I am not real knowledgeable about towing, but I have had quite a bit of experience doing it. I have towed an 18 foot ultra light camping trailer From MI to WA state and Vancouver Island, 4 or 5 times. I towed with a Volvo XC70 wagon, AWD, and had electric brakes. I had a sway bar on our camper, but not on our old cargo trailer. Both trailers were good and steady behind, hardly even knew either was there. Same true of our old 6X12X6 cargo trailer.
My towingcapicity was 3500 #. We sold that camper and are doing a CT conversion so we can bring our 10 ft tandem trike with us when we camp. new cargo trailer is 12X6 and 7 ft high. I will be towing it with our town and country van that has a tranny cooler, towing capacity is over 3500#. No electric brakes on car or trailer. the new cargo trailer is all aluminum. Trike weighs about 80pounds. Trailer has a straight tongue.
Last week we loaded our trike into our old 6X12 (6 ft tall) regular nose, cargo trailer and went to the cycling trail nearby. It was my first time towing with the van. That trailer felt very "sloppy". behind me. Not a solid secure feeling I had when towing with my Volvo. I was only going 4 miles, but I stopped twice to make sure everything was hooked up right. It was. I have not been scared to tow our old cargo trailer before, but I am pretty nervous now. I have never towed anything that felt sloppy before. I stopped by the local trailer dealer to make sure my bar was the right size for the receiver and it was.
So I a really nervous about towing our new cargo trailer that is 7 ft tall (V Nose) with the van. (Only vehichle we own) The new cargo trailer has a bed that goes up to the ceiling. If I tow with that in an UP position will it make the trailer top heavy? The new trailer has a straight tongue, the old cargo trailer has a V tongue. I took a picture of the straight tongue and took it to the trailer place and they said they were pretty sure they could put a Reese sway bar on it. From the picture, it would be the same one we had on our cargo trailer.
So after all this long drawn out story telling here, I am looking for any tips or hints that will help either of these trailers feel like a better tow behind me. Sorry to go on so much, but I wantedto be sure you had the whole equation. Thanks for your willingness to share your experience and expertise.