Hitch for Hunter 260

[LarryH]

Hi :
I have purchased a 1999 Hunter 260 and need to install a hitch on my 1999 Toyota Landcruiser. I am located in the west palm beach area....deosn anyone have any advice?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Charlie13958]

U-Haul.

 

[cephius (Dave)]

I agree. U-Haul. I've had them install hitches on three different tow vehicles. They usually get it done same day and are a 1/3 the cost of custom truck places.

 

[yachtsman]

Try to get a hitch that is as low as possible. It means when you winch the yacht back onto the trailer it is much easier to get the bow hard up on the front roller tight. My hitch was far too high and this meant that when I winched the yacht up even tho the bow was hard up on the roller as I pulled up the ramp the yacht "fell" back on the trailer meaning a lot of strain not only on the U bolt on the bow but also the winch mechanism.
I lowered my hitch and the result was that no matter how steep the laoding ramp was the yacht now comes up nice and snug. I guess to summarise having the trailer more at the same plane as the water (lowering the front of the trailer) makes the yacht glide on with ease.

Hi :
I have purchased a 1999 Hunter 260 and need to install a hitch on my 1999 Toyota Landcruiser. I am located in the west palm beach area....deosn anyone have any advice?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Bobbi Ullinger]

For towing safety and maximime ground clearance, the trailer should be sitting with the trailer frame parallel to the road surface. If the hitch is mounted either too high or too low to achieve this, you can get a draw bar that can compensate.

 

[George H260]

Slapping a tow bar on your car's rear end requires some thought.

Since your tow vehicle does not have a hitch, my guess is you might not have a towing package which typically includes beefed up suspension, additional cooling, trailer wiring and other stuff that makes towing easier and safer. Your owners manual and Toyota dealer will tell you what your car's towing capacity is what size hitch you need and other important stuff.

That said, my experience is the most knowledgeable people in this area are RV dealers. U-Haul dealers won't tell you the most important stuff. Boat dealers are knowledgeable about hitch height and setting up your trailer.

More on towing at:

http://h260.com/travel/travel.html

http://h260.com/trailer/trailer1/trailer1.html

 

[Bob 04 H260]

having the bow high will cause the weight to lift off the ball with each gust of wind and so the trailer will develop sway even though you have lots of tongue weight when it is measured off the tow vehicle. Better to have the bow down a bit so weight on the ball will increase when that semi passes you. The boat, trailer and your "stuff" should be weighed first to be sure the hitch will be adequate for your needs.
Enjoy the boat, great choice !

 

[George H260]

Recommended tongue weight is 8-10 percent. The load is about 6000 lbs

If you get a wind that that could move 600 lbs I think you'd better be in a tornado shelter...

 

[Bob 04 H260]

sorry George, with respect, I don't agree with you

If the bow of the boat is higher than level (has nothing to do with the trailer frame) and you drive with the window down at 60 mph you will hear a loud clunk as the semi passes you, that is the hitch coming up on the ball lifting all the tongue weight up, most trailers will give a little sway at this point. Lowering the bow down below horizontal and the effect disappears without changing anything else.

You will not get this effect if you have a weight distributing hitch. If you have a sway problem try to lower the bow of the boat before spending money on a weight distributing hitch, it is a lot cheaper solution. I did not dream this up, this effect is well known to many experienced trailer sailors and easy to test for yourself.

I just towed our H260 4000 miles, much of it through the mountains in the winter with just the regular trailer hitch that GM supplied with our Chevy 1500 pickup truck with the trailer towing package, never once did we experience any sway under any conditions, the bow is adjusted to be down just slightly.

If you have ever tried to carry a sheet of plywood on a windy day you know the effect of just changing the angle a little.

If the bow is down too much you can have problems with premature brake wear and reduced gas mileage .