1. Trailer level empty
2. correct ball height to "hook up"
3. loaded trailer should have 10% + or - 2% on ball
4. if trailer is to heavy on truck and it exceeds the
rated capacity of hitch or is not level you need
an "Equalizer hitch" PERIOD. I highly recomend sway
controls on both sides if you have a misloaded trailer.
If the trailer is not level and it does not exceed the
hitch capacity you can adjust the ball height. You will
never regret spending the money to but brakes on all
axels. wmts
Quoting Ken Bond <kmb2@humboldt.edu>:
> Folks,
>
> I don't know much about towing a trailer so I set
about trying to figure
> out a few things. Many of you are experts and I
would appreciate any
> additional comments.
>
> The first thing I did was get all the wheels balanced
(already discussed
> that).
>
> The next issue to think about was trailer weight
distribution.... I
> recently went through the following exercise and got
some interesting
> results. If anyone wishes to comment, PLEASE pass
along your experiences.
> This is all trial and error for me. I found out the
following using a 7 X
> 14 enclosed, DUAL axle trailer and I am fairly sure
the following works for
> any dual axle trailer and probably does NOT work for
single axle trailers.
>
> In far northern calif.' the CHP leave the truck
scales operating when the
> weigh stations are closed and they turn the monitors
around so you can read
> the numbers... very kewl of them! You can go weigh
anything you want and
> take as much time as you want.
>
> So I took my trailer up and centered it on the scale
and unhooked it to
> find out the true, loaded weight.
>
> I then re-hooked the trailer and backed it up to
where the wheels were off
> the scale and just the tongue jack was on the scale
and the again unhooked
> and weighed the tongue weight.' BUT BUT BUT... I
found out something very
> interesting (to me). Namely, when you determine the
tongue weight you must
> crank the tongue back DOWN to a level position...
don't leave the up high
> after unhooking from the tow truck. If the tongue is
up high, the tongue
> weight will be HIGH. As you lower the tongue, the
tongue weight goes DOWN.
> The trailer must be level to get the proper
reading. The reason is that
> with the tongue too high, weight is taken off the
front set of wheels and
> put on the back set of wheels. This then sets up a
fulcrum between the
> tongue jack and the rear wheels. As the tongue comes
down, the front set
> of wheels take on their appropriate load and the
tongue weight decreases.
>
> I had a reading of "several hundred pounds"
difference with the tongue at
> the proper height as opposed to the tongue being too
high (maybe 4" too
> high). It was not a trivial amount on a trailer with
a total weight of
> 6000 lbs.
>
> Moral: If you want a 10~12% tongue weight, make sure
the trailer is level
> when you are doing your total and tongue
measurements. Also, if your
> trailer is not level when you are towing, you may be
overloading the
> trailer towing system for no purpose. For me the
exercise was a real
> eye-opener for why you should own a couple of
different height ball bars so
> you are truly get the trailer tongue LEVEL for
towing. We recently towed
> 7,500 miles and the trailer towed perfectly the whole
trip.
>
>
> Looking forward to August and the salt...
>
> KEN
>
>
> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * *
> * Ken
Bond, *
> * Prof. of Bus.
Admin. *
> * Humboldt State Univ.
____________ *
> * Arcata, CA 95521 _______| 58 85 99
|_________ *
> * / How much
horsepower / *
> * / Can I have and
still / *
> * Wk.:707.826.4277 /_________ go to Heaven?
______/ *
> * Wk Fax:707.826.6666
|_61______61_| *
> * Hm.:707.826.7764 I Never Drive Faster
than *
> * Hm Fax:707.826.0334 My Guardian Angel Can
Fly *
> *
Internet:
*
> * kmb2@humboldt.edu
(office) *
> * ragtops@humboldt1.com
(home) *
> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * *
>
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