Tips on towing boat on trailer

[Andy Austin]

Can anyone give me any advice on towing a 2000kg bilge keeler on a trailer?

I'm not thinking so much about the legal weight limits, towcar requirements etc. as I can look those up. More about positioning the boat fore and aft on the trailer - should it be balanced or have a loading on the tow bar?

When towing a caravan the advice is that to maximise towing stability (and stop the van snaking) the tow hitch should exert around 7% of the weight of the van on the towbar. But boats are heavier and a bit more streamlined than caravans and I'm wondering what others have found or what the advice is when towing a boat?

I'm looking for a suitable trailer and am not quite sure what I'm looking for. Obviously it needs to have the weight bearing capacity and I'm expecting it to be a 4-wheeled job.

 

[colingr]

50kg or so loading on tow bar is what I work to.

 

[ghostlymoron]

I used to tow a Leisure 17 on a trailer and found that it towed best if there was a reasonable down weight on the towbar (VW Golf) - I think the advice from the likes of the caravan club or your car handbook is best for that. I also found that it started snaking alarmingly at anything over 50mph but was fine below that.

 

[Searush]

Your car will have a recommended max towbar weight, do not exceed that. The trailer should be slightly nose heavy to minimise risk of snaking. If it does snake, the official advice is to slow down - this will make it worse initially so be very gentle if you do do that. I prefer to accelerate, which will stop the snaking, & then brake once it is running true & under control (I once loaded a caravan rather badly). This can require courage if you happen to be going down hill!

Towing is not that hard, take it steady, I never had any snaking from my W25, but it was on the original Westerly trailer. What I did have was people rubber-necking & running into the back of the car in front on the other carriageway! Bless.

Make sure tyre pressures, brakes bearings are all OK & stop after a few miles to feel the tyres & hubs. They might be warm to touch but not hot. You should be able to feel the trailer brakes come on on the over run if they are working properly.

 

[ProDave]

On small trailers, 10% of the weight should be on the towbar.

Obviously with a 2 ton boat, that's not possible.

So aim to get the maximim towbar rating of the towcar as your noseweight.

I assume at this weight it's a 4 wheel twin axle trailer. If so there's another thing to match, the towball to the trailer height.

With the trailer unhitched raise the jockey wheel, and the tow hitch will settle at it's own height. Your car's towball needs to be higher than that "at rest" height, otherwise you won't have any noseweight.

Another thing to guide you to the correct hitch height is simply to get the drawbar horizontal.

I mention this, because my own trailer is quite high, and on the first tow home, I had to stand on the tow hitch to force it down low enough to reach the car. It obviously towed really badly like that, and I had to fit a drop plate "upside down" to give me a second, higher up towball on my car.

Matching the towball height is something you rarely have to to on a single axle trailer, but it's quite important on a twin axle trailer.

If you can't get the noseweight within acceptable limits, move the boat forwards or backwards on the trailer. Again something I had to so, as it was set up really badly when I bought the boat already on the trailer.

And yes, as everyone says, wobbly wheel bearings won't do any favours for the towing, so check those out as well.

If the boat is snaking at less than 60mph then either it's loaded badly, or the towcar is too small.

Then there's the usual things to consider about overhang and lighting boards, and don't forget the traiiler must have mudguards (another thing missing from mine when I bought it)

 

[sarabande]

much depends on the towing vehicle for the nose load. Usually 50 to 75 lbs.

Basically the C of G of the load should be balanced between the axles, with a slight move for'd towards the nose to give the required load.

You need good means of stopping the load moving forward under braking , especially downhill, so in addition to ratchet straps to hold the boat down, you need to postion a couple more diagonally from for'd to aft to act as a brake.

Watch the rear overhang, in case you need to add a warning traingle and extra lights. Also if you have an overhang (or mast) at the front, mind you don't dent the roof when the rig goes down into a dip.

Trailers come up on eBay very frequently. Avoid home made ones unless belonging to an oil rig certificated welder with OCD about design !

Tyres need to be spot on and not cracked as if the Police stop you, they will go through the rig from nose to tail (quite fairly, too).


