I’m not supposed to use my work truck for personal use. So I don’t.
Since I currently don’t have a truck, van or mini-van, work on my own house is a pain. I do, however, have a small (and light) utility trailer.
I’m wondering if it would be a bad idea to get a hitch for our Corolla. I don’t plan on hauling much with it – just things like a few sheets of drywall or whatever at a time. I don’t know how hard it might be on our little car to do that.
I’d like to get a more appropriate vehicle eventually, but while the grass grows the horse starves, right?
Replies
I dont think it wood be aproblem,consult the owners manual for towing capacities.
It might work, but your owners manual should tell you.
There are several companies making Class 1 hitches for Corolla's, so there are enough people buying them to make it worth their effort.
An alternative is a rental truck from Uhaul or any of the similar places. You can pay a lot of $20 daily rental fees, for what it will cost to get a hitch and trailer. And, you don't have to maintain or find long term storage for a rental truck.
Some of the big box stores have rental trucks, that you can get to take home your purchases that don't fit in your car. Used to cost $14.95 for two hours.
seen hitches on Corrollas but the mfgr may be telling ya it's a no go...
http://www.trailerhitches.com/
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WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Usually the boss doesn't want you using company truck for side jobs, working on your own house might be ok, why don't you ask?
"...craftsmanship is first & foremost an expression of the human spirit." - P. Korn
bakersfieldremodel.com
He would might say yes--as long as it was cleaned very well afterwards. And maybe waxed. <duck>
Just out of high school I had a Karmann Ghia. I took off the back bumper and welded some flat bar onto the ends of a 2" square steel tube bumper and bolted to the stock bumper mounts. I added a ball mount and towed a little 4' by 4' trailer all over the place. I used it to haul around a motorcycle, get compost for the garden, take stuff to the dump etc.
I doubt I ever had more than 500 lbs in the trailer and it pulled like a dream.
The only real problem I had was it was so easy to pull I forgot I was towing it one time and when I went to back up I jacknifed it into the side of the car before I remembered it was there.
I also got some Yakima gutter mount roof racks that were great for carrying stuff to long to fit in the car.
I think your idea sounds fine as long as you are using the trailer to carry bulky lightweight stuff. If you try to haul any weight you are asking for trouble.
Karl
"I doubt I ever had more than 500 lbs in the trailer and it pulled like a dream."But how well did it stop?The problem with inexperienced trailer people is that they forget it is there and that extra loads mean longer stopping distances, esp with the smaller cars that barely have adequate brakes as it is. Then one needs to consider if this is in hilly or mountainous areas where a lot of extra work goes on the drive train.I lived in the mountains in CO and regularly saw accidents or cars with boiling radiators, or smoking brakes and trannies when people put a trailer on a small car. It can really ruin a family vacation.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I've seen bad accidents with mini vans pulling trailers. The van had the ability to pull the trailer fine, but if it started to sway a little, it would push the van around. The smaller vehicle just didn't have the weight and the wheelbase needed.
I've seen similar with big pickups. With most trailer rigs there's a speed threshold, and when you pass it the rig becomes unstable. Going too fast (and driving like an idiot) is the problem, more than the trailer per se.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith
Out here on the Plains, people passing through like to go fast. Things go bad fast at 75-80 mph.
Yep, even without a trailer most vehicles get unstable above about 80. And a trailer knocks down the stability threshold by 10-20 mph.I've seen guys with big PUs towing large fishing boats and just about lose it, doing 75-80 -- the trailer starts weaving and may even get up on one tire. One truck was in and out of the median a couple of times.Have seen the aftermath of a PU towing a travel trailer at least twice that I can remember -- appeared to be the same scenario.(Weirdest accident I ever did see though had about a dozen completely flattened cars strewn in the median. Couldn't figure out what happened until I next passed the (now empty) flatbed semi & saw a couple of cops standing there laughing their heads off.)
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith
I was coming down I-70 once west of Denver by Evergreen. You get some wicked cross winds there, and the long down stretch means most folks are running about 80MPH, even in the fog.So there was a van towing an Airstream ( one really fine rig to tow, BTW, but when it got caught in the cross fire, that tail was wagging across all three lanes. I thought sure I'd see a roll over and jack knife, but he managed to hold it in and get it back again!
