SO, YOU WANT TO TOW A TRAILER, EH?

[SafetyGuy]

I wish I knew how to put this photo at the top with the thread name over it, but that is beyond my pay grade and could not figure out how to do it.

This is an example of a towing situation I would not personally be involved in. When I took it, I thought I might some day be in a position to use the photo to make a point. It was taken in the Metro grocery store parking lot in Sturgeon Falls, Ontario. Date is on the photo.

WE all have seen even worse examples I would guess, but this is one I personally took and had in my files.

So, here we are, lets just look at it for possible problems.

I don't think the truck has any towing mirrors and pretty sure there is no backing this up, for very far. The 2nd trailer tongue length assures us of that.

I would guess he might be at or over his GCWR (Gross Combined Weight Restriction). I am guessing 5800 lbs for the trailer and 3000 lbs for the ummmm, utility trailer and cargo. just an estimate on my part.

Looking at it, how much stuff is packed inside the trailer, and where in the trailer. This is all about weight and balance. I am pretty sure they are headed out for a camping week or two.

The 2nd trailer might lower the Pin weight in the box of the truck, due to the weight of its tongue on the rear bumper of the 5th wheel....not in a good way I am thinking.

Is it a home made utility trailer, considering its load and aluminum rack?

Do you think the operator measured the pin weight after everything was loaded up? Or maybe ran it over a legitimate road scale for, you know, individual axle weights to make sure everything is not overloaded and potentially unsafe?

Do you think they would care if I would have mentioned that with the front of his trailer angled upwards like that, the rear set of tires/leaf springs are overloaded and the front set are underloaded? Hwy 17 is quite rough in most places, but they are fixing it slowly.

I have seen much worse examples of this, so have a look when driving down the highway, is that trailer ahead of you cranked way up or down at the front? Don't buy these 2nd hand...think of the stresses on the frame, etc as they tear down the road.

Do you think this is an example of "good enough"?

What is the rating of that utility trailer with the quads and extra gear piled on it, and what is the speed rating, load rating of the pizza cutter tires? Or are those quad tires or garden tractor tires...someone tell me as I don't know.

Do you think he checked and greased all his wheel bearings, torqued his wheel nuts before heading out as part of the maintenance an operator should do regularly?

How about the 5th wheel trailer brakes, are they good to go as they worked last year...?

I have so many concerns, but am I being too harsh?

I have seen a number of rigs of like this of truly impressive dimensions and big diesel trucks hauling them, at least they looked heavier duty than this but usually was a huge 5th wheel and an 18 foot fishing boat towed behind.

legal, maybe, maybe not. I am not a trained road vehicle/commercial vehicle inspector. Just my common sense kicking in to stay away and let them, in a worst case situation, arrive at the accident scene first. I have a first aid kit, small fire extinguiser and a cell phone just in case.

Example-One sailed past us in Northern Ontario last summer East of Thunder Bay on Hwy 17. Speed limit 90 kph, I was doing 100 kph (62 mph in our camper van) and it passed, 2 lane hwy and car coming head on. I slowed to deconflict with the oncoming car, so he could get back in our lane...I am like that. I give a darn for others and is why I keep my head on a swivel on the roads.

As a former RCAF Squadron FIight Safety representative, incident/accident investigator, yada yada yada, I can't help but think of preventive measures and this thread is one of them.

Cheers,

Andy

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[SafetyGuy]

My 2025 Maverick Tow Capacity....lots right?

It depends...so hear me out.

I will try to keep this short, and use my truck as the example of how to do your own calculations.

All weight references are attached below...

Shipped 1707kg/3763 lbs

2025 Maverick Lariat AWD Hybrid
4000 LB tow pkg

GVWR 5320 LBS
GCWR 8315 LB

Truck 3763 lbs
Driver 200 lbs
Safety gear 50 lbs
Hitch weight 20 lbs
Tongue lbs 400 lbs

Truck Total 4433 lbs

GCWR 8315 lbs
Truck weight 4433 lbs

Actual legal tow capacity within the GCWR is..............3882 lbs!

But wait, 400 lbs of trailer weight is on the tongue right?

So 3882+400=4000 lbs.
.remember, tow max capacity is 4000lbs.

You can top up your truck box load if you want to max load it for GCWR ONLY 118lbs more in the trailer.

A truck more realistically loaded to go camping.......

Truck 3763 lbs
Driver 200
Passenger 125
Safety gear 50
Packs in cab 100
All gear in box 500
Hitch weight 20
Tongue weight 400

Total 5158 lbs

GVWR 5320 lbs

Extra truck load capacity AVAILABLE IS....... 162 lbs or, 1 child and their stuff.

Allowable trailer weight to stay within legal limits

GCWR 8315 LBS
TRUCK LOADED 5158 LBS

Trlr weight MAX 3157 LBS on its axle(s),,,or is it...?

(Actually, trailer weight allowed is 400 LBS MORE, if you have done your trailer set up to THE MAX 400 lbs tongue weight). That weight on the tongue is carried by the truck hitch/truck.

NEW actual trailer weight if all parameters are met as above is....3157+400=3557 lbs.

