My heaviest tow was around ~24600 gross. So far that was the best pull I ever did. i got the trailer balanced perfectly. Even my wife didnt realize it was that heavy until we got it weighed Trailer sat level. The trailer weight was 15+K, not including at least 1500 or so of tongue weight. Had a weight distributing hitch. Not that I would do that again, since the trailer was overloaded.

 

No wonder people have accidents. I've got a truck and can pull anything. My brakes are good to stop anything.
They require truck drivers to have cdl,s just to prove they have some idea of how to drive a semi. Maybe they should require some kind of towing licence for people that tow anything so they have a clue what they are doing. I don't like any kind of Big Brother stuff but some people need Big Brother to tell them how to do things, so they don't kill their sister.

 

Here in CA they do with RVs. You need a non-Commercial Class A for any bumper pull with 10,001# and higher GVWR or any 5th wheel with 15,001# or higher GVWR. The problem is its not enforced.

 

I have an 18" tandem utility, (2) 6k axles, 16" wheels, LT E tires. The tires are located more than 1/2 way back, so more weight sits on the tongue.
I have hauled lumber & metal roofing in the 12-13k range, gross. The trailer is about 3500 empty. It pulled fine, no equalizing hitch. Have also loaded an 8k MF230 tractor w end loader & box blade; again, no issues. I did keep speed around 65, for 640 miles in each case.
At lot has to do with tongue weight & keeping the trailer level. Common sense goes a lonf way too. I would say 12-13k is the limit on bumper pull, althought I think there is a higher rating. Goose neck probaly a better choice over 10k, but I have a 5th wheel hitch in the bed, not one easily swapped out.

 

That's also why my PAC Exhaust brake provides peace-of-mind. If I have a trailer brake failure or need to kind of do a "Fred Flintstone" stop, it is great.

Also being comfortable with your weight distribution and practicing with slowing the trailer brakes (while NOT activating the tow vehicle brakes) is helpful. That is the way I used to slow down a semi in the snow or on slippery roads - helps prevent jacknife.

Now that I've stepped up to the FL70 with full air brakes (and 22.5 rubber), which also has an exhaust brake, I feel even safer, although my 3500 did a great job with both my trailers.

I think receiver hitch trailers (even weight distributing) except for an RV trailer are a thing of the past for me, too.

 

I never had any problems, I guess it ia all what you are used to and how it's loaded and what kind of brakes you have. Here's about a 24k load with the two trucks and the trailer, no big deal at all...............................

 

I'm surprised so many are fessing up to this!

I had the same exact thing happen to me about 3 years ago in my old truck. I had a small dump trailer hooked up and loaded with sifted top soil, it was loaded way heavy to the back, almost NO tongue weight at all.

Long story short, I made an ABSOLUTE SCENE out in front of a gas station trying to get this thing back under control. It just about rolled over as it jerked from side to side, there were marks almost all the way up the sideways where the tires were rolling over as it swayed.

People were pointing and gasping as it happened, I threw dirt all over the highway.......

Sucks, but LESSON LEARNED buddy, you won't catch this fool running with a trailer loaded like that again.

Moral of the story is, (as others have stated) it wasn't the weight at all, it was how it was distributed.

 

15k is really not so much weight if it's properly loaded. 15k on a tag trailer No thanks. 15k trailer should have 3750 lbs sitting on top of or a slightly bit forward of the rear axle.

 

You're nuts... I load one on my 12 ton trailer behind an F-650 and that feels the weight. I don't know what everyones trying to prove.

 

We ain't trying to prove anything, we are just trying to get the job done, 38,000 doesn' feel that bad when you are used to 120,000 on a big truck

 

This load was somewhere between 15,000 and 18,000. I knew it was back there powerwise, but it rode perfectly. I wouldn't want to tow the same load on a bumper pull though.

 

ptm600: What axles are they, 7k's??

 

You guys also got to remember that this was a cement mixer trailer with a continuously revolving drum with paddles/fins that caused the whole trailer to tilt side to side as it sloshed concrete internally. It was also very top heavy so as to give the drum hinge space so that it could be lowered and poured out the rear. It was fitted with a 24 hp v twin honda motor that ran the hydraulics. It had soft tires so that it could be driven on the grass without too much damage. I do have load range E tires, and the trailer came with an adjustable tongue that pivoted in the middle of the tongue and allowed for a more level ride. The problem was absolutely tongue weight! When I left the concrete yard, i could tell that the back tires on the trailer were quite squatty compared to the front ones.

No truck could have pulled that trailer over 40 MPH. The trailer would have just wagged worse and worse till it blew a tire and flipped. I'm just grateful my boss didn't use his early 90's F 250 gasser, he would have been in the ditch.

The way back, nearly empty, tongue weighed properly was great! 70 MPH, never gave me any problems.

 

315's make a poor tire for towing heavy loads. To much tire carcass roll and tread squirm from those large tread blocks. And on top of that problem your trailer was a bumper pull if I read you right. I've used my neighbors 36' GN stock trailer with 24000 + lbs with 2200 lbs of hitch weight that actually pulls easier than my 11200 lb 13' tall 5er [wind resistance]. My 50 hp tractor with front loader/box blade, or sometimes a 8' mower, weight is around 9000 lbs with the bumper pull trailer. The tractor can be loaded on the trailer to make as much hitch weight as I want. It works best with around 1200 lbs of hitch weight.
JIM