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
"I've seen guys with big PUs towing large fishing boats and just about lose it, doing 75-80 -- the trailer starts weaving and may even get up on one tire. One truck was in and out of the median a couple of times."I used to volunteer as an EMT. We are allowed to go 10 mph over the speed limit which would be 80 on the interstate. I was pushing it a little at a 85.A guy with a wife and three kids in a SUV with a boat behind passes me doing at least 10 mph faster than me. Unbelievable.
i once had one of those front whell drive GMC motorhomes... had a 455 olds frontwheel drive set up under it ...
drove from memphis to daytona pull'n a long car trailer with a car and several motorcycles on it... stayed over 100mph for most of the trip... that was the fastest RV i ever owned... dead solid ride pulled like a champ.... some stuff is safer at 100 than others are at 50.... all depends what it is.... my diesel rig will hit maybe 110 on a long downhill...
p
I've always wondered when I've been passed by someone apparently going long distances at a high rate of speed how many tickets they got on their trip.If I tried to go from Memphis to Daytona at 100 mph, I'd run out of money because of fines before I went 50 miles. A cop told me he had ticketed a woman for 95 in a 70mph zone. She was quite insistent that he couldn't ticket her because she already got one for 90 just forty miles ago. :)
once..... i was in destin fl and had to "run over to deland.../daytona" to drop off a car.... i was going to spend the nite in deland but i'd met a girl in destin so i wanted to get back... i think i was 17... i had my older brother follow me over in my truck while i dropped off the MG... he slept the whole way back but woke up while i was getting a ticket... i just handed it to him and told him to put it in the glove box with the others he'd slept through.... think i got zero on the way to daytona... and 7 on the way back...
but she was a pretty, tall, slim, dark haired girl with big brown eyes in a condo with 7 other girls and i was invited to spend the nite....
the tickets come up as a story .... as the most i've ever got in one day.... but the memory is of the dark eyed girl :)
:)
LOL. Great story.
Strangest accident I have seen was in eastern Washington.There is along stretch there that is about as flat as Idaho.Every once in a while, you come across what I can only describe as a "pimple". A large hill. Almost perfectly round. Maybe 150 feet tall, and 300 feet across.At least two of those are disected by the road.One has the highway, going through one way, and another road straight across the highway. With the intersection in the center of this hill.One other thing they have in that area is very high winds.That last timeI came through there, the winds were VERY high.Someone ahead of me was pulling a long travel trailer.They were obviously having a hard time keeping it on the road, but were still going over the speed limit.When they went through the 'cut' in that hillside, they had to compensate for the sudden lack of wind. Bad enough.But when they went through that intersection, the truck was blown a bit sideways, but the trailer literally exploded.There was debris everywhere. It was like the trailer had had a lit stick of dynamite tossed inside.....You are always welcome at Quittintime
Yah but Western Nebraska is more boring so they go faster there.....
LOL. Surely there isn't anyplace people complain about driving through more than W. KS.
Look at a map, western Nebraska goes farther west than Kansas and......
Many,many,many more stockyards to smell on the way....
Whereabouts West are Yah, I'm in O.P.
Lefty-Nebraska is way more boring....
I'm not too far from the Colo. border. I know some people in O.P. I haven't been back there in some time. I kinda liked it there. Seemed more like a bunch of small towns hooked together rather than a big city. Probably grown in the past few years.
Didn't you get the memo? Everyone in Western Kansas is supposed to hate O.P. and Johnson County.......
O.P. is called Beigeville these days, that's all the city wants to see. I've lived here since 1971 and it has grown some....like to the third biggest city is Kansas. Watch out Topeka!
My inlaws live in Russell so I've been out your way more than a few times. 'Course in Russell you drive to Hays or DEnver for fun :o)
And I thought everybody in E.Ks thought Ks. only went as far west as Salina! :)
You were misinformed, in Johnson County, Kansas only goes as far west as Lawrence....as in Snob Hill....
LOL
Good point thereHow a trailer is designed and how it is loaded has an awful lot to do with how much it weaves and waves, and at what speed. load should be slightly ahead of the axle and centered.A unbalanced load tot he side, esp if behind the axle can make the rig start sashaying at only 25MPH
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Yep, and a load that is excessively tongue-heavy can raise the front end of the car and make it very unstable as well.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith
CraigF
It's not weight or wheel base. It's the load and the trailer itself.. is it properly aligned, tires properly inflated? etc..
I pulled heavy tandem trailers all over the country using nothing more than a short wheelbase S-10 I'll bet I've got 100,000 towing miles with such a combination..
Of course, a tandem trailer is considerably more stable than a single-axle unit.Lots of factors contribute to towing geometry and subsequent stability -- weights of both pieces, tongue weight, wheelbase, hitch to axle distance (both directions), stance of both towing vehicle and trailer.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith
Please don't attribute the statement of a tandem is more stable than a single axle trailer to me..
