LittleBill21
Elite Member
you mean sliding. rear tires need to come off the ground for a RWD to start rolling, and its weight not force.
Trailer Weight Distribution
- Thread starter marksb2620
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No one is disagreeing about the need for tongue weight. @Too many Kubotas is just saying that the nose being lower doesn't automatically mean that there is sufficient or any tongue weight. It might mean that, but it also might just simply mean that the hitch is low.
4570Man
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I would go with the first picture where it’s backed on because the tractor is all the way on the trailer that way. You’ll probably end up hitting the bucket in a sharp turn loaded the other 2 ways.
Grumpycat
Veteran Member
There are a lot of "known things" which are dead wrong.
Yes, negative load (lift) on the ball is a Very Bad Thing. But for the trailer to be sloped up does not indicate a tail heavy trailer. And does not induce sway.
If the hitch is high with proper 5% to 8% on the tongue then one needs a hitch which drops the ball lower.
Grumpycat
Veteran Member
As I said previously, "There are many 'known things' which are dead wrong."
A drop hitch drawbar will lower the tongue and make almost no difference in the weight on the tongue. Proving your statement to be wrong.
Grumpycat
Veteran Member
What I suggest you do is unhitch the trailer. Measure the truck unloaded no trailer. Then stand on the bumper and measure again. Lets say you weigh 200# and the bumper lowered 1". Now we have a good ballpark as to how much the hitch is carrying per inch the bumper drops. Ain't perfect "but that's life."
Also might require a bit of math. Sorry for using the 4 letter word, m a t h.
You have a good idea of how much the tractor weighs so look to put a bit over 5% and no more than 10% of it's weight on the truck. The trailer is already balanced that way unloaded so you don't add the trailer weight.
ning
Elite Member
jfc f'n communication isn't a strong point in this thread
consider
trailer weighted superbly for 10-15% tongue weight
nobody here will argue that this is a badly weighted trailer
now, adjust height +/- with a drop hitch
the same weight trailer can point down in front with more drop, or down in back with less drop (possibly a rise hitch)
[REDACTED] above claimed that the trailer will wag around if the front is higher
but he clearly is only considering the height of the trailer tongue based on weight
but the other guy correctly understands that you can have the front up or down with the same weight arrangement on the trailer (he just may have done this before!)
so to ask again
does having the trailer ride flat, pitched up, or down, have any effect on handling?
My partial answer:
With 2+ axles the trailer needs to ride level all the time preferably, and definitely with the heavy load so that the axles have room for travel and the suspension can do its thing and you have as equal of wear on the axles as possible.
For one axle this isn't as big of a deal but the geometry still states that not-level is a liability for suspension travel as the movement should be up-down with respect to the suspension and if there's a tilt, the axle clamped to the springs will be forced to move at an angle (perpendicular to the trailer which is tilted but the suspension is configured for the trailer to my parallel to the road).
Since you're not likely to adjust the trailer tongue height when you load the trailer, you should have the hitch set up for your likely tow geometry so that the trailer is best set up (level) when loaded.
consider
trailer weighted superbly for 10-15% tongue weight
nobody here will argue that this is a badly weighted trailer
now, adjust height +/- with a drop hitch
the same weight trailer can point down in front with more drop, or down in back with less drop (possibly a rise hitch)
[REDACTED] above claimed that the trailer will wag around if the front is higher
but he clearly is only considering the height of the trailer tongue based on weight
but the other guy correctly understands that you can have the front up or down with the same weight arrangement on the trailer (he just may have done this before!)
so to ask again
does having the trailer ride flat, pitched up, or down, have any effect on handling?
My partial answer:
With 2+ axles the trailer needs to ride level all the time preferably, and definitely with the heavy load so that the axles have room for travel and the suspension can do its thing and you have as equal of wear on the axles as possible.
For one axle this isn't as big of a deal but the geometry still states that not-level is a liability for suspension travel as the movement should be up-down with respect to the suspension and if there's a tilt, the axle clamped to the springs will be forced to move at an angle (perpendicular to the trailer which is tilted but the suspension is configured for the trailer to my parallel to the road).
Since you're not likely to adjust the trailer tongue height when you load the trailer, you should have the hitch set up for your likely tow geometry so that the trailer is best set up (level) when loaded.
Runner
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PJ manual says this:
The height of the ball receiver on the trailer must be adjusted so that the trailer, when loaded to rated capacity, is level while connected to the tow vehicle. A level trailer allows equal weight distribution on the axles.
What sounds reasonable to me is that (separate from the issue of maintaining equal load distribution to multiple axles) the reason for keeping the tongue level is to prevent uplift on the rear axle of the tow vehicle when stopping.
When you are stopping, the front of the tow vehicle is going down anyway, then couple that with an upward force component from the trailer tongue pointing at the sky and pushing up on the rear axle, and you are reducing stopping power of the rear wheels. Granted, this happens anyway, cannot really be avoided, but upward-sloping trailer tongue makes it worse.
Also, towing with the tongue pointing at the sky makes you look like a newbie
The height of the ball receiver on the trailer must be adjusted so that the trailer, when loaded to rated capacity, is level while connected to the tow vehicle. A level trailer allows equal weight distribution on the axles.
What sounds reasonable to me is that (separate from the issue of maintaining equal load distribution to multiple axles) the reason for keeping the tongue level is to prevent uplift on the rear axle of the tow vehicle when stopping.
When you are stopping, the front of the tow vehicle is going down anyway, then couple that with an upward force component from the trailer tongue pointing at the sky and pushing up on the rear axle, and you are reducing stopping power of the rear wheels. Granted, this happens anyway, cannot really be avoided, but upward-sloping trailer tongue makes it worse.
Also, towing with the tongue pointing at the sky makes you look like a newbie
True, although I think I've seen more newbies with the tongue way too low (usually due to way too much tongue weight) than too high. Here's a picture of one I saw in the Home Depot parking lot. He's definitely got the tongue low, that's for sure.Also, towing with the tongue pointing at the sky makes you look like a newbie
It's worth noting that the reason for keeping the trailer level is to evenly distribute the weight on multiple axles. It doesn't really matter that much on a single axle trailer, other than for convenience of loading certain items.