At this max load, you might want to:

1 slow down,

2 drive conservatively

3 leave lots of room between you and what is in front of you.

4 Adjust your trailer brake gain a bit more aggressively to help get you stopped in an emergency.

Just a thought.

I hope this makes sense, and did I get anything wrong?

Have I towed badly/unknowingly? Yes, but I survived due to pure dumb luck. And here we are...don't be me!

Have a look at your numbers, maybe weigh your stuff.

Will anyone take the time to do their actual trailer calculations and post them here? That would be great!

Knowledge rather than..."that'll should be good, I hope".

Andy

 

[SafetyGuy]

Hello @Administrator,

any chance we can have this thread moved to the "Towing" thread collection area of MTC?

I think it would be more helpful there!

Thanks,

Andy

 

[SafetyGuy]

Thank you,

@Administrator!

Andy

 

[Tom 71 Maverick 24]

Regarding mirrors mentioned earlier, I haven't towed anything wide enough that the side view mirrors on the truck aren't adequate for spotting vehicles. I did add a small convex mirror to the driver's side mirror to see what's right next to me, even though i have the warning system.

What I do not like, and this is basically on all vehicles today, are the right hand mirror not being flat. "Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear" is a disclaimer, but backing using the right mirror is really difficult because it is very difficult to judge how close you are to anything. I've taken to setting things up, if possible, to back into driveways using my drivers side mirror only because it is much easier to see exactly where the trailer is going.

I may look into towing add-on mirrors for that specific reason.

 

[Tom 71 Maverick 24]

My last "big" tow was a 5x8 foot Uhaul enclosed, loaded floor to ceiling, front to back. Maverick towed it with ease, though it was obvious that there was a load back there. I didn't weigh but I estimate the load to be around 3000 with this last trip.

I decided to drive overnight instead of during the day, to avoid all the crazy traffic around cities. Everybody's Earnhardt on the highway, and it becomes difficult to deal with lane changes when there is a lot of traffic. So I took off around 11 PM and drove through the night, arriving at my destination around 8:30 AM. Took frequent breaks, OD'ed on coffee, and kept the speed down to 65 or less, because I know that stopping distance and handling are nowhere near as good with that big load as normal (the single axle Uhaul does not have trailer brakes). Mileage also suffers as you speed up - I've gotten 18-19 MPG driving at that speed.

Anyway, the night time driving was successful, but there are a couple of things I'd do differently. Firstly, I'd re-aim those headlights. They were definitely pointing way too high with the load in back (and truthfully, I am wondering if I was a little too heavy on the tongue weight).

I did witness a single car accident that unfolded in front of me - quite a wild ride for the occupant of that vehicle. It passed me in the far left lane, then came back across the middle and then the right lane - and then kept moving right, until it struck the guard rail. I hit the brakes hard, not wanting to be anywhere near the car at that point. It glanced off the right guard rail, spun across the highway and then hit the left guardrail (which thankfully was there) and finally came to a stop against the left guardrail. I was almost stopped, at that point, keeping the other vehicle way out in front where I could keep an eye on it.. The other car then started driving again, with its right turn signal on, slowly crossed the highway and got onto the right berm where it stopped.

It was 4:30 AM so it may have been someone falling asleep, or drunk - or both. Watching it happen right in front of you was surreal though. It was like being at NASCAR but in slow motion.

 

[SafetyGuy]

Regarding mirrors mentioned earlier, I haven't towed anything wide enough that the side view mirrors on the truck aren't adequate for spotting vehicles. I did add a small convex mirror to the driver's side mirror to see what's right next to me, even though i have the warning system.

What I do not like, and this is basically on all vehicles today, are the right hand mirror not being flat. "Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear" is a disclaimer, but backing using the right mirror is really difficult because it is very difficult to judge how close you are to anything. I've taken to setting things up, if possible, to back into driveways using my drivers side mirror only because it is much easier to see exactly where the trailer is going.

I may look into towing add-on mirrors for that specific reason.

I do a lot of backing...into my garage only, pretty much.

Other then that I use drive thru parking spots well away from the doors of the store mall etc.

That said, it takes practice using that rh mirror, but once you get used to leaving a bit of extra room and then tucking in to that side once straighten for the garage, it gets easier.

In my garage I have a target orange cloth that indicates where I want the center of the truck to be. I also use a long chunk of wood as my stop spot indicator. Everything helps!

So I use all the mirrors with a quick glance at the overhead shot on the screen just to make sure I am where I want to be, perfectly centered (ish).

Cheers

Andy

 

[heady]

It's helpful to understand that most of the numbers on the door sticker on your vehicle have nothing to do with legality for towing or hauling, many of those numbers are functionally irrelevant in a court room. The gvwr on your motor vehicle registration is your legal weight limit for the vehicle, in some states you simply specify it when you register. Your tires weight ratings are also a legal weight limits for the DOT when stopped and/or weighed. Your legal GCWR is the sum of your tow vehicle and trailers registered GVWRs within the limitations of your driver's license class.

