Trailering a tractor question

[Charlie M]

I've got a 16 ft tandem axle trailer for transporting my smaller tractors like a Farmall A and I was wondering how the weight should be distributed. Should there be weight balanced over just the trailer axles or put some weight on the hitch. I know too much weight on the hitch is a problem for the truck which is a regular F150 with a towing package.

 

[DoubleO7]

You need weight on the hitch or else you will have the trailer wagging the truck.
I would load the tractor onto the trailer until the truck squats about 2 inches.

Others will say more and others will say less.

 

[wh]

You need weight on the hitch or else you will have the trailer wagging the truck.
I would load the tractor onto the trailer until the truck squats about 2 inches.

Others will say more and others will say less.

2 inch squat is what i try for. Have pulled a farmall h on a 16 ft trailer several times with chevy 1500. Brakes on both axles. No problem. And even with squat i always wanted trailer close to level when i reached that 2 inch squat.

 

[bc]

I think the rule of thumb, and it varies on style and type of vehicle, is about 10% of trailer weight on the tongue up to 500 pounds without going to a weight distributing hitch for a F150 depending on the year.

I went up to the elevator scale and wrote down all the weights listed. Pickup alone front axle, rear axle alone, and total. Hook up trailer. Record PU front axle, both axles, PU plus trailer, PU rear axle plus trailer, and trailer alone. You can unhitch and get the trailer alone for kicks.

Drive across the scale with tractor loaded and repeat recording weights. Park the PU on the scale and move the tractor forward and back till you get the tongue weight you want and write that down and put marks on the trailer where the tractor is.

Nice to have a helper taking notes and reading the weights if they have display turned around or something. Sometimes on a Sunday or some elevators you have to peek in the door to see it.

 

[Goose]

You need weight on the hitch or else you will have the trailer wagging the truck.
I would load the tractor onto the trailer until the truck squats about 2 inches.

Others will say more and others will say less.

The rule of thumb I go by is when the hitch drops 2 to 4 inches it's about right.

You need to have some weight on the hitch. I loaded a half load of hogs on a livestock trailer once and forgot to shut the center gate. I lit out down the road and all at once those hogs decided to all run to the back of the trailer. Man, I was all over the road! I saved it and stopped and corrected my mistake, but I was sure glad there were no other vehicles around.

 

[Dingo3]

You need weight on the hitch or else you will have the trailer wagging the truck.
I would load the tractor onto the trailer until the truck squats about 2 inches.

Others will say more and others will say less.

2 inch squat is what i try for. Have pulled a farmall h on a 16 ft trailer several times with chevy 1500. Brakes on both axles. No problem. And even with squat i always wanted trailer close to level when i reached that 2 inch squat.

Just curious, what are the symptoms/problems when you have too much weight on the hitch/tongue?

 

[bc]

Just curious, what are the symptoms/problems when you have too much weight on the hitch/tongue?

BTDT. The trailer starts swaying back and forth. The faster you got going the more side to side swaying further left and right. Finally it will sway too far one way and flip over either in the ditch or into the other lane which could have oncoming vehicles. The trailer could flip and just bends the hitch and breaks loose or it can flip your vehicle as well. When a tractor trailer flips it about always takes the tractor with it due to the 5th wheel attachment.

Usually you can tell as you speed up but not always. You could be right at the edge where it isn't swaying and then a pothole, gust of wind from a semi going by in the other lane, stepping on the brake, etc. and it starts swaying.

Will see what others say but I have learned you never step on the brakes or you make it worse. Get off the gas and apply the trailer brakes if you have a separate controller. Got a little experience but not an expert on the subject.

 

[bc]

The rule of thumb I go by is when the hitch drops 2 to 4 inches it's about right.

You need to have some weight on the hitch. I loaded a half load of hogs on a livestock trailer once and forgot to shut the center gate. I lit out down the road and all at once those hogs decided to all run to the back of the trailer. Man, I was all over the road! I saved it and stopped and corrected my mistake, but I was sure glad there were no other vehicles around.

Yep. Shifting loads will do it and good reason to chain and block a tractor on a trailer.

 

[Dingo3]

BTDT. The trailer starts swaying back and forth. The faster you got going the more side to side swaying further left and right. Finally it will sway too far one way and flip over either in the ditch or into the other lane which could have oncoming vehicles. The trailer could flip and just bends the hitch and breaks loose or it can flip your vehicle as well. When a tractor trailer flips it about always takes the tractor with it due to the 5th wheel attachment.

Usually you can tell as you speed up but not always. You could be right at the edge where it isn't swaying and then a pothole, gust of wind from a semi going by in the other lane, stepping on the brake, etc. and it starts swaying.

Will see what others say but I have learned you never step on the brakes or you make it worse. Get off the gas and apply the trailer brakes if you have a separate controller. Got a little experience but not an expert on the subject.

I thought that the swaying comes from not enough weight on the tongue. I brought home a car once backwards (young and dumb) and had that happen.
The reason I asked about too much weight up front was a few years ago I had the weight a little far forward than I wanted because of the weird object I was hauling.
The truck seemed to struggle even though it should of pulled it with no problem.

 

[Aaron SEIA]

BTDT. The trailer starts swaying back and forth. The faster you got going the more side to side swaying further left and right. Finally it will sway too far one way and flip over either in the ditch or into the other lane which could have oncoming vehicles. The trailer could flip and just bends the hitch and breaks loose or it can flip your vehicle as well. When a tractor trailer flips it about always takes the tractor with it due to the 5th wheel attachment.

