Tandem Trailer Road Clearance

[ollieshuvitz]

i just bought a new Ram Lin tandem axle trailer for my 2000 SAN and i was notcing that there is only 4'' of clearance between the metal prop guard at the end of the trailer and the road. im driving from florida to california and im a little concerned about bottoming out on driveways and speed bumps. is this 4'' clearance normal or was my trailer built extra low for some reason?

[SquamInboards]

RE: Tandem Trailer Road Clearance

How high up is the tongue when you've got 4" in back? You could put the ball on a drop hitch on your vehicle to raise the back end some, or install rollers on the prop guard if you're concerned about bottoming out. Check it out:

http://www.planetnautique.com/index....ewtopic&t=6905

[TravisFling]

RE: Tandem Trailer Road Clearance

On a tandem isn't the purpose of the ball drop hitch to make sure that the weight is distributed evenly across the front and back axle, allowing for a very small amount of hitch weight? Just checkin...

[zapada]

RE: Tandem Trailer Road Clearance

4" is no doubt a little low. Perhaps the tires they put on the trailer are not the correct size. If they are lower profile that would affect the overall trailer height. In any event, I would compensation slightly a greater tongue weight just to get the back end up a little.

[SquamInboards]

RE: Tandem Trailer Road Clearance

Travis- good point, you wouldn't want to lower it too far... but the tongue weight could still be substantial depending on the placement of both axles front to back... some pictures I see of newer nautiques with the axles way to the rear must have a pretty heavy tongue weight, even when properly balanced (I think about 8% of the gross weight).

[SquamInboards]

RE: Tandem Trailer Road Clearance

haha, I actually did a quick google search on tongue weight, apparently there are a lot of opinions out there... anyway there are some good guidelines to follow if you look around a little.

[SkiTower]

RE: Tandem Trailer Road Clearance

It's been stated several times throughout discussions that the trailer needs to be +/- 1" from level. Dropping the tongue might not be the best thing.

[ollieshuvitz]

interesting stuff. the tongue of the trailer was sitting a little low with the 4'' of clearance, i was actually considering flipping the hitch over to reduce the tongue weight but then i would have even less clearance. im positive they put the right size tires on, i picked it up from the Ram Lin factory in orlando last week. just trying to figure out whats going on or if this is normal...

[hyperwake]

I have a single axle Ram Lin and the prop guard is realy low on mine also. I actually had to do a fairly large drop just to get it in my driveway. I definatelly plan on getting a new trailer soon, and will probably not go with Ram Lin.

[SkiTower]

Regardless of your solution, I HIGHLY recommend rollers for the guard. There will always be something too high. I've got these massive speedbumps exiting my neighborhood that hit if I don't go over exactly right.

[2gofaster]

I'd call the manufacturer and voice your concern since you bought it brand new and picked it up from them. 4" is not enough IMO. With the boat sitting on the trailer, how much distance is there from the prop and rudder down to the guard?

[Bullet]

ramlin trailers are junk IMHO-----

double bunks, torsion axles, cheap hitches, low prop guard clearance

i just sold mine in favor of a dorsey---10x better fit, 20x better pull, better protection, better look, better all around

[bkhallpass]

My tandem is made by Sport Boat. Not my favorite trailer, but that's what I have. Prop guard clearance is about 7 inches, FWIW.

Be sure the trailer is sitting level or with the tongue slightly lower when attached to the truck. Most trailer are set up for the top of ball height to be 18" off the ground. Tongue weight should be about 8 to 10% of gross vehicle weight. With a SAN and a tandem, you're looking at around 5000 Lbs, so the tongue weight should be 4 or 500 lbs. BKH

[TravisFling]

Very interesting indeed. I would be a little concerned with that prop guard that low. I guess it depends where I'm headed, but that's never a fun situation. I would either contact ramlin, or get some rollers, trade for a Dorsey...

[jmo]

Ramlin trailers traditionally sit lower than most, with the ramlin the boat sits inside the wheel wells as opposed to above the wheel fender. I just measured my clearance (I have a single axle though - slightly bigger tires) and I seem to 4.5 - 5 inches of clearance.

The only time I have an issue with my ramlin is trying to back up on an incline, especially where the street is level and someones driveway is on an incline - hence the suggestions to get the rollers installed.

One advantage of sitting lower is that you need less water to launch in, its very rare for my truck rear tires to be in the water when at the ramp, of course it depends on how steep the ramp is.

jmo