MacGregorSailors.com

So, anyway

To return to the original subject. The mod title has been corrected to reflect "Two Axle Trailer". Thanks, Heath.

The addition of the second axle has several advantages, but it does cost some $$. I'm quite happy with mine, and I recommend it.

I switched to disc brakes on the original axle and added them on the second axle at the same time. I recommend that as well.

The whole mod cost about $1250, plus maybe 15 hours of my labor.

You can still get many of the advantages of the second axle by simply adding one, retaining the original two wheel drum brakes, and skipping the solenoid lockout. You can save about $400 on the cost compared to what I paid. If you do so, you would do well to put the brakes on the rear axle as recommended by Champion.

At intermediate $$, you could also skip the switchover to disc brakes, retain the original drums, and add two drums to the new axle. Save $250 from what I paid. Note that the cost of brakes is just about $100 per wheel, whether drums or discs, while the cost of non braking hubs is $25 per wheel.

In any case, if you want to spread the cost out can put off any changes or additions to the brakes until a later time.

(Edit: Refined the economic analysis )

Thanks Chip.

A big thanks from me too Chip.

This thread took some twists and turns but in the end the info you provided was exactly what I was hoping for and it should help others too.

Your (and others) willingness to take the time and share their mods and opinions, even when we disagree, is what make this a great forum.

Im not thankful.

$1239 is nowhere near $1250 in my book.

This thread should end with the p****ngmonkey on this post.

Catigale wrote:
This thread should end with the p****ngmonkey on this post.

POS MacGregor Trailers

Has anyone actually found the percentage of tongue weight with the tandem axle mod in the original position, then with the axle moved forward? Eric Hardtle reported his tongue weight was 410 lbs. with tandem axles and the front spring in the original front hangar, 350 after moving the works forward.

I spoke with Powersailing Center about adding an axle and they said they always leave the front axle spring attached to the original hanger and add new brackets for the pivot and rear spring. They have done the mod on a lot of trailers and said they have never had a complaint. They said the original position was for the boat without motor and hanging a big ole outboard on the stern makes it light in the tongue. Adding the second axle behind the original brings the tongue weight to where it should be.
Question: If my boat weighs 4000 lbs. and adding a second axle behind the original will maintain the 10% tongue weight, can my Taurus handle it?

Greg

Greg, I have a second axle added on by Powersailing. The PO had it done after driving the boat up to Michigan from Arkansas where he picked it up. He didn't like the way the boat towed and he also had them add a lot of other extras on the boat. The dealer he bought it from is basically a part time dealer with no real shop. I tow the boat with a Mazda Tribute (same as the Ford Escape) which is rated at towing 3500 lbs. I am guessing that the gross weight of the boat and trailer are at about 3700 to 3900 lbs. with motor and gear inside the cabin. The boat tows like a dream. Two weeks ago as I was bringing the boat home from winter storage a car cut in front of me and then braked almost to a complete stop to make a right turn in a strip mall. I had to brake harder than I ever had before and the car and boat did not sway one bit. I don't know what a Taurus is rated to handle but I would say if your not traveling to far you should have no problem. If I was traveling more than 150 miles I think I would borrow a friends SUV or pickup with a larger towing capacity.

Carl,
I apologize, I should have put a laugh after that, I was trying to make a joke about the factory ad showing the Tarus pulling the 26X (I'll edit the post). I pull with a Suburban.
You said the PO didn't like the way it towed, that was with the single axle? Is the setup still as PSC did it? What motor (weight on transom) do you have and have you checked the tongue weight? I talked to another owner that had PSC add an axle and he was also satisfied.
Sorry for so many questions but I appreciate any response.
Thanks,
Greg

A Suburban? Heck you could tow three Macs and a pop up trailer behind that! The PO was towing with an F250 so weight wasn't an issue for him either. He didn't like the way it was swaying on the freeways and said that the second axle took care of that. I'm sure the setup is still the same that PSC did. He also had Powersailing put in a pump-out head, shorepower, extra battery and charger, interior lights, and a compass.
The workmanship on all of these is very professional. I have the Suzuki DF 50 and no I haven't checked the tongue weight. As I mentioned, towing it with the two axles is good even with a vehicle that has a short wheel base and pushing the limits on the GVW.

The guy I helped pull his X last season had the PSC tandem axle upgrade and his girl friend's Mazda Tribute. Didn't seem to squat it much at all, and all he had on the transom is a lightweight Honda 50 and a couple of near empty 6 gallon tanks.

--
Moe

Carl Noble wrote:... He didn't like the way it was swaying on the freeways and said that the second axle took care of that . . .

