Fish House PROBLEM

[icefishingmn]

So i have a fish house that is not really balanced, the wheels or the whole frame is bad, and when you go any faster that 40 MPH is just starts flying, it throws to the side so hard that I think my truck will rip in half. So I was wondering where could that be fixed or any suggestions on how to fix it. Thanks.

[highlife4me]

Could sure use a little more information. How big is the wheel house and how much does it weigh? Is the tongue very light? What do you tow with?

This is just a guess but it sounds like the hitch is too light and is taking weight off the rear of the tow vehicle. You could try to redistribute the load to make the tongue weigh more or move the rear axle towards the back of the house.

[icefishingmn]

Could sure use a little more information. How big is the wheel house and how much does it weigh? Is the tongue very light? What do you tow with?

This is just a guess but it sounds like the hitch is too light and is taking weight off the rear of the tow vehicle. You could try to redistribute the load to make the tongue weigh more or move the rear axle towards the back of the house.

The wheels are located in the middle of the house more to the front, i use a Chevy Colorado Extended Cab 3.7L, and a weird thing is that the back is only like 7 inches of the ground and the wheels are all the way up. It has a flat front so when i tried driving with it, it was pretty hard and started to swerve to the side. The weight is heavy, i dont know how much it weighs but i had a hard time pulling it. And the House itself is about 12 feet long by like 7 feet wide. Like you said, I might have to move the wheels back more. Any other suggestions?

[CAMAN]

Yeah it sounds like more tongue weight is the answer. I don't know of any other answers other than moving the axle back, or putting a bunch of weight in the front of the trailer.

[highlife4me]

Most wheel houses I see have roughly 2/3 of the house in front of the wheels. If the weight of your house is evenly distributed you likely have too light of hitch weight. With a flat front the wind resistance makes it even lighter taking weight off the rear wheels of the truck. You could put 200 - 400 pounds of weight in the back end of the truck or the front of the house just to see if this will solve you problem, then go through with moving your axle.

[Surface Tension]

The trailer should sit somewhere between level or with the front a little lower then the back of the trailer. Sounds like you need a drop down receiver to get the trailer sitting correctly.

You should have 10 to 15 percent of the trailers weight at the tongue.

So if your trailer weighs 3000 lbs your tongue weight should be 300 to 450 lbs.

If it is shy of that then you'll need to load gear into the front of the trailer.

If you don't get the load distributed right your going to have a trailer that sways back and forth.

[McGurk]

You might want to see if there is a shop that can remove your axle and move it further back. As stated, you want a good amount of tongue weigbt so it doesn't fishtail as you go down the road at speed. 10% of the total trailer weight is a good number to shoot for, and loading the front with gear is a temporary and mediocre solution in my opinion. If it shifts to the middle while going at speed you will have a sudden and dangerous problem.

[Pat K]

I have the same problem with my 12x8 house with a square front and the axles to far forward. When taking it on the road I move all the heavy objects in the house to the front and put a 60lb tube of sand on the frame just behind the receiver. With the tube sand I can go 60 to 65 without any problems.

[icefishingmn]

Can i extend the tongue?

[Rick G]

I would get that fixed instead of rigging it. A badly balanced trailer is nothing to mess with.

I had a buddie who had a wheel house. (notice how I said had) His house was very rear heavy, he tried to bring it up to lake of the woods one year, the house never made it. Somewhere by Red lake his house hit a pot hole in the road and became disconected from his truck. The hitch caught the grass on the side of the ditch, the house fliped, flew 20ft into the air and landed hard, everything was destroyed I was in front of him so I never saw it, the guy who was in back of him caught up to me several miles down the road and explained how my buddies house went off the road.

[jwmiller33]

Is this a new problem that just started happening? or has it always been like this?

did you buy the wheelhouse new or used?

[icefishingmn]

Is this a new problem that just started happening? or has it always been like this?

did you buy the wheelhouse new or used?

I bought the house used, just lake that and when i was towing it from the seller I could go only 30 MPH (cause then it would fly of to the ditch). Then i fixed the wheels cause one wheel was crooked and bent, and now i can go 40 MPH!

[Eric Wettschreck]

I'll agree with the others, you need more tounge weight. Back heavy trailers are pretty much not safe. They'll try to pick up the rear of your truck and now you're "Floating" with little steering, and that's bad. I dealt with a similar thing a couple months ago towing a skid loader with my 1/2 ton truck on a trailer that wasn't built for it. I could only safely go aboot 25 mph. That was fine with me as I was only going a couple of miles down township roads, but your situation is a bit different, kinda, sorta.

You're only option, for permanent fix, is to move the axle back to get more tounge weight. If you're not travelling far but want to be safer, pack all your stuff in the front of the shack while towing.

[icefishingmn]

from Shakopee to Mille Lacs

[larryz]

If the back end is only 7 inches off the ground it can't be sitting level

or weighted to the front. I would start there by lowering your hitch.

[icefishingmn]

If the back end is only 7 inches off the ground it can't be sitting level

or weighted to the front. I would start there by lowering your hitch.

oh ok

[broman]

Lowering your hitch is a good ideal as mentioned. Get a drop down hitch. Also, if you're gear/batteries/propane tanks are in the back of the house, switch them up front to add weight to the tongue.

[TruthWalleyes]

Ever had a shopping cart where the front wheels rattled, spun circles, and made noise...Then after putting 10# in the shopping cart the rattle stops...You need tongue weight!! Exactly as surface tension stated, 10-15%.