Found out the hard way I don't like towing trailers.

[66788]

I borrowed a 6X12 single axle cargo trailer, loaded up a borrowed Honda Rebel and went for a road trip.

It became rapidly apparent to me that having a trailer is a very limiting factor in traveling.  I'd pull off the freeway for gas and find that the gas station was not accessible to me because of the sharp turns required to exit.  I also found that my traveling speed was slower, and the fuel economy was much worse.  Truck stops were the best for fueling.

I can also see that driving on forest roads with a trailer could be tough as it's not easy to turn a rig around on a narrow road.

For my use I have ruled out the use of the cargo trailer, and I think I prefer a CT70 over the Rebel.

This just reinforces my thoughts that what works for one person may not work for another.

My Dodge high top is awesome, plenty of room inside, very dependable, and drives like a dream.   I just like the freedom of just the van without the trailer.

 

[LeeRevell]

Exactly right! I find when towing my trailer (carrying my KLR650) I cannot use some stations, like my closest station to my home. Have to pull up to the pumps facing the store - ain't gonna work with the trailer! So I have to look for "sideways" pumps, with the exit in a line with them. My trailer is also a bit low to be tackling the rougher forest roads. And the bike gets very dusty. Our forest roads are fine sand and limerock gravel, much finer than the gray golfball gravel up north!

 

[akrvbob]

I totally agree with your conclusions!
Bob

 

[my_vantasy]

The good news is that the trailer was borrowed and you didn't invest a lot of your money and time into a set up that won't work for you.

 

[masterplumber]

I agree that towing isn't as easy as not towing, but once you do it enough it becomes second nature. I tow about 10,000 miles + per year, so I'm always "looking" as I pull into places for the way out. My older son drives Truck, and may tow 3000 - 4000 miles per week, so not towing seems weird to him. Some vehicles do drop gas mileage significantly when towing, but it literally doesn't seem to change in my truck when towing up to 5000 lbs, so having a comfortable place to stay when I stop is worth the trade off for me. Just thought i'd throw out a different perspective. it's not for everyone, but in some cases it is the solution to a problem.

 

[highdesertranger]

wow when I read the header then the first part of your post I thought it was going to end bad, borrowed trailer and bike. glad it didn't. you can't argue with facts about towing, so I won't try. highdesertranger

 

[minimotos95]

I haven't towed much but I will say towing my van on a car hauler behind a box truck was a lot more stressful than towing dirtbikes on a small 3 rail or 4x8 flatbed trailer behind a compact truck.
If I remember right towing with my civic was actually kind of fun.

I would prefer not to tow and am still actively debating in my head what to do with the KLR and grill.

 

[GotSmart]

The type of trailer also makes a huge difference.  A short wide flat nose vs a longer v nose is like night and day.

 

[Almost There]

The type of trailer also makes a huge difference.  A short wide flat nose vs a longer v nose is like night and day.

And the manufacturer of the trailer makes a huge difference as well.

I'm on my second two Wells Cargo trailers and have tried hauling another brand - night and day difference.

 

[mconlonx]

I've gone on road trips with friends, towing motorcycles in an open landscaping trailer. Not bad. Definitely made gas stop choices based on the layout of the station, but never got into trouble not finding a suitable place to gas up. Mileage dropped precipitously, but the way to mitigate that somewhat was to just drive slower.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

And the manufacturer of the trailer makes a huge difference as well.

I'm on my second two Wells Cargo trailers and have tried hauling another brand - night and day difference.

I would be eternally grateful if you could elaborate upon that statement a little bit.  Were all trailers the same width and length?  All three single or dual axle? V nose vs flat nose? If so, what was it about Brand X that made it so inferior to the Wells Cargo?

I'm hoping to buy a cargo trailer soon, so this subject is of great interest to me.  Thanks.

Regards
John

 

[Almost There]

I would be eternally grateful if you could elaborate upon that statement a little bit.  Were all trailers the same width and length?  All three single or dual axle? V nose vs flat nose? If so, what was it about Brand X that made it so inferior to the Wells Cargo?

I'm hoping to buy a cargo trailer soon, so this subject is of great interest to me.  Thanks.

Regards
John

My first Wells Cargo was a 15' box with an extra foot in height, single axle. My current Wells Cargo is a standard 10' x 6' box single axle. I have no idea what brand X was, I just knew it didn't haul nicely.

It's not what made Brand X so inferior, it's what makes Wells Cargo so much better!

The tongue length, axle placement, independent torsion suspension, dexter axle all make a difference. I just checked their website and they are now making 3 different grades of trailers. Obviously the lower end ones are meant to compete with other manufacturers. Mine were both the black label trailers.

Simply put, they're just better built. Yes, you pay for it but then we pay for higher grade anything whether it's the beef we eat or the vehicles we drive.