Insurance - make sure your insurance knows you are transporting your own boat. Doing it for someone else means a big premium, and third party to include clear up costs. Sorry to be downbeat!

Two tonnes is not a great load but with the trailer weight, quite a bit heavier than a caravan.

 

[BAtoo]

Have you checked your licence to see if you are entitled to tow something that size.....newer licences require further tests.

Otherwise sound advice from Searush.

Once had a caravan snake on me - quite worrying - especially as we were going downhill, outside lane, lorries to the left and behind......and a borrowed caravan at the start of our holiday. Didnt have the bulls to speed up - just foot off and gentle braking. Lucky escape!

 

[aquaplane]

All the stuff about nose weight and balance is good.

Also, carry spare bearings and all the kit to change them wherever you go.

A 2Te displacement boat will probably weigh more with kit on, you will need a fairly beefy tow vehicle, I use a Discovery for a 1Te boat but it's probably overkill.

 

[simon barefoot]

Depending on your vehicle, add a bit of weight to the towing vehicle. It helps improve control, you boss the trailer about, rather than the trailer driving you.

In my last job I towed a small swingshovel around a lot of the time, and found it a far nicer drive if I had half a ton or so over the rear axle of my tipper lorry.

Even in a domestic car, a couple of bulky lads on the back seat would 'plant' the car a little better and keep the best of the weight with you, rather than wallowing around behind.

 

[Searush]

A lorry's "bow wave" has a big impact on light caravans snaking, but a boat should be less affected. Good point about the boat moving on the trailer, mine had sliding clamps acting on the front & back of the keels to stop movement. Once the boat was positioned right, the clamps were pushed against the keels & bolted down tight.

You will also need some sort of crutch to support that aft end of the mast, the cabin top & pushpit should be OK for the front, but I needed an X shaped support aft.

 

[aquaplane]

I find that once the outboard, tool kits, jacks and chocks, inflatable, food, and all the rest of the trammel needed for a fortnight cruise is in the back of the car I'm not worrying about if there is enough weight over the back wheels

 

[VicS]

Just to add that a useful source of info regarding all the legal stuff is the National Trailer & Towing Association website http://www.ntta.co.uk/

(Just in case Ubergeekian is still lurking. It does not cover special cases where exemption to certain regulations for such things as gliders)

 

[Searush]

I find that once the outboard, tool kits, jacks and chocks, inflatable, food, and all the rest of the trammel needed for a fortnight cruise is in the back of the car I'm not worrying about if there is enough weight over the back wheels

That's not the point, the key issue is trailer balance - that's why the nose weight is important.

 

[bluemoongaffer]

I've towed my boat quite a bit. Weighs around 1800kg, so roughly the same.

Some good advice above but I've never been brave enough to accelerate with a snaking trailer and I'd worry that with 2 tonnes plus on the back, it might do more harm than good. Just lifting off the accelerator slowly has usually brought everything back into line.

The other thing I have now is a check list, which I tick off before setting off. Most items on it are a result of mistakes made in the past... Can't recommend this too strongly
This is mine:

a) Check lights and cable socket is firmly fitted
b) Check emergency brake cable is fitted properly
c) Check trailer ball hitch is really locked on
d) Check jockey wheel is as far up and as firmly fixed as possible (re-check this as part of h) below)
e) Check wheel nuts on all wheels and tyre pressures
f) Mast is particularly vulnerable and it's easy for the crutches or whatever you're using to support it to come adrift and for the mast to sway about. You can't see this from the cab (but the very kind bus driver behind me let me know) so I double check those and strap down with extra rope
g) check tightness of the props that hold the boat upright on the trailer (these are usually just a simple clamp and I've had them come loose)
h) Stop after a mile or so and double check the straps that hold the boat down - they work loose a bit and may need tightening. Do a visual check all round at the same time
g) Know the speed regs for your trailer / tow vehicle combination for all roads you're going to travel on
h) Check for low bridges (unlikely to be a problem, but there is v low bridge on the approach to Lake Yard in Poole)
i) Make sure nothing like screwdrivers or pliers have been left on deck. Make sure the anchor is firmly fastened down if on deck
j) check insurance - will anyone pay you for boat damage if you hit something or somebody hits you who isn't insured?
k) spare tyre for the trailer and trolley jack

