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Recently while backing up my trailer / whaler, The bow on the port side left a nice crumple in the back of my pickup truck. Since the bed walls on this truck are much higher than my previous truck, I never had a problem before.
I am thinking of ways to get the boat farther away from the back of the truck so I can make tight turns (this is required in my driveway) and not damage the truck.
Note that with the extention (#1) you loose 33% of your tongue weight rating. If you currently have a hitch with a 500 lb tongue weight limit, it will be reduced to 330 lbs.
For the price of #2, ($150 ++) you can buy a longer tongue and replace your existing one.
Is where you park the boat space constrained?
I replaced my Montauk trailer tongue since it was too short. I added 3' to keep the tow vehicle out of the water. A straight forward 3 hr job.
When you say 3 hour job.... do you mean yourself or at a shop? I would assume to do it yourself you would need to get some square metal tube, some plates to brace the gap, and some bolts?
I don't actually need the tounge to hinge out of the way, I just need to boat to be farther back so I can get closer to a right angle when backing up.
I measured the tongue (l,w & h), then went to a trailer store and ordered the same dimensions, a bit thicker and 3' longer.
Mine was attached with 3 bolts. The effort is breaking them free (PB blaster every day for a few days). You can reuse the coupler and chains. I added a wiring harness extension for the lights. If you launch in salt water, I would run a new harness for your lights.
I did have to drill some holes (1/2 inch) for the bolts, safety chains and the drag guard (V shape piece) on the bottom, below the coupler.
Note - by adding length, the tongue weight will be less so you may want to add a mounted spare tire forward of the post to keep the weight the same. I did this prior to selling the boat.
If you click on my username, click on the website link (to my Picasa albums), then find the 1987 Montauk album. There is a photo of the before and after.
This may sound kind of simple, but can you slide the entire boat back, have some overhang and then move the winch support back to meet the bow? This may give you too much rear weight, but I would sure give it a try before extending the tongue.
Joshua, I too experienced the same as you. New truck, first time backing and christened the right rear corner with a dimple.....bummer. Since I'm towing a 13 Sport, I choose to use a 4" hitch extension that gives me enough room to turn but tongue capacity reduced by a third. Just moved form Annapolis to Tampa, used the extension during the entire travel, no issues. I thought about moving the boat back further but as mentioned, the center of gravity would shift too far back on the trailer. Thought about a tongue extension but then weighed three hours work and pain with freeing the bolts and decided on the extension.
If you move the boat back on the trailer to get more tongue length, You probably then need to move the axle(s) back also, and then install new bunks to the added length. probably more work than adding length to the tongue. The longer the tongue is the easier to back up the trailer.