For exactly the reasons you listed..
My personal preferance is a single axle trailer which I'll use whenever I can find sufficent weight capaicity with a single axle.. (whole lot easier to move around)
That may be. I'd like to have some serious steel in front of a trailer, though.
well consider semi's for a minute.. the average tractor weighs around 20,000 pounds and carries around 60,000 pouunds it does so for millions of trouble free miles.
The differance is in skill.. simply because you weigh a lot actaully makes the skill demanded higher not lower.. You have greater mass to stop, start, and turn.
Piffin,You offer some good observations that you regularly saw towing accidents and mechanical failures of tow vehicles.I tried to be very clear by stating I had never put more than 500lbs in the trailer and closed my post with the statement,"If you try to haul any weight you are asking for trouble"Karl
Not picking on you.Just reinforcing things - and I am generally aware with my comments here that there is a broader audience than the OP.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Here you go Karl:
I've pulled a trailer with my 2000 Chevy S-10 over 500 miles at a clip. It has a 4 cylinder engine and 5 speed manual tranny. Nobody said stay off the highway, so we got on the interstate. There were a few folks behind us that weren't appreciative of our speed - or lack thereof, but we made it.
Looking back now, I would also check the manufacturer's recommendations. and, make sure you don't exceed 'em.
Don K.
EJG Homes Renovations - New Construction - Rentals
Wife pulls a 4 x 6 enclosed trailer with her Maxima. Very lightly loaded, floor loom, boxes of fabric. Trailer and full load weigh less than 1,000 lbs. No problems at all, but we're in flat land Georgia.Greg
Towing considerations are not as much about the engine and transmission capabilities but about the braking abilities of the vehicle.With a corolla I would be very mindful to resist the temptation to overload it... ever.
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i once pulled a 34ft houseboat with a 1981 datsun kingcab diesel... pulled fine @ 40mph... @41 it started sway'n and pick'n up the rearend of the truck and move'n it a foot or so each way.... weeeeeeeee
i only had to stop maybe 3x in the 50 mile trip to the river but it got it there... even launched it... i use to launch a 21ft boat with the same truck all the time... the trick to get'n it out was a wide ramp power from the boat to get roll'n and zig zag'n up the ramp.... even pulled a bob cat with the same truck... which i still own btw...
p:)
I second the advice to ask privately if U can use it to grab a coupla things on your way home on a fri ... or what ever day. The boss most likely doesn't want you crusing around town ... but might not object to a side trip on the way home.
and if that don't work ... your owners manual will tell you, but I'd guess you are safe.
we almost put a hitch on my wife's PT Cruiser ... if that little piece of #### was tow rated ... I'd think your car will be too.
Jeff
Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
My Dear Ex hauled a 4x7 trailer with maybe 1500 pounds in it halfway across the continent with her Miata and, far as I know, survived. I pulled the whole drivetrain of my Jeep, at least 2500 pounds, with the same rig. It wasn't much fun, but I got there. As long as you pay attention and don't venture into heavy traffic you'll probably be OK. Just remember that those light trailers generally have no brakes.
}}}}
i'd do it and not even think about it... what i would do is build a nice little rack like a ladder rack for your small trailer so that you can haul 12ft material...
I've hauled alot more with less... many bikers pull 2-300lb traliers with motorcycles... 1000lb with your car for short trips would be nothing... thats less strain on the car than 4 fat folks in it
p
Ponytl, the bikes probably have as big, if not bigger motors, than the Corolla. Plus, most of those bike trailers I've seen had surge brakes.
thats less strain on the car than 4 fat folks in it
Lotta people don't think of it that way but it's true.
"If you have enough energy you can solve a lot of other problems." - Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway.
We have an abundant supply of domestic natural gas. Let's get busy solving problems.
Toyota products don't pull trailers real well unless they're very very clean inside and out. Not on company time, though ;)
Get yourself a golf cart trailer - 4'6" x 9' deck, maybe tilting, or not. Expanded metal deck or plywood on a cheapie. You can put some stake pockets on it and install a rack or sides. Probably a 2000 lb axle which would be about as much as your car would be happy with anyway. Do a little extra tweaking on it and install a longer tongue and you can haul 16' stuff in the middle of it with legal overhangs in behind.
j
Some years ago I used to tie several 40' ladders and planks to the top of my Celica. But then, I also painted the car with house paint and a roller. I wasn't too concerned about putting that ol' car to the test, but it passed every time.
Put 'er in low gear and drive like an old lady on sunday morning.
