What are you guys towing?

[TechnicallyReal]

Picked up the new trailer on Wednesday. It was very windy so it was a good test.

Old trailer:
Jayco 174BH
3200 lbs from factory
7ft wide
18'~ box / 21' 8" total length

New trailer:
Jayco 264BH
4900 lbs from factory
8ft wide
25'~ box / 29' 5" total length

I have Eibach's in the rear and added a little bit of air to my tires (40 psi rear, 35 psi front). I'll probably add more air next time, especially in the front.

I towed the 174BH to the dealer without my Andersen hitch and the wind in open areas was shoving me around a lot, more than I've ever experienced with this truck & trailer before. Not sure how windy it was, but it was a lot more than any other trip I've taken it on.

I towed the 264BH home from the dealer with the Andersen hitch installed, although I allowed the dealer to set it up while I inspected the trailer, so I don't know how well adjusted it was. I was short on time and will readjust it on the weekend. Anyway the wind still managed to shove me around quite a bit but I would say I felt it less than I did with the 174BH without the Andersen. I didn't get pushed around by vehicles passing (not even semis), but the gusts of wind in open areas were definitely noticeable. At first it was uncomfortable but quickly got used to it. I was going about 95 km/h (60 mph) for the majority of both trips, and up to 115 km/h (71 mph) for a brief stretch.

Both trailers were empty seeing as it wasn't a recreational trip. We'll have to wait to see how things change once I adjust the hitch, add more air to my tires, and load some things into the front of the trailer (and people into the truck).

Loving the trailer so far, though.

Finally got to take the new trailer out. Our destination was about an hour from home and we drove 90-100 km/h (55-60 mph) for most of the ride there and back.

Verdict? It didn't feel any bigger than the old trailer. It was smooth sailing there and back without any sway whatsoever. I was loving every moment of it. The Ranger handled it with ease.

This trip was night and day different from the original trip home from the dealership (see quoted post above). Aside from being the windiest day ever, what I failed to realize at that time was that the trailer came loaded with water from the dealer. Nearly 400 lbs of it sitting a few feet forward of the axles. I took a test drive before and after emptying the water, and wow what a difference that made. Handling was definitely affected by the water, and the wind caused the water to slosh around a lot. Not to mention I would have been way over max tongue weight because of it.

P.S. I had my tires at 35 psi. A little above what's listed in the door. I chose 35 for my test drives and was going to try 40 on this trip. Now that I'm back from it, I don't think I'll bother trying 40 psi.

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[KNI]

IIRC there was a European guy on here this year or last. He was describing how they don't use safety chains. They only require the safety cable. IIRC there was a whole thread about it. I thought he was Norwegian or Finnish.

In Finland (and most likely in EU) you can, on normal car (max curb <3500kg)

- Tow <750kg non-braked middle axle trailer with any tires and without braking chain (uh? no brakes) on ball hitch.
- Tow <3500kg braked middle axle trailer with summer or winter tires (M+S), depending on weather and time of year, with braking chain on ball hitch. Braking chain must engage the trailer brakes if main coupling is lost.

on lorry, semi, ect. classed as category C/C1 (max curb 3500kg+ (C1 < 7500kg))

- Tow <750kg non-braked middle axle trailer with any tires and without braking chain (uh? no brakes) on ball hitch
- Tow <3500kg braked middle axle trailer with summer or winter tires (M+S), depending on weather and time of year, with braking chain on ball hitch. Braking chain must engage the trailer brakes if main coupling is lost.
- Tow <3500kg braked multiple axle trailer with summer or winter tires (M+S), depending on weather and time of year, with braking chain on ball hitch. Braking chain must engage the trailer brakes if main coupling is lost.

- Tow 3500kg+ trailer with electrically controlled pneumatic brakes with type certified hitch

So practically anything with less than 3500kg (7716lbs) is good for ball hitch with brake chain. After that you need certified hitch, pneumatic brakes, electrical control, etc.

There is 255 different points in the the traffic law for trailers covering pretty much anything from the hitch, lighting, drive under guards, ect. and this does include the underlying regulations. e.g. law sets the what, regulation sets the how, certification sets with what equipment.

edit: Oh, and the brake chain needs to be fixed to other location on the vehicle chassis than the tow bar (in order to prevent brake chain not engaging if you drop the whole ball hitch assembly).

edit2: Though to add the max combination (car+trailer) length, but instead decided not to. There is multitude of choices depending on the towing vehicle (type, mass, number axles, ect.) and trailer (type, mass, number of axles, location of the axles) or number of trailers to fill a law book.