Usually you can tell as you speed up but not always. You could be right at the edge where it isn't swaying and then a pothole, gust of wind from a semi going by in the other lane, stepping on the brake, etc. and it starts swaying.

Will see what others say but I have learned you never step on the brakes or you make it worse. Get off the gas and apply the trailer brakes if you have a separate controller. Got a little experience but not an expert on the subject.

I'm with Dingo. Negative tongue weight is what makes the tail wag the dog. Heavy on the hitch just makes for a rough ride.
AaronSEIA

 

[jon f mn]

I would go with more than 2" of sag at the bumper. An f150 is not the firm and would likely drop more than thatbjustbsepping on the bumper. More won't hurt anything and will reduce the chance of sway. If your asking this you don't likely have much experience and once sway starts its very difficult to stop, so you will want to be sure to prevent it.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Just curious, what are the symptoms/problems when you have too much weight on the hitch/tongue?

This is what happens:

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

I've got a 16 ft tandem axle trailer for transporting my smaller tractors like a Farmall A and I was wondering how the weight should be distributed. Should there be weight balanced over just the trailer axles or put some weight on the hitch. I know too much weight on the hitch is a problem for the truck which is a regular F150 with a towing package.

Perfect subject for the "Tractor Transporting" forum.

For a "bumper pull" style trailer, you need 10%-15% of the total weight of the trailer on the tongue for stability. More than 15% is okay, but you can run into truck payload/hitch capacity limits on heavier trailers. Keep in mind most F150 sized trucks have 500lb or 750lb tongue weight capacity limits on their receivers before you should be using a weight-distributing hitch.

Most farmers will tell you that you don't need to bother with a weight distributing hitch. You don't need one for an equipment trailer. You never see one being used on an equipment trailer. Whatever. You decide for yourself.

You can approach it as an art or a science. Generally speaking if you park a tractor facing forward on the trailer with the rear wheels centered between the trailer axles, you'll be about right as far as balance goes. With a little experience you'll get a feel for it. For example if you have a loader on the tractor you'll realize that you can park it a little farther back on the trailer. If you have a mower or back blade you need to move forward.

 

[john in la]

You want as much weight as you can safely get toward the front of the trailer.
If you put too much weight on the front you run the chance of exceeding the tongue weight limit.
You can also make the front end of the truck light with a bumper pull trailer.
This causes a rough ride with the rear of the truck over loaded and the front end light.

Lots of guys use the 2 inch rule.
But it really depends on your truck.
2 inches on a half ton is way different than 2 inches on a one ton.
2 inches on a one ton may be pushing the tongue weight limit and may not be enough for a half ton truck.

To little tongue weight does not cause wagging the tail.
It is really having too much weight to far back.
Yes I know they are both the same thing with a bumper pull trailer but hear me out.
Load 2 trailer with the weight from front to rear loaded correctly.
Hook the heavy trailer on the front and the light trailer on the rear and it will pull fine.
Reverse these same trailers to where the heavy trailer is on the back and it will wag the tail the whole trip.
The weight distribution in the trailers did not change but the light trailer in the front can not control the heavy trailer on the rear.

 

[MarkB_MI]

Just curious, what are the symptoms/problems when you have too much weight on the hitch/tongue?

If you turn the steering wheel and nothing happens, chances are you've got too much tongue weight.

 

[Dingo3]

If you turn the steering wheel and nothing happens, chances are you've got too much tongue weight.

I probably underestimated the weight and the truck towing capacity might of been a little exaggerated. It just seemed to struggle on hills and jerked me around on dips and bumps.

 

[DoubleO7]

BTDT. The trailer starts swaying back and forth.

I have never seen too much tongue weight cause the same trailer wagging the tow.

And I have pulled a 16 foot car hauler severely overloaded to the point that the axles were on the frame of trailer and the 2wd Tahoe rear axle was on the bump stops. And that Tahoe has a shorter wheelbase making the chances of sway more prevalent.

Not saying too much tongue weight will not cause sway as I have not experienced that happening. s
Not going to run an experiment to find out either.

But too little tongue weight will definitely cause sway BTDT.

 

[DeltaRed]

I like to drive it on. Center the rear tractor axle directly over the rear axle of the trailer. About perfect for my half ton Ford.As said,some adjusting may be needed from time to time.

 

[bc]

BTDT. The trailer starts swaying back and forth. The faster you got going the more side to side swaying further left and right. Finally it will sway too far one way and flip over either in the ditch or into the other lane which could have oncoming vehicles. The trailer could flip and just bends the hitch and breaks loose or it can flip your vehicle as well. When a tractor trailer flips it about always takes the tractor with it due to the 5th wheel attachment.

Usually you can tell as you speed up but not always. You could be right at the edge where it isn't swaying and then a pothole, gust of wind from a semi going by in the other lane, stepping on the brake, etc. and it starts swaying.

Will see what others say but I have learned you never step on the brakes or you make it worse. Get off the gas and apply the trailer brakes if you have a separate controller. Got a little experience but not an expert on the subject.

Sorry. I read his question wrong. I was referring to not enough weight on the tongue and too much weight behind the trailer axles.

 

[504]

I've got a 16 ft tandem axle trailer for transporting my smaller tractors like a Farmall A and I was wondering how the weight should be distributed. Should there be weight balanced over just the trailer axles or put some weight on the hitch. I know too much weight on the hitch is a problem for the truck which is a regular F150 with a towing package.

My starting point is the rear tractor tires centered between the two trailer axles. Then put it where the weight is where you need/want it. (Drive on)