Unloading without supporting the rear-end of the trailer a bad idea?

[dieselcrawler]

The ramps on my 20' deck over have legs built into them, you could do the same thing. Having support on the rear of the trailer is a good thing, no matter how you decide to do so.

 

[bdog]

The ramps with the legs that support the trailer are slick. I have them on my 53' step deck and my pintle hitch backhoe trailer. They take all the weight.

A good and easy alternative is welding a couple of these on back of the trailer on each side. Pro Series Round, Pipe-Mount Swivel Jack w/ Footplate - Topwind - 1" Lift - 5, lbs Pro Series Trailer Jack PS1433

 

[Diamondpilot]

I use a jack stand in the middle.

 

[white cloud]

This has been a REALLY useful discussion for me. A lot of times you don't know what you don't know. Thanks to all for you input.

 

[Fallon]

I've got a tilting deck. Unlatch the front & jumping on the front or rear will tilt the deck. I love not having to mess with ramps. Makes balancing my load easy too. Drive forward until the deck tilts level, then a few more inches to get my 15% tongue weight.

Turned it into a poorly balanced stake side recently for hauling some aged manure. No problems climbing the tractor onto the back when it won't tilt due to a pile manure up front. I generally had a small pile of manure as a ramp & propping up the back though.

 

[xryan]

This. Find a low spot or drop some blocks.

If your trailer coupler is popping off then something is wrong, either bent, worn or the wrong size.

If your just driving on and off something will eventually go wrong.

Unfortunately a ball hitch is designed for the load to be against the ball going down to the road. A dynamic shock load which can easily be greater than any load the hitch will ever see in the designed use can cause it to fail. When that happens you will be on top of the tractor trying to load/unload and the trailer is no longer attached to the tow vehicle except HOPEFULLY your real set of safety chain quick links or gated clevis hooks, not some harbor freight bent S hooks with nothing keeping them from falling off.

Definitely always block the rear of the trailer or install some swing jacks. I've even seen landscape trailers get yanked off the ball by guys who drive overweight commercial mowers on box store trailers (which of course aren't maintained either). Running up and down that trailer hundreds of times a season, then BAM! the coupler says it's had enough of being shock loaded towards the sky and the tongue ends up piercing the back of the truck.

 

[brown40]

I had a friend send his Dodge, trailer, tractor and 8 y/o down the road while he began to back off an unsupported equipment trailer and levered up the truck's rear end (ball didn't pop off). He had the piece of mind to quickly drive forward and re-plant the Dodge's back wheels after a short ride. He had done the same routine many times without his son around, in many different places. That time everything was set up right to create his moment. He since downsized the tractor and upsized the trailer and truck... this time the trailer has bracing on the ramps to prevent levering.

 

[PHPaul]

It's all good until your on an incline and your rear tires get lifted off the ground leaving you with no breaking and you and the tractor go on a ride with a truck and trailer with no driver.

This is called trailer surfing. It's being considered for the Redneck Olympics. :laughing:

I put these on the back of my tractor-hauling trailer for just that reason. Little harder to forget...

 

[Cord]

I borrowed a trailer and was loading a piece of equipment on it without supporting the tail. I was told to use the wrong ball size and it popped off. When the hitch came off it hit the tailgate, destroying it. I have since purchased that same trailer and added a pair of trailer jacks to either corner. Initially I used some 5,000lb jacks, but had to change them out when they collapsed. I was trying to load a skid steer onto the trailer without the trailer being attached to a vehicle. The right jack sank into the gravel and the tongue swung slightly putting a lot of side load on the jack. Both jacks then collapsed leaving the tongue up on the air. I then changed them out to some 4" tube jacks and havn't had a problem since.

edit- the jacks that I initially used, and had collapse on me, were the ones linked in post #12

 

[mikesee]

Good habits are imperative for trailer loading and unloading. Being able to load and unload the machine with a minimum of force on the tow vehicle is the key. In a perfect world the tow vehicle would not move an inch in any direction, up down forward or back. I have seen people place a block of wood inter the trailer to reduce negative tongue pressure. Have a set of chocks and don't be afraid to use them.

If you bounce the tow vehicle around enough eventually something going to give, expect it.