Anyone have an idea to adding weight(s) to trailer tongue?
Hello folks! I have a 1983 16' tandem axel Weekender (Sky Liner) trailer. I had a friend weld me up a custom rear bumper with a receiver hitch to the rear of the frame on the camper to carry my Rokon, which is mounted on a motorcycle carrier rack. My first test run down the road with the Rokon on the carrier on the camper hooked up to my 3/4 ton Dodge was almost disasterous when I got up to 50 mph with the swaying action that was going on. That trailer was swaying a good 4' each side of my lane! (tested on a semi-rural road with no traffic).
I bought and mounted a Reese friction anti-sway brake that day, and my sway problems were solved. Rides straight as an arrow. Here's my worry...
The Rokon, along with the carrier on the receiver hitch on the back of the camper weighs around 280 lbs. It's extended around 3' past the rear of the camper,(adding even more weight) which is making the little 16' camper quite light on the trailer tongue. When I've taken road trips with the bike on the rear of the camper, I fill up the fresh water tank that's at the front of the camper and load all my camp gear ( a couple hundred pounds at the front of the camper inside, to offset the cantilevered weight of the bike on the rear. Also keep the two propane tanks full and battery on the tongue.
My worry is that because of the amount of the cantilevered weight on the rear of my camper may be too great for the present weight on the tongue of the trailer ( especially after I've used up my fresh water in the water tank), a bump in the road could possible cause the camper to pop off of the ball on my truck's hitch. I have a 700 lb. Redline ball hitch on my truck with 12,000 lb. receiver on my truck. My camper is perfectly level with the drop hitch as well.
Should I be worried about this happening? It's been on my mind for the last two years. I've been thinking about welding a chunk of heavy (100 lb.) steel plating on the "v" area of the trailer tongue for added insurance to help prevent this from possibly happening. I'm trying to avoid getting a full blown stabilizer hitch for my camper.
Anyone have any ideas for my situation? Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks! Jd.
P.S. The bike always gets loaded last, so my camp trailer doesn't do a "wheelie"!
I bought and mounted a Reese friction anti-sway brake that day, and my sway problems were solved. Rides straight as an arrow. Here's my worry...
The Rokon, along with the carrier on the receiver hitch on the back of the camper weighs around 280 lbs. It's extended around 3' past the rear of the camper,(adding even more weight) which is making the little 16' camper quite light on the trailer tongue. When I've taken road trips with the bike on the rear of the camper, I fill up the fresh water tank that's at the front of the camper and load all my camp gear ( a couple hundred pounds at the front of the camper inside, to offset the cantilevered weight of the bike on the rear. Also keep the two propane tanks full and battery on the tongue.
My worry is that because of the amount of the cantilevered weight on the rear of my camper may be too great for the present weight on the tongue of the trailer ( especially after I've used up my fresh water in the water tank), a bump in the road could possible cause the camper to pop off of the ball on my truck's hitch. I have a 700 lb. Redline ball hitch on my truck with 12,000 lb. receiver on my truck. My camper is perfectly level with the drop hitch as well.
Should I be worried about this happening? It's been on my mind for the last two years. I've been thinking about welding a chunk of heavy (100 lb.) steel plating on the "v" area of the trailer tongue for added insurance to help prevent this from possibly happening. I'm trying to avoid getting a full blown stabilizer hitch for my camper.
Anyone have any ideas for my situation? Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks! Jd.
P.S. The bike always gets loaded last, so my camp trailer doesn't do a "wheelie"!