~ Ted W ~
Cheap Tools! - MyToolbox.net
See my work at TedsCarpentry.com
I remember our old (93) Corolla, it had mounting bolt holes for a hitch. Wife just sold the 03 that replaced it, I can't tell you if it has built in holes.
I have an 05 Outback, I have a trailer modified for my canoe. It's one of those little utility trailers about 3x3 ft box on it from Crappy Tire that a friend picked up at a yard sale. I put a 6 ft extension on the tongue, so I can put our 17 ft canoe on it. Works like a dream.
I expect that your Corolla can handle it - in fact, I see you can buy a bolt on hitch, so it must have the mounting holes. The 03 to 09 Corollas do. It took me about 30 min to install mine on the Outback. I bought it online - hitches on line dot com or some such.
When I was in early years of high school my family owned several Nash Metropolitans.
Dad built a trailer that would hold 4 16-18' canoes for it.
Trailered that rig all over Ohio on weekends for summer expicitions. Car was shorter and lower than the trailered canoes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nash_Metropolitan
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
Considering you already own the trailer, go for it.
Just keep the weight down and plan ahead for stops (braking).
It might be more economical to spend the $20 at the big box and use their truck, so keep that in mind.
It might be more economical to spend the $20 at the big box and use their truck, so keep that in mind.
Now there's a thought!
View Image"...craftsmanship is first & foremost an expression of the human spirit." - P. Korn
bakersfieldremodel.com
Accidents begin at Lowes. Come wreck something with us.....You are always welcome at Quittintime
I read that post ten minutes ago and am still laughing. Had to come back and let you know.
I pull trailers every day . Any thing will pull 1000 lbs . A motorcycle will do that .
I wouldnt however put over 1000 lbs behind a corollas breaks and weight .
You are probably not talking about 1000 lbs unless you get stupid . You can figgure in more trips or rent the truck at Lowes. 1000 lbs is quite a bit unless you are talking about concrete or drywall etc.
I would build a rack on the trailer which would make the rack higher than the car . Handy if you want to haul home a 16 ft piece of somthing.
Your warranty will void if you have one it will tell you but your dealership wont as they like taking money . In other words who is gonna void the warranty from whos information? Its kinda like taking the stiker off the back of the couch.
Tim
Biff,
I "discovered" utility trailers after I sold my last full sized pick up and bought a commuter car for union carpentry work, an '84 Honda Civic hatchback with a 1300cc engine and a four speed stick.
I wanted to haul my motorcycle to weekend races, beginning in '85, so I started looking for an after market hitch.
Sure enough, there were several manufacturers who had designed hitches, all of which mounted to the underbody (not the frame) of the car's spare tire well.
I first looked for a trailer that would work with the height of the installed hitch, then bought both items plus a wiring kit and got them together over a weekend.
I hauled a 550lb motorcycle on that trailer often, going for hours at highway speeds, with no problems. The little Honda engine pulled well and never overheated. The front disc brakes worked fine too. Of course the combined loads were under the weight limit of the vehicle.
I also used that trailer for occasional heavier loads over shorter distances at lower speeds. I recall one load of firewood that must have weighed 1000-1500 lbs, at or over the stated weight limit for the trailer and hitch.
Since those trips I've become a big fan of utility trailers, particularly the folding type. The one I've had for the last ten years is a 4X8 which is parked inside the garage, folded up against the wall in front of my Toyota pickup.
It takes up less than one foot of space there, ready to haul anything that comes up with only a couple of minutes time to unfold it and hook it up. The annual registration is almost nothing and of course there's no insurance required because it's covered under the truck's policy.
The only trick to using utility trailers with small cars/trucks is to balance the load so that the weight on the trailer's tongue is minimal. That makes the car handle normally and keeps the trailer tracking along perfectly behind. I often forgot that I was pulling a trailer with my little Honda Civic.
One other advantage of utility trailers is the bed height, less than one foot off the road. Makes it easy to load a motorcycle or other heavy item.
Edit: Forgot to mention that short trailers are a bear to back up, particularly with a short wheel based car, like my Civic. My remedy was to always look for ways to avoid backing up when parking or turning around. Otherwise, if the tongue is lightly loaded, you can unhook the trailer and move the two vehicles separately, to get them going the same way again.
Edited 5/14/2009 3:43 pm by Hudson Valley Carpenter
Ive always thought that everyone that doesnt own a trailer per say should own one of those folding trailers at least . It should come along right after puberty. <G>
Theres so much to be said about trailers and so little space , the foldable trailer is as handy as light bread.
