Trailers are hard to drive. Right? That is what I always thought because when I was 16 years old and had been driving for only a few months I had to drive our 17' boat to the lake.
It was so hard to keep that trailer in the lane at freeway speeds. It was swerving all over. I just figured that was the way trailers were supposed to be. Little did I know that an even more traumatic experience was in my future.
One evening I was towing a 2 place ATV trailer down a city street when it started swinging out of control and throwing the car back and forth over 4 lanes of traffic. No matter what I did I could not regain control of the car and trailer. Applying the brakes only seemed to make it worse. All I could do was take my foot off the brake and gas pedal and steer for all I was worth.
Finally the car's speed started to drop and the swaying action subsided until, at about 10 mph I was able to use the brakes and come to a stop. Cars had stopped and pulled off the road to give me room. Luckily I didn't hit anyone.
WHAT WAS THE PROBLEM?
WAS THE TOW VEHICLE INADEQUATE?
WAS THERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE TRAILER?
It was an ATV trailer that I had used dozens of times before, towed with the same car, and had loaded it with much heavier loads.
SO THEN, WHAT WAS HAPPENING?
It is a magic concept called "tongue weight", in the trailering world. Tongue weight is the downward force the ATV trailer coupler applies to the hitch ball.
HERE IS THE SECRET!
If there is not enough tongue weight, or even negative tongue weight (where the coupler actually pulls up on the hitch ball), the ATV trailer will be unstable at medium or high speeds.
HOW DO YOU AVOID THIS PROBLEM?
For ATV Trailers the recommended tongue weight is 10% to 15% of the total weight of the trailer and load. This means that you load 10 to 15% of the weight near the front of the trailer. For example: a 2 place ATV trailer with 2 large ATV's loaded on it should weigh approximately 2200 pounds. So the minimum tongue weight would be 220 pounds. An even better ratio would be 15% or 330 pounds.
Most trailer hitches and couplers are rated for at least 500 pounds of tongue weight. If the tongue weight is over 10% and under the maximum rating of the coupler and hitch, this is in the correct range. Remember: Too much tongue weight is far better that too little.
HOW DOES ONE KNOW HOW MUCH TONGUE WEIGHT IS ON THE ATV TRAILER?
You can purchase a small scale specifically designed for trailers which costs around 125.00 or for about 10.00 you can take it to a truck scale. Do not put the wheels of the trailer on the scale, unhitch the trailer and pull the tow vehicle off of the scale. This way the weight of the tongue is the only thing that gets measured.
I would not suggest using your bathroom scale. When I tried that, it just folded in half. To achieve proper tongue weight, load the heaviest ATV in the front of the trailer and pull it as far forward as possible. Then load the lighter ATV in the back. If the trailer is designed for ATV's this should yield a tongue weight in the proper range.
Don't just assume that you have proper tongue weight, check it. If you have no way of checking it take it to a trailer shop or hitch shop and have them check it for you. Whenever you are towing a loaded trailer for the first time, accelerate slowly.
Accelerate up to 30 MPH and see if the ATV trailer feels stable. If it does then accelerate to 40 mph, check again. You do not want to feel any swaying or oscillation from the trailer. If 40 mph feels good and solid then try 50, then 60, then 70, and 75. The trailer should feel rock solid behind the tow vehicle at any speed. If it doesn't, slow down immediately and get some professional help to correct the problem,
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