A while back, I asked for advice about buying a car hauler trailer, and got many responses. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=447308 I wanted to follow-up by thanking everyone who took the time to post in the thread and give their advice. There were some different opinions, making the whole process more interesting. I followed many of the suggestions, and ended up with a combination that worked very well when we made our first trip - about 2700 round trip miles from Birmingham to Colorado Springs for the National T-Bucket Nationals. I knew it wasn't a good idea to make that long of a trip as a complete towing newbie, but I thought I could do it- and did. I won't go into a lot of boring detail, but just summarize. I have attached a few pictures to illustrate. I bought a new 20' Pace American v-nose car hauler with a 96" loading door opening. This allowed me to put the car in without changing the large rear tires. Although the car is short, I had to get the 20' trailer so the rear of the car would be inside because I couldn't get the car between the trailer wheel wells. The trailer was a little light on the tongue, but I had a winch, Optima battery, 2 spares and a bunch of other stuff in the nose that helped. I bought a Reese weight distribution hitch that incorporates friction pad sway control. I also added air bags to the rear coils on the Avalanche tow vehicle. I installed a transmission cooler, trans temp gauge, and Prodigy brake controller. The setup worked well, but I will try to fine-tune it before the next trip to get a little more weight on the tongue. We didn't encounter any significant swaying, but did run into some very high straight line wind in Kansas that increased the pucker factor a little bit. The 1500 Avalanche is a little weak for heavy towing, but got the job done at the cost of poor gas mileage and slow climbs up some grades. All in all, it was a successful first towing trip and we had a great time driving the bucket in the beautiful areas in Colorado.
as time goes by and you get around more, you will add weight to the front such as a tool box, generator, extra fuel, extra H2O, etc. You could also drop the spare from the tow vehicle and put it into the front of the trailer. Pulling a trailer that is light on the hitch is not fun and is certainly dangerous. glad to hear it all worked out and you are pleased with the decision.
Good suggestion about the spare from the tow vehicle - my wife suggested that but I by the time we were ready to leave I was just too tired to do it - no excuse but it is a hassle to pull the spare from under the bed of the Avalanche. I will most certainly do it before the next trip - it would also make it much easier to change if I had a flat on the Avalanche, as I have had before. I also had some minor mechanical glitches with the T-bucket that made me realize I should have taken a lot more tools and that would have helped with the weight. I did buy a tongue weight scale to try to get it right and I wasn't very far off - I understand 10-15% of the trailer weight on the tongue is best. I learned a lot from the first trip and probably will get better with each one.
Hey 'bama buddy. Could you swing up to eastern PA and pick up this '54 Ford gasser and drop it by Omaha for me. I mean it's right on the way ... right ??!!??
Congrats! Nice trailer. The 1500 will do fine getting it down the road. After a long trip I would get the trans serviced. NOT flushed. Serviced... Its the only thing that has saved my ram 1500. It has had 70K hard towing miles on it and now at 135K its starting to slip...
Good job. First time I ever towed a trailer like that was the same deal. We moved from SoCal to East Tennessee. The first time I ever hitched the trailer to the truck was the day we rolled out for TN. Ready to roll. Man I forgot how clean and shiny the trailer was! We bought a 20' "Road Force" which is the economy brand made by "Wells Cargo" You'll find, like I did, that you can "adjust" the tongue weight by moving the car forward or back until the rig tows comfortably. And don't fret about buying a larger trailer than you need for the T. You never know what else you may pick up in the future. I was glad ours could handle the '47 Mercury when we went to Ohio to pick it up!
I would suggest having a spare tire ... in the nose of the trailer. When I ordered mine, I upgraded to a extra spare and the trap door in the floor. I can get the spare ... without moving the car. I also have a 20 ton bottle jack, a 4 way lug wrench and a set of jumper cables in the spare tire compartment. I also have a set of hand trucks ... makes moving stuff a lot easier. I bought a small tool box and secured it to the floor of the trailer. I keep tow straps and some tools in the box. The better you have the " BALANCE " in the trailer and the more miles you travel ... the less the PUCKER factor will bother you. Soon you will be wondering " Why did I do without this useful tool so long ?? .
