New trailer PICS & Maiden Voyage

[Jeff]

http://www.cbr600rr.com/pages/trailer.htm

So I dragged the trailer to MD Racing in Orion, IL this weekend to have the F4 measured and pick up tires.  Will do a write up on the measurement very soon.  As for tires, well, it saved me a trip to the "mall"  ;) and was cheaper...

She pulls very nice.  I did realize though that I couldn't get above 70 or it would start to weave.  I kept it at 65, averaged 10mpg and was fine.  Hills were fine, I was able to maintain 65.  

My right mirror isn't out far enough for me to see the back of the trailer, so passing is a pain, but I'll get used to it.

Here's a few pics of the beast :-)

Super-Dave is your trailer man!!!

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

     I like that basketball hoop you have mounted on the roof! LOL  ;D

     I am not sure if this is the case with you but my trailer will weave if I don't have enough tongue weight from the trailer on the hitch ball (I have a 8' 6" x 26' V-nose trailer). The perfect amount is 12% (10% to 15% suggested) of the trailers weight (loaded) and can be figured if you go to a weigh station with your normal load of bikes and tools and weigh the trailer alone. Be carefull though because if you have too much tongue weight it will push down on the back of the tow vehicle excessively and unload some of the weight from the front tires of your tow vehicle. In this situation the front of your tow vehicle will steer very easily which can be a bad thing. In the event of a hard stop or somewhat hard turn the front ends lack of grip can cause it to slide and not go where you want. There are anti-sway devices available and load levelers but I learned the hard way that V nose trailers are somewhat restricted on the use of these products. The problem is that there isn't enough frame exposed at the front of the trailer to mount these devices properly.
     Also the V on the front of the trailer can play havock with you when passing or being passed by other large vehicles such as semi's or motorhomes. The way it was explained to me was that the wind from the other vehicle hits the angle on the front of the trailer and pushes it away from the source of the wind turbulance. You just learn to countersteer for the 'push' to the side when passing. I heard the reason for flat nose trailers not having this problem is because the wind blast doesn't have the same leverage ability as on an angled surface. Usually this isn't too much of a problem until your towing in strong cross-wind situations.
     I encountered a strong cross-wind situation while towing during a storm on my way to Heartland Park a few years back. Worst case scenario; wet, windy, and tail loaded. At a rest stop I moved the bikes just a few inches forward to get the trailer more tongue loaded and went from being all over the road to much more controllable. You can weigh the tongue load by using a household scale, a board, and a few blocks in a ratio situation. If you want a description of how to do this E-mail me.
     I really think that your layout as on your web-site is going to be excessively/dangerously tail loaded and you should set everything in the trailer as you planned and check the tongue weight after checking the total trailer weight loaded. At least this way you will know before you mount anything permanently and waste alot of time and labor. An ounce of prevention = a pound of cure!

[Super Dave]

But Pace American trailers come with little pegs on the chassis underneath that you can put weight distribution on.  Comes standard at a certain length on their V-Nose trailers.

It can be related to the working ball height.  You might want to experiment with that too Jeff.

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

But Pace American trailers come with little pegs on the chassis underneath that you can put weight distribution on.  Comes standard at a certain length on their V-Nose trailers.

It can be related to the working ball height.  You might want to experiment with that too Jeff.

     I wanted a Pace American trailer when I ordered mine back in February 1999, but was extremely disappointed when they refused to build the combination that I wanted. I wanted an 8' 6" wide by 26' long by 6' 6" tall interior, V nose car hauler with a ramp in the back and a ramp on the passenger side of the V nose, a man door on the passenger side, and a window on the drivers side. Pace said they could do it until I gave them the next request which was a full walk-on roof with an access hatch. They claimed they would not build a V nose with a walk-on roof, only would put platforms on them, and would not give a reason as to why! They said they would build me a flat front trailer with a full walk-on roof, but not a V nose. This was the only reason I didn't order a Pace American trailer.
     I do remember, now that you mention it, that Pace has those pegs underneath the nose of the trailer for weight distribution systems. I also agree with you that the ball height, when loaded down by the trailer, may be incorrect and could cause the swaying problem.
     I also noticed that you don't have bottom out avoidance wheels under the tail of the trailer. For the minimal cost of these wheels you can avoid some costly damage to the back of your trailer (at the bottom). This damage can occur when backing up or going forward thru a large dip in the road or approaching a driveway that is somewhat steep as compared to the road.

[Jeff]

I like that basketball hoop you have mounted on the roof! LOL  ;D

LOL... you're about the 10th person to mention that :-)  See, Super Dave can get you anything

I am not sure if this is the case with you but my trailer will weave if I don't have enough tongue weight from the trailer on the hitch ball (I have a 8' 6" x 26' V-nose trailer). The perfect amount is 12% (10% to 15% suggested) of the trailers weight (loaded) and can be figured if you go to a weigh station with your normal load of bikes and tools and weigh the trailer alone.

