[Shop-talk] Fw: car hauler advise needed

[Mullen]

Ronnie Day wrote:

> Anyway, I'd think you'd want to move the load back and forth to 
> get the optimum tongue weight. Educated guess would be around 60% 
> to 70% of the rating, but I'd do some research to be sure. Once 
> you figure out where the truck needs to be, mark the spot some way.

When I needed to haul my Elan, I figured out how much tongue weight I
needed.  Then I placed that amount of weight at the rear of my truck and
measured the height of the hitch from the ground.

I loaded the Elan, and rolled it forward until the height was at the proper
level (it was surprising how small a change in position would change the
height).

Then I inserted some wheel chocks under the front wheel and marked the
position - backed up the car a bit, drilled holes into the wood deck of the
trailer and bolted down the chocks (they actually fold up to almost flat so
they are not in the way when using the trailer for other purposes).

The trailer/car pulled perfectly without any problems at all.  You really
need to get as close to the proper tongue weight as possible - too little
can be dangerous, too much can be very bad on the towing vehicle/trailer.

Tim