Forum Discussion

454SuperRedHawk's avatar
Jun 22, 2014

Do I need more drop?

Vehicle cargo is not loaded. 2 Dogs weigh 100 lbs each. The pictured gas cans are empty and the trailer is already loaded.



Moderator edit to re-size picture to forum limit of 640px maximum width.

  • The thing I don't like about setups like that is if you ever have to brake hard your trailer momentum is going to try and lift the TV rear wheels off of the ground.

    I like the get my trailer a little bit below center. That way when you brake, the TV will try to dive and it will lift the rear up just a bit so all will be level.

    Again, this is pretty much nit picking but this is how I like to see trailers set up and how I do mine.
  • carringb wrote:

    You should be good on tongue weight. A short trailer will be fine with only 10% and maybe even as low as 7% .


    My concern with the tongue weight was too much. As you can see from the picture, a large percentage of the load is in front of the axle making most of the load tongue weight.

    what do you think?
  • You may want to keep it as-is with the 6". It doesn't hurt a single axle trailer to be nose high, as long as its not so high it transfers too much weight off the tongue.

    With the short rear end of the trailer, it will be unlikely to scrape, but if you lower the tongue you may start scraping the bottom of the ball or the jack wheel going into steep driveways.

    You should be good on tongue weight. A short trailer will be fine with only 10% and maybe even as low as 7% .
  • 6" Drop installed. A bit better but is it going to be OK now?

    Truck is still not loaded in back. Trailer is loaded and I estimate the weight at 1600 lbs total weight (cargo and trailer) tongue weight is 265 lbs.

    Is a little more tongue weight better than too little?

    opinions?


  • Thanks.
    I ordered a 6" drop.

    That will be 3" more than I have now (3" drop)
    Combined with the vehicle cargo and increasing the tongue weight I think it will work out.
  • I'd probably get a 6 inch drop...I prefer level to slightly nose down. If a load shifts back suddenly you could be in an immediate sway situation. Nose level to slightly down will help prevent that situation.
  • I don't like it.

    Would I tow with it? Yep, if it had enough tongue weight. But I don't like that set-up at all. I would get a drop hitch and get it right.
  • Since it's a single axle trailer, it's not that bad, but if you just want a level trailer, yes you need a bigger drop depending on how much sag you get when it's fully loaded.... :)

    Mitch

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