Trailer sway - what to do and how to react?

[nprbill]

Looking at the pictures and descriptions, the best bet is too light a tongue. My started that way so I tied a heavy dead battery on the front of the latter. Since I have been traveling longer distances, I have a side mount spare tire mount with the tire there now. The tendency to sway increases with speed and also going down hill.

[romandesign]

Looking at the pictures and descriptions, the best bet is too light a tongue. My started that way so I tied a heavy dead battery on the front of the latter. Since I have been traveling longer distances, I have a side mount spare tire mount with the tire there now. The tendency to sway increases with speed and also going down hill.

Hmm, that's radical and inventive thinking, I like it I do have a dead battery that can serve as the weight on the tongue. Maybe I will just do the same...

[NiceAft]

No. What is this and how do you do that?

The Mac bump is a way to get the boat snug against the rubber boat stop at the front of the trailer.

After the boat has been cranked onto the trailer, and the bunks are still wet, speed up (where you have room to do it) to about 5mph, and then step on the breaks hard. The boat should slide forward. Then crank the boat in tighter.

http://www.macgregorsailors.com/forum/v ... =10&t=1086

Ray

[133bhp]

if it starts swerving, don't keep trying to correct it - gun it hard and pull it back into line, settle in a straight line then slow/brake.

[Curwen]

Definitely need to do the Mac Bump. The picture shows the bow a few inches from the v-cushion.

To do the Mac Bump...while retrieving, pull her as tight as you can with the cable/strap. I have a Classic 26D so I can't drain at plane, so after everything is secured, I have the Admiral start slowly pulling the trailer from the water. Once I'm comfortable with how she is sitting on the trailer, I jump in and pull my drain plug. I pull to the parking and de-rig my boat, this takes about 20 minutes if I am solo. Once everything is tucked in, Mac Bump time. I'll go about 5 mph and stomp on the brakes. I hear the boat slide a little, I get out and put a little tension on the strap, and repeat until the bow is nice and tight in the v-cushion. It felt weird at first, but you get competent pretty quickly. I wouldn't do it too much faster than the 5-10 mph. We want help from Newton, not a bad day.

[Tomfoolery]

Definitely need to do the Mac Bump. The picture shows the bow a few inches from the v-cushion.

Just piling on. Do the Mac Bump. That boat should be in the v-cushion. Reevaluate from there.

It will slide easier on the bunks if you treat them with Liquid Rollers. In fact, it may slide a little too easy if you nail the brakes too hard. So use LR, then gentle braking trials until you get a feel for how hard you need to stop to get the boat to move forward. No LR, and you have to stop pretty hard to get it to slide, and if it has a long way to go, it may hit that v-cushion pretty hard. Better to lube it and be gentle. In several small steps if necessary.

You only need to lube the patches where the boat actually contacts the bunks. On the X, the bunks are vee-shaped, but the boat only contacts in relatively small areas, so emptying half a can on the whole bunk is just wasting it. You can see from the wear and crushing where the boat sits on the bunks.

And use a tie-down strap over the stern, and a safety chain from the winch post to the bow eye as a backup. That's law in most States. Don't know about where you are. But it's industry best-practice everywhere.

Oh, and instead of two scales, you can use one scale, and a block of wood or cement for the other 'scale', with the tongue lowered onto the middle of the beam. Scale reads 1/2 of the total weight. I put the beam right onto the scale, with an old fat curtain rod as a 'roller' between them, and a narrow block of wood on the dummy 'scale' on the other side, and a two-by vertical to the bottom of the coupler, and just lower the coupler onto the vertical two-by.

[Be Free]

+1 for the Mac bump. If I'm not completely against the front roller I can't get over 45MPH without serious sway; all the way up and 65 is no problem.

[Don T]

Hello,
Proper loading is the best answer. Avoid PIO, don't try to correct the movement, it only makes it worse. I drive with my left arm / wrist holding the wheel at 8:00 held in place at my knee which is against the door. That way I avoid even small inputs to the steering if sway gets started and my body moves. I went one step further and added an anti-sway system for the hitch.
See here:
http://www.macgregorsailors.com/modt/index.php?view=325

[sailboatmike]

Its all about weight distribution, the down force on the tow ball should be around 10% of the total weight, so if you loaded trailer weighs in at 3600lbs then the weight on the tow ball should be 360lbs, always better within reason to have more weight forward than back as long as it doesnt lighten the steering too much or flatten the rear suspension.

Most cars have a maximum rated down weight for the towball in the specifications, this is totally different from the maximum towing capacity

[romandesign]

Its all about weight distribution, the down force on the tow ball should be around 10% of the total weight, so if you loaded trailer weighs in at 3600lbs then the weight on the tow ball should be 360lbs, always better within reason to have more weight forward than back as long as it doesnt lighten the steering too much or flatten the rear suspension.

Most cars have a maximum rated down weight for the towball in the specifications, this is totally different from the maximum towing capacity

There is nothing else I can move to the front, everything that's movable is there. I'll try the bump, that will give me an inch or two, and if it's not enough, I'll tie an old car battery to the tongue - dirty but effective.

[Don T]

OR, mount the spare at the tongue.

[romandesign]

OR, mount the spare at the tongue.

Spares are for losers seriously,I don't have one...

[grady]

Its all about weight distribution, the down force on the tow ball should be around 10% of the total weight, so if you loaded trailer weighs in at 3600lbs then the weight on the tow ball should be 360lbs, always better within reason to have more weight forward than back as long as it doesnt lighten the steering too much or flatten the rear suspension.

Most cars have a maximum rated down weight for the towball in the specifications, this is totally different from the maximum towing capacity

There is nothing else I can move to the front, everything that's movable is there. I'll try the bump, that will give me an inch or two, and if it's not enough, I'll tie an old car battery to the tongue - dirty but effective.

Had the same issue and your Motor is farther aft than mine. Moved the axle back about a foot. Solved the problem. Then realized the boat was not balanced. Moved the batteries into the bow to fix the balance of the boat now the tung weight is beyond 10%. Fix the boat balance first then worry about the trailer. The bottom of the stern should be about even with the water when sitting static.

[Tomfoolery]

OR, mount the spare at the tongue.

Spares are for losers seriously,I don't have one...

Wow. I have two spares. One on each side at the bow.

[Catigale]

That's probably about 200 pounds, and that's way too light