Why so much tongue weight on 22' car hauler trailers?

[BlueKnife]

I'm in the market for a 22' car hauler for my Kubota. What I've been noticing is that most of the trailer length is in front of the axles, putting a lot of weight on the hitch. What am I missing here? My last 22' trailer had the same problem and I recently sold it. I was constantly being flashed at night for high pointing headlights. Any manufacturers that put their axles a little more towards the front?

If your headlights were pointed up because of tongue weight you had way too much tongue weight. That either means that you had the load too far forward or the load was too heavy for the pickup. The further back the axles are, the more stable the trailer and the more leeway you have in where the load is placed.

 

[bcp]

Some general information:

https://www.etrailer.com/question-136065.html

https://www.etrailer.com/faq-where-to-position-trailer-axle.aspx

Bruce

 

[NonTypicalCPA]

Thanks guys for all the replies. I’ve been pulling trailers of various sorts for 30 plus years. I understand that you want proper tongue weight, but some of these 22’ trailers have too much in my opinion. I’m pulling with a half ton Sierra with the at4 trim, which has a softer suspension than the regular Sierra. Air bags are a “want” but I haven’t pulled the trigger. I’m looking a little harder at tilt trailers, they seem to have a better axle location.

 

[ultrarunner]

If you want to know the REAL reason, listen up:

If the axles were more centered, the center of gravity of the rig would be right around the center of the 2 axles. With a load placed on it, this location would pretty much be the same. Given the total mass of trailer + load, the yawing frequency would be (lets say) F_sub_yaw.

With the axles placed farther back, the yaw inertia is a higher value because of the 'axis translation' theorem (I_zz = I_zz + M*r^2). R being the altered distance. This LOWERS the natural yaw (tongue swing frequency) so it will be much more manageable. It it gets higher than about 1 Hz. you're probably not going to be able to save it if it starts oscillating above the critical speed.

Another way of saying it is that the swinging tendency will happen at a much higher speed.

That's my typical expert witness court-room testimony.

Or you could hit the trailer brakes...

I got a call to drive a pickup with enclosed trailer during a move.

No previous experience on that truck and I did not load the trailer.

All was good until hit a bad patch of rough road and the sway was wild... reach down for the slider and applied the Kelsy Hays trailer brakes and straightened out instantly.

Opened the ramp and an upright piano was the last in...

 

[ultrarunner]

If your headlights were pointed up because of tongue weight you had way too much tongue weight. That either means that you had the load too far forward or the load was too heavy for the pickup. The further back the axles are, the more stable the trailer and the more leeway you have in where the load is placed.

Not to hijack but too often I find headlight pointed up from load and/or towing and with a lot of the newer vehicles the brightness easily blinds especially if I'm in a passenger car.

Sometimes I think how can this be legal?

 

[sd455dan]

Not to hijack but too often I find headlight pointed up from load and/or towing and with a lot of the newer vehicles the brightness easily blinds especially if I'm in a passenger car.

Sometimes I think how can this be legal?

If those trucks had headlights like a newer Tesla they could take a minute and lower them on the touch screen using the headlight settings. Or if the US would catch up with EU they would automatically adjust (adaptive headlights) and cut the light going into the oncoming drivers eyes without having to do anything since it is already equipped.

 

[ultrarunner]

If those trucks had headlights like a newer Tesla they could take a minute and lower them on the touch screen using the headlight settings. Or if the US would catch up with EU they would automatically adjust (adaptive headlights) and cut the light going into the oncoming drivers eyes without having to do anything since it is already equipped.

Every rental in Germany has adjustable headlights... and the Germans use them for in town driving.

I swear if it wasn't for dimming rearview mirrors the light would be blinding...

 

[sd455dan]

Every rental in Germany has adjustable headlights... and the Germans use them for in town driving.

I swear if it wasn't for dimming rearview mirrors the light would be blinding...

I have wondered how the adaptive lights work when following another vehicle.

The test videos with oncoming vehicles looks like it works well, but if they don't adjust while trailing another vehicle that would be a problem.

 

[ljjhouser]

if you are pulling with a 1/2 ton truck you may need to use a weight distribution hitch. That can help a lot if your truck is not level. I WOULD NEVER want to buy a heavy trailer with axles in the center. It is important that the trailer trail well BOTH empty and loaded. This is my 20' tilt bed which is 20 foot. I use a WD hitch and it trails perfect. Moving axles forward - increasing weight on the back may create the most dangerous problem with sway control. Most good WD hitches also have sway control. The books say 10-15% of gross trailer weight on the tongue. I use 10%. This trailer is 14K. What is the weight of the trailer you want this time and what is the max weight of what you want to tow? When you get your new trailer, load it and go to a CAT scale to verify all the axles weight to find the best way to load it for trailing and safety. BUY a good trailer. But they are very expensive now. Best Wishes. Consider all the options you may need. BRAKES on all axles, Heavy set back front jack with side crank, location of spare, led lighting, ramps or tilt etc.

EDIT: I should also add - Keep all your numbers in vehicle specifications - Max combined Vehicle -GRVW - max vehicle axle weight, max trailer weight (load including weight of trailer) and Vehicle max tow weight. You may not be able to keep all the numbers in spec. If not, either trailer it too big or tow vehicle is too small. I have a 33 gal fuel tank. When it is full, I am very close to vehicle gross rated weight.

 

[kneedeep]

Your biggest issue is too small a truck for a loaded 22’ trailer.
The new 1/2 ton trucks are weak and poor load haulers, they are known as grocery getters for a reason.
I built trailers for several years in my younger days and the front spring hangar should be in the middle of the bed less the tongue.
Long trailers look funny but that is how long bumper trailers are built.
Good trailers have an adjustable height hitch for this reason.
A shorter trailer or bigger truck would help solve your issue.
Proper load weight position is extremely important.