When I got the weave, I was going down hill and was speeding up to make it up the other side (which I found unnecessary in the end).  Once I passed about 73 or so, she started to weave.  It freaked me out because going down hill, I immediately thought it would get worse if I took my foot off the gas, but figured that speed was causing it so I couldn't stomp on it either.  In the end, I backed slowly off the gas and it settled.  It wasn't even that violent, just enough to notice...

Be carefull though because if you have too much tongue weight it will push down on the back of the tow vehicle excessively and unload some of the weight from the front tires of your tow vehicle. In this situation the front of your tow vehicle will steer very easily which can be a bad thing. In the event of a hard stop or somewhat hard turn the front ends lack of grip can cause it to slide and not go where you want. There are anti-sway devices available and load levelers but I learned the hard way that V nose trailers are somewhat restricted on the use of these products. The problem is that there isn't enough frame exposed at the front of the trailer to mount these devices properly.

I put air shocks on the van to keep the rear level and it works great.  They don't make a load-leveller shock for my van, so I was stuck with air.  They turned out very good though.

You can weigh the tongue load by using a household scale, a board, and a few blocks in a ratio situation. If you want a description of how to do this E-mail me.

The tounge weight now is +300lbs, so once loaded, I don't think a household scale would do :-)

I really think that your layout as on your web-site is going to be excessively/dangerously tail loaded and you should set everything in the trailer as you planned and check the tongue weight after checking the total trailer weight loaded. At least this way you will know before you mount anything permanently and waste alot of time and labor. An ounce of prevention = a pound of cure!

Actually the layout will change, and with the position of the axles, the motors are dead center above the rear axle, so I believe I should be okay since nothing will be behind the rear axle.  The buildout of the front will add at least 400-500lbs with beds, shelves, etc.  I was surprised at how far rearward the axles would be, and it's a relief as I was worried about the weight.  Now I'm not so concerned, but I will absolutely keep an eye on it.

FWIW, I spent the afternoon yesterday putting up foil-faced hard insulation on the roof, and finishing it off with whiteboard.  I finished the insulation, but only got up 1 section of whiteboard.  It's looking *VERY* nice...

The Supa-Fly RV door is the sheeyat though :-)  It's definitely the 'finishing' touch!

[Jeff]

It can be related to the working ball height.  You might want to experiment with that too Jeff.

Explain...

I didn't play with the height since it looked level.  Should I be measuring?

[Super Dave]

Yes, it might be worth looking at.

And, do you have light truck tires on your van or passenger car tires on it.  Passenger car tires don't have the sidewall strength that Light Truck tires do.  Some times that can be relevant.

[khanson]

Jeff,

I've got just what you need.  I just bought a new dually today and my 99 diesel dually is for sale.  Brand new tires, fully serviced, it's ready to rock.

I can get 11.5 - 13 mpg pulling my 40 trailer at 70-72 mph.  If I run 60 with it I get 15.  

I think it's just what you need.  Even though it's an extended cab, it's a four door.

[Super Dave]

I was just telling Doug Cameron about your truck...

There you go, Jeff.  And Kevin has all the cool reliability mods on it.  They were done there in Waukesha too.

[Jeff]

Kevin,

I'll give you a call later today to shoot the breeze on it, but unless you're taking trades...  :-/

Who knows though.  Might be worth a 5 min chat...

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

The tounge weight now is +300lbs, so once loaded, I don't think a household scale would do :-)

     Well I guess I will just explain this here then. For weights above the capacity of your scale you use a ratio scenerio to get the weight. To do this have your trailer level and supported by the tongue jack. Now take a solid beam of some type (like a 4"x4" or larger post) that doesn't flex easily and mark off equally distanced marks on the length of it. A 4' to 6' beam marked every foot will work well. Now put one end of the beam (while positioned horizontally) on something solid like cement blocks or wood so the top of the beam is just under the trailer tongue. Position the tongue of the trailer over the first mark out on the beam. Now take your scale and set it also on top of something solid (and flat) so it is slightly under the beam and put something like a wood handle on the top of the scale (in the center) perpendicular to the beam (to create a specific point of pressure) and position the scale under one of the marks further out on the beam. Now lower the trailer tongue on to the first mark on the beam out from the solid resting point until all the weight is off the tongue jack. If the scale is positioned 3 marks out from the solid resting point and the trailer tongue is on the first mark, you have a ratio of 3:1. So if your scale reads 200 lbs. (in this scenario) then your trailers tongue weight is 3 times that or 600 lbs (remember to subtract the static weight the beam is exerting on the scale before lowering the trailer onto the beam). If you want to be even more accurate you can put a second handle (or what ever) under the solid resting point and use the first mark in on the beam as your solid point and shift everything over one position. Some people keep a beam with 2 rods permantly mounted to it for quick and easy weighing of their trailer tongue for best positioning of different loads before they haul.

[Super Dave]

I believe the empty tongue weight of your trailer is about #425, Jeff