Trailer talk with GVH

[GreyGhost]

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Backing up is all on you LOL

Until he decides to upgrade his truck to pull his fancy new trailer . Do all new ford trucks have the trailer backup/anti-sway and all that crap or is it part of an option?

 

[GVH]

Uhaul installs hitches and wiring as cheap as anybody, the big store on barton in Hamilton is pretty decent.

Backing up is all on you LOL

This trailers about a foot wider than my truck. Also two foot four longer. My other issue I need the hitch for is the A frame setup will hit my bumper hitch much sooner than my last one. Picking up the spare Thursday. Already bought a coupler lock. This ones worth steeling.

 

[ReSTored]

......... Also painting or coating the wood.

Never use paint on a trailer bed or you'll be scraping, sanding and renewing peeling paint every year or two, use linseed oil instead. If you're storing this trailer outside then get an oversized tarp from CT and keep the rain and snow off of it. PA has trailer tongue locks on sale as well as chain for looping through the wheel spokes and over the axle on each side.

 

[GVH]

Ya bought the locks yesterday. One for me one for a buddy. They already stole his car trailer once.

 

[GVH]

Almost done. LED lights installed, Spare bought and mounted. Need to decide on what to use on the wood. Looing at oil based water proof deck stains.

https://www.olympic.com/stain-colors/solid-stains/bubinga-olystain2505

 

[Xhumeka]

First time using my Rush trailer for hauling my sled... hangs off a bit but not too much, just had to throw down a small 1" riser for the track so that I can add/remove the rear ramp with the sled loaded.

 

[Lakota]

Anyone here own a Stinger trailer? They fold up. Think they are made here in Ontario? Look interesting.

I have one and it has its' place. In my mind mostly for vehicles which are not rated to pull a trailer. I got it when I owned a manual transmission PT Cruiser. When your towing capacity is only about 1000lb, after the bike a Stinger is about the only option weight wise. PT is gone but I still use the trailer mostly with a Chevy Equinox now. Pretty much only used for transport between dealership and home winter time. It is bouncy but fine without bike on it (does not attach to trailer ball, has its' own fixed pin that bolts in where the ball would normally be), but better with bike on it as bikes suspension is what gets used. Farthest tow I have done was a CB900F to the Catskill Mountains and back. Another bonus is it is a one man show, no help needed. If you have a truck, you can fold it up and stow it in the box under a tonneau cover and not worry about it getting stolen while you are out riding, you would need help lifting it into truck box. So, if your car has a very low towing weight this is one of the few options, but works quite well.

 

[AllistonGT]

I have one and it has its' place. In my mind mostly for vehicles which are not rated to pull a trailer. I got it when I owned a manual transmission PT Cruiser. When your towing capacity is only about 1000lb, after the bike a Stinger is about the only option weight wise. PT is gone but I still use the trailer mostly with a Chevy Equinox now. Pretty much only used for transport between dealership and home winter time. It is bouncy but fine without bike on it (does not attach to trailer ball, has its' own fixed pin that bolts in where the ball would normally be), but better with bike on it as bikes suspension is what gets used. Farthest tow I have done was a CB900F to the Catskill Mountains and back. Another bonus is it is a one man show, no help needed. If you have a truck, you can fold it up and stow it in the box under a tonneau cover and not worry about it getting stolen while you are out riding, you would need help lifting it into truck box. So, if your car has a very low towing weight this is one of the few options, but works quite well.

Thanks for the info. Bigger benefit to me is the small space required for storage.

 

[PrivatePilot]

First time using my Rush trailer for hauling my sled... hangs off a bit but not too much, just had to throw down a small 1" riser for the track so that I can add/remove the rear ramp with the sled loaded.

Do you still have proper tongue weight with that much of the sled behind the trailer axle?

Improperly balanced trailers are very unstable. I know that sleds are heavier on the nose vs the tail but looking at the photo it looks to me like the engine would be barely (if at all) ahead of the axle - I'd still be scaling the tongue and making sure you have enough weight far enough forward to avoid any issues.

 

[sburns]

Thanks for the info. Bigger benefit to me is the small space required for storage.

I was thinking the same thing. This could be a good fit for me. I have a Camry Hybrid (not even sure I am allowed to put a trailer on it.) But this could potentially work. I would like the chance to zip down to Florida this time of year for an extended week-end, and do some riding.

What does something like this cost, or has it been posted?

 

[GreyGhost]

I'd still be scaling the tongue and making sure you have enough weight far enough forward to avoid any issues.

The upside to small trailers is you very rarely need a scale. Just lift the tongue and guesstimate the weight gets you close enough on a trailer 1500 lbs or less. 10 gallons or so of fuel in the front of Xhumeka's trailer should ensure decent tongue loading (and he has the advantage of the tow vehicle grossly outweighing the trailer so he shouldn't get dragged around if it gets squirrely).

I was practicing trailer drifting in the snow yesterday. Thankfully I've never had to catch a trailer that was unintentionally seriously out of shape but it's still good to keep your skills up. An empty HF trailer is easy to flick out to the side.