I have 8 different trailers and no I dont want to sell one as I always tell my wife . All of them do different things . I pull them with a truck so I might be a little biased over trailers.
Tim
Yeah, I have a cheap foldable. I hate the thing for a couple of reasons:1) It's a beast to fold and unfold and stand on end or take down. As I get older the thing gets heavier and heavier. (I'm tempted to take off the 3/4" plywood and replace it with 3/8".)2) Because I have it my wife knows I can haul yard waste to the dump. Which I have to do several times a year, usually on the most miserable day of the month.But I don't know how people get along without one.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith
That's funny on several levels....
Well, today was the day to haul yard waste. It was leaves, so had to go across town to the composting site, about 15 miles one way. Load wasn't all that well secured (tarp over it, but not much to hold down the tarp), so I took the back roads, and generally stayed below 45.Pulled into the site and the guy that pulled in behind me asked me if I had leaves -- seems he needed some for mulch in his garden. So all but two bags went off of my trailer and onto his. (He should have called and I'd have delivered directly to his yard.)BTW, why is it a law that you always have to spend 15 minutes futzing with the lights to get at least one taillight working?
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith
It should come along right after puberty
Here's ya go!
http://www.bicycletrailers.com/Croozer-Travel-Trailer.pro?source=pricegrabber&kw=102157DARKBRN09&zmam=6024774&zmas=5&zmac=58&zmap=102157DARKBRN09
Thats more than a lot of people have got .
Actually it would make a shetland pony cart. Needs side tounges is all. Feller could haul a lot off a steep hill side with it and a pony. A little mule or donkey and youve got a real power wagon.
Theres not a trailer out there I dont love.
View Image
Edited 5/14/2009 6:51 pm by Mooney
Edited 5/14/2009 6:52 pm by Mooney
Something worth knowing and remembering about utility trailers: Replacement wheels, complete with tires and wheel bearings are available in two or three sizes from many auto parts stores, at decent prices too.
Another worthwhile idea is to carry an inner tube for the size tire on your trailer. Almost all trailer tires are mounted tubeless. Being quite small usually makes them difficult to refill with air if the bead/seal gets broken before/during/after plugging a nail hole.
I discovered this problem in a remote part of Oregon. I had a plug kit with me and a small 12V compressor too but I couldn't get the tire's bead to seal again.
Fortunately I was able to leave my trailer and motorcycle safely with a local family and drive back to the nearest large town, about thirty miles away, where I found wheels with tires and bearings at the farm supply store. I learned that they were also available nationwide at NAPA auto stores and other national auto franchises.
I bought both a wheel/tire/bearing and a tube so that I would be sure to solve the problem and also have a spare.
Edited 5/14/2009 8:54 pm by Hudson Valley Carpenter
If you ever have that problem again. (not being able to get the bead to seal) try this trick. wrap a rope or belt or something around the center of the tread and take a stick and tighten up like a tourniquet forces the bead out and air pressure does the rest.. if the tire is really hard smear some dish soap or liquid hand soap onto the rim that not only lets the rubber slide easier it also provides a little seal help.
Good tip Frenchy. I've tried that but those little tires are 6ply or heavier, bias belted, very stiff.
It can be done with two people, one holding down the wheel and working the air nozzle while the other tightens the tourniquet, but I wasn't successful by myself.
Simpler to stuff a tube in there and carry a patch kit. Carrying a spare wheel/tire is even easier.
Edited 5/15/2009 12:10 pm by Hudson Valley Carpenter
Yeh I've wrestled with really wide rims and somewhat too small of a tire (there are reasons to do just that) and it works better if you have one of those racheting cargo straps.
small tough tires I've been able to get to seal by carefully rolling them back and forth it's like there is a magic formula where the weight of the tire and rim exactly match the need to spread out the bead. Like I said lube really helps here.. I've used waterless hand cream, liquid detergent, and in one desperate case motor oil. ( don't leave it on because it isn't good for the rubber)
Then of course there's the starting fluid and match approach. Though a few people have lost parts of their heads doing that.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith
So you've seen that video too, the off-road guys? Pretty impressive but I wouldn't try it.
Never seen a video of it. But I've seen it done, live.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith
How did you know the bearing size?
How did you know the bearing size?
It's according to the axle diameter but I believe that all bearings and races which are made for utility trailers and other small trailers are universal sizes, according to the wheel size.
For example, you can buy the same replacement wheel/tire/bearing set-up from boating supply places. You'll just pay about double what it would run in an auto parts store or farm supply.
