weight in boat while towing

How much weight in the boat would be safe for towing. I am looking to add about 500 lb's of lead and sand, but not at the expense of having to replace the tranny on the tow vehicle, or have to replace anything on the trailer. any thoughts??
thanks

Don't waste your time with sand. Lead weighs so much more per cubic inch. If you do put lead in your boat, do not put it directly on the floor.

Strap the lead bricks to a peice of cut plywood, this will prevent them from moving around and will not put so much weight on 1 little area.

I don't use lead in my boat, but I do use sacs. I usually run around 2000#'s. Just takes up all the room on the floor

(Message edited by ridn9high on January 20, 2005)

I guess over the axles is OK,but I don't do it cuzz I need my lead in the nose so that would put too much weight for the tongue

if you are going to use lead then put it more toward the back so there isn't as much weight on the tongue.

I carry 500# always while going to my home lake, 15 miles form home. I got lead it in pvc tubes spread all around the boat. I would not think of carring it a long distance.

When I tow, I put the lead in the back on the truck. I trust the extra weight on the trailer axles.

I'd say the extra weight is irrelevant as long as your tow vehichle is rated to tow the total amount of the boat plus the extra weight.

If your truck is rated to tow 4000 lbs and your boat w/trailer is 3500 lbs, you should be able to tow an extra 500 lbs of gear. That gear can include lead weight.

You do want to make sure that the extra weight is equally distributed to ensure that you are not exceeding the recommended tongue weight.

In addition, just as Mike said, you might want to use something that will distribute the weight so that it is not concentrated on one spot. If you simply threw some lead bars in your ski locker the bouncing of your trailer going down the road could possibly cause stress cracks in the fiberglass if those lead bars were free to bounce around. A friend of mine bought some rubber mats (like the ones cashiers at grocery stores stand on) from Office Depot. He uses these mats to line the bottom of his ski locker and then lays the lead bars across the mats. The mats absorb any impact from the lead bouncing around. Not only from highway travel, but from rough waters as well.

my problem is that I dont have a "ski locker".the only storage is under the bow, so I cant put too much weight up there. especially when i'm towing it. I have an Echelon that is 10 years old, so there is not a whole lot of space. you put one 500# fat sac in there, and you automatically lose a ton of space. I am trying to utilize the sides, and possibly fit something under the back seat, where there is limited room.

What is the weight the trailer can handle? If your towing a boat I'm sure the vehicle can handle it but can the trailer. It should say in the trailer manual what it can handle. You also need to look at the rating on the tires of the trailer. Most boat trailers can not take alot of extra weight. Is it a single axle or dual?

You also want to spread the weight evenly throughout the boat. To much upfront and you'll have to much on the tongue the boat will sway. To much in the back of the boat and you wont have enough on the tongue. I think most trailer manufacturer's say to put around 200 pounds on the tongue.

Take the boat to a scale fully loaded with everything you take to the lake. Full of gas, Cooler, Boards, vests, water guns everything you take. See how much it weighs that will then tell you how much extra lead you can carry. Just make sure you don't exceed the limits of the car or trailer.

I believe most trailers are rated to carry a certain amount of weight.It is not wise to put more weight in your boat and trailer it.It may or may not bite you,but.................no thanks.

I did not even think about checking the trailer manual. stupid me! I will definitely look into that. it is a dual axle trailer, so I am assuming it can take a little extra. I will look into that.
thanks for the info!

Heads Up,

If you have too much weight in the back of the boat it will cause the trailer to sway... I made a quick run from Disco Bay to Orwood with 1000 #'s + in a DD nauty ( 600 in back locker + 2 side sacs ) and as the speed increased 30,40, 50 + the back end was swaying around linke a fish outta water... Minimal weight and directly over axles is best bet...

Most the time with Led, we throw it in the truck.

-= peace =-
AJ

I throw the lead or sand in the truck for towing and load and unload the boat at the ramp. Your boat and trailer will thank you later.

I take the lead out and put it in the truck now if I am towing any further than a few miles. I broke the winch mount on the last trailer and I'm pretty sure it was due to the extra weight in the bow.

What Aaron and Jonathan said,Put it in your truck!!

The xtra weight (1200lbs lead/sand) never leaves the boat. When I have to tow it far (over 100 miles), I move the bow weight to the cocpit, over the trailer axles.