Trailering a C-Dory, Trailer only

D

Donald Tyson

Member
How do you feel about towing the trailer for a 22 or 25 while the trailer is empty, especially when the trip is a couple hundred miles? I had an inexpensive trailer under my Mac 25 and it sort of shook itself apart slowly.....The wooden bunks were tha problem.
In this scenario a tag team would drop us and then return home with the trailer empty. Is this done much?
Don
 
The boat trailers I've had, including a tandem trailer for a CD 26 Venture, do not
ride well without a load; bouncing, noise, vibrations. Short distances are tolerable.

This should be no surprise since their engineering and purpose is to function
properly under load.

Aye.
 
We seem to favor doing one-way segments more than most. All our 5,300 Loop segment miles since 2017 have been one-way except for the Triangle Loop into Canada, so we’ve done a lot of empty-trailer rig shuttling. The 2,000 pound trailer alone tows smooth as silk for 1,000 or 100 miles. The EOH brakes are strong enough I have to turn them way down in the cab. Trailer tires tend to be very cheaply made and a little bulge on one on a prior trailer shook it so badly that both PVC guide-on posts broke off on I-10. Goodyear Endurance ST (made in USA) tires have served us very well since we switched years ago. Just be sure you’re not buying a ‘new’ tire that’s already 2 years old. We replace all five at 36-48 months from MFG date (week/yr) stamped on the tire. Before that we’ve had six explosive structural failures with other brands over the years. Paying a good trailer shop for annual maintenance/checkup is reasonable if you’re not comfortable with doing it yourself. They found torsion axle issues that I never would have detected on my own. If it doesn’t tow well let a pro check it out. Truckers tow empty 53 foot trailers all the time.

Don’t nix the idea until you try it. It could work out just fine.

John
 
I have pulled my empty trailer long distances many times. I often make one way river or coastal trips by renting a car to get back to my truck and trailer. This Summer for example I launched in Trenton Ontario and did the Trent Severn waterway to Georgian Bay. We then cruised Georgian Bay to Parry Sound. We left the boat in the marina there while we rented a car for the one day trip to pick up the truck. This also kept us from doing the 45 locks twice. One small modification that I have done is to put a toggle switch near the brake controller to turn off the trailer brakes when trailering without the boat.
 
This is brilliant. I'm used to renting after many years on the road in sales. I usually use Priceline.
The brakes trick is nice but I'm hoping for electric brakes that work off the controller on the dash. Any thoughts on that?


outbackbill":171j1mxm said:
I have pulled my empty trailer long distances many times. I often make one way river or coastal trips by renting a car to get back to my truck and trailer. This Summer for example I launched in Trenton Ontario and did the Trent Severn waterway to Georgian Bay. We then cruised Georgian Bay to Parry Sound. We left the boat in the marina there while we rented a car for the one day trip to pick up the truck. This also kept us from doing the 45 locks twice. One small modification that I have done is to put a toggle switch near the brake controller to turn off the trailer brakes when trailering without the boat.
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EOH brakes we’re a $1400 option when we bought our new trailer. A lot of money for us at the time but glad to have them now. With experience on surge brakes, EOH is the way to go! Gary
 
If you are trailering long distances, get a two axel trailer for the 22. For the 25 get a trailer rated for at least 8,000 lbs. We have towed up to 1500 miles with an empty trailer--not that pleasant.

I would avoid the pure electric solenoid brakes, as used in travel trailers. They will rust out, especially if used in salt water. I know that Colby has used them--but the problem is unpredictablity as to when will fail. Surge brakes are OK--but there are issues with them. For example going down a grade they may drag all of the way, if you are using tow vehicle breaking--especially where we were using engine compression (Jake or retarder Brakes) in an RV.
 
On long empty trailer runs, I tighten ratchet straps across my bunks and across my side guide boards.
Any where that a secure and tight strap will restrict or reduce movement and vibration will help.
Movement and vibration causes metal to fatigue, welds to crack and bolts to work loose.

Also, a significant reduction in tire pressure will greatly reduce bouncing and vibration. Just remember to air em back up before loading the boat.

A fastener that will stay tight for years on a loaded trailer will work loose in a few hours on an unloaded trailer. Re check all nuts and bolts for tightness before the trip and at gas stops.

Also check tail lights. For me long distance empty trailer towing seems to accelerate tail light failure
 
I have EOH brakes. The toggle off switch is so that you don't have to adjust your brake settings when you pull the empty trailer. If you forget to lower your brake settings when pulling the trailer empty and have to make a hard stop the trailer wheels will lock up and wear a flat spot on your tires.I learned that the hard way.
 
outbackbill":lg6naqd0 said:
I have EOH brakes. The toggle off switch is so that you don't have to adjust your brake settings when you pull the empty trailer. If you forget to lower your brake settings when pulling the trailer empty and have to make a hard stop the trailer wheels will lock up and wear a flat spot on your tires.I learned that the hard way.
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Yes you can wearer out quickly. I've used these for years and love them. Adjust them no matter the load so the trailer can't be felt pushing at all, usually power setting 3. With a load of logs it will be somewhere between 7.5 and 8.5. Having brakes lets your white knuckles relax.
 