Scott, I'd be glad to pick up the gasser next time I'm in the area and it wouldn't be out of the way at all. I'm not sure what year that will be - I hope you aren't in a hurry. If I don't get there sometime soon just go ahead without me. I'm completely booked for moving jobs for quire a while but I'll post if I have any cancellations. Randy, I have two spares as you and several other HAMBERs recommended. I mounted them on the front wall of the trailer in the V area. I know I'll accumulate a lot of other stuff before future trips that I can put in the front of the trailer for more tongue weight. You are right, the pucker factor decreased as the miles rolled by and should be gone completely by the next trip. I'm delighted with the trailer and so glad I have a big one (trailer that is).
As a retired trailer mfg., I can tell from your pix that the "T" should have been in a more forward position, the easy way to get 250 lbs. tongue weight is to simply place a bathroom scale under nose jack (without wheel) & coupler above the ball, slowly advance the "T" forward until scale reads 250 lbs., then re-hook up trailer & bars. With the proper tongue weight in place, this will allow extra items readily available at the rear entrance instead of guessing where to put them. Now,-----That was easy eh?----------Don
Don, I only wish it was that easy, but the T is as far forward as it can go because the rear tires are close to the back of the trailer fender wells and they are too wide to go between them. The loaded trailer weighs about 6,600 pounds and my tongue weight scale showed about 600 so I was at least 60 pounds light. I did add some weight after that by putting our luggage in the front of the trailer, so I got a little more than 600. I think with the spare tire from the tow vehicle and some other stuff I can put in front next time, I can get the right tongue weight. I would like to have more than 10% tongue weight next time I tow the loaded trailer and will be sure to get it, whatever it takes. The picture doesn't show it very well, but I have a lot of available space in front of the car and virtually none behind it. The forward space is readily accessible through the side door and I have installed e-track on the floor there for securing items.
That's 'cause I've got the front of the trailer jacked up to reduce the ramp angle. I probably didn't need it that high for the Mercury to clear.
250 pounds is not enough for that load, period. By the first pic you posted it appears that the front of the trailer should come up. Might just be the pic though.
I'm getting confused - maybe it is because it is late and past my bedtime. I don't know if we are talking about the trailer with the T phaeton or the Merc' being loaded or mine with the T-bucket. I'm not concerned about the 250 pounds as much as the percentage of trailer weight that should be on the tongue. When I set up the trailer to tow again, I will go to the truck scales (as I did before the trip) and get the total loaded trailer weight and make sure the weight on the tongue is 10-15% of that weight. Is this basic assumption correct? As I said earlier, I am a a towing newbie and am depending on 'net and shared info from experienced towers. A Rodder, if you are referring to the photo of my trailer, I agree that it is a little nose down. Part of that is because the trailer is on a concrete pad and the Avalanche is on the lawn. When we made the trip to Colorado Springs and stopped at gas and rest stops (presumably on relatively level surfaces), it still did look like the nose was down a little. I didn't want to adjust the hitch to correct it while on the road because it felt OK while moving. The trailer dealer told me (unless I misunderstood) that it was better to tow with the trailer slightly nose down. I thought I set up the weight distribution hitch properly according to the instructions that said the tow vehicle should only settle an inch or less when the trunion bars were in place. The rear of the Avalanche only settled about an inch (front stayed the same) when the weight of the tongue was on the hitch so I thought it was OK. I agree with you and intend to set it up with the tongue higher and trailer level next time I tow. I appreciate the comments and observations and am trying to learn to tow as safely as possible. I saw some other trailers visibly swaying while on the trip and felt that we were in much better shape than they were, but there is always room for improvement. This whole thing is supposed to be for fun, and having an accident wouldn't be any fun at all.
Add a swaybar control to your hitch. It will be the best 100 dollars you will spend. Like everyone else has said, as time goes on you will find that happy medium of how much tongue weight is enough.