By the way, I usually hire a van or pick-up to tow - costs about £60 for the day

 

[rob2]

I don't have any experience beyond towing a caravan, but a point not raised yet is driving style. You cannot accelerate, brake or steer the same when towing so your attention and planning needs to move half a mile further ahead. For a safe and comfortable journey, everything needs to be unhurried and smooth. You'll soon get used to planning a wider arc for turns and, just like boat handling on the water, doing things at the optimum speed, so you don't have to make any major adjustments.

Towing is slower than driving a car any other time, so don't let yourself get tied to a tight deadline. That would only force you into an inappropriate driving style! In the right mindset, it is very satisfying - rather like driving your mother without getting an ear bending.

Rob.

 

[Searush]

Couple of excellent posts there. I might add, you need to get used to always being in a lower gear than normal & you may only get into top when cruising on the M-way & will be very aware of every slight incline. My Range Rover (a 1969 prototype) used to do 20-22 mpg on a run, it fell to 12-14 while towing the boat to Scotland. But petrol was only about 40p a gall back then!

 

[TQA]

I don't have any experience beyond towing a caravan, but a point not raised yet is driving style. You cannot accelerate, brake or steer the same when towing so your attention and planning needs to move half a mile further ahead. For a safe and comfortable journey, everything needs to be unhurried and smooth. You'll soon get used to planning a wider arc for turns and, just like boat handling on the water, doing things at the optimum speed, so you don't have to make any major adjustments.

Towing is slower than driving a car any other time, so don't let yourself get tied to a tight deadline. That would only force you into an inappropriate driving style! In the right mindset, it is very satisfying - rather like driving your mother without getting an ear bending.

Rob.

+1

Also you should find an oportunity to test your combined brakes on a straight dry road with a steadily increasing pressure on the pedal, unbalenced trailor brakes are common and may give you a nasty fright. You may find your front wheels will lock up early due to the trailor nose weight transfer.

Ask me how I know this!

 

[Seajet]

Andy,

I know you say you can sort this, but do be wary of the towing legalities and if in doubt use a weighbridge if poss'.

The police have made it public that they are targeting cars with trailers, ( burglars, boat & car thieves having proven beyond their abilities in my experience ) - there was a recent video of 2 'interceptor patrol cars' escorting some hapless boat owner to have it weighed, then prosecuted; bear in mind the makers' plates stating towable weight on the trailer too.

For a decent sized boat - say 22' & above - one needs a 4 wheel trailer with its' own brakes, towed by something like a Rangerover or truck; as you're talking of something a lot larger, consideration is required...check the maximum beam allowable too, I think you might be near that...

 

[Lakesailor]

I've never been brave enough to accelerate with a snaking trailer and I'd worry that with 2 tonnes plus on the back, it might do more harm than good.

I have. Towing a Vauxhall Viva on a substantial four-wheeled car trailer behind a TR7 (not a good choice and would be illegal now).
The trailer started swaying and, as Searush said, slowing made it worse, so I accelerated slowly.
I had some friends who engaged in caravan stage rallying who reckoned that accelerating was the thing to do.
Wrong. The swaying is a resonance. The heavier outfit I was towing just took over the plot until I could see we were in trouble with the trailer appearing at one side and then the other.
I was on a very quiet dual carriageway (it was a Sunday morning) so decided to brake hard when the trailer came across to the offside and hope the whole lot would slither to a jack-knife sort of halt.
It kind of did that although the whole outfit spun and we ended up facing the way we had come from.
I managed to do a multi-point turn and we carried on.

Since then I regard any swaying as an early warning of doom and slow very gently until things settle down.

 

[maxi77]

Plenty of good stuff, do make sure your rig is legal, not only will the police give you hassle your car and boat will not be insured either. Always remember the max speeds for towing, and take it easy until you really get a feal for it. If you are going long distance you may find it worth fitting one of the anti snake devices, you don't want a couple of tons trying to take charge of your car.