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Hey guys & gals...

I am new to this site....so please be gentle.....

Question - I am new to the Enclosed Trailer world....Recently picked up a 24 ft featherlite and I am looking to install the usual things in the front section ahead of the car. Tool box, Alum Cabs and stock them w/ the standard things you'd take to the track, fan, small air comp, Alum Jack, jack stands.....etc

How do you go about keeping the tongue weight low if all this stuff goes into the front of the trailer? I know ya should carry a tongue weight between 10 % 15 % for twin axle trailers.....so If my trailer weighed in at say 9500# I could carry a tongue weight of approx 1350 to 1400 # max.

Seems like it will get to be more than that once I load the car - and I do know to try to offset the front load by keeping the car towards the back.....

So how do you guys load your trailers? what do yous have upfront and whats in back? Have you's ever checked your tongue weights? Anyone pulling a 10,000# trailer w/ a 3/4 ton single axle truck???

Thanks

Hello fabone, welcome on board.

I load my car in reverse and all tools on front of my trailer. Drive fine and smooth.

BR

That's an option
....but it defeats the drivers door in the enclosed trailer....but I appreciate the responce...

well , there are a ton of complicated formulas and measurements you can use .

first off , i hope you are using a load leveling hitch , nite and day in towing a big trailer .

either measure the hight of your rear bumper without the trailer or eyball it for clearance up off the rear tires , once you have all your stuff loaded see how much it dropped
then try loading the car towards the center of the trailer and check it , then move the car forward or back till the trailer sits on the truck pushing it down about 2-3 inches and mark your spot in the trailer somehow , then after you've driven it a bit try moving the car forward or bacl a couple of inches till you find the sweet spot , mark that and your done !

its not as bad as it sounds , i found that my truck will feel like it wants to wander if the tail is too lite and it bounces too much if its too heavy on the tongue .
you can get close and then fine tuneit after towing a couple times
every trailers different depending on where the wheels are compared to the center line of the trailer .

D2

Thanks for the info....but.......

This is a Featherlite trailer. All Aluminum. The main supports are 2X8 inch box tubes. This design does not lend itself to WD setups.

The trailer - fully loaded at 9200# pulls great..no issues , it does not sway, the truck does not sit low......no issues.

I am just concerned about excesive tongue weights. I know Im over the limit. I just switched out my old hitch for a new Putnam...Rated at 15000# pulling, 1500# tongue.....

So...I am trying to find out what others w/ similar trailers were doing and how they load thier trailers.

What trailer do you have? Does it have a drivers escape door? (This door limits how far back you load the car) Do you know your tongue weights?

I don't think your tongue weight figure is correct when it comes to an enclose trailer. When i purchased my haulmark it came with a placard stating someting like 80% of the trailers load be infront of the front axle.

What you need is a good set of load distributing bars. with a load distributing setup the hitch's rating goes quite a bit. My hitch is rated for 1500 tongue but 2500 with a load distributing setup.

What are you towing with?

Towing w/ a 2500 Avalanche -

The enclosed trailer is a Featherlite Trailer. All Aluminum. They are not readily or recommended for WD Bars. Thats why I am not running them.

you stated 80% in front of axles....that means how much on tongue? what are you towing with?

fabOne wrote:D2

Thanks for the info....but.......

This is a Featherlite trailer. All Aluminum. The main supports are 2X8 inch box tubes. This design does not lend itself to WD setups.

The trailer - fully loaded at 9200# pulls great..no issues , it does not sway, the truck does not sit low......no issues.

I am just concerned about excesive tongue weights. I know Im over the limit. I just switched out my old hitch for a new Putnam...Rated at 15000# pulling, 1500# tongue.....

So...I am trying to find out what others w/ similar trailers were doing and how they load thier trailers.

What trailer do you have? Does it have a drivers escape door? (This door limits how far back you load the car) Do you know your tongue weights?

i had a 28 hallmark , no escape door

recently downsized to my old open trailer due to divorce

there's no way i would ever tow any distance without a weight dist. hitch ever again

never weghed my tongue , always went for about a 2 inch drop on the truck and then moved the car around a little till it towed best .
never had any exp. with an aluminum trailer , good luck

I tow with a 98 dodge ram 1500. i don't know any of the actual tongue weights, i've never checked. but in my 24 footer i have cabinents, a medium sized standup tool box, a small quad, a drum of alcohol, large jack, jack stands, winch, battery.. well you get the picture. car is 2755 with out me in it, and the trailer weighs 3500 empty. take a walk around the pits and you'll get a feeling for what people stuff in the front of their trailers. My feeling is that the tonge weight will be what it is, if the ass of the truck sags with out weight bars then add a set of air bags from a company like Air Lift. I put a set in my dodge a few years ago and add about 30 psi to level the truck out.

Why does featherlite recommend against weight bars? I hate towing without them. I'd look into some sort of sway control, or else your going to have a ton of white knuckle driving ahead of you.

This is the friction type sway control. this will only help sway, won't do anything for weight distribution. Summit sells something like this for like 80 bucks.

I have pulled the Featherlite maybe a dozen times.....400 to 500 miles and never had a sway issue.

My Avalanche 2500 carries the load just fine, sits nice and level when loaded.....I just have an issue w/ the rear frame rails defelecting when the trailer is put on the ball. Rails delect maybe 1/4" .....I see this because the rear bumper - which is attached to the frame rails - drops away from the back of the truck as I load the weight on the tongue.

I pull a 28' and have the load leveling bars & sway bar for it. From the looks of your picture the tounge is pointing down. It should be level when heading down the road. I load w/ the trailer on the jack & raised slightly & then adjust the bars at that point, so its level when loaded. Also have tape on the floor to note front tire position. If I have the generator & pit bike I move the car back about 8". I loaded up & drove out on the road to check how it would pull & adjust from there. Sway bar is a nice thing to have to help w/ cross winds. If you don't have one & ever get into a sway problem, remember to keep the speed the same & hit the trailer brake controller to help straighten/take the sway out of the trailer

from the picture the trailers not riding lvel , you need to move the car back or put airbags in the truck , or get a higher ball mount
if you have a frame mounted hitch and you see the bumper move away from the body when you attach the trailer ? somethings wrong somewhere , you might want to load it up and inspect the hell out of that chassis for cracks from the back doors to the bumper mounts

I hope you aren't using the bumper as your ball mount, if you are, do get a class 5 hitch that mounts to the frame

rb69 wrote:I hope you aren't using the bumper as your ball mount, if you are, do get a class 5 hitch that mounts to the frame

I have a Putnam class 5 XDR rated to 15000# / 1500 # tongue rated hitch bolted right to frame.


Frame looks good...just deflects bit....

when i bought my equalizer hitch set up , I think it was something like $325-$350 for it, sure would be one of my 1st buys after the trailer. IMO Years ago I had a snowmobile trailer get to whipping on ice covered roads & it took use into the ditch & upside down, since then I try to be as safe as possible w/ towing & IMO a equalizer hitch & good brake controller is a must for that size of trailer.