 

[GreyGhost]

I was thinking the same thing. This could be a good fit for me. I have a Camry Hybrid (not even sure I am allowed to put a trailer on it.) But this could potentially work. I would like the chance to zip down to Florida this time of year for an extended week-end, and do some riding.

What does something like this cost, or has it been posted?

Often more than a "proper" trailer. You definitely pay for the convenience. If you have the storage space, I think most people are better off with the folding HF trailer but it definitely takes up much more storage space than a stinger. The weight difference between a stinger and HF trailer wouldn't be enough to hurt a car (just take it easy with either if your car has marginal towing capacity).

 

[Xhumeka]

The upside to small trailers is you very rarely need a scale. Just lift the tongue and guesstimate the weight gets you close enough on a trailer 1500 lbs or less. 10 gallons or so of fuel in the front of Xhumeka's trailer should ensure decent tongue loading (and he has the advantage of the tow vehicle grossly outweighing the trailer so he shouldn't get dragged around if it gets squirrely).

I was practicing trailer drifting in the snow yesterday. Thankfully I've never had to catch a trailer that was unintentionally seriously out of shape but it's still good to keep your skills up. An empty HF trailer is easy to flick out to the side.

The picture is a bit misleading and the entire engine definitely sits forward of the axle, but good advice PrivatePilot I should definitely confirm proper tongue weight before any lengthy trips.

GreyGhost - get any video of that??? That's a great idea... too many people can't control a skid let alone one with a trailer. Just yesterday I was leaving Home Depot and following someone on Billy Bishop Way. I was wondering why they were going so slow when suddenly the car did a 180 and slid into oncoming lanes - luckily traffic was light and the oncoming cars had enough time to stop, but clearly that person a) didn't have winter or even all season tires and b) didn't know how to control a skid as they over-corrected so badly.

 

[PrivatePilot]

The main risk is the trailer simply losing it's mind and entering an uncontrollable wobble that will eventually end up with the trailer on it's side or upside down. Needless to say, that's kinda messy.

And don't underestimate the capability of even a 1000# trailer behind a pickup truck to cause a "tail wagging the dog" situation. Most pickup trucks are light on their rear ends...and once physics does it's thing, a 1000# that starts whipping uncontrollably can exert enough pull on even a pickup truck to pull it out of composure.

Great example here of an empty flatbed flipping a big pickup.

[video=youtube;-uvPIjaK01A]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uvPIjaK01A[/video]

 

[GreyGhost]

GreyGhost - get any video of that??? That's a great idea... too many people can't control a skid let alone one with a trailer. Just yesterday I was leaving Home Depot and following someone on Billy Bishop Way. I was wondering why they were going so slow when suddenly the car did a 180 and slid into oncoming lanes - luckily traffic was light and the oncoming cars had enough time to stop, but clearly that person a) didn't have winter or even all season tires and b) didn't know how to control a skid as they over-corrected so badly.

Definitely no video. I am sure there are a number of tickets that I could have been eligible for if I was doing it intentionally. If I just accidentally lost the trailer, it's probably just a warning.

 

[Torren]

Do you still have proper tongue weight with that much of the sled behind the trailer axle?

Improperly balanced trailers are very unstable. I know that sleds are heavier on the nose vs the tail but looking at the photo it looks to me like the engine would be barely (if at all) ahead of the axle - I'd still be scaling the tongue and making sure you have enough weight far enough forward to avoid any issues.

As mentioned, the entire engine of that snow machine is in front of the axle, but it's close.

If I were to build that trailer I would put the axle a bit further back. That picture makes it look like it's pretty much centred on the body. I would like to see it 60/40. 60% of the trailer bed in front and 40% behind.

When it comes to tongue weight for a single axle trailer general rule of thumb is 10-15% TW. A tandem or more trailer 15-25% TW. I like to go a bit higher (provided the towing vehicle is rated for it) 15-20% single and 20-25% tandem.

Atlas Tool and Machinery Islington/Queensway sells tongue weight scales. I picked up a 2k lbs model for ~$150. Used it when building a trailer with machinery mounted on it to make sure the balance was correct. Good thing I did because my original setup would not have had enough tongue weight and it would have pulled like crap. I highly recommend picking one up for anyone who tows regularly, especially campers.

 

[Xhumeka]

If I were to build that trailer I would put the axle a bit further back. That picture makes it look like it's pretty much centred on the body. I would like to see it 60/40. 60% of the trailer bed in front and 40% behind.

To be fair Rush Trailers builds them of ALL sizes, 5x12 included (mine is 5x10). Mine I chose specifically to haul a single ATV and have tried to make use of it in other ways as well (ie sled hauling). With a single ATV in tow and (usually) an ATV in/on my bed, it hauls like a dream

 

[cycling]

I was a in a previous post asking about towing for my vehicle and bike. Been watching intensely. Wow, tons of information here. Thanks everybody. I seriously think you have saved my bike and car. Buy you a beer.

 

[basmn]

https://youtu.be/6mW_gzdh6to

The effect of tongue weight

 

[Xhumeka]

That's a pretty cool demo of the danger!

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