Royce is right on.
The most critical thing I have found from experience is to make sure you have at least 10% of the trailer weight on the hitch, more if your tow vehicle can stand it. The real limit on a
bumper pull setup without equalizer bars is that the front end of the tow vehicle becomes light and the tow vehicle can become unstable and tend to fish tail. (Ussually at a very
bad time)
I once pulled my tandem axle trailer (about 2500 lbs) with my Chevy 3/4 ton van (about 5000 lbs) and then loaded a 1 ton dually truck onto the tandem trailer (about 6000 lbs). The
load on the trailer was placed is such a way that about 500 lbs was on the tongue. (Not nearly enough) While towing this trailer down a slight hill (this always seems to be the
condition where this is worse) the trailer started fishtailing and I thought I was going to loose total control of the rig. I was all over the road! You only need to do that once to get a
feel for how out of control a trailer-tow vehicle can get. It was scary as hell. Equalizer bars on the trailer would have allowed for more tongue weight and keep the front end on the
ground.
In contrast, I once towed a 6000 lb 30 ft Dual Tandem axle gooseneck trailer with my one ton dually truck loaded with my M51 (weight 23,000 lbs) It was perfectly stabile for 500
miles of towing. I wished that my truck had about 200 more hp, but it worked.
What I've seen recently are a lot of construction guys hauling backhoes (about 18,000 lbs) on bumper tow tandem dually trailers pulled by pickup trucks. These guys are totally
nuts! If you see on of those setups on the road, get out of the way! Those tandem dually bumper pull trailers are meant to be towed with at least a single axle 2 ton dump truck,
not a pickup truck!
Dave
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
1/14/02 3:13:35 PM, Royce C Hayes <rc_hayes1@juno.com> wrote:
>AT LAST! A subject that I'm an Expert on.
>
>I have been in the RV and hitch business for the last 21 years, so, I
>feel I am some what of an expert on the subject of towing.
>
>First, your truck was made for towing. In Texas, more than half of the
>1500 Tahoes come from the factory ready to tow.
>Second, you should not pull a trailer in OD (Over Drive to those on the
>list that only think in Olive Drab). I also recommend an aux. tranny
>cooler if your truck is not equipped with one. I do not see any reason
>that you could not pull a trailer up to about 5,000 lbs. You will need a
>minimum of a Class III frame mounted hitch rated to about 8,000 lbs.
>
>Rules for towing: Obviously you want the ball and coupler to be
>compatible. (or what ever method you use to connect the truck to the
>trailer.) You want to have 10 -15% of the weight of the trailer on the
>tongue. (weigh with scales.) You want to have the trailer level. I
>recommend trailer brakes, preferable electric, on trailers over 2,000
>lbs.
>and of course proper lighting and safety chains. I also recommend using
>an Equalizer hitch and sway control for towing heavier loads, such as
>cars, trucks, tractors, etc. on the trailer.
>
>I have towed trailers of all types with all types of tire combos and can
>tell zero difference in the way they tow, providing you follow the above
>recommendations.
>
>I hope this helps you.
>
>Royce
>======================================
>On Mon, 14 Jan 2002 12:18:56 -0500 "Gray, Chris" <Chris.Gray@fmr.com>
>writes:
>> HI All....
>>
>> Got a question on an M101A1 trailer... I've seen people pull them
>> with M37
>> and I assume M1008's (and such).... I have a 2001 Chevy Tahoe...
>> I'm
>> looking to use this trailer with it for some work, its in
>> restoration now,
>> but I have heard, talking to people that it shouldn't be pulled with
>> my
>> truck....
>>
>> I know the weight is OK... Is there something I'm missing here...
>> I can't
>> see anything wrong with it and I assume it will be fine... Anyone
>> have any
>> bad experiences...? I pull my M416 just fine...
>>
>> Has anyone pulled anything bigger than 3/4 ton without additional
>> brakes??
>>
>> Thanks
>> Chris
>>
>>
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Wed Feb 06 2002 - 11:49:27 PST