Pulling a trailer

[Guest db99wj]

I've pulled boats, jet ski's and even light towers with my Jeep, it is set up properly, with the right receiver hitch, lighting and it has a trailer anti-sway deal in the computer system, yep, computer controlled to help you not sway as much. I can back a trailer easily, long or short, I can back a trailer quite well.

Anyway, just bought a 4X6 metal trailer, with 12" high speed rated tires. With my standard receiver hitch, the trailer is angled up toward the Jeep, so I have bought a 4" drop hitch but it is still angled a bit, so I am trading it for a 6"....thats what she said....., anyway, I will be using this for some around the house projects, but also, as a travel trailer. With 4 kids and a wife, we have a bunch of crap to take when we go to my mom's who lives a couple of hours away. We have some plastic camp trunks that we pack most of our stuff in there, they fit nicely on each side, long ways, then with other stuff, I can balance quite well on axle. Will be taking it on a 6 hour trip soon. I have ratchet tie downs as well. The weight on these trips I am pulling is not that much, maybe a couple of hundred pounds. I carry most of it already without a trailer, but we are packed like sardines inside with all the stuff inside and a hitch mounted carrier.

my questions:

Should it be as level as possible?

The speed limit in the manual says 65 mph. Is this a pretty good indication of the speed I need to stay around on the highway?

Anything I can put on it so I can see the dang thing, that sucker is impossible to see!

Any other maintenance things, or other things I need to watch out for during maintenance and using?

Edited June 29, 2011 by db99wj

[Guest coldblackwind]

Try not to exceed to 65 because the lugs on smaller trailers tend to loosen up, and they tend to just plain get loose behind you're truck. Check the lug nuts on a regular basis, I saw a few of these come back that had lost wheels because people never checked the lugs! More level would probably be better, but a little tilt isn't going to hurt the trailer most likely, unless you have something roll of the back of it.

As for putting something one it, my dad took some threaded rod and welded to the corners of a plow we used to clear out driveway with in ny, worked pretty good. On that subject they make some bright yellow deals that are designed for the same purpose (snow plows) but I don't see why they wouldn't work on the corners of a trailer just as well.

[Guest db99wj]

Lugs keep coming up regarding speed in other discussions I have had. I will have a socket with me that fits the lugs and will tighten them at EVERY stop, which will be alot, due to having 4 kids under 12 in there that will be either hungry or have to pee every 17 minutes! 65Mph for my Wrangler is actually an optimal speed for me, I can get 21mpg doing that, I hit 70 and I lose about a 1.5mpg average. Dropping to that speed only adds about 30 minutes to the whole time, which doesn't matter.

[enfield]

65 mph max is a good limit for anyone pulling any trailer with any vehicle.

[Just2Honor]

I'm sure you know this already: load enough weight on the front (tongue wieght) to prevent the trailor from swaying. About 10% on the front and 50% over the axle should do it but you may have to experiment. If you're just carrying a couple of hundred pounds I'd load it to the front. Attaching an orange bicycle flag on each back cornerrailer helped me see where the trailer when backing up.

[Guest db99wj]

Oh, good idea on the bike flag. Hard to back it when you can't see it!

[dlm37015]

get bigger wheels and tires less strain on the berrings it is most likley 5 lug small ford lug spacing get some 15 inch ford ranger wheels it will pull better

[56FordGuy]

Doesn't sound like you're carrying enough weight to really make a difference. However, most factory built trailers should be built with a roughly 60/40% split for weight distribution. You'll notice the axle is a little closer to the rear of the trailer to achieve that. If you start hauling heavy stuff then you may have to play with the load balancing to get the proper tongue weight, but with that size trailer and a Jeep you should be fine. It's also a good idea to cross your safety chains. Hook the driver side on the trailer to the passenger's side on the Jeep, and vice versa. That way if anything does happen, the chains will catch the tongue of the trailer and keep it from digging into the road.

[dralarms]

Doesn't sound like you're carrying enough weight to really make a difference. However, most factory built trailers should be built with a roughly 60/40% split for weight distribution. You'll notice the axle is a little closer to the rear of the trailer to achieve that. If you start hauling heavy stuff then you may have to play with the load balancing to get the proper tongue weight, but with that size trailer and a Jeep you should be fine. It's also a good idea to cross your safety chains. Hook the driver side on the trailer to the passenger's side on the Jeep, and vice versa. That way if anything does happen, the chains will catch the tongue of the trailer and keep it from digging into the road.

