moloch16 Posted October 22, 2007 Posted October 22, 2007 First time boat / trailer owner here. I bought a used 14' Jon with a 9.9 motor. Came with a trailer. When I tow the boat to the lake it bounce like crazy. It doesn't help that the road to my home lake looks like it was paved in 1912. There are so many ruts and pot holes I refuse to drive it after dark My main concern is the constant shaking and bouncing will screw up the motor. My second concern is the transom can't take the abuse of the motor hanging on the back bouncing around like that. Is it normal for the boat and motor to bounce around so much? Perhaps the suspension on the trailer isn't quite right? Are there any measures I can take to prevent the boat and trailer from shaking and bouncing so much? I'm very new to this, any help is appreciated! Quote
Super User Catt Posted October 22, 2007 Super User Posted October 22, 2007 I'm going to take a guess here, your trailer have 8 wheels? Quote
moloch16 Posted October 22, 2007 Author Posted October 22, 2007 I'm at work and can't measure them, but I do believe they are 8" wheels. Reading into your comment I guess replacing the wheels with larger diameters would help? Quote
mayassa Posted October 22, 2007 Posted October 22, 2007 You can get a transom saver for use while towing, also does the axle have leaf springs? how many? You could take one out of the stack on each side to smooth out the ride. When I tow any of my trailers empty they bounce around, not enough weight to load the springs. Can you post Pictures? If you want to go the bigger tire route you will have to move the axle under the leaf springs to maybe clear the fender wells. I think you will still need to play with the leafs though. Quote
jeremyt Posted October 22, 2007 Posted October 22, 2007 Not that it will help with the trailer, but are you using a transom strap and saver. The trailer would still bounce all around, but that should take some pressure of the motor and boat. Quote
surfer Posted October 22, 2007 Posted October 22, 2007 I am in line with all of these guys. Your trailer is not set up for that boat. Most likely the suspension is to stiff and is designed for a much heavier boat. Larger wheels always ride smoother then smaller ones. The transom should be your first concern. I don't think the bouncing will hurt the motor much. Assuming it's a 9.9 tiller that can be lifted easily; the simplest thing I can think of is take the motor off and put it in your truck while trailering to and fro. The boat and trailer bouncing buy themselves won't hurt much and the motor would get a smoother ride. Quote
Super User fishfordollars Posted October 22, 2007 Super User Posted October 22, 2007 I also agree. Boat is too light for the trailer setup. Quote
moloch16 Posted October 22, 2007 Author Posted October 22, 2007 Yep I think y'all nailed it - boat is too light for the trailer. Now I just need to figure out what to do about it. I'll take a look and see if I can adjust or replace the suspension. I also thought about sticking the motor in the car (no truck lol). I wanted to avoid this due to potential water and gas leaking on the floor but I can put a tarp down. Thanks for the help folks, these forums are wonderful Quote
mayassa Posted October 22, 2007 Posted October 22, 2007 Take a pic and post it of the suspension Quote
bassboy1 Posted October 22, 2007 Posted October 22, 2007 Biggest thing is, strap it down well. If it is bouncing on the bunks, you have a problem. Get the boat down tight. Now, if you can hang the outboard in the running position, by all means do so. Just run a nice strap around the lower unit, and secure it to the trailer. Now, they all move as one, and it isn't nearly as troublesome as you would think. Your transom should take the stress like that. The majority of the force comes from moving, then slamming down. ie, if the motor bounces up, then falls back down, there will be a lot of impact force. But, if it isn't allowed to kick up, then there is none of that impact force, and your transom should be fine. If you have eights, go ahead and change them to 12s. Smaller wheels spin faster, so they just eat up bearings. Go ahead and add bearing buddies too. If the suspension is too tight, nine times out of ten, you can take a leaf or two out. That would solve your problem. As far as taking the motor to the car, it may not be practical, as assuming that is a johnnyrude, it will be between 80 and 90 pounds. Plus, outboards are not exactly the most practical shape to pick up, so that will get real old real fast. Plus, the reason for trailers, is so that everything can be hauled, and launched, without having to carry anything. Makes for the most efficient launching/hauling. Quote
moloch16 Posted October 23, 2007 Author Posted October 23, 2007 As far as taking the motor to the car, it may not be practical, as assuming that is a johnnyrude, it will be between 80 and 90 pounds. Plus, outboards are not exactly the most practical shape to pick up, so that will get real old real fast. Plus, the reason for trailers, is so that everything can be hauled, and launched, without having to carry anything. Makes for the most efficient launching/hauling. Ha! I'm already putting all the gear in the car so it doesn't get beat to death! I hate the idea of putting the motor in too. Too much loading an unloading of gear when I just want to fish! Here are some pictures of the trailer and suspension... Quote
bassboy1 Posted October 23, 2007 Posted October 23, 2007 Update those wheels to 12". Add Bearing Buddies while you are at it, and check the bearings. That does look to be a light duty suspension, so personally, I don't think your problem is there. Strap the motor down tight, as I said, that is how it is meant be carried, and so long as it isn't popping up, it won't hurt. Check though, and make sure the bunks extend at least an inch or so past the transom. Otherwise, it is overstressing it. If the bunks don't extend far enough back you can fix it by moving the winch forward, or changing something - be creative. If everything is strapped down tight, you won't have much of a problem, the rest is in your head (been there, done that) I hear ya on the gear thing. It is crazy how much time it takes me at the top of the launch to load my gear in my 12er, and strap on the depthfinder and such. Someday, when we get some free time, we will add locking storage, so that the only thing that will have to move, will be the rods, and the depthfinder (mount gonna be permanent, but I don't relish the idea of leaving the unit in the boat, secured by a set of thumbscrew) Quote
