I knew I was wrong, but I did it anyway

[Soundguy]

Ouch.

A buddy of mine had his old 350 long dodge van break down in georgia. he was in a 'convoy' so another driver gave him a lift home. He showed up on my doorstep that am with his chevy z71 1500 and wanted my 16' trailer to haul his van home. I told him he was crazy. I let him take the trailer.. but I fileld out a bill of sale and sent it with him.. I told him if he had an accident, he owned the trailer not me

I sent with with a bunch of straps and a farm jack.. tried to send him my winch but he didn't think he needed it as the van would crawl.

anyway.. it died going up the ramp and he had to use the farm jack and a strap as a puller to get her loaded...

He got her home safely.. but had to drive 40mph the entire way!! He's an old navy guy so he handled it.. but man.. I sure wouldn't have..

soundguy

Agreed

I had to tow my van home once, so I took my 16' car hauler down to pick it up. I had to back onto the trailer to get the van on there, and even with the back end of the van almost hanging over the front of the bed, I knew I had too much weight in the back. The tongue was heavy enough that I couldn't lift it, but it was close. I actually ended up moving the van forward a couple of times on that trailer.

Well, it was a 250 mile ride home involving several hills (I-5 between Roseburg and Grants Pass). Coming down one of them going around a corner, she started to do the sway thing a little. Shook me up a bit, and I was really glad I was only doing about 55. I reached down, hit the trailer e-brake just a little, and everything straightened out just fine.

I'm *really* glad I was in the 2500HD crew cab and not the little Blazer this time around!

 

[davygp38]

What's this worry about not towing anything longer or heavier than the tow vehicle. Happens all the time. Even my huge F350 diesel only weighs 7500# and is around 20' long. Most medium sized and larger RVs are longer and/or heavier.

Thanks for sharing. Did you ever find a bulging tire or something that caused the wiggle? Did you then tow the tractor back home? I assume you did.

The tires were properly inflated, but the machine is too heavy. I left the machine at the job, and listed the trailer on ebay today. I will go to the trailer dealer to order my new gooseneck on Tuesday. I already ordered the hitch. As far as the size of the truck goes. it is plenty big enough to pull that trailer, it is the trailer that is too small.

 

[davygp38]

?? immunity sure speed alone was the issue.

I've pulled my 16' bumper pull for thousands of miles in search of antique tractors.. on the interstate I drive same speed as the rest of the traffic.. ie.. 70 or so

does the trailer have ebrakes?

was it loaded correctly.

bout' the only place I get funny trailer sensations on a well loaded trailer is on i-10 in lousiana where they have the bucked up concrete roads near the 18 mile bridge... there.. I slow down or the trailer jumps..

( however.. I will add that I'm now getting a larger trailer.. gooseneck, and have a heavier tow vehicle, just for safety and piece of mind on those long hauls.. )

soundguy

The trailer has brakes on both axles. I think that the tires were not up to the job. That brings up an interesting point. You can have the biggest best axles there are, but if your tires can't Handel the load, your out of luck. It goes back to the old saying, that "you're only as strong as your weakest link." The tires were properly inflated, but they were really squatting. The trailer is also too short for the TLB, and I could not get it balanced. The combination of Tires, and length did me in.

 

[Soundguy]

yep.. lots of times you see junk tires from the bulk trailer sales places and in the fine print you can get the good load rating tires fro more $$.

I hear ya on the length of the trailer. there are plenty of times I wish my 16 was an 18 or 20 with BT.. that will hopefully no longer be an issue when i get my gooseneck trailer.

soundguy

 

[westbrooklawn]

davygp38 -

Just noticed your location under your avatar... sure sounds like my hometown of Port Jervis, NY. Moved south with my job in 1978 and haven't missed the snow, cold, high utilities, or high taxes, one bit. That still doesn't change the fact that I have the best of memories growing up in that area.

 

[davygp38]

davygp38 -

Just noticed your location under your avatar... sure sounds like my hometown of Port Jervis, NY. Moved south with my job in 1978 and haven't missed the snow, cold, high utilities, or high taxes, one bit. That still doesn't change the fact that I have the best of memories growing up in that area.

Oh yeah, Port Jervis is the place, I always say where NY, Pa, And NJ come to gether, because if you just say Port Jervis they think you live on the beach somewhere. I live in Sparrowbush to be exact. Don't worry, it is still the way you left it, snow cold taxes etc.