First time "pulling", need some newb advice (car hauler)
I searched and was unable to locate the answers I am looking for. I recently picked up a 95 F-250 and 16 ft. (14ft. w/ 2ft. dove tail) trailer to pull my Wrangler to and from the mountains. The truck is equipped with a Tekonsha Voyager controller and the trailer has brakes on both axles so I feel pretty good there. My main concern resides around tongue weight. How far do I need to pull the Jeep on the trailer in order to get proper weight? I am estimating that the combined Jeep and trailer weight is about 6600 lbs. (1600 trailer, 5000 Jeep) so how much weight do I want on the truck? Any help would be greatly appreciated since I am trying to be as safe as possible with my two little ones in the back seat.
You should have about 10% tongue weight,so about 660 lbs. As far as how far up to pull the jeep will be trial and error unless you have a scale to work with.
How far do I need to pull the Jeep on the trailer in order to get proper weight? I am estimating that the combined Jeep and trailer weight is about 6600 lbs.
The only way to know for sure is to use a truck scale at a truckstop.
Fill the pickup with your normal stuff, and fill up with fuel. Load the Jeep on the trailer, along with whatever you usually have in the Jeep and on the trailer. Then go to a truckstop that has a certified automated truck (CAT) scale. The CAT scale will have at least three "pads" - one for the pickup front axle, another for the pickup rear axle, and the third for the trailer axles.
Weigh the truck without the trailer, then weigh the truck with the trailer. Before you weigh the truck with the trailer, load the Jeep on the trailer about in your best guess of where it should be tied down. Most CAT scales will give you the reweigh free if you pay for one weighing.
With those two scale tickets, you'll know the weight of the truck without the trailer, and you'll know the weight on the truck's two axles with the trailer, plus you'll know the weight on the trailer axles.
Total the pickups two axle weights to get the truck gross vehicle weight.
Subtract the weight of the pickup's two axles without the trailer from the weight of the pickup's two axles with the trailer. The difference is hitch weight.
Add the hitch weight to the trailer axles weight to get the gross weight on the trailer.
Divide the hitch weight by the gross weight of the trailer to get the percentage of hitch weight. Ideal is 11 to 12 percent. Minimum is 10 percent, and max is about 14 percent.
So for a gross trailer weight of 6,600 pounds, your goal is about 725 to 792 pounds of hitch weight. 700 to 800 is okay.
If your gross trailer weight is 6,600, and if you don't have between about 700 to 800 pounds of hitch weight, then move the Jeep on the trailer, and weigh the rig again until you nail it to about 11 to 12 percent hitch weight.
Most CAT scales charge $10 to $12, including a "free" reweighing. So count on spending $20 to $24 for the 3 or 4 trips across the scale you'll probably need to nail it.
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I am trying to be as safe as possible with my two little ones in the back seat.
Then be certain you use a weight-distributing hitch with sway control. Sway is the killer, and it's extremely easy to have a trailer go into an uncontrollable sway if you don't have good sway control. Any trailer that grosses more than about 5,000 pounds should have a weight-distributing hitch. And if I'm going to tow it, it will have a Hensley Arrow or ProPride hitch. Hensley Arrow - Trailer Towing Safety ProPride, Inc. Trailer Hitch - The Next Generation in Trailer Sway Elimination
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My Sierra Blanca is a '99.5 PSD CrewCab hot-rod Towing Machine! BTS tranny; TurboRamAir intake and 4" stainless turbo-back exhaust; DP-Tuner tunes flashed into an Edge Evolution tuner; ISSPRO EV gauges and TTM; AIC; SP-Diesel exhaust brake and torque converter controller. I special-ordered it new and plan to drive it until it quits.
Last edited by SmokeyWren : 03-06-2008 at 09:11 AM.
Reason: typo
Thank you VERY much for taking the time to write up such a detailed explanation! Armed with your knowledge I feel much more comfortable preparing for a long, SAFE, season of pulling. My hat is off to you sir!
When hauling my Willys or Ford tractor on my 16' trailer I pull it forward to the point the rear bumper lowers about 4". Too far forward and the steering will be light, too far to the rear the trailer can steer the rear of the truck. Smokey has it nailed, but the 4" rule of thumb will get you to the scales to find out.
