Towing Safety
Boat Trailer Hitch | Why is Tongue Weight Important When Towing Your Boat?
Since it’s summer time, I found it only fitting to talk about towing boats. Our customer support team quite frequently receives questions from customers concerning their tongue weight when towing a boat as well as questions about whether or not they can submerge their boat trailer hitch in water while launching the boat.
The tricky thing with boats is that you can’t position the boat on the trailer in a way that gives you a proper tongue weight (10-15% of GTW). It’s not like you can pull the boat farther forward on the trailer if you are below the 10% tongue weight rating and vice versa. You also can’t position the boat farther back on the trailer if you’re exceeding 15% tongue weight rating. It’s not like a flatbed trailer with ATV’s loaded where you have the ability to move those items around in order to keep your tongue weight within that 10-15% of GTW range.
Also, things like the motor and engine on a boat are already predetermined, meaning that you don’t usually have the option to move those around either. All of this contributes to why the tongue weight usually reads low when towing a boat. In turn, you’ll need to load whatever cargo you’re bringing in the bow of the boat to help increase the tongue weight. Coolers, towels, snacks and water toys should be loaded accordingly based off of what your tongue weight is and where you’re needing it to be.
Another important aspect to keep in mind with boats is that they hold water. Always check and make sure there isn’t any rain water or other water being stowed away inside your boat as this can completely throw off the weight of your boat and your tongue weight calculations.
For all those questioning whether or not you can submerge your Weigh Safe hitch into water when launching your boat…YES you can! Our hitches are fully capable of being submerged in water.
Whether you’re launching your boat into the ocean, a lake or other body of water, always remember to clean your hitch afterwards. Remove your Weigh Safe hitch from your tow vehicle, remove the slider from the draw bar and rinse with a light soap and water. Doing this will ensure that your hitch stays clean and functioning properly and doesn’t get debris build up.
And as a constant reminder, make sure to never tow a boat that exceeds your gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) and take the proper steps and precautions prior to hitting the road. As always, know before you tow. A day of boating is only fun if you make it there safely. Oh and our Steel Weigh Safe hitch is coming very soon!! Stay tuned!
The tricky thing with boats is that you can’t position the boat on the trailer in a way that gives you a proper tongue weight (10-15% of GTW). It’s not like you can pull the boat farther forward on the trailer if you are below the 10% tongue weight rating and vice versa. You also can’t position the boat farther back on the trailer if you’re exceeding 15% tongue weight rating. It’s not like a flatbed trailer with ATV’s loaded where you have the ability to move those items around in order to keep your tongue weight within that 10-15% of GTW range.
Also, things like the motor and engine on a boat are already predetermined, meaning that you don’t usually have the option to move those around either. All of this contributes to why the tongue weight usually reads low when towing a boat. In turn, you’ll need to load whatever cargo you’re bringing in the bow of the boat to help increase the tongue weight. Coolers, towels, snacks and water toys should be loaded accordingly based off of what your tongue weight is and where you’re needing it to be.
Another important aspect to keep in mind with boats is that they hold water. Always check and make sure there isn’t any rain water or other water being stowed away inside your boat as this can completely throw off the weight of your boat and your tongue weight calculations.
For all those questioning whether or not you can submerge your Weigh Safe hitch into water when launching your boat…YES you can! Our hitches are fully capable of being submerged in water.
Whether you’re launching your boat into the ocean, a lake or other body of water, always remember to clean your hitch afterwards. Remove your Weigh Safe hitch from your tow vehicle, remove the slider from the draw bar and rinse with a light soap and water. Doing this will ensure that your hitch stays clean and functioning properly and doesn’t get debris build up.
And as a constant reminder, make sure to never tow a boat that exceeds your gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) and take the proper steps and precautions prior to hitting the road. As always, know before you tow. A day of boating is only fun if you make it there safely. Oh and our Steel Weigh Safe hitch is coming very soon!! Stay tuned!
