"Remember, no more than 10% of the trailer's weight should be on the tongue." No, speaking from a stability standpoint, this is just plain wrong. More tongue weight never hurts trailer stability. Now whether the tow vehicle can handle the weight or not is another issue. The rule of thumb for trailer tongue weight is between 5 and 10 percent of total trailer weight. This does not mean that more tongue weight is a problem, just that you need to have at least 5 to 10 percent to get a fairly stable towing trailer. Rik Norm wrote:
I keep my 32lb Evinrude attached to the transom with an outboard lock. I also tie it in the up position by running a line with several turn from the stern cleats. This insures that the motor will not fall down and also absorbs any heavy road shocks as well as distributing the engine weight to the cleats and transom.
Remember, no more than 10% of the trailer's weight should be on the tongue. The load should be adjusted for this approximate weight. An engine put on the winch stand may cause the tongue weight to be excessive. Assuming a total trailer/boat equipment weight of 1,100 to 1,300 lbs, a bathroom scale should show 110 to 130 lbs at the tongue. The best trailer control will be achieved if you follow this rule.
Norm M15 #172 _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats