Trailer Tech....sorta

[Larry Nickell]

With a gooseneck trailer, 15% of the weight is on the truck.

Say a trailer is rated at 15k.....

Assume said trailer is loaded to the max at 15K.

15% of 15k is 2,250 pounds

Theoretically, the trailer now has 12,750 pounds on it.

If this logic is flawed, please explain.

[Kiwi]

Originally Posted by Larry Nickell

With a gooseneck trailer, 15% of the weight is on the truck.

Say a trailer is rated at 15k.....

Assume said trailer is loaded to the max at 15K.

15% of 15k is 2,250 pounds

Theoretically, the trailer now has 12,750 pounds on it.

If this logic is flawed, please explain.

Yeah it's flawed.
The trailer still has 15K lbs on it, but only 12,750 pounds is carried on the trailer axles.

[Larry Nickell]

Originally Posted by Kiwi

The trailer still has 15K lbs on it, but only 12,750 pounds is carried on the trailer axles.

In my skewed way, this is what I was getting at.

So, if I have 2 7k axles which = 14k, I can still add 1,250 pounds and still be within the GVWR of the trailer.

Right?

I've been thinking about this so much my mind has gone numb(er).

[Kiwi]

Originally Posted by Larry Nickell

In my skewed way, this is what I was getting at.

So, if I have 2 7k axles which = 14k, I can still add 1,250 pounds and still be within the GVWR of the trailer.

Right?

I've been thinking about this so much my mind has gone numb(er).

I believe so, this stuff drives me nuts also.

[Larry Nickell]

Here's what I'm deliberating....

Triple axles carry more weight, but they are also a PITA for turning. I got the owner down to $6700 today. Needs a little work, but nothing serious, just cosmetic flaws. To be expected for a 1998 I suppose.

I have found it impossible to find a triple with enough height without buying new for $19k.

[Dukes69]

Wheres the side door?

If you are concerned about weight ratings then I would wait for a tripple axle. We have 2 for the bonneville cars and while 90 degree turns can bind them up, its a small price to pay for the extra load capacity.

How tall do you need the door to be?

[John90XJ]

Originally Posted by Larry Nickell

In my skewed way, this is what I was getting at.

So, if I have 2 7k axles which = 14k, I can still add 1,250 pounds and still be within the GVWR of the trailer.

Right?

I've been thinking about this so much my mind has gone numb(er).

This would be wrong. The max trailer load is still 15,000 pounds. The max load on the axles is no more than 14,000 pounds.

If your tongue weight is 2,250, subtracted from 15,000, your axle weight is 12,750 pounds divided by 2 for each axle's load.

You can't load the axles to 14,000 AND have a 2,250 tongue weight without overloading the trailer 1,250 pounds.

That's the way I learned it.

[zman]

Larry,

If you do buy that thing take it out for a test pull first with atleast one jeep in it. I looked at something similar before I got my camper. Mine was hitch vs 5th wheel. The weight of that trailer and my jeep was just within specs, but it was a bitch to haul compared to my current set up.

Joel

[Provelogear]

Larry,

Did you get the trailer yet? Go for it and carry at least two spare tires! And ,replace all of the tires that are on there.

Gerald

[mrblaine]

Originally Posted by Larry Nickell

With a gooseneck trailer, 15% of the weight is on the truck.

Say a trailer is rated at 15k.....

Assume said trailer is loaded to the max at 15K.

15% of 15k is 2,250 pounds

Theoretically, the trailer now has 12,750 pounds on it.

If this logic is flawed, please explain.

You don't have to stress over this. Take a bathroom scale out to the garage and lay a longish chunk of square tubing across it with one end propped up on a block of wood. That end would be the back of your truck.

Get your proportions similar to what you see as to where the trailer tires are and watch what the scale does as you move weight around.

You'll find that the pin weight and tire weight added together always equal the total weight.

The more you put on the pin, the less the tires see. The more you put on the tires, the less the pin will see.