 

[Slaughterbrau19]

I've had this setup out several times now, and I'm extremely pleased. We try to avoid the freeway as much as possible on trips. Sometimes the route is even shorter in miles. On the freeway, I keep it under 65 mph (in a 65 or 70 zone) to mitigate the massive wind drag of a 10' x 8' frontal area. The freeway is a little scary the first time you get passed by a semi and feel the cross draft blowing you around. Once I was prepared for that, it wasn't so bad. You can also feel crosswinds, but those aren't terrible, either.

Last weekend we drove to a campground 120 miles one-way, about 50 miles of which were on the Interstate with a 70 mph speed limit. We ended up getting between 11 and 12 mpg , which I'm thrilled with, honestly. Performed like a champ. I could surge up a hill while accelerating from 60 to 65 mph. The transmission downshifted, revved the engine to about 3500 rpm, and it happily powered through it.

I wanted a weekday commuter / weekend warrior, and this meets my needs perfectly.

Keystone/Coleman 192RD

23' (19' box) solid-body travel trailer, 3,974 lbs dry weight.

 

[TechnicallyReal]

I've had this setup out several times now, and I'm extremely pleased. We try to avoid the freeway as much as possible on trips. Sometimes the route is even shorter in miles. On the freeway, I keep it under 65 mph (in a 65 or 70 zone) to mitigate the massive wind drag of a 10' x 8' frontal area. The freeway is a little scary the first time you get passed by a semi and feel the cross draft blowing you around. Once I was prepared for that, it wasn't so bad. You can also feel crosswinds, but those aren't terrible, either.

Last weekend we drove to a campground 120 miles one-way, about 50 miles of which were on the Interstate with a 70 mph speed limit. We ended up getting between 11 and 12 mpg , which I'm thrilled with, honestly. Performed like a champ. I could surge up a hill while accelerating from 60 to 65 mph. The transmission downshifted, revved the engine to about 3500 rpm, and it happily powered through it.

I wanted a weekday commuter / weekend warrior, and this meets my needs perfectly.

What hitch do you use with that trailer? With my previous trailer of similar size to yours, the Andersen eliminated any movement from semis when passing or being passed. Amazing what a difference it made. And that trailer was single axle, so it was probably a little less stable than your dual axle. Highly recommend that hitch

 

[mark_anderson_us]

What hitch do you use with that trailer? With my previous trailer of similar size to yours, the Andersen eliminated any movement from semis when passing or being passed. Amazing what a difference it made. And that trailer was single axle, so it was probably a little less stable than your dual axle. Highly recommend that hitch

Which Hitch are you recommending?

 

[TechnicallyReal]

Which Hitch are you recommending?

The Andersen No-Sway WDH: Andersen Hitches

It's different from everything else. It's a lot lighter weight, less clunky, and generally easier to deal with. It doesn't need to be unhooked when backing up, and doesn't need any regular maintenance or lubing. There are no spring bars or tools to deal with when hooking/unhooking. The hitch itself is light enough that I can carry it in one hand.

It's not without its flaws, particularly when you aren't hooking up your trailer at the same angle that you unhooked it, but it's easy enough to deal with that once you've learned a trick or two.

Next time I'm hooked up I'll take some photos. Until then there's this:

Adjusting the weight-distribution is as easy as tightening or loosening a nuts on each side, near the red urethane springs. You can even do it by hand if you need to, by lifting the tongue using the tongue jack, which releases tension on the chains.

 

[TechnicallyReal]

The Andersen No-Sway WDH: Andersen Hitches

It's different from everything else. It's a lot lighter weight, less clunky, and generally easier to deal with. It doesn't need to be unhooked when backing up, and doesn't need regular maintenance. There are no spring bars or tools to deal with when hooking/unhooking. The hitch itself is light enough that I can carry it in one hand.

It's not without its flaws, particularly when you aren't hooking up your trailer at the same angle that you unhooked it, but it's easy enough to deal with that once you've learned a trick or two.

Next time I'm hooked up I'll take some photos. Until then there's this:

View attachment 94452

Adjusting the weight-distribution is as easy as tightening or loosening a couple of nuts near the red urethane springs. You can even do it by hand if you need to, by lifting the tongue using the tongue jack, which releases tension on the chains.

