Just a simple question of "WHY?!"

[MountainGoat]

You know what the biggest safety hazard on trailers and being towed at high speeds is......the trailer tires !!!
Until just a few years ago when Goodyear came out with a proper made in USA high speed rated trailer tire, the vast majority of tires were affectionally called "China Bombs"....they came from China, and were known to frequently explode, causing major damage to the trailer and causing lots of accidents. Most were pumped up to the required 65 psi, but only rated for 70 mph or so, and many were way past their 7 year life span. Add to that the fact that the manufacturers equip their products with barely adequate axles/ratings, and yes, many are an accident looking for a place to happen.
I cringe when I'm tooting along at 60-65 mph in the right lane and a big rig like a huge pick up/5th wheel comes flying past me at 75-80 mph, knowing that there is a better than average chance it's equipped with the "bombs".

Yeah I had a car trailer that blew up a tire. Fortunately it was a 4-wheel model. I was never in the fast lane and it was only ~3 years old. I always wondered what the hell was up with that.

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[mtbikernate]

I look at the load I'm towing as a quality-of-life issue. If I'm towing around town, fairly short drives, then towing right near the max rating is no big deal as long as I've got the skills and comfort level handling it and I've got it set up correctly.

But on a cross-country trip with a load that's not only approaching max, but is also kindof a worst-case scenario with a big boxy RV increasing wind resistance? I don't want to have to stop that often to fuel up because of my truck's limited tank size. If it's my only option, I guess I'd deal with it and plan my route accordingly, but it's definitely not my preference.

And as far as a place like uhaul, they're going to automatically go extra conservative to filter out the idiots. I tried to get a uhaul place to install 7 pin wiring and a brake controller onto a subaru once. They didn't want to touch it because they'd have had to run a bunch of wires from scratch. But they also questioned me, saying "if you need a trailer brake, you shouldn't be towing it with that car" without acknowledging that the car's manual states different tow ratings without brakes and with brakes. And the trailer I wanted to tow was within those limits, much like the original post. I told the uhaul guy as much, because I knew my manual and he did not. I ended up doing all the wiring myself in the end.

 

[Jhbryaniv]

I look at the load I'm towing as a quality-of-life issue. If I'm towing around town, fairly short drives, then towing right near the max rating is no big deal as long as I've got the skills and comfort level handling it and I've got it set up correctly.

But on a cross-country trip with a load that's not only approaching max, but is also kindof a worst-case scenario with a big boxy RV increasing wind resistance? I don't want to have to stop that often to fuel up because of my truck's limited tank size. If it's my only option, I guess I'd deal with it and plan my route accordingly, but it's definitely not my preference.

And as far as a place like uhaul, they're going to automatically go extra conservative to filter out the idiots. I tried to get a uhaul place to install 7 pin wiring and a brake controller onto a subaru once. They didn't want to touch it because they'd have had to run a bunch of wires from scratch. But they also questioned me, saying "if you need a trailer brake, you shouldn't be towing it with that car" without acknowledging that the car's manual states different tow ratings without brakes and with brakes. And the trailer I wanted to tow was within those limits, much like the original post. I told the uhaul guy as much, because I knew my manual and he did not. I ended up doing all the wiring myself in the end.

When we drove cross country I wanted to tow our subi on a flat trailer and the uhaul wouldn't even consider renting it to me without a larger vehicle. The lady was so apologetic, but I told her I understand they have liabilities to worry about also.

Fun story about 7 pin on a subi . . . A friend of ours had a 7 pin harness installed on her outback so she could cross country trek to pick up her teardrop (Florida to Utah). About halfway through tennessee her windshield wipers started turning off and on randomly when she didn't touch the stalk. she made it to denver before she couldn't handle it any more, there were times the wipers just wouldn't turn off or on and other minor issues like turn signals not working...

