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Cool looking Cougar. Is that an 8' wide and not 8.5'? The fenders look wider. Must be tight with the car in there!
Yes, It's 8' wide which was a boneheaded move on my part. I bought it used and didn't think to measure it or look up the model number. I realized it as soon as I put my 56 F100 in it. It fits but is really tight. The Cougar fits just fine but there's not much room to walk down the side of it. The escape hatch is a lifesaver for getting in and out of the car when it's in the trailer. Here's a better shot of the Cougar.
Had fun loading and unloading a 10,000 pound generator today. My F-150 had plenty of power but not the weight. Had to go to 4X4 low because the rear wheels in 2 wheel drive started to spin.
Previous Ford Vs. boat was a 6k lb. Donzi behind an Explorer. The Donzi was Ford powered so they got along nicely. When I walked into the weigh station to get the numbers the guy chuckled and said I had it backwards, the boat should be towing the Ex. Too true, it weighed more and had more HP.
Haul PVC and aluminum ornamental fence as well as some chain link fence. Trailers are '18 D-Maxx & '17 PJ goosenecks, 24' deck over, 7k torsion axles, electric over hydraulic discs, hydraulic jacks, G rated tires. We have a '15 Chevy 3500 diesel w/ a flat bed that does most of the work but I've managed to put 15k on this one since 4/14 of this year. About 10k of that is towing. The truck tows great and the trailers are set up perfect for what we do.
Hopefully this is an appropriate question for this thread: I have on order a 24' Cargo Mate V-nose enclosed trailer. It will be 7'6" hi x 102" wide, have barn doors instead of a ramp door, 6k torsion axles, electric over hydraulic discs, and G rated tires. I've never pulled a bumper pull trailer of this size before. I plan to be pulling this thing cross country with a couple of SXS's and associated gear so I want to know if I need a WDH. I hate white knuckle towing so i want to be prepared for the worst. The rig will probably be very similar to AMX Dreamer's set up. Thanks in advance.
Tow 14000# boat, 10' wide load 35 ft long or 27' RV trailer
I use my 2011 F-250, 4x4, diesel, crew cab, short bed, to tow a Formula 29PC power boat on a triple axel bumper pull trailer. Works great, can't even tell its back there with the cruise set.
Hopefully this is an appropriate question for this thread: I have on order a 24' Cargo Mate V-nose enclosed trailer. It will be 7'6" hi x 102" wide, have barn doors instead of a ramp door, 6k torsion axles, electric over hydraulic discs, and G rated tires. I've never pulled a bumper pull trailer of this size before. I plan to be pulling this thing cross country with a couple of SXS's and associated gear so I want to know if I need a WDH. I hate white knuckle towing so i want to be prepared for the worst. The rig will probably be very similar to AMX Dreamer's set up. Thanks in advance.
Check the weights - gross trailer weight and tongue weight - once you get it loaded. I believe the 2.5" receiver hitches are rated for 17,500lbs gross trailer weight, I forget what the tongue weight rating is - 1500lbs maybe?
EDIT: I see you are running an SRW, not a dually. Chances are you will need a WD hitch, yes. You could road test it without, but I would anticipate needing a WD set up.
In any event, the dually will be a lot more stable than a SRW with any heavy load. The one thing about a bumper pull is the tongue weight is rear of the axle so the heavier the tongue the less loading on the front axle = you can run in to stability issues with a heavy rear axle load and light front axle load. Again, a dually will be much more stable in this regard than an SRW because of the stiffer rear end and wider track width.
A weight distributing hitch would certainly be recommended. Is it required? You will have to check how your trailer is loaded, weight distribution (% trailer weight on the tongue), and see how it handles. I would suspect that a properly distributed trailer weight would not need a weight distributing hitch with your set up, but without putting it all together and road testing it the answer is really up in the air.
