Trailer weight and truck weight. Where is the best place to place weight when towing?

[Kintore]

Hey guys,

I tried doing some research on this but didnt come up with alot. Is it better to have more weight in your bed and less in the trailer?

Evenly throughout bed and trailer?

Or more weight in the trailer (over the axles) and less in the bed.

Just for numbers sake lets say im hauling 4000 lbs for easy math/ common sense. Where should I allocate the weight?


Thanks
Kintore

[El Camexican]

I think that any time you can get weight between the two axles of your vehicle and off the trailer it’s a bonus. I don’t recall all the details of the last talk I had with someone about this, but it was back when I was pulling bikes with a motorhome and was talking to guys that were hauling big trailers with heavy cars behind theirs and telling me about problems with tongue weights and swaying and such. Do you know anyone that tows heavy trailers? They could tell you a lot more, but short of that I would suggest calling a place like Haulmark or Featherlite and asking them about the math. I’m pretty sure the idea is to keep as much as possible in front of your tow vehicles rear axle and then to make sure that the tongue weight of the trailer is balanced as best as possible on your bumper hitch. If you don’t have it right it can make for some scary moments. Good luck.

[Flyingw]

Using the imaginary weight of 4000lbs as your load, where its placed is dependant on a couple of factors. Load limit of the trailer and the load itsself. Lets say you have a 4k load to move but its height is short say less than 4 foot high. Assuming the trailer is capable of hauling that load and with that I mean not exceeding the load limit of the axles and tires then I would load it to the trailer but lets say you have a 4k load thats tall say over 6 foot then I would put that load in the truck over the axles.

When a load is placed and strapped down, the rule I use is this;

If I were to pick up the vehicle with the load strapped to it and flip it over, will the load remain as its strapped? Putting a 4k load on a trailer and transporting it that way is more risky than strapping the 4k load in the back of the truck. How a trailer rolls down the road with a load on it is again dictated by the load, its weight and dimensions. There is no textbook on this. I have seen trailers loaded in such a way that if the driver were to lock up his brakes at 60mph towing a trailer with a 6ft high 4k load on it, the trailer and all of its weight will push that truck where ever the forward inertia takes it and not where the driver wants it to go.

So, for the sake of this discussion, if you have a 4k load and it fits in the back of your truck with the majority of the weight sitting over the rear wheels then I would opt for hauling it in the back of the truck.

[shovelryder]

Ideally the weight would be on a fifth wheel or gooseneck trailer with the hitch about 6" in front of the rear axle of the truck.......Haul all yer load on the trailer if itll handle it. I like a little more weight on the tongue, but too much and yer all over the place.....

[fabiodriven]

I’m pretty sure the idea is to keep as much as possible in front of your tow vehicles rear axle and then to make sure that the tongue weight of the trailer is balanced as best as possible on your bumper hitch. If you don’t have it right it can make for some scary moments. Good luck.

^^^That is the simplest and most accurate way to put it.^^^

You want to be able to pick up the trailer tongue by hand, but still have a little weight on the tongue. If two small guys or one big guy can pick it up, that's about right. If it's too heavy on the rear of the truck or the rear of the trailer, your trailer will sway. You truck will be squatting a bit in the rear, and that's fine. Too much squatting is bad. Then you know something is wrong.

If you really want to put some weight in the trailer, enough that you may be concerned about how the truck will handle it, look into "load distribution bars". They transfer the trailer weight from the tongue more onto center mass or even the the front of your truck. I have a set that I use and they work fantastic.

[dustrunner]

i used to haul cars to carlisle pa to the car show...if the truck was 3 " lower at the rear wheels fenderwells than normal it hauled awesome... more height =less tongue weight would allow the trailer to wander...which you dont want.. less height = more tongue weight was'nt a problem but made the truck work harder...so i like most of the weight on the trailer....just my experience....good luck

[El Camexican]

On the topic (starting to get flashbacks now) you want to “power out” of a sway if possible and also power through all curves. If you have to decelerate for a curve do it before you enter. It’s just like driving a bike, but a lot harder to deal with if you get it wrong with a bouncing and swaying trailer on your bumper. Also keep in mind that when loaded up those little utility trailer tires tend to melt and blow out above 100KM and the wheel bearings don’t hold up well at speed either.

