Sean,

I'm glad your ok too. I have towed a variety of trailers 1000's of miles in my buisness we transport a lot of heavy equipment, etc... all of creation. Anytime you are loading any trailer you want it to have as much tongue weight as it can stand. Any weight in the ass end will cause it to fishtail and even a small trailer will drag your tow vehicle off the road. With tongue weight not only will it tow better but the load inside will ride better as well. You might also consider adding a load compensating hitch to the truck to the camper. This helps transfer some of the load from a tongue heavy trailer further up into the truck and would also cut down on the sway. The other thing to be aware of is that EVERY vehicle has a rated towing capacity and it is best not to exceed that. As Dennis also said if you can't tow your rig at 85 mph your truck ain't got enough ass. BTW the Dennis and Vernon always rag me for driving in the left hand lane but I can't stand the ruts.

Forgot to mention that when I left MS Afterburner, the small trailer was same configuration as when I wrecked. I had just bought 20 gallons of fuel from Roger Kirchner, however as I write this, I recalled that buying that, meant that I didn't have the 15 gallons (3 five gallon) containers sitting in the front of the trailer that I did have when I showed up at MS. So I must have been even more tail heavy when I left MS. Whatever, I'm 30 years old, I've been in the hobby less than two years. I'm learning some of this stuff the hard way. By the time I'm in the hobby as long as you fellas, I ought to have all this stuff figured out (I hope!). Thanks again for all the comments. Sean

Do you know if the 5th wheel rigs are better in this regard?

Hi Guys

Interesting discussion. And I though some of the highways up here were bad.

Basic rule of thumb for trailer balance is 10% of the gross weight on the hitch and the rst on the axle. We ran into the same issue on the way to Florida. Had too much weight in the front. Re-located some of the weight further back overnight and solved the problem.

Other things to look at are weight distributing hitches, and anti-sway bars.

Matt, a fifth wheel is a different configuration. It's a lot harder for the "tail to wag the dog" because there is no moment arm between the hitch and the rear axle because the hitch is directly above the rear axle.

Sincerely,
Ed

You should NEVER exceed the manufactuers maximum tonque weight specifications no matter what other people try to tell you. You should also NEVER exceed the manufatuers maximum GCVW (gross combined vehicle weight) no matter what other people tell you either.

To do so places your safety, and the safety of others on the road at risks.

If your within the manufactuers specs, there are devices to help control a trailer. Weight distributing hitches help balance the load between the front and rear axles. Anti sway bars dampen side to side motion.

FYI for those that didn't know, I was towing approx 6,000 pounds on a TRITON V8 Expedition, with torquetion control bars, and with sway bar. The back trailer had only swayed on one other occasion when a flat faced winnebago that was apparently traveling right behind me, I didn't see it. It went to pass me but put no distance between me and him. We came within 6 inches of colliding, but it did send the back trailer swaying. One tap to the brakes settled it, however, I was on flat stretch of I-10 near pensacola and it did sway about 4 to 6 times before it settled down at roughly 35 degrees of sway. The travel trailer seemed unaffected during this event, however, in the wreck event, the travel trailer did seem to be affected prior to the roll.

Matt,

I have a fifth wheel trailer that I pull heavy equipment on 16,000# backhoe, 14,000# boom lifts, etc.... The whole rig weighs around 36,000# truck, trailer, and backhoe. By far the most stable arrangement if you are towing. But of course this rig has dual wheels on the rear, and is rated for the weight we are pulling with it as well and it has air brakes.

Rich,

I was not advocating overloading the tongue on the trailer. It has been my expereince (and almost daily for the last 20 years) that if you want a trailer to pull better make sure that the weight is distributed more on the tongue than on the tail of the trailer. Ideally the CG should be slightly forward of the trailer axles.

David, how do you determine if the cg is forward of the axles, and how do you do it on a dual axle trailer? On my airplane trailer, I assumed I was nose heavy of the cg becuase it was so heavy to lift it on to a ball. Took two people to lift and set it on the ball at Beat the Heat jet rally. That was without the generator or the fuel jug sitting in the back. Todd Whitkoff helped me load it. I recognize I never paid any real attention to the cg, but how could I have figured it out other than trial and error (or is that the only way)? When I get this new one all set up, is the answer to just box and bolt the genertor to the front of the trailer?

