Diamondpilot
Super Star Member
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- Jan 18, 2007
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- 16,316
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- Daleville, IN
- Tractor
- Jinma 254/284 Ford 861 Powermaster at work
Tongue weight
- Thread starter locknut
- Start date
- Views: 4118
kevin37b
Veteran Member
Are you serious? .
hlyautey
Member
The reason you want a minimum 10% tongue weight is to prevent the trailer from jack-knifing if you hit the brakes hard. If the trailer is heavy in the back it will try to spin and pass the tow vehicle under heavy braking. With an empty trailer this is not an issue. Load it right when you load it, don't worry when it is empty.
It's not just due to what can happen when you hit the brakes. A trailer that is light in the front is more likely to start swaying at highway speeds.
hlyautey
Member
True, I have seen that many times on the highway and I give those guys PLENTY of room. Especially going downhill.
Texomahog
Member
I just had a bad experience with too little tongue weight. I was pulling my new tractor home from the dealer. Not having a FEL previously, I dropped it on the front of the trailer, and dropped the very heavy finishing mower on the tailgate. This put most of my weight from the two axles to the tailgate. At about 50 mph my rig started swaying so bad I thought I was going to turn it over. I knew better but was not thinking. I guess I was too excited to get my new toy home?
jb62901
Gold Member
Why not just leave it hooked up and back it up where you park it.
Gary Fowler
Super Star Member
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- Jun 23, 2008
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- 11,917
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- Bismarck Arkansas
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- 2009 Kubota RTV 900, 2009 Kubota B26 TLB & 2010 model LS P7010
some folks just have trouble backing up a trailer and then sometimes there just isn't any room to maneuver with the tow vehicle. Just about everyone has a lawnmower, so put on a ball hitch and use that to back up your trailer (or ATV, UTV, tractor with FEL mounted ball hitch). Just about any lawnmower hitch would handle an 80# tongue weight and the weight would help with traction.
Trailer dolly with big pneumatic tires sounds like it would work well also as long as you are not pushing uphill, that small trailer should be easy to push thru gravel
Bird
Rest in Peace
I was 16 years old, pulling a little utility trailer with a clamp on bumper hitch on a 1946 Chevrolet, hauling some trash to the dump, when I learned that lesson. Scared the daylights out of me at about 50 mph, but at least I knew to not hit the brakes until I got it slowed down and straightened out. No harm done, but those kinds of lessons stay with you for life.
namyessam
Gold Member
This question was just brought up in this forun as tractor towing 101 along with how to properly load a tractor on a trailer. I responded to go look at the thread in the massey classic vintage on page two there is a thread massey 65 field find. On page three of that thread the OP goes on to describe his misfortune with pictures of an improperly loaded tractor on a trailer likely caused by insufficient tongue weight. Had a similar experience with a load of OSB on a utility trailer and will never forget it. I thought I was going to be thrown in the ditch by the swaying trailer. A real scary experience.
namyessam