Almost forgot - the Andersen has 2 holes for the hitch pin, allowing you to choose if you want a longer hitch setup or a shorter one. The difference between them is 3". On the Ranger, the hole used for the shorter setup can't be used because the hitch bottoms out at the end of the receiver tube less (see pics below). The hitch is only half an inch too long for it. Using the longer setup is fine, and probably even preferred by many because you gain more control when backing up (and your tailgate may even have room to lower), but I like the idea of a shorter setup instead (3" may not seem like a lot but I figured if I could bring the pivot point any closer to the rear axle of the truck then why not, even if only 3"). I emailed Andersen asking if there's any reason I couldn't just cut half an inch off of the hitch, and they said it should be no issue at all. They said it should still be good to use in the longer position as well. I had a buddy of mine cut it for me and now I use it in the shorter setup

Longer setup:

Shorter setup (before cut - notice the holes don't align):

Cut needed to use the shorter setup with the Ranger (a little less than a half inch from the end):

 

[mark_anderson_us]

The Andersen No-Sway WDH: Andersen Hitches

It's different from everything else. It's a lot lighter weight, less clunky, and generally easier to deal with. It doesn't need to be unhooked when backing up, and doesn't need any regular maintenance or lubing. There are no spring bars or tools to deal with when hooking/unhooking. The hitch itself is light enough that I can carry it in one hand.

It's not without its flaws, particularly when you aren't hooking up your trailer at the same angle that you unhooked it, but it's easy enough to deal with that once you've learned a trick or two.

Next time I'm hooked up I'll take some photos. Until then there's this:



Adjusting the weight-distribution is as easy as tightening or loosening a nuts on each side, near the red urethane springs. You can even do it by hand if you need to, by lifting the tongue using the tongue jack, which releases tension on the chains.

Thanks for info. Looks like it might be overkill for for my 1800lb 13 foot trailer. Guessing these cost a pretty penny. What sort of price are we talking

 

[TechnicallyReal]

Thanks for info. Looks like it might be overkill for for my 1800lb 13 foot trailer. Guessing these cost a pretty penny. What sort of price are we talking

Yea, I wouldn't use one of these on anything that short or light. I think I paid about $700 CAD ($560 USD) for mine.

 

[TechnicallyReal]

Finally got to take the new trailer out. Our destination was about an hour from home and we drove 90-100 km/h (55-60 mph) for most of the ride there and back.

Verdict? It didn't feel any bigger than the old trailer. It was smooth sailing there and back without any sway whatsoever. I was loving every moment of it. The Ranger handled it with ease.

This trip was night and day different from the original trip home from the dealership (see quoted post above). Aside from being the windiest day ever, what I failed to realize at that time was that the trailer came loaded with water from the dealer. Nearly 400 lbs of it sitting a few feet forward of the axles. I took a test drive before and after emptying the water, and wow what a difference that made. Handling was definitely affected by the water, and the wind caused the water to slosh around a lot. Not to mention I would have been way over max tongue weight because of it.

P.S. I had my tires at 35 psi. A little above what's listed in the door. I chose 35 for my test drives and was going to try 40 on this trip. Now that I'm back from it, I don't think I'll bother trying 40 psi.

Not the most interesting video in the world, but here's some dashcam footage from the way home. Gets up to speed without much effort at all. Video starts near a stop sign, and there's a 2nd one 2 mins in.

 

[Stic-o]

Updated photos from our last trip...

 

[DT444T]

It doesn't need to be unhooked when backing up ...

Neither does a regular WDH if you're not backing at any angle greater than what you would do going forward

You can even do it by hand if you need to, by lifting the tongue using the tongue jack, which releases tension on the chains.

This is true of the regular old-fashioned WDH, too. I would do mine up by hand but the previous owner tweaked the trailer-tongue part a little so I need the bar to coerce it into position.

A lighter hitch would be nice, though. Mine is a BEAST.

 

[MMorf]

We have two trips down in our new Jayco Jayflight SLX 145RBW. The Ranger didn't come with a tow package, so I installed a Rigid Hitch Class III Receiver, a Ford OEM wiring harness/7 pin adapter, and a Redarc brake controller. Trip one was to Rocky Mountain National Park and the second trip was out to Grand Junction, CO. Both of the trips went great with zero issues up and over the mountains.

 

[WxNerd2015]

Ranger put in some more work this last weekend pulling the cargo trailer again!

 

[Bzmustang13]

Hey @Don B. , Do you know about how much height that gives your truck? I am guessing 3-4”, but they don’t say on their site. Have a tight fit in my garage, but looking at those bars in the removable format.

Thank you.

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