Allow me to show my towing ignorance

[Andy G]

Ok, 2025 XLT no 4k. I have a 30 year old 5'x10' homemade utility trailer. I didn't make it; it was built by, and purchased from, someone else. Bed is eight 2x8x10s. I am under the impression all trailers are supposed to have a weight plate but I see no such plate on this one. It is a single axle, running two 185/80 R13s. It also has a drop down ramp.There are some numbers stamped on the hitch portion of the tongue. Best I can tell, it says Shelby 5135, 3500lbs MGTW, 300lbs tongue weight. It's a strong trailer - I've had a 1500lb tractor on it a couple decades ago. I never gave any thought about towing capacity when using it with my dad's old 1980 F150.

But with the Maverick, I never intend to load it up that much but am curious to see if you guys think I will be ok loading a 680lb lawnmower on it and pulling it with the mav. Or do I need to take the trailer somewhere and weigh it just to make sure I don't exceed 2k.

Maybe I'm overthinking it, but I don't want to tear anything up.

Thanks a bunch!

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[Escapologist]

If you can round up 4 bathroom scales and four jackstands you can weigh it on those unless it's a real chonker. Add the numbers up of course, if one goes too high crank that corner higher to transfer more to rest.

 

[BlueOval1954]

If you don't know the weight, I would take it somewhere to have it weighed for peace of mind. The bathroom scales idea, hmmm interesting.

 

[dhaskit]

You can weigh it at a grain elevator or any truck stop that has a scale.
One time thru with the trailer hitched up then go back again after you drop the trailer and do the subtraction calculation for trailer weight.

But yah. You are going to be fine pulling that behind your Maverick.

 

[jonshep]

Does your old trailer have leaf springs under it or is the axle welded solid. If its solid then sell it for scrap iron. Okay, the important things are, safety chains, tires specifically marked for trailer use, tire date stamp, and working lights. In SW Oklahoma all those important things will get you fined. If you have all the important things, then you will probably be fine pulling your old trailer.

 

[Escapologist]

IF the hubs are offcentre from axle with no leaf springs it may be rubber torsion or torsion beam. But yeah, solid axle, no suspension tend to be dangerous at speed. They may have been built for 25mph farm trailers.

 

[craigt502]

Hard to say without pictures but based on what we’ve heard the trailer is over 1,000lbs empty. Is the plan to just use the trailer once in a while to move the mower or very often? If it was just once in a while and/or short distances, I wouldn’t be concerned but that’s just me.

 

[Ron Neal]

A picture would be nice. I doubt a 5x0 trailer's weight is an issue but like a previous post I would be concerned about safety issues like tires lights and safety chains. Hauling the lawn mower should not be a problem but I get the feeling this home made trailer may have other issues.
Agree if you use this trailer get it weighted so you know. I doubt you will ever know its towing capacity but if its uses a std 3500 axle you deduct the weight if the trailer and that gives you the max weight for the axle . The numbers stamped on the hitch are its limit which is 3500 lbs.

 

[Cherokee]

My 5x8 home made single axle built heavy with a shortened 3,000 pound capacity mobile home axle weighed 580 pounds, had a 2x10x8 PT floor
All steel.
Your 5x10 Is likely 700-750 pounds,
your fine.

 

[Andy G]

Thanks for all the replies. The tires, safety chains, and lights were all replaced last year. It does have leaf springs. I do need to replace the bed. Not completely rotted through but in bad shape. I'd only use the trailer maybe 4x per year. No interstate highway travel, and less than 40 miles round trip. I'll post a pic after work but gotta warn ya, it's not pretty. I wonder if 3 bathroom scales would work - one under each tire and one under the tongue stand. Thanks again.

 

[Hot Runr Guy]

@Andy G , it's cheap enough to get it weighed. After you re-build the deck, find a local CAT scale (or similar) and get the number.

https://catscale.com/cat-scale-locator/

HRG

 

[William Buckman]

Most truck stops have weight scales. I use to use them to get total weight and balance out.

 

[Tim d]

Ok, 2025 XLT no 4k. I have a 30 year old 5'x10' homemade utility trailer. I didn't make it; it was built by, and purchased from, someone else. Bed is eight 2x8x10s. I am under the impression all trailers are supposed to have a weight plate but I see no such plate on this one. It is a single axle, running two 185/80 R13s. It also has a drop down ramp.There are some numbers stamped on the hitch portion of the tongue. Best I can tell, it says Shelby 5135, 3500lbs MGTW, 300lbs tongue weight. It's a strong trailer - I've had a 1500lb tractor on it a couple decades ago. I never gave any thought about towing capacity when using it with my dad's old 1980 F150.

But with the Maverick, I never intend to load it up that much but am curious to see if you guys think I will be ok loading a 680lb lawnmower on it and pulling it with the mav. Or do I need to take the trailer somewhere and weigh it just to make sure I don't exceed 2k.

Maybe I'm overthinking it, but I don't want to tear anything up.

Thanks a bunch!

That trailer should be under 1000 lbs, you should be fine.

 

[Mavster Mechanic]

Pictures are always nice.

Size and weight will be fine for you; assuming all the mechanical on the trailer is good.

At 40 mph and under you could tow 5,000 lbs and hardly notice.

Ask yourself:
What is the mechanical difference between a 2k Maverick and a 4k Maverick?

Answer: not much. Brake controller is the only safety item. The rest is performance related.

In your boots I would not worry.

 

[Escapologist]

Thanks for all the replies. The tires, safety chains, and lights were all replaced last year. It does have leaf springs. I do need to replace the bed. Not completely rotted through but in bad shape. I'd only use the trailer maybe 4x per year. No interstate highway travel, and less than 40 miles round trip. I'll post a pic after work but gotta warn ya, it's not pretty. I wonder if 3 bathroom scales would work - one under each tire and one under the tongue stand. Thanks again.

Possibly, but you might have to get the tongue real low to get enough weight on it. It should have been built to have 80-90% of weight on the wheels, so if it's level you might need 500lb bathroom scales under the wheels which ain't very common. With careful measuring, you can use the principle of leverage to get estimates out of low range scales.... like put the trailer on a plank with center of tire 1ft from pivot and the scale bearing the weight at 3ft from there and then if it's level you have a 3:1 weight reduction at the scale. IF your scales are only accurate to plus or minus a couple of pounds though, you'll be at 6 pounds per scale variance, plus your measurement errors, so whole kaboodle is only gonna get to about plus or minus 50lb accuracy.

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