Good advice about learning by experience. I think I have a good baseline and my setup is safe but I will continue to make minor changes to improve it. I learned a lot from this first trip. My weight distribution hitch has sway control on both sides with friction pads in the hangers that support the ends of the spring bars. When I was looking for a hitch, I saw a lot of information that emphasized the importance of sway control and tried to select a hitch that incorporated it. It does seem to provide good sway control. I think more tongue weight to increase the pressure on the friction pads and getting the nose up to level the trailer will make it even better.
I went back and looked at your picture of the hitch again. I see the friction pads you are referring too. Pretty slick looking
The pads are made of material like like brake pads and can be replaced when worn. They showed some wear just from that one trip, but are nowhere worn out yet. The hitch is a Reese SC that I purchased from etrailer on line. They are a good source for just about anything related to towing equipment and accessories for trailers - I bought most of my equipment from them and would recommend them highly. There are other types of WD hitches that incorporate sway control but this one seemed the best for me and it was a good choice.
I always loaded two spares a floor jack and star wrench at the BACK door so I can grab them easy and a couple LED flash lites ( one is a cordless service lite from HF)oh and I ran three LED side maker lites Amber) on the inside that stay on woth the out side,came if really handy
It looks like you did your homework pretty well this time Bamabucket. I expect we will now be seeing that bucket show up all over the country in the next couple of years.
If I had the room at the back and didn't need weight in the front, I'd probably do it that way too. I do plan to add some extra lighting inside the trailer so I can use it for a portable garage on the road if necessary. There are two ceiling lights in there now but I could use more. The only other lights I had on this trip were a large flashlight and a built-in light in my jump box.
works great but ya gotta make sure you dont crank it down to tight or turn really sharp without unhooking it (sway control)
Mr48chev, I missed your post because I was preparing and sending the one before this one. I did spend many hours on homework and it was worth the time - it would have been a lot harder without the 'net and HAMB. We hope to attend as many events as we can and you may see us some day.
Meatball, you got that right. We did pop one of the spring bars out of the hanger at a rest stop in Kansas on the trip home. It was a combination of a sharp turn and twisting because the wheel on one side of the trailer were on a slope and the other side level. With my newbie inexperience, I had parked too close to the edge of the trailer/RV parking strip and was about to hit a tree limb with the top of the trailer. My wife got out and was trying to spot me as I attempted to back up and I heard a loud pop, accompanied by her yell. Amazingly, there was no damage to any part of the hitch and we put the bar back when we got away from the tree and completely on the level - good luck and another lesson learned. The rest stops in Kansas provide a narrow straight road for trucks and trailers to park on each side, rather that the large separate areas with drive-through angled paring some other states have. No criticism of Kansas - I'll know better next time. As I have already said, many lessons learned on this first trip
if those pads are showing wear that fast it sounds like you got it to tight,which can also cause you to damage it (blow the ball end in half) might wanna try not so tight and you should be OK...........
also check on the sides of the loadleveler and you should see 2 little pins held in by a stainless clip,go buy about 4-6 of those and keep them in the glove box and check them whenever you unhook/replace if looks worn they do a big job for a little piece.....I hauled this one over 100,000 miles and this was trailer #3....do your self a favor and put the state and plate Number on the roof in HUGE letters (cya)
Meatball, very cool truck and trailer! I have seen this suggestion about putting the state and plate number on the roof before and intend to do it. Is the idea that the thieves wouldn't think to look there or making it easy to see the numbers from the air if the cops would look for it that way? It would be great if they would look for a stolen trailer with a plane or chopper, but I don't have enough experience with them to know if they would do that. I took a picture of the friction pads and agree with you that they did seem to wear significantly for just a 2700 mile trip. You may also be able to see that they chipped slightly at the back edges. I set them tight because of my newbie fear of sway, but I think you are right that they were too tight and I'll put less tension on the spring bars next trip. I guess each setup is different and you have to tweak it as you get experience. Blowing the ball in half would seriously ruin your day. I'm not sure my hitch has the two pins with the stainless steel clip you mentioned. The hanger pads are bolted on and the only clip is the small hitch clip that holds the cover closed. Is it possible that your hitch is a different type with different pins? I did take some spares for that clip , expecting to drop one and lose it as I frequently do with small parts. I suppose this clip does get stressed when the spring bars are forced outward in a turn and push against the cover.
The Jalopy Journal