Never heard of that, but sounds like a good idea, I need to start doing that.

On the trailer, yes load it forward, not equal. If you load it equal or to the rear it will sway all over the road, making your trip miserable and killing your gas mileage.

Also, are you wanting to see the trailer to hook it up or just want to know it's there? I use a backup camera on mine to hook it up, works great and I don't have to yell at anyone when they get me off to one side of the other. LOL My trailer is big enough to see but you could use thebackup camera to glance at the trailer once ina while to make sure it's ok and nothing has shifted if you wanted to,

[FUJIMO]

I second the bike flag idea and add that it can also aid in solo hookups for a small investment. 2 flags, 2 plastic poles with a great deal of flex (think big rig antenna) and 2 hi strength magnets. I originally saw it in use at a buddy's house. After one too many times of backing his truck into and up & over the tongue of his boat trailer he invented a little helper. By attaching a flag to a cb antenna and then threading that down into an old speaker magnet he could place one on his tongue and one on his hitch right in front of the ball. When the 2 flags almost touched he knew he was there. Redneck version of a backup camera but it works !

And 56FordGuy is right on with the towing "cradle". I was told many years ago by a cross country boat transporter to do the same thing. After having one plow pavement and then kick back up and attempt to ramp over his truck he started practicing the same style hookup. It's one of those things that makes complete sense but never occured to me, lol.

[peejman]

Lots of good advice here...

65 mph max speed. Lug nut torque as well as bearing and tire temps are of concern. Check the air pressure in addition to lug nuts regularly. Hot air pressure may be 6-8 psi above the cold setting. The bearing housings shouldn't be hotter than warm to the touch. The larger diameter tires and bearings the better. Use quality high speed Koyo or Timken bearings. Some trailers come with pretty crappy bearings. Real trailer tires (designated by "ST") have stiffer side walls to help reduce sway compared to regular car tires (designated "P").

60F/40R weight distribution.

Tongue height (level trailer) isn't that important other than dragging when you traverse abrupt slope transitions in the road. For example, you're on a flat road and need to go up a steep driveway. If you go forward, the tongue may drag when the Jeep is on the slope but the trailer isn't. The rear may drag if you're backing up.

Cross the safety chains. Twist them if too long. Get hooks with spring clips to make sure they don't bounce off.

Bike flags to help see the corners. When the flags liberate (and they will eventually at 65 mph) replace them with tennis balls. Add some reflective tape to help others see the trailer.

[Guest db99wj]

Great info here guys. If this was just running around town I wouldn't worry as much, just wanting to stay safe and do it right.

Backing up and hooking to trailer is easy, I just pick up the tongue and pull the trailer over to the Jeep!

Bike Flags, good idea.

I will re-torque and check air pressure, add/subtract if needed. I have a compressor that stays on the Jeep.

Good to go on 60/40 of load, I did a test run to see how things fit.

I got a 6" drop hitch, trailer is nearly level.

Cross chains and mine do have the spring clips.

Trailer came with reflectors along the side and full lights of course. Will add some to the side rails for added visibility.

Will upgrade bearings down the road, possibly with larger tire, this is not the first time I've heard of doing that. These are 12" tires.

Need to add a spare. I did get a free spare tire mount.

I did drop the boat off my hitch a few weekends ago, was just backing it up to move it and didn't lock it down right. Glad no one saw me!

[peejman]

I will re-torque and check air pressure, add/subtract if needed. I have a compressor that stays on the Jeep.

Understand that the cold/hot pressure increase is normal and fully expected by the tire manufacturer. Just something to be aware of if you check them when stopped just off the interstate for gas. If you set them to 35 psi before you left and they check at 41 psi at a gas stop, don't let any air out.

Also don't add more if they still read 35 psi. That means they're not hot, which is good.

[Caster]

Don't buy into that special trailer tire crap either. Use a radial tire. A bias ply tires (most dedicated trailer tires are) are stiff when they are cold and don't give when you take off down the road. Inevitably they get flat spots on them which make them wear faster and ride horrible. The inflation number on the side of the tire is the MAX also. I can't seem to get that into peoples head that you don't run "X" psi just because the tire says so. A good pressure is 35 correct. Just remember, the more air you run, the more you wear the center, the less you run, the more the edges wear and if low enough and you'll wear the sidewalls as well.

