Building extension for my trailer

[travlitt]

I have a 16,000 GVW bumper pull trailer that is 25'+ a 2' dove tail. When I haul my tractor and my ZTR I have a little to much toungue weight. I am building a 30" extension for it so I can move the tractor back closer to the rear end. This will move enought weight from the front of the trailer to the rear for a better load balance.
Before


My tractor with 8' brusg hog


































All that is left to do is sand blast it and paint it.

 

[Morning Wood]

Too bad the axles aren't forward a foot

 

[Gary Fowler]

Yep, bad placement of the axles on that 25 foot trailer. They should be much farther forward for proper balancing of the load on a 25 foot trailer. They appear to be in about the same location as my 20 foot trailer so you would be putting a lot more tongue weight on it if you moved any amount forward. When I load my tractor on my 20 footer it is about the same position in relation to the trailer axles as yours but I have 5 foot less in the front..

 

[JerryK]

That type of axle placement is usually used with a dump truck/pintel hook setup. Dump trucks can handle the tongue weight...

 

[George2615]

What kind of tow vehicle are you using.
Maybe helper springs, air bags, or a weight distribution hitch are needed on your tow vehicle.
My 22' 14K tilt bed trailer has an empty tongue weight of almost 1100# and I have no problem with too much tongue weight or rear end squat when loaded towing it with a half ton pick up. My axles are mounted back quite a ways on the trailer also.

 

[GPintheMitten]

It's nice to have a longer trailer. Nice fab work.

Question. Did you consider moving the axles forward?

 

[redshirt]

I know you tried this before tackling the extension, but what happened when you backed the tractor on?

 

[travlitt]

I know you tried this before tackling the extension, but what happened when you backed the tractor on?

Backing it on would have solved part of the problen. When I have to have both my tractor and my ZTR for some of my mowing jobs, this is overall the best solution.

 

[travlitt]

What kind of tow vehicle are you using.
Maybe helper springs, air bags, or a weight distribution hitch are needed on your tow vehicle.
My 22' 14K tilt bed trailer has an empty tongue weight of almost 1100# and I have no problem with too much tongue weight or rear end squat when loaded towing it with a half ton pick up. My axles are mounted back quite a ways on the trailer also.

I pull it with a 3/4 ton GMC diesel and I do use a weight distribution hitch. If I can move the load toward the rear, I won't have a front end hitch weight problem.

 

[travlitt]

It's nice to have a longer trailer. Nice fab work.

Question. Did you consider moving the axles forward?

I did consider moving the axles forward, but decided that would/might compromise the overall safety of the trailer. I needed the additional length anyway.