Quote:
Originally Posted by haddixj
Bob I saw that you tow a race trailer around how does the truck handle it with that much overhang? I am going with a bumper pull trailer. Do you ever wish you had twin drive axles? Also do you know your gross weight?
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Sorry, I forgot to respond to this. My truck is 36' bumper to bumper. I weighed it last summer with a fair amount of junk inside for almost 2 weeks on the road. I had completely empty water tanks at the time because I had just finished flushing out the water system with bleach and such. I had full fuel since I filled up at the place I weighed. I had myself and my 180lb son in the cab. Front axle weighed 12k lbs. Rear axle was 17k lbs. My water tanks are 200 gallons and they are under the bed which is completely behind the rear axle line. My black and gray tanks were empty at the time of weighing too. Those are located about mid wheelbase. So, I would guess adding 1660 lbs. (8.3 lbs per gallon of fresh water) behind the rear axle might unload the front just a tad. My rear axle is a 22,700 lb. rated so I don't think I'm in need of tandem drive axles. I also like having only one drive axle in terms of tire and other parts and maintenance issues. I don't especially like how long the overhang is from the rear axle to the back of the rig but I haven't scraped it yet. I'd like to try to rig it so that I can overide the auto leveling device in the rear axle and air it up to the max to give me a bit more clearance in pulling into a driveway or something but I haven't figured out how to do it yet. I know it can be done though.
I haven't weighed my trailer. I know empty it's only 3k lbs, it's a completely aluminum frame so it's very light for a 24'er. I'd guess I'm around 8k lbs with a Vette, extra wheels, lots of tools and spare parts in it. I'm 68' front bumper to trailer rear end when all hitched up.
I've driven many thousands of miles with and without my trailer hitched up. There is absolutely no way to know the trailer is there without looking in the rear view mirrors or backup camera. The truck simply does not even know it's pulling an extra 8k lbs. It also works pretty well turning and isn't hard to manuever around corners. Does the overhang placing the hitch farther back from the rear axle help that? I know the hitch is a 40k lb. rated on my truck and my drivetrain is certainly capable of 80k lbs. so I wouldn't hesitate pulling a stacker trailer.