She took it to the subaru dealer who looked at the harness install job, the installer hacked the harness to hell under the dash requiring an entire new dash harness - the clipped the insulation on several of the wires in the bundle, just enough that when conditions were right they shorted, or the wire was cut.

she spent an extra week in denver waiting for parts and the installation of said parts. she ended up renting a truck to go to utah and get the trailer and return to denver . . .

shortly after returning home they went and bought a honda ridgline, which honestly is a nice rig for what they do with it.

ohh and she had no trailer brakes all the way home because subaru refused to wire the 7 pin back in, but wired her a 4 pin for her.

and had to take the installer in florida to small claims court to get them to pay for the repair in denver because of the damage they did to her car. LOL

 

[Jhbryaniv]

Don't mind the music . . . It was my daughters choice, I swear . . . She is 11 going on 35. . . .

I'll just leave this here . . .

Is the video showing up?
does YT work?

 

[Juany118]

As the title states, WHY?!

Why is it when people get ready to get a camper trailer that is well within the Towing Specifications of their Rangers(or other vehicle) that they have to get a second opinion from someone that thinks you shouldn't go more than half the Towing Capacity or better yet longer than 15 FT?

If there is anything I have learned over the years when it comes to Towing, first make sure that the Trailer you will be pulling is going to be withing your Tow Vehicles Manufacturers Rated Capacity. The next thing being to make sure you have the necessary equipment added(weight distribution hitch, trailer brake controller and other things that may apply). Nothing states that the trailer can only be so long on said vehicle. Even various Vehicle Manufacturers will state in the Owners Manual(even though it hardly ever gets looked at) on how one should operate the vehicle when Towing including on what the recommended top speed should be(not saying individuals will listen to that specific ruel).

Now with that said if one has never towed a trailer in their life and they want to start with a big camper trailer, I personally feel they should go through some kind of training course first so they know how to handle the load while driving so they can be safe on the road and have less chance of causing a potential accident of sorts. Simply one thing we just don't want happening if we can avoid.

A little EDIT here:
A while back before I got the Ranger I had a 2016 Nissan Frontier Desert Runner. In general it was a great Truck. If I remember correctly the Maximum Towing Capacity Rated for that Truck due to being a Crew Cab Short Bed 2WD, it was around 6,300 LBS. It might have been a little less, but not my much. I remember talking to a guy at U-Haul and he thought I was crazy for thinking that truck could do that. I looked at him and asked him "WHY?!". He said I should not go over the vehicles curb weight when towing. I simply just looked at him and laughed hysterically. I asked him after that "Then how come a Semi Truck is towing much more than it's weight which a fully loaded Trailer?!". He didn't seem to have an answer for that. Put simple I would have no problems going up to the max Towing Capacity set by Nissan for that Truck especially since it was setup well from the Factory to do so. Even the Ranger was setup well to do the same, just a bit better with the Turbocharger and the 10 speed Transmission(not going to lie, I kinda miss it in a way).

So again, WHY?!

With me about getting outside confirmation in terms of longevity and someone else's experience with how such a trailer may handle. Simply because my truck can do a thing doesn't mean it might also not turn a 100,000 mile + truck into a 75,000 mile truck, or that the truck will not feel pushed around once a trailer gets to a certain length. Towing can be more than just "can you pull it and stop it safely."

That's why I was glad that at least three people who have driven trailers of the larger size I am looking into. This way the paper data is confirmed in real life. When the MSRP of a trailer you are looking at is $40,000+ you don't want to be saying "crap I need to spend another $40,000 on a 1/2 ton" 6 months later.

 

[mtbikernate]

When we drove cross country I wanted to tow our subi on a flat trailer and the uhaul wouldn't even consider renting it to me without a larger vehicle. The lady was so apologetic, but I told her I understand they have liabilities to worry about also.

Fun story about 7 pin on a subi . . . A friend of ours had a 7 pin harness installed on her outback so she could cross country trek to pick up her teardrop (Florida to Utah). About halfway through tennessee her windshield wipers started turning off and on randomly when she didn't touch the stalk. she made it to denver before she couldn't handle it any more, there were times the wipers just wouldn't turn off or on and other minor issues like turn signals not working...