Ok, I have an 18' dove tail trailer that I tow my 4600 lb. '98 TJ on. I load with the rear axle center of the jeep just behind the rear axle of the trailer. An inch or two either way will more than likely give you a good balance. If the trailer bounces the truck up and down to much for your liking pull it forward a litle more. Hope this helps.
As an added bonus after speaking with my father today he said that he still has his old weight distribution set up from years ago when they had a 32ft. travel trailer that I can have for FREE. That is awesome because the ones I was looking were around 250ish. Now I can take that money and roll it into a chip.
One fly in the ointment may be that your "car hauler" trailer has surge brakes instead of electric brakes. Most "U-Haul" car hauler trailers have surge brakes. But most weight-distributing hitches won't work with most surge brake applications.
So I hope your trailer has electric brakes. Otherwise you'll have to search for a weight-distribution hitch that will work with your surge brakes. Very few will.
Very good point but the one I am picking up tomorrow is a a double axle, 7k, with electric brakes on BOTH axles. I think that combined with the weight distribution hitch should provide for a very stable ride.
I use the "tape measure" method described above. Lacking scales, one way you can do this is by adding the appropriate number of fat friends to the tailgate and measure the bumper drop compared to empty. Three redneck texans equals approximately 750lbs.
My other $0.02 when towing in the mountains - take those downhill runs slow and safe! With a trailer behind, things can get hairy very fast. On the steepest runs, I'll gear WAY down and crawl down the hill nice and slow. If you find yourself riding the brakes the whole way, you may overheat 'em and get to practice some high speed curves!
I use the "tape measure" method described above. Lacking scales, one way you can do this is by adding the appropriate number of fat friends to the tailgate and measure the bumper drop compared to empty. Three redneck texans equals approximately 750lbs.
My other $0.02 when towing in the mountains - take those downhill runs slow and safe! With a trailer behind, things can get hairy very fast. On the steepest runs, I'll gear WAY down and crawl down the hill nice and slow. If you find yourself riding the brakes the whole way, you may overheat 'em and get to practice some high speed curves!
I am most likely going to do the "fat friend" method for now as well just because I don't know of any scales near me. With me, my pop, and my brother in law we are at 740 so that should get me real close. As far as the down hill speed, believe me I will be watching that like a hawk. I see those gravel off shoots at the bottoms of the hills and I DO NOT intend on using them! Thanks again for the great feedback fellas.
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My Sierra Blanca is a '99.5 PSD CrewCab hot-rod Towing Machine! BTS tranny; TurboRamAir intake and 4" stainless turbo-back exhaust; DP-Tuner tunes flashed into an Edge Evolution tuner; ISSPRO EV gauges and TTM; AIC; SP-Diesel exhaust brake and torque converter controller. I special-ordered it new and plan to drive it until it quits.
Any place that sells sand or gravel, or anything else in bulk will have a scale. Lots of large trucking terminals and distribution warehouses have scales also. May take a little talking to get into some of them but they're out there. A lot of the mfg. plants I've worked at have had scales too. Any large grain terminals or feed mills around?
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Denny
'96 F-250 Reg. Cab 4X4 5-sp POWERSTROKE
294,000 mi & NO Problems, LUK Clutch, and the Cat is buried in the back yard!
Wow, I feel like a moron. There are two CAT scales...............in my town. I never knew since I don't drive a truck or ever had a use for one. I picked up the trailer this past Saturday and pulling it empty you forget it's there. Once I put the Jeep on you could tell you were pulling something though! I live in a pretty hilly area and I was amazed at how well it pulled. I can honestly say this truck will have no issue doing what I need it to do. One disappointing note was that my Pop's weight distribution set up he gave me did not adjust low enough for my truck (he had it on a 1500 Chevy). I had to order the 8" drop shank for the Reese set-up and it ended up being $125.00 to my door. Now it's not "free", just a lot cheaper than buying the whole thing new. My gauges are supposed to be here by the end of the week so I can keep an eye on my EGTs and transmission temps. while pulling. I didn't want to drop the coin on them but I figure it is a lot cheaper than replacing a burnt turbo or E4OD. Thanks again for all the help guys, I will keep you posted if anything creeps up.
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