Another BTW: You can buy the bearings and races separately but they cost almost as much as a whole new wheel/tire/bearing.
PS to the BTW: I learned this the hard way, of course. But I met some nice people and had some fun around Gallup, NM so it was a good lesson and a better experience, all around.
Edited 5/15/2009 12:27 pm by Hudson Valley Carpenter
There are only one or two standard bearings for small trailers. You can do pretty good just guessing.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith
"I have 8 different trailers and no I dont want to sell one as I always tell my wife . All of them do different things . "
That's right up there with Junkhound's 16 sheds. Well done!!
DO NOT BALANCE THE WEIGHT ON THE TRAILER!!!!! ALWAYS LOAD FOR AT LEAST TEN PERCENT TONGUE WEIGHT!!!!Balancing the trailer to minimize the weight on the tongue is a major cause of accidents when towing. You need at least ten percent of the trailer weight on the hitch, in order to be sure there is enough leverage to resist polar moment. With out the ten per cent on the tongue, things can suddenly get really weird if you hit bumps, or need to stop quickly. The scariest loads you can tow are ones that are balanced. They are the ones that want to lift up the back of the tow vehicle, and toss it around. There is a reason the load ratings for hitches are written how they are, i.e. 2500-lb gross, 250-lb tongue.
Yep, just follow the manufacturer's recommendation. That results in a minimal load on the tongue of a small utility trailer, less than 100lbs. I like to balance my loads so that there's about 50lbs on the hitch. It's common sense for most people. Doesn't take a headline to figure it out.
Common sense doesn't always work. You want the center of gravity of the trailer as far forward of the axles as you can without exceeding the tongue load rating. You also want it as low as you can get it. That is where it tows the most stable. To paraphrase one of the guys tag lines: "Physics is Physics"
As I said, on a small utility trailer I aim for about 50lbs on the hitch. That keeps the rear suspension on the tow vehicle working correctly. It also allows me to unhook the trailer and set the tongue down single handed, without unloading anything, if and when that becomes necessary.
I've pulled motorcycles on trailers balanced like that, all over the U.S. at highway speeds with zero towing problems.
Even I can lift a 150-lb tongue. 50 pounds is too light, unless it's a light trailer load to begin with.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith
50 pounds is too light, unless it's a light trailer load to begin with.
Of course it's a light trailer load. Note the title of the thread.
I've been writing here about a folding utility trailer that I mainly use to haul a motorcyle. Fifty pounds works very nicely. I've pulled trailers loaded in that way for 7,000+miles, over the last twenty-five years. Never had any towing problems.
I wont argue that 50 lbs tongue wt. has worked for you, but I think that might get
some people in trouble because they wont realize how much wieght they really have,
Generally what I have heard recommended for tongue wieght is 10% of total trailer
wieght, with 60% in front of the axle and 40% in back.
a 50 lb tongue wt. would suggest a 500 lb total trailer wt. That's pretty light unless
its a very small bike and trailer with no other cargo.
I dont know about Biff's Toyota, but many small cars have a rated towing capacity
of 1000-1500 lbs. That would mean a tongue wt of 100-150 lbs.
I wont argue that 50 lbs tongue wt. has worked for you, but I think that might get
some people in trouble because they wont realize how much wieght they really have,
I'm curious. What kind of trouble do you conceive of someone getting into because their utility trailer's load is balanced lightly on the tongue/hitch?
If nothing else you get a lot of hitch chatter and increase the risk of the trailer bouncing loose.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. -John Kenneth Galbraith
If nothing else you get a lot of hitch chatter and increase the risk of the trailer bouncing loose.
I suppose that would be true for someone who isn't at all mechanically inclined but it's pretty simple to adjust the hitch snug on the ball. Greasing the hitch socket or the ball helps to keep things snug and smooth too.
Ha! - funny story - I just pulled it behind a van yesterday, and it jumped right off on the road. . . I was draggin' it by the safety chains.The receiver had been sitting in the dirt and was packed with mud. Guess I didn't clean it out all that well.Woops.
