Re: Hauling Ford 8N with small pickup

Posted by Adam Paul on September 01, 2004 at 21:56:23 from (68.211.106.198):

In Reply to: Hauling Ford 8N with small pickup posted by Doug in Minnesota on September 01, 2004 at 18:51:45:

Hello, I can speak with a good bit of authority on this one. I understand the math, the weight ratios, balance and have had a good bit of experience towing both utility trailers, and travel trailers. If you really want to gain a vast understanding of this, be sure to visit www.rv.net, and go to the towing forum.
First, DO NOT CENTER the tractor on the trailer. Move the tractor forward to the front side of the trailer. This will add tongue weight; this is good, as it prevents sway. Given the figures you provided, you will WANT a tongue weight of 285 pounds. You can actually use a heavy duty bathroom scale for this. You measure this weight at the tongue, not the jack.
Second (by the way, these rules apply for all trailering), back your tractor onto the trailer. This gives you better weight movement, and is a safe tractoring practice. (You’ve got to back it up at some point anyway)
Third, while trailer manufactures talk about weight capacity of the trailer, few talk about the tires. You will have to look at the load range of the tires.
From the sound of things, you don’t have trailer brakes. I tow with and with out brakes depending on what I’m towing. If you pay attention, and anticipate you should be OK.
Fourth, when ever you hit hilly terrain, tow in third. (Non-overdrive). You’ll know when you need to do this as the truck will tell you so. Towing in non-overdrive takes a minute to get used to. RPM’s go up, gas mileage goes down, it sounds louder than your used to. This is what you want. While towing, this is the best performance range for your engine, and transmission. It also, at higher speeds, offers engine braking.
A couple of other thoughts: Police CAN NOT pull you over for their judgment on WEIGHT. They can pull you over reckless driving, or endangering others. The dump truck mentioned in the other post was probably being off loaded because the tow vehicle broke down, or the driver was endangering others by way of some unsafe practice. It was NOT due to weight.
The biggest concern I see in your scenario, are the tires of the trailer, followed by not having brakes on the trailer. I also wonder if you are using the bumper for your hitch…
If it were me, I would tow it. However, that statement is made by saying I would make sure I had the right tires. If you ARE using a bumper hitch, I would install a receiver/hitch.
Hope that helps,
Adam Paul

Follow Ups:

• Re: Hauling Ford 8N with small pickup john in la 07:07:51 09/02/04 (8)
  • Re: Hauling Ford 8N with small pickup Adam Paul 09:37:39 09/02/04 (7)
    • Re: Hauling Ford 8N with small pickup john in la 10:28:14 09/02/04 (1)
      • Re: Hauling Ford 8N with small pickup Adam Paul 12:01:21 09/02/04 (0)
    • Re: Hauling Ford 8N with small pickup T_Bone 09:55:08 09/02/04 (4)
      • Re: Hauling Ford 8N with small pickup Adam Paul 10:08:48 09/02/04 (3)
        • Re: Hauling Ford 8N with small pickup T_Bone 20:17:22 09/02/04 (0)
        • Re: Hauling Ford 8N with small pickup paul 11:39:59 09/02/04 (1)
          • Re: Hauling Ford 8N with small pickup JT 14:46:42 09/02/04 (0)
• Re: Hauling Ford 8N with small pickup paul 23:26:40 09/01/04 (0)

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