I pulled the new trailer home empty 700 miles, and twice on one way boat trips of about 400 miles, no real issues. Best to just check fasteners and wiring that might chaff due to more vibration. I just turned my braking down.(Electric over hydraulic). Bob brought up regular electric brakes and I’ll just say they are no more prone to failure or rusting than any other non-stainless steel brake. I’ve had more problems with EOH actuators and hydraulic calipers! (I currently have EOH, as Loadrite doesn’t offer pure electric. However I ran electric on past boat trailers and they worked well!) John likes Goodyear tires, but I’ve had much better luck with Carlisle’s. To each their own. :) Colby
 
colbysmith":1z8h0tpi said:
I pulled the new trailer home empty 700 miles, and twice on one way boat trips of about 400 miles, no real issues. Best to just check fasteners and wiring that might chaff due to more vibration. I just turned my braking down.(Electric over hydraulic). Bob brought up regular electric brakes and I’ll just say they are no more prone to failure or rusting than any other non-stainless steel brake. I’ve had more problems with EOH actuators and hydraulic calipers! (I currently have EOH, as Loadrite doesn’t offer pure electric. However I ran electric on past boat trailers and they worked well!) John likes Goodyear tires, but I’ve had much better luck with Carlisle’s. To each their own. :) Colby
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When I think about it there should be no difference than when I tow a box trailer or worse yet my larger Landscape Trailer. with loos floor boards and all. I learned to twist the straps so they don't sing at highway speed. On a boat trailer I picture putting ties or straps onto anything that can rattle from wind or road conditions. Grease and Oil where needed.
 
another thought which ive used is a weight distribution hitch which really helps on long trips and found it also keeps the trailer on the ground without a boat on it,
 
another thought which ive used is a weight distribution hitch which really helps on long trips and found it also keeps the trailer on the ground without a boat on it,
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"A weight distribution hitch (WDH) is generally not recommended for a boat trailer because the design of most boat trailers, with their long, narrow tongues, can cause improper weight distribution and put excessive stress on the trailer frame when used with a WDH, potentially leading to instability and damage to the trailer itself; most boat trailers are not designed to handle the forces a WDH applies to the tongue in the way a standard trailer is."

If you think about how a WDH works, you may come to realize that some of the weight on your tow vehicles rear axles is being redistributed to your trailer axles. It is the pole tongue that is being used to redistribute that weight. How much additional weight can it support?
 
Thanks Colby. Seems to me that Bob Austin has a photo of a tongue failure on a boat trailer that speaks exactly to what you are describing. Hope Bob chimes in on this one. I agree with you that a distribution hitch is not a good idea because of the extra length of the tongue on a boat trailer.
 
Okay. I’ll bite. How does the weight distribution hitch work and why might it adversely affect a long boat trailer tongue? I love these learning sessions.
 
Donald Tyson":2bromjs8 said:
Okay. I’ll bite. How does the weight distribution hitch work and why might it adversely affect a long boat trailer tongue? I love these learning sessions.
Click to expand...

The weight distribution hitch (WDH) involves a large heavy ball mount that also has two spring bars. Those bars attach to a clamp on your trailer tongue. They come off the ball mount at somewhat of a V. On a normal large utility or camping trailer, the tongue is somewhat of an A frame. < The hitch distributes weight from the ball mount by moving it to the front of the vehicle and to the trailer axles, thus providing somewhat of a lifting action at the ball, leveling the tow vehicle. This is done by cinching up the spring bars on the trailer frame. Think of a wheelbarrow. When you pick up the handles, the wheelbarrow front tire and your legs are carrying the wheelbarrow weight. Some of that weight was resting on the rear legs of the wheelbarrow before you picked it up. The A frame trailer tongue is stronger than a boat trailer pole tongue. There are special adapters that allow the spring bars to attach to the pole tongue, but all the downward weight from the spring bars are still placed on the tongue at the location where the spring bars attach. Have you ever noticed how much flex is in your boat trailer tongue? You can literally see it by placing a jack stand under the trailer frame just in front of the axles, and then raising or lowering your tongue jack, picking the trailer frame up off the jack stand. The use of a WDH is going to be placing a downward force constantly on the trailer frame. And with the back end of your tow vehicle bouncing or moving up or down depending upon how far your bumper hangs out behind your rear axle, or driving through gully's, the pressure or amount of spring placed on the spring bars will increase beyond where you set them.
The WDH can also help with trailer sway with the use of sway control on it. This is just tightening the spring bars down so they can not move side to side, thus helping to keep centering pressure on the trailer. Also, due to how surge brakes work, many times a WDH interferes with that operation.
 
The tongue failure was on a C Dory 22 with a single axle. The failure had nothing to do with weight distribution hitches. The 22 was being towed behind a 10,000 tow capacity 42' diesel pusher, RV, with air ride suspension--which keeps the RV at a fairly constant attitude, and really smooths out any bumps. On the other hand, the single axle trailer, was going up and down on I 10 in S. Miss. where there are many concrete sections. I figured that the up and down was partly to blame, with the single axle--the trailer was replaced with a 10 year old two axle trailer, which was a bit more robust. No further probelms.

I have run many thousands of miles with weight distributon hitches, and no problems with the tongue. If the trailer is set up correctly it should not cause undue stress on the tongue.

I was able to find a photo of the 22 trailer which I set up to use with the wt dist hitch. The "pole adaptor" was just in back of where the two "I" beams bolt into the tongue--the tongue is short and the load of the weight of the "chains" is applied to both the tongue and to the "I" beams on each side of the trailer. I did not find a photo with the pole tongue adaptor on the trailer.

2009_04_05_091.jpg
 
OOPs, That was the 2003 C Dory 25, which we kept on the West Coast--Las Vegas and San Clemente. Pulled to Prince Rupert, BC., Lake Powell, other times, the Delta, Friday Harbor, etc.
 
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