# trailer too small need help



## sbritt23 (Mar 6, 2013)

So yesterday I got s brand new 2013 alumacraft ncs1648. Well I got a small problem. My dad bought a new alum craft mv1448 with a trailer and he keeps his boat in the water at all times so he gave me the trailer its a brand new road king trailer will either 1000 or 1100 lb capacity. I thought it would work it looked awfully long. The dealer loaded the best on the trailer for me and it fits it just hangs off the back about 2 foot. He told me just to go under it and add to the existing bunkers so I'm planning on getting some wood with carpet and mounting it to the side of the existing bunker and having it the length. Is there any problem with that. Another thing I looked at is moving the winch forward and putting the transom even with the back bunker and it looks like it would work but I got about 2 foot from my tail gate to the winch. I can't put the tail gate down which is no big deal for me. But I'm not 100% sure if I could make a hard turn with it like that. But it looks as if I might have too much weight on the tongue, I could maybe move the middle support roller up and might distribute the weight to the rear but I'm not sure. What do youll think would be the best fix for this besides buying a new trailer cause that's out the question.


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## Ictalurus (Mar 6, 2013)

Do a combo of both ideas. Replace the existing bunks with longer ones to move your boat back. Also, move the winch post and bow stop forward enough to give the trailer proper balance, but not so close you can't open the tailgate or make a sharp turn.

Edited to say that you can also look into a swing away tongue kit to lengthen the tongue. You may not need the swing away, but if I was lengthening I would add it, may come in handy at some point and it would be the time to do it.


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## JMichael (Mar 6, 2013)

The fold away kit is one option but you might want to check out this thread also for a similar situation and other suggestions. 
https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=29326


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## RiverBottomOutdoors (Mar 6, 2013)

I'd go with Ictalurus recommendation. Move the winch post forward as far as you can get away with and lengthen the bunks. If you have a keel roller on the trailer, you may need to move that also.


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## chevyrulz (Apr 8, 2013)

for form & function, i like my bunks to be 6" shorter than the transom

so i'd move the winch & keel roller as far forward as possible, then add tongue length to get the rest, rather than extending the bunks, the center point of your boat/motor weight is rearward of the center point of the hull typically because the motor is heavy, you want the boat/motor weight balanced over your axle, if not you'll have too much or too little tongue weight. right now my boat has too little tongue weight now that the motor is mounted, you can see my currently wrong setup here my bunks are 2' from the transom:







in that picture, my axle is dead center of the hull, which means i need to move my hull forward.

i was gonna add the swing tongue for like $130 ($85 hinge fitting + $30 extension + galvanizing paint & galv'd hardware), but now i have decided that i'm going to instead use a 1.5x2.5 tube to go inside my 2x3 tongue (from onlinemetals.com), that will save me $60 & i don't care about the swing tongue feature, swing tongue or replacing the entire tongue is the correct way to add length to the tongue for liability reasons though


having said all that, you could try extending the bunks 1st, as that would be so cheap it's probably worth a shot


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## lckstckn2smknbrls (Apr 8, 2013)

I did the long bunks for my trailer. This year I'm lengthening the tongue about 5' to 6' and a few other mods.


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## dullone (Apr 14, 2013)

I have a boat/trailer combo where the bow of the boat is so for forward in is directly above the ball connector. Couldn't lower the tail gate on my p/u. Bought an extra extra long ball mount (16" or so) solved my problem.


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## NautiBuoys (Apr 14, 2013)

Was always taught to extend the bunks to, or a little past the transom, as that is structurally the strongest support for the rear of the boat. Helps prevent cupping; and if you can, to try and make sure under a stringer or other load bearing support.


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## JMichael (Apr 15, 2013)

NautiBuoys said:


> Was always taught to extend the bunks to, or a little past the transom, as that is structurally the strongest support for the rear of the boat. Helps prevent cupping; and if you can, to try and make sure under a stringer or other load bearing support.


Yes, if the bunks do not reach all the way back so the transom is sitting on them there is potential of causing cupping and it's more strain on the transom.


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