Weight topic

[Oak]

I hear that it is better to under build rather than overbuild. But what I don't get is, some people say their tear is shaking while towing going 60 or so and that they had to put extra weight, i.e. supplies, in the tear to give it some more weight to stabilize it. Why not just let it be heavy during the build to eliminate that? That might be a dumb question because I can see the issue with overbuilding, but then again, I can't...I'm confused here...

[BrwBier]

I wonder if you may have misunderstood some things. I know people move things from front to back of a trailer to get the tongue weight they want. I don't think over building is a great problem except for people with smaller tow vehicles. My personal feeling is you are going to over build then do it in the frame/floor area. I think weight down low seems better than top heavy. If you tow with a pickup you can be less concerned about the weight than some one with a compact car.
Brwbier

[Miriam C.]

Shaking or bouncing? It is possible to get it too light for the springs. Most don't do that. It is very important to keep the whole thing in mind as you build. If you make it too heavy you will have tire and breaking issues.

[steve wolverton]

The general rule of thumb is the tongue should have about 10-15% of the weight of the camper. 1,000 tear = 100 pound tongue weight.

There is no real reason to build heavy. It causes unnecessary strain on the trailer and the tow vehicle.

[Oak]

I will be towing with an s-10. I ask this because in my first post I asked a bunch of questions and described things I wanted to build on my tear, and someone said to be careful and not overbuild. Then I just read a post where a guy said he had to move some of his stuff towards the rear of the trailer because it was wobbling while he was driving.
Maybe I'm just unsure on what area exactly they were saying when they said overbuild.

[halfdome, Danny]

I have a heavy tear from fully insulating and every option I could think of to include, we want to be comfortable. We've put about 5,000 miles on it with no problems at all. My 4.3 liter Chevy pulls it with ease and I'm satisfied with my gas mileage and there is no wiggle or shimmy. I feel you should consider tongue weight for your particular vehicle and overall weight, what can it handle and are you willing or not to compromise your gas mileage with a heavy teardrop. Danny

[steve wolverton]

Another reason to build lighter is so you can have lower tongue weight for braking. The higher your tongue weight, the more downforce on the rear wheels, and lifting on the front. Most of the breaking comes from the front of the vehicle.

We often plan our builds to what our tow vehicle can pull - it's more important (IMHO) what they can safely stop.

[Oak]

So I should see what the tow capacity of my truck is? I'm not sure as it has no hitch right now and haven't ever towed anything in my life.

[doug hodder]

Oak..you might want to check your owners manual for the truck...towing capacities are given in it. If you don't have one, I'm sure someone here on the forum will know, or you could always call the dealer and ask. Decide what class hitch you need and then buy... http://www.drawtite-hitches.com/the_classes.htm

lots of info here on this site to educate yourself with if you are new to towing...Doug

[steve wolverton]

So I should see what the tow capacity of my truck is? I'm not sure as it has no hitch right now and haven't ever towed anything in my life.

That would be a good start. Also, different class hitches are rated for different weights. If you get a class one hitch that's rated to hold 150 pounds of tongue weight (just an example, not sure of the exact number off-hand) doesn't mean you should haul a 200 pound tongue weight tear, even if the tear weighs less than your truck towing capacity.

I hope this isn't confusing you, it makes sense in my head but I often don't explain it very well.

[Oak]

Thanks everyone. It all makes more sense to me now. Can you tell I'm new at all of this?

[Podunkfla]

Oak... Here is a good article on trailer design and stability:
http://www.synthx.com/articles/trailer-design.html

[Joanne]

I will be towing with an s-10. I ask this because in my first post I asked a bunch of questions and described things I wanted to build on my tear, and someone said to be careful and not overbuild. Then I just read a post where a guy said he had to move some of his stuff towards the rear of the trailer because it was wobbling while he was driving.
Maybe I'm just unsure on what area exactly they were saying when they said overbuild.

I'll bet that someone was me!

Here's where I'm coming from. There are a number of issues with regard to weight. I'll run through them as I understand them, then the others can chip in or correct me if I am mistaken.


Total weight. The most obvious issue with total weight is whether your vehicle will pull the trailer in a manner you will be satisfied with. If you live in the midwest, a heavy trailer pulled by a 4 cylinder might be OK. Come out west and start up a 10% grade and you’d be able to walk up the hill faster than you can tow up it.

Total weight also plays into the decision of whether you need trailer brakes or not. A small, light 4x8 trailer probably won’t need them. My heavy 5x10 should probably have them. In some states, they are required on trailers over 1,500 pounds. I pull with an SUV with 4 wheel disks so it’s not so bad, but I use a lot of care when heading down long, steep grades (those 10% grades I creeped up a few days before).

Total weight will factor into what springs and axles you need under your trailer. If you hang 3,000 lb springs under your 900 lb trailer, it will bounce up and down as you travel. I towed my trailer before I built the cabin on it and there were times that both wheels would bounce off the ground. Now that the cabin is in place it tows great. Of course if you build a 1,500 lb trailer on a 1,000 lb axle you are looking to break an axle at an inopportune moment.

Tongue Weight. The last consideration that comes to my mind right now is tongue weight. Tongue weight is a very important consideration. Too little tongue weight can be a huge safety issue because the trailer can start fishtailing from side to side causing a roll-over. I mounted a bike rack on the back of a tent trailer before I understood about tongue weight. I nearly lost control of my SUV when the trailer started to wildly fishtail at 65 mph on the interstate. I removed the bikes and it towed as well as it ever did.

I hope I am making sense here. Although these trailers are small and simple, they do act as a “system” where changes in one area (weight) can impact other areas (brakes, spring rates, axle specifications, and ride quality).

Joanne

[asianflava]

Even if you build your trailer heavy, there is still a possibility that you may have to shift cargo to get better balance.

[Alphacarina]

Another reason to build lighter is so you can have lower tongue weight for braking. The higher your tongue weight, the more downforce on the rear wheels, and lifting on the front. Most of the breaking comes from the front of the vehicle

You would have to have an awfully heavy trailer for that to be even a minor (very minor) consideration

Consider 200 pounds on the hitch ball which is 2 feet from the rear axle and then front wheels which are 10 feet from the front axle. That 200 pounds of downforce would translate to only 40 pounds of lift at the front tires and as the weight shifts forward under heavy braking, the difference would be even less than that - Certainly an inconsequential difference in braking performance on a 3500 pound vehicle . . . . if you could even measure it at all

Oak - The rated towing weight of your truck is largely a function of how much weight it can safely stop. If you want to tow more than 1500 pounds or so, your trailer really should have some sort of brakes and once you have brakes on your trailer, even a mini pickup would have no trouble pulling 3500 pounds or so - Nothing at all for you to worry about when building a tear . . . . unless you're going really big

Don