My question remains ... did that second axle actually eliminate the trailer sway, or did the second axle mainly lift the stern and correct the tongue weight?

Greg wrote:Adding the second axle behind the original brings the tongue weight to where it should be.

This is possible but unlikely. Unless your tongue weight in the first place was very low, something under 5%, it's simply wrong.

My original tongue weight was around 250 lbs, a little over 6% on my estimated 4000 lb rig, and it was pretty unstable at speed. I was able to get it up by 60 lbs or so by leaving the fuel tanks empty and moving all the portable stuff to the v-berth. This made it marginally stable, but in my mind was an unsatisfactory solution.

I moved the original axle forward as far as it would go before adding the second axle. This resulted in a change in the effective axle pivot center of about 10", and increased the tongue weight to just about 10%, 400 lbs, which not coincidentally was the max hitch capacity of my (at that time) tow vehicle, a '97 Explorer. If I had simply left the original axle where it was and added the second, the effective axle pivot point would have moved by over 18", and the tongue weight would have increased to 13.5%. That's 540 lbs on a 4000 lb towed weight. Not "where it should be" in my book. OK for a monster truck but it exceeds the max capacity of the hitch on most intermediate trucks and many full size SUVs; certainly would have exceeded the capacity on my Explorer.

Of course everybody's rig is different, but these figures are not highly sensitive to original loaded or tongue weight, so unless you've got something way different, like (say) a 400 lb motor, this is roughly what you could expect.

BTW, 100 lbs extra on the transom with no other changes will reduce the tongue weight by about 45 lbs.

well.... if a moderately loaded MacX on its trailer weighs 4,000 lbs. (is that a close guess ?) then 10% as safely recommended would be of course 400 lbs., well beyond the rating of the most common frame hitches, and of mine specifically. What's a muther to do ? Is putting an extra 100 lbs and some change onto the "300# max." a real-world problem, or a common and safe practice? Seems to me most Taurus' hitches would be of the 300# variety. hmmmm
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without going to a truck scale, can anyone (MOE ?) estimate my Mac-on-trailer weight, X-boat, 50 hp Merc. 2-stroke, 10 gallons of water, three of the series 24 batteries, 18 gallons of gas, spare hub, carrier and wheel/tire, plus about 50 # of tool box containing floor jack, stands, and some tools, mounted on its own two additional spare tire mounts across from the spare tire its own mounts. Plus some stuff inside the cabin, not alot - maybe 60lbs more in there.

ALX357 wrote: ... can anyone (MOE ?) estimate my Mac-on-trailer weight, X-boat, 50 hp Merc. 2-stroke, 10 gallons of water, three of the series 24 batteries, 18 gallons of gas, ... more in there.

Doubtful ... But it's so easy to just hook up and tow over to a Mayflower yard (or other moving company)! Make yourself a list of all those common load factors you just cited. Remember that fuel is a critical load element. It rides behind the axle and it's pretty heavy so the impact of different fuel loading is relatively significant for tongue wt.

Pull across their scales so your tow vehicle's rear wheels are just off-scale, and ask them to give you a pencil reading - this is your trailer's net axle weight. When I did this w/ new 26X I had four movers standing there complimenting the, "... great lookin' boat!"

Now release the hitch and crank the nose wheel down onto the scales, ask them to print your weigh ticket, and toss them ten bucks. This is your gross trailer weight. The difference in those two readings is your tongue weight.

My 26X with Suzuki-60 (335#) and zero fuel, otherwise nearly empty showed:

• Gross . . . . . =3,720
  Net Axle . . . =3,540
  Tongue . . . . . =180

The heavy outboard obviously tilts my seesaw too light at the hitch, and leaves only a slim reserve capacity for the tires (1,870 x 2 = 3,740) when going down the road. I never carry any fuel in the cockpit, and load all gear in the V-berth. I wanted to swap to a torsion axle (and shift it aft by 8 inches) but Tiedown Engr only offers them to trailer OEMs, so I just added 100 lbs. of water to the bow (EDIT: oh yeah, two anchors & 30' of chain too)!

This is a ROUGH estimate based on specs and yours and my estimates of items. It is NOT a substitute for weighing the boat.

2350 26X, late model
710 Trailer, single axle
240 Outboard, Rigging, Prop, Oil
140 Batteries
115 Gas
83 Water
50 Hub, carrier, spare
60 Tool box and carriers
60 Cabin Stuff
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3808

What about anchor(s), chain(s) and rodes?

Did you add the 40+ lbs of Sani-Potty?

This doesn't count any ballast water not drained at 8.3 lbs/gallon, battery cables and switches, etc.

--
Moe