R4 Trailer Bow Stop Position

[tgernst]

I am curious as to where people are positioning the "bow stop" on their trailers. My R4 came on a Heritage two axle trailer. The dealer set the bow stop such that when loaded, approximately 4-5" of the bunk boards extend behind the transom. The boat is far enough forward that I am unable to completely lower the outdrive on the trailer without hitting the triple led light on the trailer, (don't ask). The Heritage owner manual suggests the transom should be flush with the end of the bunks, excerpt attached.

I questioned the position when I picked up the boat and was told that is where you want it.

The current position will be a PITA if trim tabs are added to the boat. I am curious what other experience and preference is. If there is good reason for it being so far forward, then so be it. I am headed to a truck scale to determine where the weight on the axles vs tongue weight is now, but thought I would ask. As it is set now there is considerable tongue weight as it squats my RAM 2500.

Thanks in advance

[Kate]

Just went through the same problem. Trim tabs sat on the trailer, excessive tongue weight, trailer sway. I moved the winch post back about 5". Problems solved.

[NautiGirl]

I went down a pretty deep rabbit hole of trailer setup when we started towing heavier boats. Even bought a tongue weight scale. The wife loved it. What I found is a few inches can make a huge difference - that's what she said. I also found that at least in my experience Heritage puts more weight on the tongue as compared to other brands.

Our 222 Sat on a heritage trailer. Our R5 is on a BoatMate. The 222 is about 750lb - 1000lb lighter than the R5, lets make it easy and say the 222 was 6,000lb and the R5 is 7,000lb.

Ideal tongue weight on a boat trailer is 5 - 7%.

The Heritage put 525lb on the tongue, verified it with a scale. Thats about 8.75%

The Boatmate with a heavier boat on it puts 375lb on the tongue or about 5.5%

Both tow great - neither sway.

The R5 on the BoateMate doesn't actually put the F150 on the overload springs. I wish it put a bit more weight on the tongue to help with stability but the bow stop is welded on that trailer - cant move it.

Long story short - the Heritage is most likely putting a lot of weight on the tongue as its setup. An R4 is heavy, but it shouldn't be squatting a 2500 truck. Get a tongue weight scale, see where its at, and then target 5-7% of total weight on the tongue. Dont be nervous about getting closer to 5% ours is there and I haven't seen any issues pulling it up to 70mph or so.

Good Luck!

[jhnmdahl]

Nauti's advice is pretty consistent with what I've experienced, but know that in North America it's not uncommon to see people aim for 10%-15% tongue weight, which seems really high to me. In Europe, the rule of thumb is more like 5-7%. Google it and you'll be surprised by the range of advice out there.

I aim for 8% or so when fiddling with trailers myself, but it becomes increasingly important as that tongue weight percentage drops not to pile a bunch of stuff in the back of the boat and reduce the percentage farther before towing. If the center of gravity of your fuel tank is forward of the axles, configuring with a full tank and then towing with an empty tank can be enough to make the boat noticeably less stable at highway speeds.

[tgernst]

Since we tow the R4 long distances several times a year and the R4 is so much heavier than my previous boat I was concerned. For my peace of mind, I took this issue straight down the rabbit hole to get comfortable with the matter. I visited the CAT scale at my local truck stop. What I found was with the bow stop set as the dealer had it, I had 960 lbs on the tongue (13.6% of combined trailer & boat weight). As I said, Heritage Trailers recommended that the transom of the boat be flush with the end of the bunk boards, which is what I wanted as well to be able to add trim tabs. Today we made it out to the lake where I could float the boat a bit off the trailer allowing me to relocate the bow stop 4-5/8" back. This put the boat where Heritage recommended transom flush with bunks. I revisited the CAT scale and found that the 4-5/8" move back reduced the tongue weight by 140 lbs (30.27lbs/in). This brought the tongue weight to 820 lbs (11.7% of combined trailer & boat).

It is still a heavy tongue, but that 140lbs reduction did seem to feel better towing, a little less bounce. It towed great and now I have the clearance needed for the trim tab installation. I know, a long story for what may be a trivial issue, but sharing for curious folk.