She took it to the subaru dealer who looked at the harness install job, the installer hacked the harness to hell under the dash requiring an entire new dash harness - the clipped the insulation on several of the wires in the bundle, just enough that when conditions were right they shorted, or the wire was cut.

she spent an extra week in denver waiting for parts and the installation of said parts. she ended up renting a truck to go to utah and get the trailer and return to denver . . .

shortly after returning home they went and bought a honda ridgline, which honestly is a nice rig for what they do with it.

ohh and she had no trailer brakes all the way home because subaru refused to wire the 7 pin back in, but wired her a 4 pin for her.

and had to take the installer in florida to small claims court to get them to pay for the repair in denver because of the damage they did to her car. LOL

And then there was the time uhaul rented me a twin axle box trailer for my 4cyl manual trans 98 Ranger. I never weighed it, but I'm pretty sure it was way over max towing capacity for that truck with almost any load. When I questioned them and suggested that maybe a smaller trailer was a better idea, I was told "it's fine". It had surge brakes so stopping was never a problem. But the only time I could get it over 60mph was on a downhill WITH a tailwind.

That's an absolute cluster regarding the wiring on that subie. I'm glad I was refused service instead of having a hack job done to my subie. When I wired it myself, I made sure it was done well and clean.

I totally get it though, I've seen some mind-blowingly stupid tow jobs. Yes, they're a minority compared to most of what I see, but they're so incredibly bad that anyone dealing with towing at a professional level needs to make sure they take account of that level of stupidity that's most certainly out there.

 

[Frenchy]

With me about getting outside confirmation in terms of longevity and someone else's experience with how such a trailer may handle. Simply because my truck can do a thing doesn't mean it might also not turn a 100,000 mile + truck into a 75,000 mile truck, or that the truck will not feel pushed around once a trailer gets to a certain length. Towing can be more than just "can you pull it and stop it safely."

That's why I was glad that at least three people who have driven trailers of the larger size I am looking into. This way the paper data is confirmed in real life. When the MSRP of a trailer you are looking at is $40,000+ you don't want to be saying "crap I need to spend another $40,000 on a 1/2 ton" 6 months later.

If you're really concerned about a trailer causing your vehicle to not last as long then perhaps you should never be towing in the first place. When manufacturers design vehicles with a maximum tow rating in mind especially when it comes to trucks and SUVs they know the trailer will not cause an issue with longevity of the vehicle especially if an individual is being smart when it comes to towing.

 

[Juany118]

If you're really concerned about a trailer causing your vehicle to not last as long then perhaps you should never be towing in the first place. When manufacturers design vehicles with a maximum tow rating in mind especially when it comes to trucks and SUVs they know the trailer will not cause an issue with longevity of the vehicle especially if an individual is being smart when it comes to towing.

The thing is I believe in the "trust but verify" method when it involves corporations, especially in this age of engineered obsolescence.

 

[NotBudule]

 

[subquark]

The Ranger nor any tow vehicle, does not "stop" the trailer (if talking about our travel/camper trailers). The combo "stops" as a combo, the trailer having it's own brakes. A properly set up brake controller will add the proper amount of "braking" to the trailer so the total rig stops as a unit.
If you set up the controller properly you shouldn't notice any difference in braking between solo and towing, and the controller itself has an emergency setting for a manual over-ride if needed.
Common mis-conception that a larger truck will stop a trailer faster or safer. YES, IF the trailer has no brakes.....NO IF the truck has a proper brake controller.

And while this is true, your load doesn't always stop in combo with your truck and trailer! =D

 

[TJC]

There are those who say, WHY NOT?

Chooooo chooooo!

You ain't parking that in a Wal-Mart parking lot!

 

[Frenchy]

You ain't parking that in a Wal-Mart parking lot!

You just challenged the wrong guy

 

[TJC]

These big companies don't hire people based on intelligence or subject matter knowledge.

What's amazing is that they are looking! Not one of them has a clue! And these people vote!

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Reminds me of this fun sport…

https://www.facebook.com/OvalBanger...ng-caravan-demolition-derby/1080437582667075/

 

[TJC]

He almost laid his truck over on its side. Imagine if there had been oncoming traffic.

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