The boat and trailer I own have had many owners. How do I determine if the boat is sitting properly over the trailer wheels? It is a 15' fiberglass so it is not light. Thanks for any advice in advance.

 

-Danny

 

Around 10% is a fair benchmark.

Too little tongue weight promotes 'tail-sway', while too much weight promotes 'tail-dragging'

 

Roger

How can I determine what 10% is? 

 One option is to take your loaded rig to a weight station & weigh it.

 

A-Jay

15 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

 One option is to take your loaded rig to a weight station & weigh it.

 

A-Jay

Ok. And calculate 10%. Then how do I weigh the tongue?

Just now, Bass Turd said:

Ok. And calculate 10%. Then how do I weigh the tongue?

 

One option is to put it on a bathroom scale ~

Here's more info

https://www.etrailer.com/faq-how-to-determine-trailer-tongue-weight.aspx

A-Jay

Perfect. Thank you.

1 minute ago, Bass Turd said:

Perfect. Thank you.

You're very welcome.

Good Luck

A-Jay

 

With regard to setting your tongue weight, you can use your bathroom scale as A-Jay suggested,

but if you're tongue weight exceeds your scale's capacity (always with large vessels),

you might need a marine shop or weigh station.

 

Roger

 

 

Do you know the class of trailer hitch you have? Let's guess it's a 3,500 lb max, class 2 hitch common for most bass boats. Your rig shouldn't weigh more than 1,500 -2,000 lbs so 10% is about 150 -200 lbs tongue weight.

Tom

Connecticut says that the tongue weight should be between five and seven percent.

 

Yeap, that seems arbitrary to me, too.

Weigh Safe – as well as most experts agree – that an acceptable tongue weight for any trailer is somewhere between 9 to 15 percent of the gross trailer weight (GTW). Therefore, if you are towing a 5000 lbs trailer, the tongue weight should be measured at approximately 500 lbs.  https://www.weigh-safe.com/towing-safety/how-to-measure-tongue-weight/