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Originally Posted by rickdesilva
Rick,
We pull a 24 foot Tommy's brand trailer. It has a bull nose front or V-nose as some say. The total length is 29 feet inside. Overall lenght is slightly less then 31 feet. We put our Aviator from Lincoln, It's matches the Ford Explorer. We also put in a Harley but two would fit side by side in the front of the trailer.
Hope this helps.
OK, there are negatives to dragging a trailer behind our coaches. Weight is the prime consideration because our coaches were and are desgned to be seated coaches and they were never intended to haul around a large heavy trailer.
But...if I was spending some serious time on the road and especially if I was going to be somewhere for an extended period I can see the need for a trailer. I would first make sure I managed the weight to the maximum extent possible, including keeping the tongue weight within the hitch limits and insuring the trailer has good braking. I would make certain that when driving I avoided situations where I was exposing myself to sudden stops and I sure would slow down to minimize not only stresses on the bus, but because our buses do not stop well as it is, and a trailer is unlikely to improve that situation.
A trailer becomes your garage away from home, and if I had some nice bikes I sure would want them stored in the dry. A trailer for me would be a great place to have my shop when not at home.
To drag around golf carts, a car, a couple of Harleys, and miscellaneous other stuff that can be crammed into the bus and trailer is going to be hard on the bus however.
Sorry, can't help it. This is a great topic because of the huge range of issues and choices.
Dale you have a 40ftr and overall w/trlr in tow not quite 71ft. You said the trlr from the ball to bumper is almost 31 ft and yet that classified a 24ft trlr??????????????? That means a guy with a 45 would be 76 ft with your same trlr and that is bad if being legal most of the time is important to you.
Try this idea, I'm going for least weight for max. gear.
What if you used a bike lift on the bus for 1 bike and on a tow bar pull a 1/2 ton PU 4-down, put a lift in the back of it for the golf cart or better yet, possibly compromising slightly on gear DOWNSIZING slightly in this area from that to say motor scooters. That would then allow a for large SUV instead of the PU Finally put another bike lift on the back of the PU or the back of a larger SUV toad if you prefer, just like the one on the back of the bus!
1 half ton PU 5000lb with golf cart 500lb
2 HD's 2000lbs
2 bike lifts 500lbs Total weight 8000
Large SUV 4000lbs
2 motor scooters ?
2 HD's 2000lbs
Two bike lifts 500lbs Total 6500lbs
The no trailer choice. The lightest solution to Ricks issue, maybe.:D
But for the conventional approach here are some questions and thoughts.
Dale how much does your trlr weigh loaded up and how much tongue weight is on it? Can you feel the trlr brakes working or is the bus harder to slow pulling it? Has ANYONE ever used a weight distributing hitch and why or why not.
Toy box said he can feel an improvement in braking pulling his 3 axle. That extra axle is worth its weight. No reason not to see more of that. Among other things: two more hubs with brakes, less tongue weight, lighter axle weights.
Jack and Kevin what exactly were your experiences with braking distances with large trlrs and without.
Joe,
Maybe you can get a 53' freight box for the Pete and contract to haul all of the toys around the country.
I really can't say that braking was much different,the trailer had 3 axles and was very well built.I do know that on flat land(Florida) the transmission temps. were in the 220-226 range with the cruise set to 75MPH.I really don't like to see that high a temp.and not even in the hills,that is one reason I sold it.Towing the Chevy 4 door truck trans temps were in the 200-210 range even in the North Carolina and Virgina mountains.I did have a equalizing hitch that came with it and IMHO it was necessary,the trailer wanted to move around just a little even with it.This trailer had air bags for springs,16 inch wheels and was a stacker,I think that it was a pain to load and I was glad to see it go.A guy with a POS bought it,I bet it is a hand full behind that,and I am sure he only has a 10,000 pound hitch.
Denny it has probably been done I'm sure. I have seen snowmobile trips loaded into a 40ft dump trlr and one guy gets er done. Everybody gets to just throw gear in the trunk and hammer down.
Jack and toy box both not experiancing adverse results stopping and that is reassuring..
It was suggested to me recently that a rule of thumb is the tongue weight is around 10% of the empty weight and your loaded correctly if it remains 10% but this is often hard to do.
The way I was explained it those hitches will carry 10% of their rated capacity. If a 20,000 equalizer will give 2000lbs of help with the tongue weight.
But that would be to easy.
Are they standard equipment on the bigger trlrs or are they often used by bus guys?
Mel Tormme,
No self respecting cajun would row a pirogue. You can't see where you are going; you can only see where you've been. Is that how they do it in the Northwest?:confused:
Is that a beagle in the water?
Thanks for all the info, my dilemma is when an opportunity like Spearfish pops up, we would like to take our bikes and have the security of a toad. So it would be great to have a trailer that could handle both. I've determined based on everyone's input that for us, a stacker isn't worth the investment. Something like Dales trailer would work best for us. The other good thing about a trailer like Dales is that I could pull it with my Excursion if I want to. Most of the time I would just pull the toad, I would use the trailer only a few times a year.
That is logical. If it were me I would be trying to fit everything into a trlr that would keep me under 70 ft and I think I would definitely want a equalizer.
I would also inquire if the trlr that you choose is say only 10,000 max gross if it would accept a larger 20000lb equalizer thus being able to carry away even more potential tongue weight? It could always be adjusted back if nessessary.
Mr green jeans (Dale) do you use an equalizer hitch or not?
Either way why?