Questions about Cargo Trailers behind RV

[photobug]

About to go on an extended cross country road trip. It will be just me and the DW. We'll be driving our 1998 26' lazy daze class c. Rv runs well and only the usual trivial things that happen with rv's to deal with. The issue is last trip we went on I spend more time tripping over all the junk we seem to need to go anywhere. Under storage was full, under bunks, closets, over head bunk all stuffed, and still stuff was on the floor. This time not only are we going to be driving a lot longer, but also staying in the rv for up to 6 months when we arrive. Now I'm not a neat freak, but I do have foot problems that makes stepping on stuff or falling over stuff painful. My solution was to buy a small cargo trailer and put all the extra stuff we're not using at the moment in there. Wife's not thrilled about pulling another trailer since the last one rolled over and just about killed us. Another time different configuration. Anyways.

RV 26' 14.5k lbs max load, empty weight 11.9k lbs Tow weight from book 3.5k lbs. 4 prong flat pin light wires.

Trailer 2000 10x6x 6 wells cargo totewagon. new axle about 5 years ago. 15x5 wheels, getting new radial tires tomorrow.

Questions: Both units are fairly old, what areas should I inspect/concentrate to make sure the factory numbers still apply. There is some corrosion on the trailer frame, but didn't see any structural issues, just paint coming off. I'll be scraping off these areas and hitting the bare metal with some rustolim spray paint.

Not impressed with the way the tow hitch is welded onto the rv, would it be worth while to get someone to look at it and see where it could be beefed up a little?

Hitch ball mounts are a bit sloppy in the receiver. been looking at some of those quiet hitch type devices. Do they work and are they worth using or mostly a pain to work around?

Best way to secure the trailer when not attached? those hitch locks look interesting assuming they're not to cheaply made and come off with a crow bar. I can just see us leaving it at a campground to save our spot while we're exploring the area only to come back and have someone move it and take over our spot.

Suggestions on how to clean the fiberglass sky lights? There's some black spots on them that didn't come off when I washed it this morning.

With a line of screws along the side why would only one be corroded?

Anything else I should know about towing one of these? I've towed big travel trailers (until I wrecked the last one) don't want any issues because I was being ignorant.

[MFL]

photobug wrote:
Now I'm a little nervous about towing it with the MH. When I bought it, I towed it with my van up and down the highway at 70+ didn't have an issue. I don't plan to be driving the MH that fast anyways, uses too much gas. Heaviest thing I'd be putting in the trailer is the spare for the MH, maybe I'll stack it on top of the trailer's spare. Any good ways of measuring the tongue weight? I'm told you should have 10% of the trailer weight as tongue weight.
Anyone using bearing buddies? if I'm taking the bearings apart anyways, might be easier to install them. How often do you need to grease or repack anyways?

On that size trailer, weighing with a bathroom scale will get you close enough. Keep in mind 10 percent tongue wt is the minimum, 11-13 percent may work better. I'd not use bearing buddies for this type trailer. A 2-wheel trailer is quick & easy to repack bearings. IMO, a good repack, with quality grease will last several years, and many thousands of miles.

Jerry

[Tvov]

photobug wrote:
Now I'm a little nervous about towing it with the MH. When I bought it, I towed it with my van up and down the highway at 70+ didn't have an issue. I don't plan to be driving the MH that fast anyways, uses too much gas. Heaviest thing I'd be putting in the trailer is the spare for the MH, maybe I'll stack it on top of the trailer's spare. Any good ways of measuring the tongue weight? I'm told you should have 10% of the trailer weight as tongue weight.
Anyone using bearing buddies? if I'm taking the bearings apart anyways, might be easier to install them. How often do you need to grease or repack anyways?

Just think of your camper as a bigger van, you will be fine. All that extra storage space will be awesome for a long trip.

You can see the trailer behind your camper while you are driving? You may want to put markers on the back corners, but as long as you know where the trailer is you will be good.

Do some test tows with the camper and trailer. You don't have to overload the tongue -- putting the camper's spare on top of the trailer's spare on top of the tongue is probably over loading it. There are instructions somewhere in these forums about how to use a bathroom scale to get your tongue weight.

Grease-able (sp? that doesn't look right) bearings are good, usually known as EZ-Lube. Actual "Bearing Buddies" are designed for boat trailers (to keep water out of the bearings). I think the axles need to be designed for the grease nipple? I am not sure if you can just add the grease nipples you will need?