Watch your hitch ratings. There are tons of 2" hitches out there where you use the adapter sleeve to get to the 2.5". If it were me I would get a 2.5" drawbar. There are fewer of these out there. My 2" drawbar adjustable tri-ball hitch, for example, has a 10,000lb rating for the 2-5/16" ball. For the higher weight capacities a stout adjustable height 2.5" drawbar would be ideal. It looks like B&W makes a 2.5" adjustable tri-ball hitch with a 14,500lb rating. The 2.5" drawbars for the WD hitches normally have significantly higher capacities. The solid forged 2.5" drawbars will also have higher capacities.
Quick note on loading a WD hitch - in the past we've used a floor jack to lift the hitch and tongue before securing the chains to the WD bars. This loads them much higher than securing them before putting just the tongue weight on the hitch. You could do the same thing jacking up the bars on each side so they are higher before you secure the chains, but that could get a bit hairy depending on the design of the bars and how stable the jack is.
Check the weights - gross trailer weight and tongue weight - once you get it loaded. I believe the 2.5" receiver hitches are rated for 17,500lbs gross trailer weight, I forget what the tongue weight rating is - 1500lbs maybe?
EDIT: I see you are running an SRW, not a dually. Chances are you will need a WD hitch, yes. You could road test it without, but I would anticipate needing a WD set up.
In any event, the dually will be a lot more stable than a SRW with any heavy load. The one thing about a bumper pull is the tongue weight is rear of the axle so the heavier the tongue the less loading on the front axle = you can run in to stability issues with a heavy rear axle load and light front axle load. Again, a dually will be much more stable in this regard than an SRW because of the stiffer rear end and wider track width.
A weight distributing hitch would certainly be recommended. Is it required? You will have to check how your trailer is loaded, weight distribution (% trailer weight on the tongue), and see how it handles. I would suspect that a properly distributed trailer weight would not need a weight distributing hitch with your set up, but without putting it all together and road testing it the answer is really up in the air.
Watch your hitch ratings. There are tons of 2" hitches out there where you use the adapter sleeve to get to the 2.5". If it were me I would get a 2.5" drawbar. There are fewer of these out there. My 2" drawbar adjustable tri-ball hitch, for example, has a 10,000lb rating for the 2-5/16" ball. For the higher weight capacities a stout adjustable height 2.5" drawbar would be ideal. It looks like B&W makes a 2.5" adjustable tri-ball hitch with a 14,500lb rating. The 2.5" drawbars for the WD hitches normally have significantly higher capacities. The solid forged 2.5" drawbars will also have higher capacities.
Quick note on loading a WD hitch - in the past we've used a floor jack to lift the hitch and tongue before securing the chains to the WD bars. This loads them much higher than securing them before putting just the tongue weight on the hitch. You could do the same thing jacking up the bars on each side so they are higher before you secure the chains, but that could get a bit hairy depending on the design of the bars and how stable the jack is.
Thank you sir for the comprehensive reply. I think I have solved my dilemma and eased my mind. My wife slapped me into reality and I changed the trailer to 18'. Still have the axle, brake, height, and tire upgrades but just not as much trailer. The 24' one was for "just in case" but the 18' one is what we need, if that makes sense. The primary duty is to haul a 2000# =/- Ranger Crew XP 1000 that is about 14-15' long, and associated gear (coolers, generator, jack, air compressor, tools...). I have towed my company's 24' goosenecks on several overnight trips and it can be a PITA to find a hotel or restaurant with adequate parking and fuel stops are not always convenient. The smaller trailer will be easier all the way around. I will definitely keep this info in mind should this trailer get squirrelly on me. Thanks again.
