Originally Posted by
eggnoggbubble
By "tongue weight" you mean the weight on the arm that attaches to the bike , yes? so that the tail end doesn't end up heavy enough to start lifting the front (near the bike) end.
Yes on your description.
To elaborate - you want some weight on the tongue. You don't want it light or negative. This might get tricky with the length of the kayak. That gets back to my comment about the ballasting with your gear - shift it around so you can dial in the tongue weight better.
If you have the ability to weigh the trailer loaded (individual weights added up) and compare that to measuring the tongue weight then see if you can get about 15-20% on the tongue. Ride it and see how it feels.
Something I am thinking through after my weekend trip this weekend is stretching the trailer frame further. The reason is the longer the wheel base (distance between the trailer axle and rear axle of the bike) the better the trailer handles given the same load etc. If you imagine the tongue of the trailer being a lever - the longer the "lever" the less force it takes to move the load - think side to side. Flip that around. Make the load what starts the force. The longer the tongue the less that force affects what is pulling it.
If you have much mass behind the axle of the trailer then the handling of the trailer is going to go down the tube pretty fast - regardless of the tongue weight. So if you can get the load pretty much right on top of the axle or in front you'll be off to a good start. The longer the tongue in this scenario, also, the less weight you have on the tongue. Again, you do want some weight on the tongue - just not a lot and you don't want it very light, either.