ready made trailer frame

[rwelp]

I know this question has been asked before, and I have read the stickies on the subject, but I am going to ask anyway. I have purchased a 5' x 9' trailer ($125.00) to use the frame for a tear. I am going to make a 10' x 5' x 5' tear. I don't plan on making a real fancy galley, and I do plan on having a tongue box on the front. My question is this: currently the axle is 48" from the rear of the trailer which is 45% of the total bed length. Do you think I need to move it back or can I get away with leaving it where it is? I have read that 45% is the max you would want and only if your galley is not too heavy.

Rob

[bobhenry]

Actually 60/40 falls within a few inches of Andrew's balance guide.

This figure is axle location in relation to the trailer body.

If you are putting a 10 foot body on the frame so the axle should be located no closer to the front than 48" from the rear.

If you were to cantiliver the front of the body over the tongue you would be right there. The addition of the tongue box will be a plus for handleing as well. There may be a problem though you may run out of tongue. I would study how to add additional length to the tongue if needed.

I placed a 10' body on a 5 x 8 flat bed utility trailer and put the 2' addition to the front and added a longer tongue it pulls at 80-85 as well as 45 although not too aerodynamic



In this pic you can see the missing floor at the nose. It was added in later.



" Aerodynanic as a barn "

[rwelp]

Thanks for the reply Bob. I plan on building a Lil Diner like tear on the frame, so it will be cantelevered out 1' over the tongue. New question: How long does the tongue need to be, or better yet how short can it be and still get away with it? Currently it is 54" from the front edge of the bed to the receiver.
Rob Welp

[cokebottle10]

You need to be able to jack-knife your trailer to 90 degrees or more whitout it hitting the TV. So if your TV is 6-foot wide at its widest point then I would make the trailer tongue 36-inches (half the width of the TV) plus a few extra inches. Say about 40 inches minimum.

However the longer the trailer the easier it is to back up. Right now I would keep the 54 inches if I could so my old full size ford (over 7 foot wide) and others could pull it.

Thanks,
David.

[dovaka]

You need to be able to jack-knife your trailer to 90 degrees or more whitout it hitting the TV. So if your TV is 6-foot wide at its widest point then I would make the trailer tongue 36-inches (half the width of the TV) plus a few extra inches. Say about 40 inches minimum.

However the longer the trailer the easier it is to back up. Right now I would keep the 54 inches if I could so my old full size ford (over 7 foot wide) and others could pull it.

Thanks,
David.

this is why i made my tongue adjustable. it has a setting for normal short and holy crap thats long for doing the crazy maneuvering needed sometimes

[eamarquardt]

Here in Ca if the trailer is under 17 feet (as I remember) you get a lifetime registration for a flat fee. So I made my tongue as short as possible as I wanted the lenght in other placesl After tacking it together, I took it for a short spin and made a "hard turn" to see what happened. I still had plenty of clearance. It is possible to jack knife a trailer when backing up no matter how long you make the tounge.

I like the idea of an adjustable tongue (you don't have to tell the department of motor vehicles about it!) and think the "holy crap" setting might just come in handy!

Cheers,

Gus

[bve]

You need to be able to jack-knife your trailer to 90 degrees or more whitout it hitting the TV.

I'm prepared to disagree with this statement as written. An 'A' frame tongue doesn't allow this and the circumstances requiring a FULL 90* turn should be limited. It doesn't matter where you are trying to get into or out of, if you are in a 90* jack-knife you are going to be spending a long time correcting because most TV's don't have 90* steering.

While backing up or pulling forward the greater the angle the less the trailer will lead or follow - instead it will pivot at the wheel on the inside of the angle. After about 45 degrees the steering wheel loses its effectiveness in maneuvering the trailer, that's when the short back and forth driving and/or steering from one extreme to the other is required to get you out of the predicament you are in.

You should be able to park a trailer without going past 45* - if not you should probably reconsider where you are trying to put it.

[eamarquardt]

You need to be able to jack-knife your trailer to 90 degrees or more whitout it hitting the TV.

I'm prepared to disagree with this statement as written.
You should be able to park a trailer without going past 45* - if not you should probably reconsider where you are trying to put it.

