Got my Trailer parts..car hauler in the making!!

thank you all for ur help. the verdict seems to be move back a foot--sounds good. and the 50psi remark was that for the truck tires or the trailer tires?
 
John Fuller said:
thank you all for ur help. the verdict seems to be move back a foot--sounds good. and the 50psi remark was that for the truck tires or the trailer tires?
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Truck tires.
 
awesome. thank you
 
krehel24 said:
I would say move it back 304.8 mm
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lol, nice.

Truck and trailer tires should be near maximum @ cold temp (do not check @ warm because it will read higher, and yes, their designed to). The more ridged the tires, the less 'flex' they'll have which is important when you have all that leverage out back pushing your truck around. Make sure you have the correct load range tires... D and E are ideal, you can even run Cs, but just have to remember, even though it states a surpassed weight rating of what you'll be towing, a C tire will only be a 6 ply tire.. which means side to side motion can be extreme, especially with an unbalanced load, if I was running Cs and hauling that cherokee, i'd stick to a 50 mph speed or less. When you start pulling trailers, things can get harry quick!

As far as the proper trailer load, I would recommend centering the weight over the trailer axles first, then moving forward a little bit till the truck starts to sag an inch or so. If its too far back, youll be in for a ride; The trailer will start fish tailing violently back and forth behind you, if its too far forward, your tow vehicle will start to oversteer (youll notice it) and it will become difficult to control [also, since your trucks sagging in the back, youll be blinding ALL on coming traffic with your lights which could cause an accident all in itself]. with a 1/2 ton and a bumper pull, its harder to balance, and youll probably see a little of one or the other, even if properly balanced... so with that said, TAKE IT SLOW!

The reason I wrote this is so you can understand how to properly load anything, cause when you have a trailer, you'll be hauling more than your jeep, trust me....
 
totally understand. 50/55mph is the max i plan on doing all the way down. the tires are whatever they came with...this trailer is brand new only 6weeks old so it's designed to pull up to 12,000lbs according to the stickers and such so i think tires are ok. i'll be resetting the trailer tires and truck tires in the am when its cold and i'm also going to go buy a trailer brake to set up in the am so the brakes on the trailer work (it has 4brakes on it but i didn't realize the brakes don't work without a "brake controller thingy" lol). with factory tow package and Factory installed 7way connector, is it true the brake controller plugs right into a harness under DS kickpanel?? a friend told me it should since it has the factory 7way plug and towing package.
 
ok so i rehooked up trailer, got my straps from a friend and ready to load and strap it down. how do i look now: i positioned it back right at a Foot towards the rear which does seem to sit better on truck sag:the driveway tilts left a little so DS rear is sagged a little more because of that.
rear truck sag 1.jpg
rear trug sag 4.jpg
jeep on trailer 3.jpg
jeep on trailer 4.jpg
 
Yes, the brake controller harness will be either in the LF kick panel or near the brake lamp switch.
BTW, those axles aren't rated for 12,000. Those are a pair of 3500# trailer axles. Be safe and take your time.
 
Jody Treadway said:
Yes, the brake controller harness will be either in the LF kick panel or near the brake lamp switch.
BTW, those axles aren't rated for 12,000. Those are a pair of 3500# trailer axles. Be safe and take your time.
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will do. so the positioning of the jeep looks better i guess since no reply to that...if so that's great. i'll strap her down and ready to roll. slow and easy is my motto on and off the road!!LOL thank you. and yeah i don't know nothing about nothing on trailers but at least this is a good trailer for me to use for now until i get mine ready. gotta admit...this thing is freaking heavy and big...like way to big for my needs. when i'm done with mine, it will be WAY easier to pull than this big house he he. even empty i can feel it behind the truck...my trailer behind the jeep couldn't tell it was back there at all.
 
That trailer is a 2200# trailer on a set of 3500# axles. Your XJ weighs probably 4000# with you and your wife inside.
7000-2200-4000= 800# leftover useable safe capacity.
That is an ideal trailer for your needs John.
Like you said, you're learning and many of us have been down the same road you're heading down the first time.
 
yeah i'm learning and so far one thing for sure...lot more involved to trailering a rig than i ever thought but i will get there. at least for now till mine is ready i have access to this trailer anytime i need so great for me and good thing i'm getting that brake controller in the am..lol
 
btw...prob stupid question..will i know the trailer brakes are working once i put in the brake controller or do i just play with the adjustment until i 'can' feel it stopping?
 
John Fuller said:
btw...prob stupid question..will i know the trailer brakes are working once i put in the brake controller or do i just play with the adjustment until i 'can' feel it stopping?
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Your controller should have directions on how to set it up. Its really personal preference to a point. I want more brake in town then I do on the highway
 
You will be adjusting the controller 24/7.. it also depends on the style of your controller on how it works. personally, you want as much brakes as possible without skidding the tires. I've always done a 5 - 10 mph test and engage just the trailers at full pressure by using the tester on the front of he controller. Some are pressure sensitive, others have a brake delay... but either way... a good test would be to try to stop at 35 mph and see how fast the truck and trailer is capable of slowing down just so you know. also your following distance should be doubled, people on the road are crazy and will short ya all day long.

