Trailer Loading

[Peter Person]

Looking for input on how best to load my Cub w/Fasthitch and front & rear wheel weights, disk harrow, bottom plow, and Bigdogs plow on the 6' x 12' UHaul trailer I'm renting.


Driving straight on with the disk harrow hitched is easiest but does it have the best weight distribution?
I know there have been several threads on this subject and I've read the ATIS article on towing, but I've not seen a tried & true setup.
I'll be loading Thursday morning and leaving before 2:00pm, camping over in PA, and then pulling into Gene's around 2:00 on Friday if all goes well.
Thanks,
Peter

[Rudi]

Peter:

For CubFest Northeast 2004, on the trip out, I loaded Ellie onto a comparably sized trailer nose first and with the implements and other stuff strategically placed (read wherever it fit ) in and around Ellie. I found it ok to haul, but it tended to wander a bit.

On the way back home, I changed things around and loaded her, rear first and then tossed in the rest of the stuff. Handled much better and felt lighter. I guess this meant that the weight was distributed much better, with most being toward the front and hence to the tongue and rear of the 3/4 ton Chevy... It was an easy and enjoyable pull.

Some of the others will pop in with their experienced I imagine.. but thought that I might share my limited experience hauling Cubs in to the ring...

[gitractorman]

Peter,
It depends a little on what you are using to tow the trailer with. If you are towing with a heavy 1/2 or 3/4 ton truck, then I would drive the tractor on the trailer, with the disk attached (as you mentioned, and drive it all the way to the front. Then I would load your other attachments in the front of the trailer, along the sides of the tractor. This will give you a heavy tongue weight, but will make the trailer pull nicely, and the heavy tongue weight will not hurt the truck.

If you're pulling with a smaller truck, a light 1/2ton or Dakota or smaller pickup, or a van, I would try to load the trailer more evenly, and reduce the tongue weight to around 300 pounds. This will not overload the back of your tow vehicle, and you should try to place the majority of the weight over the axles of the trailer. This may mean backing the tractor away from the front of the trailer slightly, towards the back, until you see the weight come up off of your tow vehicle, and the trailer will begin to level out a bit.

Another thing to keep in mind, most people do not think much about tying down your tractor, but with the Cub, this is VERY important. Cubs are obviously very tall and topheavy, so proper tie down is very important. It is also important to tie in both directions, 1- to keep the tractor from rolling back off of the trailer, and 2 - and more importantly in my opinion, tie it to keep it from rolling forward while braking. No-matter what you are pulling the trailer with, you will not be accelerating too quickly, but, when you go to stop, you definitely do NOT want it to lurch forward and potentially out of the trailer onto you! Use the straps, and if you are concerned, throw on some more straps. In this case, extra is better!

Use some common sense and it will go just fine.

[kinelbor]

I have found in the couple of times I have trailered my cub, that driving up and parking with the rear wheel right over the rear axle of the trailer seems pretty good. I have a 6x12 untility so it should be pretty similar. Just my two cents. Good luck.

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

Peter, it would help to know what you are towing with, but measure hiegth of tow vehicle bumper without traier hitched, then hitch trialer and laod tractor. bumper should be 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inch lower with trailer hitched. If you get it tail heavy, it will run you off the road.

[Peter Person]

John,
My tow vehicle is a 1996 Thor 25' RV (Ford E-350 with 351 V-8) dual rear wheels.
Thanks for all the help guys.
Peter

[WKPoor]

Since you have plenty of truck Just load it as you see fit keeping plenty of tonque weight. I have a 1ton van and I usually load most of the weight up front to ease the ride. I hauled a car and a skid stear once from Wisconsin and the stear was loaded side ways right on the tongue. I figured I had 2000lbs. of tonque weight. It just made it ride good.

[Lurker Carl]

Speaking of trailer tongue weight, here's some food for thought. Always put a wooden block under the rear of the trailer to "crib" it when loading a tractor.

As you load the tractor, all that weight on the rear of the trailer will pick up on the rear of the tow vehicle. Maybe not enough to lift it off the ground but enough for the tow vehicle to lose rear traction and move. Especially on gravel, grass and/or a hill. Not as much of an issue on flat ground but it could mess up your Fruit of the Looms.

[dkeller]

why even use a trailer? I've gotten my cub in the back of a mid 80's f-150 and went 100 miles, but I guess you want to go more than 55mph and you got to get more than 100 miles, once i drove my cub on my 6x12 single axle trailer and put a cadet 73 on the tail of the trailer, rode alittle heavy, I'd try to back it on.

[Buzzard Wing]

Peter,
Got a couple of tip that may be useful.... Although I am not too wise about such things, I have towed a dual axle trailer (plenty of room for 2 Cubs) for hundreds of miles. One of those trips was unexpected, so I didn't have my usual selection of stuff to tie it down with. I do keep a couple of Ancra straps in the truck and they came in handy to tie the front axle tube to the front rail of the trailer. I had the front tires right up against the front of the trailer.

Hopefully useful tips....
Put the Cub in gear when you are travelling. That should help minimize any possible rolling.

Parking brake may help?? No brakes on the second one so I can't tell for sure.

If the trailer has a wooden deck you can get some of the heavy duty (square drive) screws and screw in some 2x4's or 4x4's in front and behind the wheels. I screwed in a 2x4 then secrewed another into the first (proud of my self for keeping scraps of wood in the truck and my 18v drill too)
Chain binders.
Can't hurt to throw a come-a-long as a back up... but the 3 times I hauled a Cub I used it over the torque tube near the steering post to the side rails of the trailer.

Hope that helps...

Larry

[Peter Person]

Thanks everyone for the input.
I think we'll be OK now.
I'm gonna drive the tractor onto the trailer nose first.
See you on Friday.
Peter

P.S. Larry, I just hope that dipstick I'm bringing for you does'nt put me over the weight limit. If it does, you and Bigdog will have to decide what goes,.....the dipstick or his plow