(Not the exact products I am necessarily wanting to get, but simply examples of each)
Done it all to my Dodge 2500, the two biggest things you can do, airbags and swap out the wheels and tires for 19.5 commercial tires. Expensive, but when you go over dips and bumps, those thick sidewalls make all the difference in the world.
I thought about the matching wheel size trick ( have a second set of wheels plus a few, but I would have had to mill out the centerholes to clear the bearing caps.
I have 17" wheels on both my pickup and trailer. However, the ones on the pickup are 8 hole while the trailer is 6 hole. That doesn't matter as long as the diameter and width will match. Of course the spares aren't interchangeable.
Noted, I was going to do the matching wheel thing, just because I had them.
OP, If you don't already have it grab a plug kit and a compressor or pump. As contender (my name is autocorrect and i am more frustrating than a virus) said tires are better, but on the other hand people are more rushed. I wound up with two different nails in my trailer tires last time I took it on a long run.
Last edited by OldmanoftheSea; 01/27/20.
-OMotS
"If memory serves fails me..." Quote: ( unnamed) "been prtty deep in the cooler todaay "
Television and radio are most effective when people question little and think even less.
Somebody should tell those idiots that haul the camper trailers out of Indiana about some of these products. Lights pointed up blinding oncoming traffic. Driving 55 when everyone else drives 70.
Carlisle Radial Trail HD Trailer Tires are my choice.There tuff for a trailer tire and I've never had or seen a blowout with them...
I hope you're just being sarcastic. Carlisle trailer tires are so bad that Carlise only warrantees them for 2 years and Discount Tire quit selling them.
No,I have had very good luck with them..Read this review..
The problem with trailer tires is that they are the most abused tire out there..There not taken care of and kept out of the sun and rarely is the air pressure checked before taking off.Because they sit for long periods without use,they should be covered from the sun and the pressure kept up..I think people abuse there RV tires more than they abuse their batteries..
The real trick is balancing /distributing the weight in the trailer to achieve your target tongue weight. Note that this will go out of spec on hill climbs/decents...
Thats why it is good to have a system for how you stow your gear to maintain trim.
Last edited by OldmanoftheSea; 01/27/20.
-OMotS
"If memory serves fails me..." Quote: ( unnamed) "been prtty deep in the cooler todaay "
Television and radio are most effective when people question little and think even less.
The real trick is balancing /distributing the weight in the trailer to achieve your target tongue weight. Note that this will go out of spec on hill climbs/decents...
Thats why it is good to have a system for how you stow your gear to maintain trim.
IMO if you use a half ton made these days as a truck or tow heavy loads air bags and an equalizing hitch are both must haves. The suspension of today’s half tons are getting softer and softer, and unless you want to drive around with the nose of your truck pointed toward the sky you gotta have those two things.
Air bags suck empty, they always have to have a few pounds in them. I tow a 10k toy hauler with a distribution hitch and it tow fine even though the weight is balanced as well as it should be. I second getting good tires, OEM tires are always the least they can get away with and never as heavy as they should be.
"Life is tough, even tougher if your stupid" John Wayne
There is an air bag brand that allows zero air for OEM ride quality. Essentially have a bump stop inside. Can’t recall the brand at the moment. I know some fill is needed, especially here, to avoid cracking in the cold.
If you take the time it takes, it takes less time. --Pat Parelli
American by birth; Alaskan by choice. --ironbender
I read through 6 pages of suggestions and there's some good ones. I'm far from being a trailer towing expert but have learned a few basic things over the years from towing travel trailers, boats, car trailers, vehicles, dump trailers and utility trailers:
1) The tow vehicle should be level when towing. I see 1/2 ton pickups towing trailers all the time with the rear end squatted down and the front end aimed at the sky. This changes the front end geometry and be very dangerous. Usually when you see this the truck is overloaded with too much weight on the back tires. 2) The trailer should be level so the weight is equally distributed between the tires. I had equalizer hitches on my travel trailers. 3) Any trailer should have more weight on the tongue so it won't sway. 4) If you have trailer brakes make sure they are working before you head out. No surge brakes. 5) Check all your tire pressures and your trailer lights before you head out. 6) If pulling your pickup with a tow bar don't put any weight in the back of the bed. If you do it's just like pulling a trailer without enough tongue weight
This video is pure BS! Those guys are selling air bags. If they had fully deflated the air bags and set the lift bars correctly the truck would be level and the weight would have been transferred to the front tires. When I bought my first load leveling hitch in 1974 the company that made them had a front wheel drive car (Oldsmobile Toronado I think) with one of their hitches on it. They hooked a travel trailer up to the car, removed both rear wheels and drove the car around to demonstrate how well their load leveling hitch worked.
I found an old pic of a Toronado with a load leveling hitch and no rear wheels/tires but couldn't figure out how to post it here.
