Welcome Visitor! Please take a few seconds and 
- Joined
- May 15, 2020
- Messages
- 4,062
- Age
- 70
- City
- Atlanta
- State - Country
- GA - USA
- Other
- Manufacturers factory tour, maybe big dealership tour
- Vehicle Year
- 1997 1987
- Engine
- 4.0 V6
- Transmission
- Manual
- Total Lift
- 97 stock, 3” on 87
- Total Drop
- N/A
- Tire Size
- 235/75-15
- My credo
- Never put off ‘til tomorrow what you can put off indefinitely
TOWING SAFETY:
I found this, and I thought it was worth posting for everybody. It’s a good reinforcement for the guys who already know, and it’s a very important wake up to anybody who doesn’t know. If there’s a better spot to post it for everybody, please let me know, and I’ll move it, or move it for me.
This little video is a great little snapshot of what happens if you don’t have your trailer loaded properly. I’ve always gone by the rule that 60% of the weight should be in front of the axle, or the center point of multiple axles (20% on the tongue). It’s actually very easy to check if you have a little common sense. Literally pick up on the tongue of the trailer and guesstimate the weight, and then pick up on the back of the trailer. Even if you have to do this with a 2 x 4 as a lever, you should be able to tell that the tongue is noticeably heavier than the tail.
One thing I really don’t like about this video, is the way the models are mounted on the treadmill: the center of the front of the vehicle is the attachment point for the experiment. In real life, the nose of the tow vehicle would be flipping around just about as much as the back of the vehicle and the trailer, and it would go out of control much more quickly, much more tragically.
Let me also throw another thought out there before somebody comes crashing down on me about my crazy trailer designs. On most trailers, the axle, or the center point of multiple axles, is basically the pivot point of a seesaw like when we were kids. The crazy stuff I build, I usually have the axle(s) set further back. With the axles further back, like a tractor trailer, tracking is not really an issue. The issue would be tongue weight. When I build my crazy trailers, I also make sure the truck I pull them with can handle the resulting tongue weight.
When I was very young, I had a little tiny trailer loaded with firewood, pulling it behind a Pinto squire station wagon (I loved that thing). It was loaded wrong, and it went into a sway like this as I was going down a hill. I realized after the first couple wiggles, that it was only going to get worse, and I just locked it up. The Lord was looking out for me, because I dumped a little firewood, but actually didn’t damage anything.
I’ve seen the aftermath of this several times in person, not pretty, and a couple of the guys working for me over the years had accidents like this.
I know I sound like a preacher all the time, but I do believe this is one of the things that should be preached, not just referred to. It’s such an easily avoidable tragedy.
I found this, and I thought it was worth posting for everybody. It’s a good reinforcement for the guys who already know, and it’s a very important wake up to anybody who doesn’t know. If there’s a better spot to post it for everybody, please let me know, and I’ll move it, or move it for me.
This little video is a great little snapshot of what happens if you don’t have your trailer loaded properly. I’ve always gone by the rule that 60% of the weight should be in front of the axle, or the center point of multiple axles (20% on the tongue). It’s actually very easy to check if you have a little common sense. Literally pick up on the tongue of the trailer and guesstimate the weight, and then pick up on the back of the trailer. Even if you have to do this with a 2 x 4 as a lever, you should be able to tell that the tongue is noticeably heavier than the tail.
One thing I really don’t like about this video, is the way the models are mounted on the treadmill: the center of the front of the vehicle is the attachment point for the experiment. In real life, the nose of the tow vehicle would be flipping around just about as much as the back of the vehicle and the trailer, and it would go out of control much more quickly, much more tragically.
Let me also throw another thought out there before somebody comes crashing down on me about my crazy trailer designs. On most trailers, the axle, or the center point of multiple axles, is basically the pivot point of a seesaw like when we were kids. The crazy stuff I build, I usually have the axle(s) set further back. With the axles further back, like a tractor trailer, tracking is not really an issue. The issue would be tongue weight. When I build my crazy trailers, I also make sure the truck I pull them with can handle the resulting tongue weight.
When I was very young, I had a little tiny trailer loaded with firewood, pulling it behind a Pinto squire station wagon (I loved that thing). It was loaded wrong, and it went into a sway like this as I was going down a hill. I realized after the first couple wiggles, that it was only going to get worse, and I just locked it up. The Lord was looking out for me, because I dumped a little firewood, but actually didn’t damage anything.
I’ve seen the aftermath of this several times in person, not pretty, and a couple of the guys working for me over the years had accidents like this.
I know I sound like a preacher all the time, but I do believe this is one of the things that should be preached, not just referred to. It’s such an easily avoidable tragedy.
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