Any Advice on Towing CarHauler?

[Moxy]

will be heading south in a few weeks with new to me 24' united 10K car hauler, will have bike HD in front and car, should be around 9K with 900 lbs on tongue, new rubber all around, surge brakes working properly, using reese 16K draw bar and curt 16K ball, no hitch extensions, trailer has 5' tongue, any advise hints or comments appreciated

Moxy

[fastcat]

Well first, 900lbs. sounds a little light on the tongue weight. Have you actually weighed it? I'd want to see more like 1200lbs to make sure it goes straight down the road.

Do you have a weight distribution hitch or just a ball mount? Do you have friction sway controls?

Have you made sure the trailer brakes are in GOOD condition?

[Full.Monte]

There are ratings for your tow hitch, your GCVWR, trailer max load, tire max load, etc. Make sure you have done all the numbers to make sure you don't exceed any. And take the MH with trailer to a weigh station to weigh each axle individually.

[palehorse89]

Originally Posted by Moxy

will be heading south in a few weeks with new to me 24' united 10K car hauler, will have bike HD in front and car, should be around 9K with 900 lbs on tongue, new rubber all around, surge brakes working properly, using reese 16K draw bar and curt 16K ball, no hitch extensions, trailer has 5' tongue, any advise hints or comments appreciated

Moxy

My trailer, with all known weights , has 1100# of tongue weight and I am just under 10,000# total weight. 10% ball weight is a good place to start, 10-15% is what the experts want to trail properly. My Coach rides and handles a lot better with the trailer than without it.......No sway control, no weight distribution system........tows like a dream, after getting underway........forget it is back there.
(click on photo to enlarge)

[Moxy]

Originally Posted by fastcat

Well first, 900lbs. sounds a little light on the tongue weight. Have you actually weighed it? I'd want to see more like 1200lbs to make sure it goes straight down the road.

Do you have a weight distribution hitch or just a ball mount? Do you have friction sway controls?

Have you made sure the trailer brakes are in GOOD condition?

its 10 percent, yes weighed tongue with car and bike on board, as far as straight, down the road i have tag axle 40000lbs coach do ya think it will be effected?, trailer has surge brakes to no wdh, ball mount, no sway again I have read tag axle 40 should not be effected,

Thanks for the input

[Moxy]

Originally Posted by Full.Monte

There are ratings for your tow hitch, your GCVWR, trailer max load, tire max load, etc. Make sure you have done all the numbers to make sure you don't exceed any. And take the MH with trailer to a weigh station to weigh each axle individually.

numbers are all good, 42 tag axle dynasty, no problems with load, tpms on coach and trailer, have about 10K in available rear payload with tag, should be good, ride height controlled by bags, will increase tag pressure's to allow for addition 1K tongue weight

Thanks

Moxy

[Moxy]

Originally Posted by palehorse89

My trailer, with all known weights , has 1100# of tongue weight and I am just under 10,000# total weight. 10% ball weight is a good place to start, 10-15% is what the experts want to trail properly. My Coach rides and handles a lot better with the trailer than without it.......

good to hear, thanks

Moxy

[NHRA225]

Think You'll be fine, I would add the Sway control though !
Been towing this since 2001- all over the Country- 10,000 lbs

[palehorse89]

Here is a interesting thread to look through...... http://www.irv2.com/forums/f258/trai...ig-181760.html

[Cat320]

You don't need or use a weight dist hitch with a MH.

[palehorse89]

Originally Posted by Cat320

You don't need or use a weight dist hitch with a MH.

Let me add " With air suspension"

[1ciderdog]

Earlier this year I pulled a 24 foot enclosed car hauler roundtrip Southern Oregon to Fairbanks and back - just under 7000 miles. The only problem I encountered was trying to cut a turn out of an RV park to close between a couple of other RV's. Ended up doing a few back ups and turns to get out of that spot. Just suggesting you don't forget to consider the extra length when in tighter areas such as fuel stops, RV parks, etc.

[Thunderfoot]

Originally Posted by palehorse89

Let me add " With air suspension"

.....and a tag axle


To the OP... no wd hitch, sway bars, or problems with either of the trailers shown; the smaller 24' (10K lbs), or the larger stacker with years of extensive travel. If you're new to trailer towing the extra length and turning radius will be the gist of your learning curve. Safe travels and have fun!

[jeryan59]

I agree with Thunderfoot, I would add a couple points that I haven't seen, I apologize if I missed them.


First, if you have 3 mirrors on each side, I would position 1 of the blindspot mirros so you can see the trailer axles as you turn right or left. This is easily accomplished in a lot. This helps especially if you have torsion axles so you don't risk overloading an axle if you take one of the tires over a curb.


I would also purchase heavy duty ratchet straps or determine how you will secure the load in the trailer. I unfortunately started with tire bonnets and absolutely hated them as with the width of my vehicle in an enclosed trailer didn't allow me easy access to secure them and I didn't like how dirty I would get putting them on or how sweaty I would get on a hot day. I have air ride on my Escalade ESV and utilizing anything compressing the suspension would result in very loose straps once I reached my destination. I have used rags through the spokes of my wheels to prevent marring and ratcheting each wheel to the 'e' track and 'd' rings. This method does NOT work on all my vehicles as some do not have enough clearance in spoke and brake. I also apply my emergency brake firmly in the vehicle to prevent undo stress on transmission as I ratchet front/back down. I can hook the trailer, load the car and secure ready for travel in the dark in less than 30 minutes easily (just did yesterday morning). Since I have started using the Condor Pit Stop wheel chock for my Road Glide I haven't had any issues with the bike. I use the ratchet straps on the front axle with a rag for marring protection that Harley ships the bikes with. The back I use 2 ratchets one on each side to prevent movement from right to left. Again, on the Harley, if I suppressed the suspension the straps would loosen so I use the rear wheel.


I would either look at US Cargo Control or Mac's Custom Tie Downs, https://www.macscustomtiedowns.com/. I would also recommend an extra strap or two for spares.


I recently added tire pressure sensors that are integrated into my coach's system for the trailer tires.


I have a trailer tongue scale and depending on what I am towing, I sometimes back my vehicle into the trailer to lighten the tongue weight. Find the best method for marking your vehicles in the trailer for the best position for proper weight balance.


It is not very complicated with the trailer, the learning curve will be short actually pulling, don't be afraid to make protected left turns if need be instead of very tight right turns to get where you need to go.


I would also caution you on dips at intersections or entrances/exits, as you may drag the trailer hitch or back end of the trailer.


I would pull into a large parking lot and have a spotter with a cell phone and make very sharp right and left turns so you know if you will get into the nose of your trailer.


Sorry for the length, but wanted to share some of the things I have experimented with from my own experience.