www.iFourWinns.com

Hi Everyone,
I just purchased a new 2006 Fourwinns 244 Funship deckboat this year w/ a tandem axle trailer (approx. 5000 lbs). I love everything with the exception of the trailer.
When pulling away from a stop the clunk from the freeplay of the coupler jerks my whole truck. I went to my dealer (and several others) in which they all said; "This is normal." My dealer even went as far as bleeding the whole system. I also went to the Cadilac, Mi Fourwinns trailer plant in which they stated the same thing.
Is there anything out there to help eliminate (soften) this system when pulling away from a stop?
I can't help to believe that over time, this will give me premature wear on my rear end & transmission.
Your input and suggestions would be most appreciated!
Thanks, Ray

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Ray & Paula
2006 Four Winns 244 Funship

Mine does the same...i always try to stop early and then pull foward abit to release the brakes b4 full-on gas.

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2005 Funship 214 5.0GXi/DP | 2006 Yamaha FJR1300

Try http://www.schuckhitches.com/

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Jvalich
http://www.badcock.com

'04 FW 288 Vista "Mental Floss"

Hi,
WOW!! Thanks for the http://www.schuckhitches.com web site! I believe this may be the answer to all my problems.
By the way, my boat & trailer comes in at approx. 6800 lb's. Boat alone is 4800 lb's.
I'm assuming that you have one of the Schuck hitches. If so, how's the absorbtion compared without?
Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction!

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Ray & Paula
2006 Four Winns 244 Funship

Nope, don't use one. The 170 Freedom doesn't have brakes and with the 288 Vista (13,000# boat and trailer), I start out slow.

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Jvalich
http://www.badcock.com

'04 FW 288 Vista "Mental Floss"

Most of us learn to let off the brake and allow the truck to idle forward enough to extend the coupler before accelerating, and this practice should prevent any undue wear on truck components. I've heard great things about the Schuck hitches, but I've also heard a couple of people say they tried them and they caused their brakes to not work as effectively. Just something to be aware of. Their build quality is said to be tops.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Hi,
Starting off slow is what I "always" do, but due to the weight, I can't get away from the jerk that it causes 75% of the time. When I trailer, I do so at a moderate pace. If it ever came to "I've got to hurry, I'm running late" I simply would call the day off. I see far to many people pulling trailers that shouldn't even be on the road. Driving crazy and/or causing an accident isn't my kind of boating fun.
As for the Schuck hitch, I'm contacting them today to see which one would be most appropriate one for my boat & trailer.
Thanks again, to all for the help!

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Ray & Paula
2006 Four Winns 244 Funship

I actually LIKE the clunk! That let's me know for sure that my brakes are not engaged.....................

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Previous Four Winns: 2003 Freedom 180, 150 Johnson XL, purchased new July 2005, sold Sept. 07
Current Four Winns: 2002 Horizon 170, 115 Yamaha V4, purchased May 2010 from family friend.

I haven't used them, but I was considering the cushioned ball couplers available from etrailer.com. Much less expensive. I finally decided to get some towing miles in before upgrading to cushioned, or WD type hitches.

http://www.etrailer.com/c-BM2C.htm

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2007 Horizon 200
4.3L GXi/ SX 225 HP

A few people have given you the right answer to an unavoidable part of surge breaks. To put it a different way, here is what I do. I come to a stop and I'm sitting there waiting for the light to turn green, traffic to clear, my wife to stop beating me-whatever. I don't just "start out slow" on takeoff. Before I'm ready for takeoff I make it a point, while I'm sitting there at a stop, to take my foot off of the brake with the tow vehicle in gear and just barely inch forward. This takes the tension off of the surge coupler, and puts the tension back on the "front" of the hitch ball (the side nearest the vehicle).

This releases the surge brake even if I stop the vehicle again right away. I could sit there for 5 more minutes with my foot on the brake waiting for the light, the clear traffic, or the wife to calm down and the break will not re-engage. It is released and ready to go when I am ready, regardless of whether I "start out slow" or not.

It is somewhat of an art to release the surge brake and then sit there. Once you figure it out, it is a snap and you can do it and only move the vehicle about 1-2 feet at the most. When I was learning to do this, I made it a habit to stop 6 feet shorter than normal at any stop and then, after stopping, I would slowly inch forward a couple of feet and then just stop again and then I'm ready to go.

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Paul
2007 Four Winns Horizon 220
Mercruiser 350 Mag MPI w/ Bravo III Drive
2004 Ford Explorer Limited (V8-AWD)
Pomme de Terre Lake (Southwest Missouri)

Very timely. Tomorrow will be my first tow with surge breaks, and I'll have a little over 200 miles to practice learning this technique. Bet I have it down in the first 5.

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2007 Horizon 200
4.3L GXi/ SX 225 HP

Have fun on your way to Waupaca.

A long trip like yours will give you plenty of experience.

You would not believe what I go through towing my Massey Ferguson Tractor!

A boat is a piece of cake!

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Jeff

2006 Four Winns Yellow Horizon 30th Anniversary 200 SS
2005 Nissan Titan Crew Cab
2004 Ford F-150 Lariat

http://www.seabrook-services.com

Tried it. Like the technique. Thumbs up. The surge breaks were no problem at all.

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2007 Horizon 200
4.3L GXi/ SX 225 HP

Glad it worked for you. Was hoping my explanation wasn't too murky.

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Paul
2007 Four Winns Horizon 220
Mercruiser 350 Mag MPI w/ Bravo III Drive
2004 Ford Explorer Limited (V8-AWD)
Pomme de Terre Lake (Southwest Missouri)

On my old Load Rite trailer, I used a cushioned hitch pin that I got from WM a few years back, and when I added brakes I used a Tie Down 6600 actuator, with these I feel no clunk to speak of, just a little 'nudge' when moving foward. It used to be that if you got noticable clunks, you needed to adjust your drum brakes, which are not self adjusting on boat trailers. Maybe certain actuators work more smoothly than others.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II