Thank you sir for the comprehensive reply. I think I have solved my dilemma and eased my mind. My wife slapped me into reality and I changed the trailer to 18'. Still have the axle, brake, height, and tire upgrades but just not as much trailer. The 24' one was for "just in case" but the 18' one is what we need, if that makes sense. The primary duty is to haul a 2000# =/- Ranger Crew XP 1000 that is about 14-15' long, and associated gear (coolers, generator, jack, air compressor, tools...). I have towed my company's 24' goosenecks on several overnight trips and it can be a PITA to find a hotel or restaurant with adequate parking and fuel stops are not always convenient. The smaller trailer will be easier all the way around. I will definitely keep this info in mind should this trailer get squirrelly on me. Thanks again.
No man ever said he had too big of a trailer...
Joking aside, and not to throw a curve ball, but triple check your purposes and see if you really do have adequate room. With the specs you outlined I suspect you are on the ball there with the axle ratings etc. That is an easily over-looked spec.
What is the compressor you're going to use? Combo genset/compressor? Or 12v pumps/storage like a Viair? Sounds like a neat rig regardless. I have looked in to the Viair set up, but I don't like their small tanks. I may look at a bigger tank set up in the bed at some point. I have a 20gal wheeled set up that is good for about all I use it for. Running air tools and inflating tires a smaller tank might work in a pinch, but its nice having more
As far as the maneuverability - I find a gooseneck is a lot more maneuverable and a lot nicer to pull. I forget how long the one I had was now, Kaufman that held 2 cars, tandem 7 or 8k axles. Even with a car over top the bed it was stable as all get out. The inconveniences with length would be a moot point in my book, but I realize we may have much different perspectives.
Joking aside, and not to throw a curve ball, but triple check your purposes and see if you really do have adequate room. With the specs you outlined I suspect you are on the ball there with the axle ratings etc. That is an easily over-looked spec.
What is the compressor you're going to use? Combo genset/compressor? Or 12v pumps/storage like a Viair? Sounds like a neat rig regardless. I have looked in to the Viair set up, but I don't like their small tanks. I may look at a bigger tank set up in the bed at some point. I have a 20gal wheeled set up that is good for about all I use it for. Running air tools and inflating tires a smaller tank might work in a pinch, but its nice having more
As far as the maneuverability - I find a gooseneck is a lot more maneuverable and a lot nicer to pull. I forget how long the one I had was now, Kaufman that held 2 cars, tandem 7 or 8k axles. Even with a car over top the bed it was stable as all get out. The inconveniences with length would be a moot point in my book, but I realize we may have much different perspectives.
LOL.. Agree with the first line. This trailer is for the wife and I to travel to far-away places with the SXS. Hence the suspension and tire set-up. I have similar set ups on my goosenecks, 7k torsions, elec over hyd discs, G rated tires. The older one is a '17 PJ 24' deck over. Bought it new in Jan of '17. It came with the Sailun tires and still has them. A conservative estimate is they have around 100k miles on them. The brakes are fine too. We have it serviced a couple of times per year and have had no issues at all. As far as the enclosed trailer, all I would be hauling is my SXS and related stuff. The generator and air compressor are just shop-size stuff, nothing major. The biggest thing I can perceive hauling is my company's CNC routers. I have 2 that are about 12'l x 7.5'w x 6'hi. Those weigh I around 4500#. I have another one about 1/2 that size. Hence the barn doors. I don't think the ramp door would survive the forklift with those things. Agree 100% about the goosenecks. Very stable and easy to back and maneuver. We have customers we deliver to that live on dirt roads with narrow culverts and deep ditches. Not much margin for screw ups. Makes you hone your skills real quick. Sounds like you've done this sort of thing a time or two. Thanks.
Not sure if this will link correctly but I'll try it. This was a run I did up through Wisconsin. The trip out was a Lexus SC430 (pictured), return had a Cadillac XLR if I recall.
2006 F350 DRW, 2wd, 6.0L
My back hurts just thinking about that rig, though. For pulling all day every day a shock absorbing/air ride hitch is a must.
Odd-ball job yesterday clearing brush at an investment property. I mis-judged the tongue weight and had the hitch too high. Though, that was quite a load with the tractor and brush hog combo.
06-13-2018, 09:04 AM
