Trailer swaying above 60 mph.

[Bryan O]

I had the same thing happen to a 482 when I added a 12" ParaLift jackplate to it. I was able to slide the winch tower forward about 2" move the boat up, and it solved the problem. Moving the motor back by the distance of the jackplate has thrown off your balance. If it were mine, I'd take the winch tower off and use a band saw or saws-all and cut it so that you could move it forward to mount in the remaining back two holes moving the winch tower forward by ~ 2". Now understand that you have modified it at that point, and any warranty just went out the window, along with liability protection if it fails. A bad swaying trailer is more of a danger in my opinion than a winch tower mounted by 2 3/8" bolts rather than 3. That's a risk I'd take.

The bottom line is you've got the get enough of the load back on the tongue of the trailer. Just to check, try pulling it with a cooler full of water on the front deck and see if it corrects the problem.

[BrownTrout]

measure the height , should be between 15-18 inches I believe

Trailer Maintenance Checklist from the Ranger web site "Check the height of your hitch. We recommend 16 to 18 inches to the base of the trailer ball." I'm sure this is measured with the boat and trailer hooked up.

[Z518 Comanche]

Inflate tire pressure to 60 psi cold and get a ball mount to where from top of ball to the ground is 19" and sway will disappear. RR

[Zpilot]

Trailer Maintenance Checklist from the Ranger web site "Check the height of your hitch. We recommend 16 to 18 inches to the base of the trailer ball." I'm sure this is measured with the boat and trailer hooked up.

My manual says 16 inches to bottom of ball with trailer hooked up.

[BrownTrout]

My manual says without trailer hooked up.

What manual?

Quite a bit of variability if measured w/o trailer hooked up. On a HD truck, the weight of the trailer will drop it around an inch or so. But on a light duty truck, SUV or car, it may drop it even more I would guess. Maybe as much as 2" - 3".

[Zpilot]

What manual?

I corrected that post, I gave the wrong info, my manual, the owner/operator manual that came with my boat states on page 70 "with the trailer attached to the tow vehicle the base of the ball should be approx. 16" from the ground".

[BrownTrout]

Without my boat attached to my truck, it is 17 1/4" from the ground to the base of the ball. With the boat attached it is right at 16" so I should be good.

[Wild Heethen]

Having trailer PERFECTLY level while hitched to truck and both on LEVEL concrete will make a HUGE difference in way trailer trails.

[bassnman81]

If it still does it after leveling out the trailer and increasing the tire pressure, it will most likely be the tongue weight. When you moved the engine back it reduced that weight. It's going to get worse when the talon gets put on.

[cwilt]

I am going to raise the pintle in the next few days. We'll see if that works first. Thanks for the replies.

[Nova Kaw 650]

SUV with coil spring rear suspension (I'm assuming). Generally more sensitive to tongue weight and sway.
OP says it sits level as it is.
Did not sway before the balance point was moved rearward and weight was removed from the tongue.

Throw a couple hundred lbs of weight on the bow of the boat and try it.

[civicrr]

SUV with coil spring rear suspension (I'm assuming). Generally more sensitive to tongue weight and sway.
OP says it sits level as it is.
Did not sway before the balance point was moved rearward and weight was removed from the tongue.

Throw a couple hundred lbs of weight on the bow of the boat and try it.

Tongue weight is the major issue here. Get a measurement on the tongue weight. There are ways to modify that winch stand but it will require welding.

[n2bassfishing]

I'm having the same issue and it got worst when I got new tires. I guess I need to measure the ball and tongue of the trailer.

[n2bassfishing]

This is where I'm at without the boat, I'll get more in a couple of hours with the boat.

[STRETCH1]

What SUV you towing it with? At the worst yor can remove your bow roller assembly and take it to a welder to move it more foreword. Measure from your ball to the end of the spindles, make sure they are exactly the same, you can move the shackles on the leaf springs a little to make it aligned more. My hitch height is 15" and I tow with a YukonXL but it does have auto leveler so, your hitch height should be measured with the boat attached and on a level surface.

[Bryan O]

The tongue height is irrelevant for the most part. Did it pull well before you added the jackplate? (yes) Did that change the tongue height? (no). Unless the tongue went up or down 5" it really doesn't matter. Ever had a load of stuff or people in the back of your SUV or truck when pulling? That will change the tongue height, but not make it sway. You have to re-ballance the weight on the trailer so that it adds more tongue weight. Back to at least as heavy as it was prior to the jackplate addition. And yes, it will get worst with the addition of Talons. You're going to have to move the boat forward, or the axle backward, and that's almost impossible. I faced this very thing, and moving the boat forward completely cured the problem.

We load equipment on our trailers, and moving a Bobcat or a tractor back or forth on our 20' trailer by only 4" can totally change how it pulls. And that's behind a 3/4 ton diesel and a 20' trailer with dual 8000 pound axles. It's all about the balance. If it's a$$ heavy, it's gonna sway.

[n2bassfishing]

With boat

[cwilt]

The tongue height is irrelevant for the most part. Did it pull well before you added the jackplate? (yes) Did that change the tongue height? (no). Unless the tongue went up or down 5" it really doesn't matter. Ever had a load of stuff or people in the back of your SUV or truck when pulling? That will change the tongue height, but not make it sway. You have to re-ballance the weight on the trailer so that it adds more tongue weight. Back to at least as heavy as it was prior to the jackplate addition. And yes, it will get worst with the addition of Talons. You're going to have to move the boat forward, or the axle backward, and that's almost impossible. I faced this very thing, and moving the boat forward completely cured the problem.

We load equipment on our trailers, and moving a Bobcat or a tractor back or forth on our 20' trailer by only 4" can totally change how it pulls. And that's behind a 3/4 ton diesel and a 20' trailer with dual 8000 pound axles. It's all about the balance. If it's a$$ heavy, it's gonna sway.

No issues before jack plate.

I measured the hitch an its right at 17 inches at center of ball. On page 1 post #5 i showed a pic that the tower/winch is 2 inches away from the swing away so there is no way for me to move it forward. I also have the torsion axle, i will look and see if it can be moved aft. But i dont think so. The tallon will be here on Thursday thanks to mr jones. I will be taking the boat out on friday.

[cwilt]

17.5 foot boat with a 150, 6 inches off the back, maybe i will call Ranger in the AM and see what they recommend

[bayoufellow]

Bryon O used the same solution that I used to solve my problem. You can try all the easy less involved measures first, but it seems you need to shift weight forward. A few inches can make a huge difference with balance. I cut off the first few inches as did Bryon, and I added a third nut/bolt as in the original install.