Thanks Keith for helping me with the tongue weight. I will only carry 8 pavers in my truck then (and keep them forward). The trailer is brand new and I have already checked the tire pressure and max weight the tires can carry- 1850 pds. So I will be under that weight as well.
Approx. 500 dollars worth of pavers- I will not be taking three trips though! Only one trip!
With all my calculations I should be fine with this trailer- its brand new and its a high quality trailer (father in law spent more at a tractor dealer to get a quality trailer vs. buying one at Lowes). If I was carrying more weight I would rent a tandem but I will be underweight on this trip.
TSM- The trailer is a Class 4 and the Hitch is a class 5.
Its a PJ trailer, and their website states it can have a payload of 1850 pounds.
I found a website with the trailer and posted it. My neighbor used Gooseneck PJ trailers to haul his heavy equipment so I am confident that the trailer is a quality trailer.
Good to go, I would just caution you to distribute the load so that there are at least 2 more pavers in front of the axle than behind it, that should keep your tongue weight in the ball park. Make sure that they cannot shift around as you drive so you will need some straps or some wood to keep them in place.
The only drawback that I see if you use this trailer is that it’s a single axle. For your piece of mind…you might want to take the trailer to a large RV shop (most do trailers including boat trailers) and have the wheel bearings replaced. Save the old ones in case you do have a roadside breakdown. I see trailer breakdowns all the time (4 yesterday on a 12 hour round trip) and they were all single axle trailers.
Just some food for thought, but if this boils down to multiple trips at 200 miles each round trip, might it not be more economically feasible and time saving to rent a U-Haul or Budget truck and get them all in one shot?
Keith- thats a good idea. I have 8 tow straps and this trailer has the build in hooks to tie them into. I think a few 2x4s should hold them down nicely.
Its a new trailer and not mine!!! I think the bearings should be good.
Didn’t know I was female…
Plan on only making one trip!
It will be this weekend… I will let you know if all my planning works out!
Just a follow up on Keith. You have to be a little careful of the tongue weight. Hitches only have a certain spec for the allowed weight on the hitch. A class III hitch I believe is 300# and a class I is 100# so you can’t overload the hitch. Then the other important issue is that there needs to be more weight on the tongue or else the trailer will fishtail like crazy. You don’t want a balanced load with all the weight on the axles and a light tongue. I was carrying a load of long trim boards once 200 miles to the cabin and the tongue was so light I couldn’t go over 45 mph without fishtailing. I stopped and bought a couple bags of softener salt to add some ballast on the front.
When I towed an EMPTY flat bed to pick up my daughter’s Taurus, about twenty miles out it began a fishtail on a mile long down hill 2 lane hiway.
In theory you can speed up a tad and check a fishtail since breaking will only accentuate it. This was hard to do as I was already going hiway speed holding tight on the steering wheel to not let the trailer steer me, and the first attempts did not lessen the sway and I was now going way too fast. So I steered in the same direction of each sway and tapped the brakes each time it lined up good enough to get me slow enough to lead it out of the fishtails.
Luckily it was early a.m. and traffic was light to non existant so I had the option of using the oncoming lane.
sure was a harrowing , check your pants , ten miles though.
Since this was an empty trailer I thought there was no way to change the load ratio…but then it hit me…I stopped at the side of the road and went to get some rocks to load forward and the rest of the 200 mile trip went off without a …sway.
Say what you want, rental trailers such as uhaul, but for liability purposes, they are MUCH more sturdily built and though I have a utility trailer single axle rated for over 2k lbs, I would still rent a dual axle trailer which is much more forgiving to help transport over 4000 lbs. You can feel free to move much more weight forward for stability with less strain on the hitch. You will need the extra stability and support of a second axle with a truck bed towing with 1000 lbs in the bed. These things are made for inexperienced towers. Just drive SLOWLY !
Bing, I agree with you, this is what I was trying to point out concerning tongue weight and weight distribution. For more information on the classes of hitches, check this link.
There is a lot more useful information on this site as well.
I want to re-emphasize the importance of securing the load. You can have a load shift around in the back of a truck and usually its just a little annoying, but if the load starts shifting around on a trailer, it gets down right dangerous very quickly.
Any thoughts on how to secure the load… my guess would be to set the pavers down flat (they are 2 foot x 2 foot x 3 inch or so) either one or two high and 6 deep as the trailer is a 12 footer. Then take some 2x4s or 2x6s (whatever is laying around…) and lay them on top and then ratchet the tow straps from one side hook to the other. As for the bed of the truck, I would do the same only lay a piece of plywood down and ratchet that tight to the bed of the truck. How does that sound?
Oh should I use the tow setting on the transmission of the pickup truck? Terrain would be hilly for most of the trip.
I wonder if I should use this setting to haul compost/dirt in the bed, as I will be taking a yard of compost (approx 800 - 1200 pds is my guess) up with the empty trailer attached. I have been hauling compost all spring with the truck, but only in town for 3 or 4 miles so I would often get 2 yards or have the front end loader put what he thought was the appropriate amount in the bed. When he filled the bed, the rubber stops would be resting on the axle, so I think he would put a little too much in. The truck would sit pretty squat in the back on it rode like a Cadillac though
Should you use the tow setting while towing. Of course ! Greater Highway speeds are just as straining on a trucks drive train as hills at lower speeds. I would use this setting which limits the use of higher gears and changes shift points, all the time you carry or tow heavy loads.
If the trailer is 6x12, then you can lay 18 flat and just fill the floor. That leaves 14 for the second layer. Make 4 2’x2’ squares out of 2x4’s to fill the empty spaces in the second layer. They should ride without being strapped down unless you hit some very rough roads. If you do have some rough roads, then a piece of plywood over the top and strapped down should keep them in place.
If the trailer is 5x12, you will have 2 layers of 12 each, then 10 more on top of those. A 2’x4’ frame at the back to fill the space and 2x8’s stood vertical on each side of the pavers with 4.5" lengths of 2x8’s wedged between the 2x8’s and the edge of the trailer on each side.