What size tire are you running? Goodyear's radial ST seems to do fair but I don't like them. BTW, Tires...that's what I do for a living.

As far as the lug nuts; The cheap wheels most trailers use [from what I've seen] don't have the chamfer cut deep enough. T typical taper seat lug nut stays tight because of that taper seat. Think of it like a flat head cap screw or a Morse Taper. They crank those trailer wheels out fast as they can. If the taper is shallow, there's not much bearing surface for the lug nut to grab hold on. There's really not much you can do but like was suggested, regularly check your torque, but don't over torque them. On top of stripping or breaking a stud, I have seen people stretch the stud from over torquing which changes the thread pitch of the stud and will make them gall and seize or strip out. Best use a torque wrench if in doubt. Anything over 70-80 lbs is probably too much. I keep the clutch on my impact set at 75 or so.

[7dogguy]

+ a bunch on speed and lugs.

[tercel89]

DO THIS : To see the trailer when backing up , buy 2 plain ole PVC pipes from Lowes and cut them to the height you want them . Attach them to the trailer by some heavy duty zip-ties . Then paint the tops of them orange . Thats what I did on my Trailer.

I also cross my trailer chains too like the one guy said . If the trailer comes loose , it will rest on the chains and not dig into the ground causing a disaster .

If you have a Automatic transmission , get a Transmission cooler . Easy to put on and they will save your transmission a 100 times over ! I am a part-time/hobby mechanic and the transmission coolers are a must to me . Even if not towing , they will keep your trans fluid temp down and prolong the life of the Transmission .

Go to Autozone , get a mid-size one for around $65 and some Transmission rubber hose about 5 ft and you are good to go .

Edited July 1, 2011 by tercel89

[gregintenn]

If you are making long trips, or driving interstate speeds, I agree that you need to upgrade to larger wheels and tires.

[Guest TackleberryTom]

Don't buy into that special trailer tire crap either. Use a radial tire.

This is generally true but really pay attention to the weight rating. Tires in the small "trailer tire" size ranges usually have a very low weight rating. If you have ever pulled a car hauling trailer with "car" tires on it, you will know how horrible that can be. Same trailer with proper weight rated tires is like a completely different trailer. This even applies to small trailers as well. Car tires are rated for a car with weight being distributed to 4 tires, most small trailers only have 2 tires. That is not much capacity.

Weight distribution is also important too.

[Guest db99wj]

Did a test run this weekend. Total mileage about 200 miles. The load weight was about half of what my heaviest will be. Used ratchet straps to secure the load. Checked my load, checked the trailer several times. Tire, rim, lugs, hub were cool to the touch the whole time, it tracked perfectly, Jeep pulled it great. It felt like nothing was there. No swaying or anything. It does make me nervous when I hit one of those "oh crap" bumps on some roads, you know the ones that jar you pretty good normally. I had to back it one time and once it got a little out of line with the Jeep I could see it so backing is ok, not as easy as a long trailer but not that difficult. I did forget about parking space room when we stopped to eat.

Max speed was 65mph, I employed one of my kids to give a status check every once in awhile. Had to fire her for sleeping on the job!

I do need to install a transmission cooler, not only for trailer pulling but just because. Jeep transmissions are known to benefit from them anyway.

[peejman]

Did a test run this weekend. Total mileage about 200 miles. The load weight was about half of what my heaviest will be. Used ratchet straps to secure the load. Checked my load, checked the trailer several times. Tire, rim, lugs, hub were cool to the touch the whole time, it tracked perfectly, Jeep pulled it great. It felt like nothing was there. No swaying or anything. It does make me nervous when I hit one of those "oh crap" bumps on some roads, you know the ones that jar you pretty good normally. I had to back it one time and once it got a little out of line with the Jeep I could see it so backing is ok, not as easy as a long trailer but not that difficult. I did forget about parking space room when we stopped to eat.

Max speed was 65mph, I employed one of my kids to give a status check every once in awhile. Had to fire her for sleeping on the job!

I do need to install a transmission cooler, not only for trailer pulling but just because. Jeep transmissions are known to benefit from them anyway.

Glad it's working well. Definitely install the trans cooler. They're a whole lot cheaper than a rebuilt... AMHIK. Forgot about that until the above post. As you said, not a bad idea whether towing or not.