I'm prepared to agree with bve. Your trailer only needs to survive the sharpest turn you can make pulling forward so you don't crunch the frame into the t/v. You shouldn't have to think when driving forward. When backing up, you simply have to think and pay attention and not jack knife it more than you have clearance for, whatever that is.

Cheers,

Gus

[madjack]

...there are a lot of short tongued trailers out there...they do work but are not the optimum way to go...my personal rule of thumb is to make the tongue, at a minimum, equal to half the width of the tow vehicle plus an couple of inches(orso)...while the 90* capability may not be needed but rarely, I have seen too many damaged trailers/tow vehicles that would not have been IF the capability had existed...of course, I have seen a few that where damaged even with the 90* ability...people will often try harder than they should to complete a backing maneuver without pulling up and correcting their backup than they should...keep in mind that a longer tongued trailer is usually easier to back than a short tongued one...my present tear has a nearly 66" tongue giving me a 14'6" overall length...there is room on the tongue for a front box(integral to the body) an ice chest or PetCool and a 5gal propane tank and still leave plenty of room for backing maneuvers...build what you want but I do recommend a tongue of adequate length...........
madjack

p.s. by the way, in answer to your original question, I would leave the tongue at the length it is and move the axle back around 8"s...you'll be surprised how quickly that galley weight can add up...otherwise, plan on loading heavy items(batteries, ect.) in the front to compensate................MJ

[eamarquardt]

I think it depends on what you define as the tongue! There are straight tongues, a-frame, and combinations of the two. Is tongue lenght the distance from the coupler to the first fill width of the trailer? I still don't think you need 90 degrees. In my experience, as long as you can turn "hard over" when driving forward and you still have clearance between your trailer and tv you'll be ok. Backing up, you always have to pay attention, no matter how long/short your tongue is (however tongue is defined). I agree with Madjack that it's better to pull forward and straighten things out before you get in real trouble. Sometimes it just isn't possible to get the trailer where you want it in one shot as you can't start from where you'd really like to start.

Cheers,

Gus

[madjack]

...yep, mine is a modified "Y"...works for me...............................

[cokebottle10]

I think that the adjustable tongue is the best way to go. It could get you out of alot of tight spots. If you made it like a Y then you could remove the straight part to fit in smaller places or remove it to keep the TD from walking away.

My brother has a 5th wheel trailer with a adjustable hitch. Close to the cab when on the hwy and farther back when parking. He still managed to dent the cab. Not backing up but running forward around a gas station.

I live on the side of a mountain. I have a 16 foot car hauler trailer. I have to jack-knife it to get it in and out of its parking hole. It has a A frame tongue but the recever hitch on the back of my truck plus the A frame tongue set at 30 degrees will allow me to jack-knife it 90 degrees.

I'm just saying that stuff happens. If you do jack-knife it too far and the tongue is too short then you can damage you TV and The TD. If it is longer then the damage will likely only be to your bumper and/or the trailer tongue.

Thanks,
David

[rwelp]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. My thoughts at this point are to move the tongue forward and add 1' to the bed of the trailer.
Rob Welp

[caseydog]

Bear in mind that what makes a trailer easier or harder to back is not the actual length of the tongue, but the distance between the hitch and the axle.

So, the tongue just needs to be long enough to keep from hitting the TV when backing and turning. To make the trailer easier to back, you would need to move the axle back on the trailer.

As for balance, your galley may not be fancy, but will it be full of stuff when you are towing? How about the sleeping cabin?

However, if your axle is at 4-feet from the back, and your structure will be 10-feet on a 9-foot frame, with the extra foot over the tongue, you are probably pretty close to a good position now.

[eamarquardt]

My brother has a 5th wheel trailer with a adjustable hitch. Close to the cab when on the hwy and farther back when parking. He still managed to dent the cab. Not backing up but running forward around a gas station.

Your brother couldn't pass the "hard over" driving test and he got a dent! That's why I think the "hard over" test is the criteria for success in tounge/trailer design.

Went out and measured the distance from the coupler to where my trailer first hits full width on my frame: thirty two inches. Width of my van: sixty four inches. So, I seem to hit Mad Jack's "rule of thumb", but barely.

Fun bantering.

Cheers,

Gus