Sean,

With a train, the loading dynamics would vary. I think your airplane trailer was last in the train? Well if that was overly noseheavy, that would make the camper tail heavy as that load would be applied to the back of the camper which inturn could have a negative affect on the stability of the entire rig.

Just another thought....all meaningless if you go the 30' camper route!

Sean

If you buy a motorhome, be sure to get a rollbar package installed.

And off road package, super high speed wireless DSL, Playboy Channel, massage table, 10 latin strippers, and a sign posting indicating no access to retired folk!!! J/k, you're welcome anytime, I really appreciate that you called while I was on the road. Kept me going. You the man.......

Sean

Most trailer manufacturers will tell you where the CG of your trailer is. Some ever go as far as putting a sticker inside where the CG is.

The key to proper load distribution is planning. Know how heavy every itemis and give it a home in the trailer so that everytime you load it, it comes out right.

Good Luck.

Ed

Thanks for the advice Ed, I'll find out on this new one I'm getting.

Oooh Mr. Covish... Harsh, very harsh!

Sean,

When in doubt a nose heavy trailer handles like a nose heavy airplane....it's more stable.

Sean,

Eariler you stated that it took two people to lift the tongue of the trailer without the fuel or generator loaded. I assure you that when you put 20 gallons of fuel and the generator on the ass end of the trailer that will remove a lot of the tongue weight making the trailer less stable.

Next time you pull a trailer, do the Bob Price whip test.

FWIW

Bob-O,

The only problem with the Bob Price whip test is that it takes a team of six engineers, 4 computers, a digital strain gauge, and about 3 good days to perform correctly. Just buy a bigger truck and all your problems will be solved.

David

You forgot the Palm Pilot.

Anyway, he is to busy for that. He has to program, not one, but two Grauper tranmitters for the new Bob Cat that he bought from me. We are going to Waco this weekend. I wonder if he will get it done before we leave there Sun. afernoon.

Not unless he starts range checking it today! (I am betting he is going to beat me up with a calculator next time he sees me!)

You guys are too funny. Even my girlfriend was telling me "Bob spends a lot of his time inside that trailer fixing things" LOL

Sean

That's Bob P and not Bob C.. O my, I've gotta change my first name.

Forgot to mention earlier, one of the radios is mode 1 and the other is mode 2.

Well, maybe I should have added for clarification that she said "and that other Bob never flys" LOL

Sean,

Glad to hear you are OK. Should have stayed with the Explorer pulling that train! I used to pull a 5th wheel and my 6x10 trailer behind a 1/2 ton pickup, then went to an older ford diesel (non turbo...what a pig) then went to a larger 5th and the 6x10 with a 3/4 ton Chevy HD. The 3/4 was by far the best...obviously. Never really had any trouble pulling with any of these rigs. My 5th wheels weighed from 6500 lb. to 8500 lb. dry! Pulling a 5 th wheel is much easier.

Now that I have the diesel pusher, there's no going back! Just watch out for the mud holes! BTW, make sure you get a motion satelite in your new rig. Nothing like driving a 40 ft. rig with an 18 ft trailer behind it while watching "The Man Show." on satellite...right Kevin!

Later

Mike Jensen

I have the coolest friends with the coolest toys! I can see that the diesel pusher and the larger trailer (properly balanced apparently) is the way to go. It was so nice having a vehicle to go to town and get whatever, I guess there is a little more planning during the packing phase. I can deal with that. I've been checking that PPL website, the guys from Houston. They have some below book values that are within my budget, but barely. I'm thinking that I'll just sock away some dough for a few months for a substantial down payment and then finance the rest over 5 years. Maybe debut this thing next season. Of course this is all dependent on them buying me out of the travel trailer. I'm sort of sitting back waiting to hear on that issue. Mike, thanks for the concern and the laugh. Had a great time up at MS. Watching you guys fly the zagi's and shoot the paint ball guns. What a great time.