 

[SafetyGuy]

It's helpful to understand that most of the numbers on the door sticker on your vehicle have nothing to do with legality for towing or hauling, many of those numbers are functionally irrelevant in a court room. The gvwr on your motor vehicle registration is your legal weight limit for the vehicle, in some states you simply specify it when you register. Your tires weight ratings are also a legal weight limits for the DOT when stopped and/or weighed. Your legal GCWR is the sum of your tow vehicle and trailers registered GVWRs within the limitations of your driver's license class.

Thanks for the clarification.

I figured if we use the numbers they give us, it is a good way to go for normal towing to keep us on the straight and narrow.

I don't want to be in a situation where the official scales are needed as part of the investigation!

Cheers and thanks again for all your information!

I enjoy it a lot more when more voices are heard.

Andy

 

[SafetyGuy]

This mornings topic is your Mavericks SPARE TIRE SIZE!

Towing requires you to have a matching diameter spare tire, so, same as what you are running.

So there you see my spare and normal tire, as well as Fords info regarding towing. The math is easy on this one.

I was going to make this another thread but decided to put it here for another reference/knowledge item.

You need a properly sized spare for your truck and trailer both!

Just think of the difference in rotations between the 2 tires sizes in 1 mile...a huge difference and your drive train will need to absorb the difference. I feel is not a good idea at any time, but especially when under load when towing.

My thoughts on it, will report on, when I find resolution with Ford, or my local tire shop...just depends how it goes. I will have a properly sized tire for my truck shortly.

Andy

 

[SafetyGuy]

Good morning!

Today's towing tip is a pretty simple one...a good quality thermometer gun! (Bonus info below that, which can make this job even easier!)

Please keep in mind I am not selling or representing anything, just relating personal purchases and experience to try and help others.

If you tow regularly or occasionally, one of the primary concerns once you hit the road (should be) your trailer (and tow vehicle) brakes and wheel bearings.

(I will touch on what type of bearing grease to consider in a separate post at another time).

If there is one thing I often see parked on the side of the road in the summer, it often will be a trailer with a wheel off, propped up or tilted over badly as the owner is off finding parts/tire repairs.

Many operators don't check/service their trailer brakes and wheel bearings sufficiently.

Bearings lose grease/seize and brakes get stuck or seize on...these all lead to excessive heat and even fire if not noticed in time.

So, on top of regular service, a thermo gun that you can walk around your vehicle/trailer and take the individual hub temperatures and is a cheap safety tool.

If one assembly is hotter then the other or rest, you will know ahead of time if you have trouble brewing!

The key to this is attention. When you start towing, don't go too far before your first check...it doesn't take long for heat to build up, notice it early and you can have a chance to fix it before things get really dangerous/expensive.

TPMS SYSTEM-PORTABLE

Now, if you want to take it a step further, and monitor your tire pressures and temperatures in real time, a TPMS system you can screw onto your tire stems is a great idea, and I can vouch for one example personally, Wasp Innovations. I had bought this when I was towing an RPOD 192 TT.

There are many TPMS systems, and good ones are great and once you have them set up for your rig, it gives you your tire pressures and individual temperatures, with alarms you adjust as you learn your individual needs.

If I remember correctly you could monitor up to 18 tires with the one we had. All depends on what you need.

I bought enough for my truck and trailer both, as my vehicles didn't have any built in as many are nowadays. I also had 2 extra sensors, just in case one failed...none were needed, but I had them!

To do morning tire pressure checks, I would walk around and gently flick each tpms sensor on each tire a few times (WASP tpms need motion to report readings, this saves you batteries and they last a long time!).

I would then climb in my F150 and the monitor would cycle through and give me all my tire pressures...nice! And before the sun shines on them etc, to get true cold temps.

There you go, the latest thought on tire temperatures and pressures!

Any questions, feel free to ask.

Have a good one,

Andy

 

[Ryom]

Just dropping some towing fails in for levity.

 

[The Real Maverick]

@SafetyGuy

wow, you should check your tires for roundness too!

 

[Hot Runr Guy]

@SafetyGuy

wow, you should check your tires for roundness too!

What, you've never hear the song; the wheels on the bus go up & down,,,,,,,

HRG

 

[SafetyGuy]

@SafetyGuy

wow, you should check your tires for roundness too!

@The Real Maverick

A very good point, as I check for that as well!

Reason...I have had 2 tires over the years where They were "out of round" shape.

One on a trailer and the other one was on an F150 back in 2007 (tire was a Goodyear Triple-Tread, I think).

You sure can feel it when driving and find it when you pull over to see what the heck is going. When you run your hand over the tire surface, roll fwd a couple feet to feel/look again) and find it.

Both were instances where the plies of the tire itself failed and air was infiltrating between the plies and causing a "blister bump", making the tires out of round.

I have had a truck tire blister the same way on the sidewall, but those were an old set where I didn't have the money to replace them when I should have...but that forced the issue.

This is how we learn, and fortunately I found them before I had a serious tire blow out at highway speed!

Excellent point, even though it may have been in jest,

Andy

(Edit, I just found I lightly touched on this topic in my post #15, end of 1st page... and "now you know, the rest of the story!".

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