Also rain, snow, loose dirt will play a part, it's very easy to jack knife with the improper speed and braking. The best advice is to take it slow Man....I guess it all comes down to that. don't worry about people riding your butt, cause your doing them a favor in the long run, plus your bigger than them.

always run your lights, make sure the trailer lights are working, do a proper pre trip and make sure to pull off the road early in the trip to double check all your straps.

Good luck man and be safe
 
Because you have a 1/2 ton truck, you will likely need to rely more on the trailer brakes than you would expect. It will helps to keep the truck under control and so the trailer won't push you around during braking.
 
John Fuller said:
ok so i rehooked up trailer, got my straps from a friend and ready to load and strap it down. how do i look now: i positioned it back right at a Foot towards the rear which does seem to sit better on truck sag:the driveway tilts left a little so DS rear is sagged a little more because of that.View attachment 185809 View attachment 185810 View attachment 185811 View attachment 185812
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So looking at the picture there, I noticed a D-ring looking thing behind the jeep on the wood. How is it attached to the wood?
 
jeepinmatt said:
So looking at the picture there, I noticed a D-ring looking thing behind the jeep on the wood. How is it attached to the wood?
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theyre bolted through the angle iron on the trailer and then through the wood but on the bottom there is a extra flat steel plate for the other bolts....i didn't like that setup so i just strapped it to the corner bracket thingies that are all over the trailer every 3ft or so...they are way more solid than the D-rings on this trailer and 1/4" thick. i got five straps on it so it aint going nowhere. see you later guys...heading out soon as bus shows up at 3.
 
DMiller said:
You will be adjusting the controller 24/7.. it also depends on the style of your controller on how it works. personally, you want as much brakes as possible without skidding the tires. I've always done a 5 - 10 mph test and engage just the trailers at full pressure by using the tester on the front of he controller. Some are pressure sensitive, others have a brake delay... but either way... a good test would be to try to stop at 35 mph and see how fast the truck and trailer is capable of slowing down just so you know. also your following distance should be doubled, people on the road are crazy and will short ya all day long.

Also rain, snow, loose dirt will play a part, it's very easy to jack knife with the improper speed and braking. The best advice is to take it slow Man....I guess it all comes down to that. don't worry about people riding your butt, cause your doing them a favor in the long run, plus your bigger than them.

always run your lights, make sure the trailer lights are working, do a proper pre trip and make sure to pull off the road early in the trip to double check all your straps.

Good luck man and be safe
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Troof ^
 
We Made it home safely guys. The Truck somehow fixed itself for the ride home (Glory and Thanks to God) cause a mechanic shop down there couldn't figure it out with his big scanner software for almost 2hours but sunday morning was running great and all the way home did 60 on the highway no problem and pulled the Boone Mountain at 45 so thank you to all for your kindness and hellos and we all had a great great great time down there. My wife had a blast, she did really well and She personally wanted to thank everyone and bless everyone she met/encountered for their kindness and friendliness. She was very pleased at how such a friendly/comfortable environment it was and how secure/safe she felt being around everyone. I look forward to being able to make more trips in the future. Thank you and hope everyone had a safe weekend wheeling and safe trip home!! God Bless Everyone and Your Families and Rigs!! Shalom.
 
also was pretty impressed with the brake controller thingi...bought a better brand digital one straight plug-n-play and it was SOOOO easy to install (3minutes) and very easy to adjust to feel the difference. found source that sells electric brakes 30.00 per tire...includes all darware to mount to any 5 lug axle so i'm saving for that and this week i will start on my trailer with the angle iron and 2x2 for the rear ramp area. That trailer i borrowed is stupid heavy and rediculous to use 2400lb trailer for 3300lb jeep. This little ford did it surprisingly well on any flat to mild hill but with my trailer even beefed up with new floor will weigh 1000 if that so pulling my jeep won't be so burdensome. I only managed to use 1/4 tank of gas even on the way back with this ford????that was really really surprising to get that kind of gas mileage pulling 6000lbs up to boone so i'm exited to get my trailer up and running. now i'm so spoiled with "trailering" that i'm gonna be lazy and trailer it to my local trail hopefully so i can really start to mod the jeep soon i hope so it's not so "street" legal i hope but will see if local people near the trail don't mind my truck and trailer there when i talk to them.
 
got my angle iron today and the 2x2 tube for the rear where the ramp will be. i'm exited to get it welded up tomorrow, painted and ready to use. hope to have enough extra to build some ramps but for now with the 2x2 on top of the 3" angle iron i guess i should be ok to just drive it up on over it right?? 3 tires are new and so are bearings so i gots to find one more new tire, got new u-bolts for the axles, and i'm also going to re-weld all the original angle iron...noticed they are not welded on all sides where it contacts the running length piece (only on 2 sides) so i am going to do that tomorrow too. I can't wait to test jeep out on this trailer with this ford...i gotta feeling the difference will be night and day in the pulling power and stopping since i'll be about 1700lb less. will post some pictures up tomorrow when all done welding and painting.
 
btw, can someone chime in on the tube size of these axle tubes. outer diameter measures 2" and from much research, 1.75" and below are 2000lb and below, 2" housings are 3000lb and above...am i missing something or is it possible some landscape trailers come with little stronger axles??? than others?? anyone ever notice this
 
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