The stability is determined by a lot of things. Assuming that the trailer is in good mechanical condition, the most critical things are the location of the center of gravity, and the polar moment. The further forward of the axle line the center of gravity is located the more leverage the tires can exert to keep things from moving around. This is reflected in the weight on the tongue. For a given load, the further back you place that load, the lower the tongue weight, but there is a corresponding decrease in the amount of leverage the tires have to keep things stable. Moving the load forward, or axle back, gives more leverage for the tires to keep things stable, and the tongue weight increase correspondingly. Polar moment is the moment generated by the mass of an object caused by the distance of the mass from the center of gravity. Think of a bar bell, loaded up to weigh twenty pounds, and a twenty pound dumb bell. Lift up the bar bell by the center so it is balanced, and start it spinning, and then try to stop it. Then try the same thing with the dumb bell. You will notice that it is far easier to start and stop the dumb bell. That is polar moment. The effect of polar moment on trailer stability is easily seen if you follow, a boat with an outboard down the road. Due to the high polar moment caused by the weight of the motor, they tend to sway around and not trailer well. Now think about the motor boat and the effect of moving the axle towards the back of the trailer. The polar moment of the combined trailer and boat is decreased because the mass of the system is closer to the axle, but the tongue weight has gone up. Now think of the effect of sliding the axle all the way to the back of the trailer, the tires have a lot longer lever arm to keep things stable, but the tongue load has gone way up. This is why tractor trailer rigs are set up the way they are. However, doing this with a light truck or car, has problems because the hitch point is behind the rear axle, so the weight on the front axle is decreased, and control is decreased. This can be negated however through the use of a load balancing hitch, which has a lever spring system to transfer load as moment into the frame of the tow vehicle, through the hitch ball, and thus load forward to the front axle. This can also be done on a truck, by installing a fifth wheel hitch, to put the load from the trailer onto the truck ahead of the front axle, to distribute the load onto the tow vehicle so the weight on the front and rear axles is close to even.
Edited 5/16/2009 1:55 pm ET by Jigs-n-fixtures
ZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz. ;-)
We're talking about a small utility trailer here. A 4X8 flatbed carrying a load of lumber and/or plywood or, like me, a 550lb motorcycle. The design/engineering of the trailer, the placement of it's axle, makes it simple to load properly without a lot of thought.
While I appreciate the scholarly reply and the time it took to compose, it's all sublime overkill to me.
I really like the scholarly reply.I guess I'm a pedant at heart.
I really like the scholarly reply.
I guess I'm a pedant at heart.
A couple of friends of mine came up with a new form of Yoga, a humorous reference to Vedanta Yoga. They call it Pedanta Yoga, "the path for the painfully plodding".
I'm putting you on their mailing list.
I too, like the scholarly reply.
what you said reinforces what I have read and found from experience
like I said, i wont argue that 50 lbs tongue wt has worked for you, but i feel it should
be about 10% of the total wt. Less than that can lead to instability in evasive
manuevers and heavy crosswinds. Your lightly loaded trailer (without sides) may
have been less susceptable to crosswinds and felt fine with 50 lb tongue wt. but a
1500 lb trailer with solid sides could become unstable with that light of a tongue.
Please, I meant no offense to you....my statements are reinforced from my own
experience with many different trailers, large and small (and not all were properly
loaded)
No offense taken. But I've seen many trailers loaded way too heavy on the front end causing serious potential handling and braking problems, not to mention wear on the rear suspension.
That happens when novice trailer owners/drivers get the wrong idea about where to put the weight. "Put all the heavy stuff up front LeRoy. We don't want the hitch to let go."
I believe, from 25+years of experience with utility trailers that a 50lb tongue weight would be fine for any of the loads contemplated by the OP's question.
One reason I stick to that number is because that's a weight that allows me to unhitch the trailer when loaded, move it around, then rehitch it and resume towing, without putting any strain on my lower back.
If we've accomplished anything with this little debate, it has been to make a few people aware of the potential problems that can arise when the trailer isn't loaded with some thought about weight distribution.
LOL, time to define terms - when I talk about balancing a trailer, I mean balancing it in the right place, slightly forward of the axle, but when you use the term, you are saying don't balanced evenly over the axle
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
i HAVE ONLY READ TO HERE BUT i WANT TO WARN YOU ABOUT YOUR INSURANCE.
If you tow your own trailer the insurance may not cover it but if you borrow a trailer it will most likely cover it.
If you are using it for work I would definately insure it as they will deny you.
It cost me less than 20$ per trailer a year and I insure 2 of the 3 .
ANDYSZ2WHY DO I HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY THAT BEING A SOLE PROPRIETOR IS A REAL JOB?
REMODELER/PUNCHOUT SPECIALIST
Andy, Can you be a bit more specific? Are you talking about Liability insurance or Comp/Collision insurance?I bought trailering insurance for my boat trailer for something like an additional ten dollars a year from my boat insurance to cover roadside assistance but was always under the impression that the tow vehicle covered any liabiility concerns.Karl
Thanks Andy,
I'll look at my policy, then talk to my agent if it's not clear what's covered. Knowing how quick insurance companies are to look for ways to avoid paying claims, I expect you're right about commercial use in many cases.