[Kintore]

Ok thanks alot guys, this is my 6x12 enclosed trailer.

I was just curious more than anything. Thanks for all the responses!!!

[Howdy]

I have hauled hundreds of loads and use the rule of 10-15% of the trailer weight on the tongue up to about 350 lbs ( with my 1/2 ton truck ). All my heavy hualing trailers have trailer brakes. If get any sway I tap the trailer brakes and it stops. I then put a little more weight ( 100lbs at a time ) on the front of the trailer and the swaying stops.

Howdy

[RoscoW]

Howdy's right, Most Camping trailers recommend about that 10-15% tongue weight. Less than that and the trailer is more inclined to sway a little more going down the road. For your scenario if that was loaded into the trailer you would want to see about 400# on the ball, easily handled by your Tundra. Does the trailer have breaks? I believe anything over 3500# is required by law to have trailer breaks.
I will say that I use a weight distribution hitch for my camping trailer and I wouldn't go without it. It makes such a difference when hooked up. The torsion bars of the hitch distribute the load to all four wheels of the truck and take all bounce and sway out of the combination. It feels like the truck and trailer are locked together as one unit.
34' trailer ( about 7500#) with a properly set up weight distribution http://www.canamrv.ca/towing/suv-crossovers/suburban-suv-towing-airstream/
Some good info
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-parts/towing/equipment/hitches/towing-weight-distribution-systems.htm
http://www.etrailer.com/faq-weightdistribution.aspx
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2WMeZy07Jg

Ross..

[beadle]

alot of it really depends on what your hauling, and the reason i say this is 4000lbs means nothing to me.(I hauled a flatbed tractor trailer for 10 years over the road). My personal experiance with my trailer (I have a 20 foot flatbed) that i haul 6 wheelers on and 3 of them are 4x4s and i took me about threee time to figure out just how i wanted it loaded for the best ride and handling, and i have gotten it down to where i dont even need to use my torsion bars on it and i have a 1500 dodge ram. Number one rule is to always put the heaviest machine in the back and you should be just fine. Only having a 12ft trailer your only gonna get two wheelers in there or maybe 3 trikes. if you can be more specific with what your gonna haul I could tell ya just how you need to load it.

Lets just say your gonna take 2 trikes and a 4x4.. one trike in the back of your truck, then the trailer i would put trike in the front and quad in the back due to where your trailer axle is located.

[Kintore]

Thanks guys!

I know its not a big deal really, just really curious. Its a 7 hr trikefest drive for me and I want it to go smooth as butter.

the 4000lbs was just a number, and no my 6x12 doesnt have trailer brakes

here is what ill be having

350 lb 450r
300 lb 250r
275lb 185s
275lb 200s

And all my gear, camping junk, BBQ, coolers, 8 cases of beer.


EDIT-

Im thinking 450 and 185s in the bed, 250r and 200s with all the junk in my trailer

[coolpool]

You shouldn't have any issues if you mind the above advice place your load over and slightly ahead of your trailer axle keeping in mind your tongue weight. Be aware of the increased stopping distance you'll need towing. A good rule of thumb for calculating following distance from the vehicle in front at highway speed is 1 second for every 10 ft of vehicle length including trailer. You'll be around 3.5 seconds.

P.S. Keep your foot out of it; trailer towing and speeding don't mix. Shiite happens fast when it does. Good luck; wish I were going :-(

[Kintore]

Thanks guys! its not alot of weight. I was just more interested if and when ill be hauling more weight how to distribute it over my truck and trailer.