newbie with a HF trailer question

[Dschroeder83]

I"m about to head to HF and pickup the non folding (1700lb capacity) trailer frame. I've seen the threads about moving the axle back, modding the tongue with a section of 2" square tubing etc. Basically just wondering if both are necessary. I'll be using the trailer on a handful of trips that are about a 800 mile round trip (maybe 2-4 times a year)

I've read the HF trailers are great, and other horror stories….basically just trying to decide if its the right thing to pull the trigger on for my first trailer build I Bought a set of the ty-dean plans and have been looking them over numerous times and am getting close to being ready to start on the floor and walls.

[KennethW]

I did not move the axle on mine. Just keep the galley as light as you can and put all your heavy things (Battery and cast iron) in a tongue box. Always clean and repack the bearings on a HF trailer!!! I have the same trailer. You might consider removing the center leaf in the spring to soften the ride if you are going to build light. Also to lower the profile of the teardrop buy putting the axle over the spring and slotting the mount for clearance. That is what i did. I have 6000 mile on mine so far no problems at all. Have fun with your build. It is nice to say went you are done (( I BUILD IT ))

[Nobody]

I used the HF 1800# (1720/40??) trailer in my build in 2006. I moved the axle back slightly & devised a tongue modification, mainly 'cause I did not like the factory coupler. Neither would have been necessary to use the factory trailer for my particular TD build, just my personal preference. I've seen literally dozens of the factory HF trailers in use all over the country & they work perfectly well for their owners. Room for adding a tongue box, & backing maneuverability were my main reasons for the modification(s), along with personal dislike of the original coupler. Do as you will, I betcha it'll work for you.

[absolutsnwbrdr]

You don't HAVE to do either. They just improve the handling characteristics of the trailer. In my opinion the tongue mod is incredibly useful, as it prevents damage to my car when I'm backing my trailer into a tight spot and need to almost jacknife the trailer. It also allows for more tongue storage space.

Moving the axle just increases your tongue weight and can help to prevent trailer sway from an improperly loaded trailer. Leaving your axle in the stock location is fine as long as you don't have a super heavy galley and pay attention when loading the trailer. You always want positive tongue weight to prevent trailer sway.

[Dschroeder83]

If I were to leave the axle in the standard location and put my battery and propane cylinder (11lb tank) on the front should that be enough to not need to move the axle? How much tongue weight should I shoot for?

[bobhenry]

The thumb nail rule I have seen bantered about on this forum is 10% to 15% of the total trailer weight.

[tac422]

IMO modding the tongue is critical, esp. on larger/taller builds.
My first long distance tow with the original tongue resulted in a distortion of the factory metal.

[Dschroeder83]

Which mod are you referring to? The one where you flip the cioupler mount and use a piece of 2" tubing to extend the tongue?

[bobhenry]

See if this helps . Lots of pics.

http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=60358&p=1085971#p1085971

[tac422]

Thats the one

Which mod are you referring to? The one where you flip the coupler mount and use a piece of 2" tubing to extend the tongue?

[Dschroeder83]

I did see that mod a while back, it'll also give me
More room for a storage rack on the front

[backstrap bandit]

Does anyone see a problem with lifting the hf frame higher by adding a spacer made from square tube between frame and angle that springs bolt to

[bobhenry]

Does anyone see a problem with lifting the hf frame higher by adding a spacer made from square tube between frame and angle that springs bolt to

Stock you are at 17" +/- by raising the trailer floor a few inches then adding a mattress, setting in the doorway to put on your shoes or just climbing in an out get to be a bit more of an adventure. It also shortens the galley base cabinet height. Industrially the top of ball towing height by coincidence is set to 17" also. Towing nose down is do able within reason but while a couple or 3 inches doesn't sound like much. It affect a lot of things. Nose down the galley is even higher than level. You now must put a rise drawbar to tow level or sleep down/up hill or disconnect to level the trailer. Like I said "LOTS OF THINGS"

[Nobody]

My frame is plenty high enough without any 'riser' unless I wanted to go 'off road' & even then it'd hafta be pretty rough to need any more clearance. I built 'over the wheels' & fabricated wheel wells in the floor. I miscalculated slightly & after a year or so of travel I noticed a couple of places where the tires had momentarily made contact with the underside of the wheel wells. I had a piece of 1" thick steel (tool steel I believe ) so I just cut-out a square spacer for each end of the axle that would fit the spring perches, acquired some longer, heavier 'U' bolts & mounted the spacers between the axle perch & the springs. Gave me another inch of height which was sufficient for my needs. If you do this type of mod, be sure to provide a 'depression' for the spring bolts, & add a 'lug' to the spacers that will fit in the perch hole. Otherwise your axle could shift slightly on rough roads, causing uneven tire tread wear (don't ask how I know this ).

Back to your original question, I don't think adding a square tube spacer between the 'spring hanger angle' & the trailer side rail would cause any great problem if 'engineered/fabricated' correctly/securely...

[coyote]

I did move the axel back a few inches, but I did not change the tongue. I've got a 18 inch wide tongue box in front of the "drop" on front of frame, no problem. I did put the axle on top of the spring to lower the frame a bit, and I used a 2 inch drop receiver on the Reece hitch,( what ever the piece is the ball goes through) it all works perfectly behind my Rav 4. Over 4800 miles this year no problem. ( well, except the genuine H.F. tires went bald about 4000). be aware of the door in relationship to the tire. That area can get close. Good luck coyote