I towed the 15' behind a full size van and make no mistake, with both fully loaded, you knew the trailer was theretaking off from a standing start, but once on the highway, even with the extra foot of height I sometimes forgot it was there. It was totaled in a serious accident so I bought a Class A RV and the smaller trailer. I really did forget it was there sometimes even when I stopped hauling it with the RV and went back to full size vans and then an Astro.

Test drive a couple of brands, compare the workmanship and the warranties. Then buy the best that you can afford.

 

[akrvbob]

My Loadrunner tows perfectly and it is one of the cheaper brands I think.
Bob

 

[masterplumber]

How you load them makes a big difference, and I think the axle placement on some brands makes it difficult to get right. My previous trailer was a 7x12 single axle and it never towed right in that configuration. Even when lightly loaded the axle was to far forward so it bobbed front to back a lot. I converted it to tandem axle, and moved the center back a bit so I had a 60 / 40 split. It towed like a dream then. Just one thing to look for when you start looking.

 

[Almost There]

Come to think about it now, the big 15' trailer was always loaded wrong...

And so probably was the smaller one when I used it for shows although not as badly as the big one.

No one ever taught me about equal loading until I learned it here!

The bigger trailer was built out to be a working stained glass studio. The gray water tank was on the drivers side at the front. The work table with all my sheets of glass were behind it on the drivers side followed by more cabinetry, the fusing kiln and my design desk.

The passenger side was wide open all the way down below a pair of concession lift windows. I put my display canopy and tables in there for transport but that's not more than a 100 lbs.

In hindsight I'd say 75 to 80% of the weight was on the drivers side with most of it forward of the axle.

That's where independent suspension comes in handy I guess.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I am not at all an expert on this subject, merely somebody who's trying to research it as best I can.

I've seen some posts that claim that the ideal situation is when the distance between the rear wheels on the tow vehicle and the wheels on the trailer is the same as the distance between the front and rear wheels on the tow vehicle.  The claim is that the more those two distances diverge, the worse the trailer tows.

I've seen other posts that claimed that they've had trailers that didn' t tow well, and when they checked, they dicovered that the axle wasn' t mounted perfectly square - one wheel was slightly further forward of the other wheel, causing an alignment problem that kept it from tracking properly.

Regards
John

 

[Almost There]

I am not at all an expert on this subject, merely somebody who's trying to research it as best I can.

I've seen some posts that claim that the ideal situation is when the distance between the rear wheels on the tow vehicle and the wheels on the trailer is the same as the distance between the front and rear wheels on the tow vehicle.  The claim is that the more those two distances diverge, the worse the trailer tows.

If this were true then nothing would tow decently except custom made trailers. Each trailer would have to be matched to the tow vehicles manufacturer.

Also if it were true then my little 6 x 10 should have hauled like a piece of shit behind my Class A.

I've seen other posts that claimed that they've had trailers that didn' t tow well, and when they checked, they dicovered that the axle wasn' t mounted perfectly square - one wheel was slightly further forward of the other wheel, causing an alignment problem that kept it from tracking properly.

That happens more than most people would like to believe. The number of reports I'm reading about TTs with alignment problems of the axle(s) is phenomenal.

Regards
John

There's more to how well a trailer tows than meets the eye obviously. There's a good deal of engineering involved here with tongue length, axle placement and quality as well as the construction of the trailer all coming in to play to create a well balanced trailer that will take the abuse that the consumer dishes out and still haul nicely!

 

[highdesertranger]

1st. generally speaking the longer the wheelbase of the TV the better it handles towing.
2nd. due to sloppy manufacturing trailer axles seldom run strait. I have seen them off by close to an inch. that is extreme, most are off at least 1/8-1/4. jeez don't these people now how to use a tape measure.
3rd. finally you need 10-15% of he trailer weight on the tongue, to much and it makes the tow vehicle squat in the rear which makes the front light no fun, doesn't steer good. to little tongue weight and you get the trailer whipping back and forth, again no fun. this brings up another point when they rate how much a truck can tow, they say 7k max but they also say 500 lbs max tongue weight. their math is all wrong or they are smoking crack. for a 7k trailer you need 700 lbs minimum on the tongue. highdesertranger

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

hdr, I believe these days they list TWO max tongue weights, 500 lbs without an equalizing hitch, and a much higher figure WITH an equalizing hitch.  I think I've seen as high as 1200 lbs tongue weight with an equalizing hitch.

Regards
John

 

[highdesertranger]

hdr, I believe these days they list TWO max tongue weights, 500 lbs without an equalizing hitch, and a much higher figure WITH an equalizing hitch.  I think I've seen as high as 1200 lbs tongue weight with an equalizing hitch.

Regards
John

ah this is true, but you still need the 10-15% on the ball. of course this is before you do the load level thing. highdesertranger