Although if the tow vehicle is registered and insured as a commercial vehicle, it's likely that the trailer would be covered too. I believe that's why all my trailer operations have been covered, because until recently, a pick up could only be registed as a commercial vehicle in NY State.
Anyway, it's been my understanding for many years that personal use is covered, no matter the class of the tow vehicle or what I'm hauling. Like, if the materials are for a project on my own home.
So LOL....there's certainly enough ambiguous stuff in those paragraphs to suggest that some clarification is in order.
Most cars, except the smallest, can handle 1000-1500 pounds of trailer without too much trouble. A lightweight trailer is maybe 500 pounds, so you can haul reasonably 500-1000 pounds of material.
The limiting factors are the suspension, the transmission, and the brakes.
Generally 10-20% of the trailer weight should be on the hitch, meaning that if you can stand on the rear bumper (or some approximation thereof) without making the springs sag (or the front rise) in a worrisome manner then the suspension is probably up to it. Of course, the handling of the vehicle will be affected -- keep this in mind.
For brakes and transmission the issue is really what kind of hills you're going to tackle and how far you're going up/down these hills. A few short trips that slightly overload the brakes and tranny are probably OK, but don't stretch your luck. And if you're dealing with flat and level (and don't jackrabbit too much) then you're likely OK for longer trips.
One thing to beware of is jockeying around when backing the trailer, etc. This is very hard on the tranny (and manual clutch, if you have one). When you jockey the trailer, take your time and stop occasionally (with engine running) to let things cool if you have to do very much.
I did a lot of hauling with my old 1972 Vega, and never had any evidence that it was causing harm. Of course that thing was built like a tank (other than the engine).
Biff, I have a trailer for my 1953 MGTD cute little thing I use to take to the races with me unhook from the MG and then go vintage race the MG, hook the trailer back up and drive back home..
small wire wheel trailer that holds my tent a few spares and camping gear.
MGTD's have 54 horsepower (Ponies with very skinny legs) top speed is about 70 MPH.
So caparitively your Toyota is a muscle car!
Pulling it isn't the biggest concern. You can always just start slower, not go up steep climbs, etc.
The biggest concern is stopping it because you can't anticipate panic stops.
When I have a heavily loaded on a vehicle I go only the speed I can safetly stop.
Let them go around and get impatient. I'm always amazed how cars come up behind me and tailgate when I have a big load on my truck. They are looking right at it in the back of my truck and they just don't get it.
It's like checking out of the grocery store. Do you get behind the person with a huge load of groceries in thier basket?
Will Rogers
Edited 5/15/2009 11:44 am by popawheelie
Anywhere but North America.....truck ownership is the exception rather than the rule.
In Europe all sorts of small cars are used to pull trailers and handle the light chores we often use trucks for.
Look in the owners manual.........some front wheel drive cars aren't reccommended for towing.
And use good Judgement and caution.......there's a guy who towed his cow over the mountains from Sarajevo with his Diesel VW Golf who has no idea how close he came to getting shot and having his car pushed off a cliff with an 1114 Up-Armor.
By the way..............2009 Carolla.............1500lb towing capacity according to edmunds.com
Good point about europeans towing behind small cars. I understand all the cautionary notes others have posted but there does appear to be cultural differences in perceptions of acceptable risk.Karl
This is a funny utube on this. I think it is real.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGzaUMABxUs&eurl=http%3A%2F%2F23%2Eig%2Egmodules%2Ecom%2Fgadgets%2Fifr%3Fview%3Dcanvas%26url%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Egoogle%2Ecom%2Fig%2Fmodules%2Fyoutube%5Figoogle%2Fv2%2Fyoutube%2Exm&feature=player_embedded"There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers
I understand all the cautionary notes others have posted but there does appear to be cultural differences in perceptions of acceptable risk.
You really have to divide that into Europe..............and Germany.
I saw a few loggers hauling 16' timber out of the forest with VW's or Opal's and trailers in Gremany and they were very neat and orderly about it.
I saw a guy dragging an Opal shell (No suspension or interiror) on it's roof, with another Opal.............using a rope...............down the main hiway between Croatia and Tuzla.............in the middle of the day.
I had a 1979 Corolla that I pulled a small 5 x 10 trailer with. Worked just fine.
"If you have enough energy you can solve a lot of other problems." - Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway.
We have an abundant supply of domestic natural gas. Let's get busy solving problems.