Super User Catt Posted October 23, 2007 Super User Posted October 23, 2007 Move up to 12 wheels, you will still have bounce but not a drastic; your problem is your rig doesn't weight enough for the suspension to work properly. Mount the motor permanently by bolting it through the transom and then adding a motor lock. Fill the gas tank to the max, drop it in behind the rear seat, and place your ice chest with ice/drinks in front of the rear seat. This additional weight well help smooth out the ride Quote
HPBB Posted October 23, 2007 Posted October 23, 2007 just a question. is there mounts for shocks? I know most trailer do not have them, but My grandfather had an old boat with a trailer similar to yours, but there were shock on it. I remeber one shock mount broke and the boat bounced badly so he welded a new mount on it and replaced the shocks and it ran ok. shocks will slow and stop bouncing. just make sure everything is tied down good and you will be fine. Just FYI from a post earlier. you do not always have to "flip " and axil to put larger wheels/tires on the. My 14 footer came with 8's and I moved up to 12's. just mounted them on. didn't have to change anything else but the wheels/tire Quote
Fatman1267MM Posted October 23, 2007 Posted October 23, 2007 I know everyone is telling you to mount the motor permenantly, but we always took our motor off of our 22' river boat. We would just throw an old tire in the bottom of the boat right over the wheels and lay the motor on it. This saves your transom from the stress of any bouncing and distributes the weight better. Most folks will think this is crazy, but it worked for us for over 25 years with the same boat and motor until the fiberglass finally rotted(its a long story), and by looking at the age of the boat, the less stress you put on it the longer it will last. Quote
moloch16 Posted October 23, 2007 Author Posted October 23, 2007 You guys are awesome! Thanks for the tips, I have a lot to work with now. The suspension looks light but I don't think the boat loads at all (as was mentioned by several posters). I didn't have time last night but I'm going to take the boat off and stand on the trailer to see if there is any give to the suspension at all. I expect that even my 200 lbs won't budge it much. I'm guess the boat weighs 200lbs or less, it is easily carried by two people. Short term solution: o Everything goes in the car except gas can o Going to buy some bags of sand and stick them in the boat to load it down (need this anyhow to balance the boat so it will plane properly) o Buy additional strap to make sure the bow is tied down tight (take pressure off the winch) o Check bunker length - make longer as needed Long term solution: o Install 12" wheels o Look into modifying existing suspension / installing new suspension o Buy a real boat / trailer Thanks y'all! Quote
moloch16 Posted October 23, 2007 Author Posted October 23, 2007 Oh and I just found where I can buy different springs: http://www.stengelbros.com/UtilityTrailer.htm Lightest ones they have are rated for 540 lbs which is probably still to stiff for a boat like mine. Quote
mayassa Posted October 23, 2007 Posted October 23, 2007 No need to buy new leafs, take a picture of them from the back side and post it, From the front it looks like three leafs you can take out the second heaviest and that should give you enough flex. Quote
Flatfish Posted October 23, 2007 Posted October 23, 2007 When you have the boat off the trailer grab hold of the rear of the trailer and lift it up, look at the rear spring shackles to see if it moves. I have seen where the spring pivot points (both front and rear) get seized from age or overtightning. If this happens it is just like not having any springs. If this the problen remove the spring bolts clean them up, lube them and replace the nuts with self locking nuts and don't over tighten them. With the suspension you have the stabilizer bars on the front hangers it would be very posible that some one strong armed them. Quote
moloch16 Posted October 24, 2007 Author Posted October 24, 2007 Hey Flatfish you were right, it doesn't seem the shackles had much play at all. What type of lube do you suggest? I'm thinking marine grade grease. I'm concerned it will just gunk up and be worse than no lube at all. One shackle has a rubber bushing, grease ok for metal on rubber? So tonight I took apart suspension. Like mayassa suggested I'm removing springs (leaving just one of the three). Even with one spring I doubt my 150lb Jon will load the spring. Even so I think the effort will produce some noticeable results. Quote
mayassa Posted October 24, 2007 Posted October 24, 2007 Good work, now use some Teflon grease (not the spray get the tubes) great for marine applications and cheap at walmart. Quote
Flatfish Posted October 24, 2007 Posted October 24, 2007 Marine grease will work fine, you don't need much. Some spring shackle bolt's have grease zerks in them from the get go. Just make sure that all pivot points move free and don't forget the bearing buddy's. Hope it settles down for you, the idea of the trailer is the convience for you, load her back up motor, battery, and fishing gear, so all you have to do is back it in the water and go fishing. If you need more weight add lead ballast to the rear of the trailer, a small loaf pan filled with lead weigh's about 35lbs a couple of these should help settle it down Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.