"How often do you need to grease or repack anyways?".... "need"? 1,000s of miles and/or many years, all depends on how much driving you do. I see no need to grease the bearings more than once a year, unless you are driving every day for hundreds of miles. Put new greased bearing in and you will be fine.

Sounds like a fun trip, keep us updated!

[Scottiemom]

Learn to get by with less. We live in our motorhome. . . true, it's a 40'er, but why do you need so much stuff? Are you taking 6 months worth of food? Clothes at the most should be a few pairs of jeans, shorts, shirts, and undies. You can do laundry on the road. Why do you need to have every crevice filled with junk, then haul a trailer for the rest of it?

We took our 22' B+ to Alaska for 3 months. I had her packed full, more food than anything else because we had heard about high prices for staples in Alaska. But everything fit in cupboards, don't have anything laying around on the floor. I took way more than we needed though. We had 3 changes of jeans, a week of undies, maybe 6 shirts, an insulated vest, hoodie and one heavier coat. We were limited on space for everything, but we were good to go.

We did add a trunk on the back for tools, the grill, etc. That might be a better solution. Put a truck in your receiver on the back.

Less is more.

Dale

[photobug]

Now I'm a little nervous about towing it with the MH. When I bought it, I towed it with my van up and down the highway at 70+ didn't have an issue. I don't plan to be driving the MH that fast anyways, uses too much gas. Heaviest thing I'd be putting in the trailer is the spare for the MH, maybe I'll stack it on top of the trailer's spare. Any good ways of measuring the tongue weight? I'm told you should have 10% of the trailer weight as tongue weight.
Anyone using bearing buddies? if I'm taking the bearings apart anyways, might be easier to install them. How often do you need to grease or repack anyways?

[F1bNorm]

From your other thread, I mentioned I had a 5x8 Wells Cargo and it has served us well.

I would have the MH hitch checked.

If your MH has a rear mounted spare that sticks out, you might have trouble with trailer jack hitting the MH. On mine, I replaced the jack with a HF side mounted folding jack. It comes with a wheel so you might also be able to push it around by hand.

For some security, the hitch latch has a hole in it that will take a padlock.

Anti-hitch wobble- I've tried different ones without much success. Some won't fit at all depending on the MH hitch configuration. Get one with an easy return policy.

Make sure you load cargo front heavy and you shouldn't have tow problems. One of the reasons I went with Wells Cargo, they seem to have a good rep.

Backing my travel trailer was a breeze. Backing the cargo trailer, not so simple (for me!). Some problems, the trailer is short and the MH is long. The worst is you can't see it in the mirrors and when you do, it's too late. Back-up cam helps.

Good, you're getting new tires, maybe get the bearings repacked.

Norm

[F-TROUP]

Make sure you have 100 to 150 lb tongue weight, if tongue is to light you'll get a lot of sway.

[noteven]

We towed a single axle enclosed one trip behind a pickup and truck camper. Truck camper overhang required using a 2ft hitch extension placing the ball about ? 5 or 6 ft behind the rear axle. The trailer towed fine as long as it is not hitched nose high.

[Lwiddis]

During his first two terms our darling governor vetoed most of the requests for new briefcases for state employees under the philosophy that the paperwork will only fill the available briefcases...less briefcases, less paper.

Whatever you buy, you and DW will fill.

[DutchmenSport]

The most important thing you can do is to ensure the hitch on your tow vehicle is sound, solid, secure, and weighted correctly for the trailer you are towing. Second, is to make sure your trailer is hitched correctly. Fix anything wrong with the coupler if it needs it. Your hitch and hitch assembly is probably THE most important element.

Edit:

I did a Google search of your CLASS C and looked at some images. There is a considerable length of distance from the rear axle of your camper to the hitch. Even the slightest of movement from the stearing wheel will make the rear move considerably. I've not had experience with your rig, but say, you turn the stearing wheel and the front bumper moves to the right 1 inch. Because of the length of the overhang on the rear, the rear bumper may move 6 inches left (just an exagerated example). Now correct your stearing by turning slightly left, front bumper moves 1 inch left, but the rear moves 6 inches right. That movement shifted the hitch 12 inches from side to side (exagerated I know... bear with me). Now ..... attach a trailer, extending even a few inchdes farther, and the pivot point on the hitch ball, moving back and forth is going to really be exagerated on the tongue of the utility trailer. Now, your trailer is a single axle, and it's short. You are setting yourself up for sway and lots of rocky side-to-side movement. I strongly advise a very secure sway bar at the bare minimum to help prevent the trailer from wiggling back and forth.