Frank C]

The kit went on in less than an hour. .... On the way to the outboard dealer (Salt Water Marine in Wilmington NC) 150 miles I got 9.9 mpg as I always had. On the way back I got 11.2 mpg and the engine had lots more torque available and ran much smoother

Robert,
I get 13 mpg on the drive TO Lake Tahoe (elevation 6200') and about 17 mpg on the way home (sea level). Any serious elevation change goin' on for that 300-mile drive you mentioned???


Just kiddin' Robert, if I'd EVER believe in magic widgets, it would be due to your endorsement!

[Robert]

Frank,
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I consider myself as a sceptic on add on gadgets but since DirectHits have a satisfaction guarantee and can easily be removed I figured I had nothing to lose. I also added a free flowing drop in replacement air filter from K&N and that helped too. I don't use any oil additives since I cannot see the results redily and may not be able to undo whatever the additive does the engine. Free flowing exhaust was an option but I could not find anyone that were not loud that promissed any improvement and exhaust cannot as easily be swaped back.
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If there is much of an elevation change it was downhill for the 9.9mpg and back up hill for the 11.2 mpg. But I think the elevation change is much less than 1000 feet. The biggest noticeable hills where I had to down shift before the DirectHits were highway overpass man made ones.
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If I were towing over 6000+ foot mountain passes often I would use a larger tow vehicle with a gross vehicle weight high enough to include the trailer weight. My Trooper could pull a Mac26X over any mountain pass in the country but it will be going slow in a lower gear and it would be very scary on wind exposed roads on the edge of deep drop offs especially on the down hills.
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Trivia: My Trooper plus my Mac26X is close to the weight of a Hummer H1, and the H2 is only a little lighter. Women wear pointy heel pump shoes that hurt their feet, men drive H2's that hurt their wallet.
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The DirectHits really work but are most noticeable on heavilly loaded engines such as my six banger pulling a Mac26X. I had a Suzuki DF50 with direct ignition so I could not try the DirectHits on it. I think any outboard with high voltage spark plug wires struggling to push a Mac26X would benefit from the directhits. I would really like someone to try DirectHits in their outboard. There is a testimonial from a well known fisherman that DirectHits gave him enough extra power to use a higher pitch prop.... DirectHits can also lower emissions since more time for the burn will burn more of the fuel.
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I think that if you don't push your engine hard then DirectHits are not worth the bother.

[Frank C]

I'm sure my tow vehicle is ample to the job, and it's not too often I TOW over that pass. That mileage (13 uphill, 17 back home) is WITHOUT boat and trailer. Curiously, mileage pulling the boat & trailer is about 12 mpg overall. That's with a GMC Sierra half-ton, 5.3L V-8. I slow to about 50-55 over a steep pass.