Tried explaining tongue weight to a guy that just got a camper. At the end of the day it doesn't matter what antisway load distribution stuff you buy. You can't pull without proper tongue weight
Many people have no idea how to recover from such a situation. Yes floor it and trailer brakes if you have them. Of not floor it and when straight coast.
One thing I always watched for when loading the skidsteer facing forward, even one the smaller trailers we had was to see the actual weight transfer as the balance transferred from the tail over the trailer axles and then onto the hitch. As long as you see that transfer and still have room ahead of you then you don’t need to load the machine backwards.
In my nick of the woods everyone loads skidsteers forward. Didn't even know there was controversy about it. Yes just drive forward until the weight transfers.
Congratulations on the baby . Some of what those rv trailer people don't think about is the cross winds that come off us commercial trucks when they have taken all the fresh water out of the tanks which are in the front and now have grey water in the rear little cross wind on the tail and away they go
Loved the forklift operator story at the end. As a former semi-truck flatbed driver and current gooseneck flatbed owner, I can definitely relate. Most forklift drivers are not truck operators. I say operators and not drivers because there’s a HUGE difference. Most forklift drivers only want you out the gate so they can go home or go on break and never give your safety or anyone else’s a second thought.
Yes sir. Ive been hauling our newhollands around loaded forwards for 31 years. Thats the way grandpa and my dad taught me. Like watching your videos. Keep up the good work.
One advantage to loading the rear first even with a attachment on the front is road debri, salt, snow, rain etc won’t be entering the cab, garfing up the interior of the cab. Love your videos!!
If your trailer starts to sway, no matter what happens, DON'T hit the vehicle brakes. Apply the trailer brake while romping on the throttle. You can usually pull the sway out. That will settle it down.
Congratulations on your newborn! Holy crap the first few min are EPIC!!!!! Great Vid man!! As a crane operator with a CDL this is priceless advice and instruction!
I was following a pickup hauling a 16ft. stock trailer with a huge bull as the only cargo. The bull was facing forward and decided he wanted to look at where he had been. He sat down as he pawed the side of the trailer to turn around, I said he was huge. Half way around the back wheels of the pickup went straight up in the air. The driver did his best to keep the truck and trailer straight (all this at about 30 - 35 MPH), but the pickup was no match. The pickup laid over on its side with the trailer still on its wheels, but the bull had had enough and busted out the back gate. No injuries but the Highway Patrol had fun rounding up the bull and getting a wrecker to put the pickup back on its wheels. Take care of mom and the boy after all she did most of the work.
Congratulations Sam! I'm glad mother and baby are doing well. Those clips at the beginning of the video are why I prefer 5th wheels as far as travel trailers go. Plus people forget the rake of the trailer and the tow vehicle. I also prefer goosenecks over bumper pulls however that's not always an option. Airbags make a huge difference also. I'll never tow without them again.
“You actually own the machine”!😄 So true! There are so many dudes with 1500 or 2500s that rock the look, but are “All Hat, No Cattle”. 🤔 My setup: Displaced Yankee out of New Jersey in Kentucky. 2018 RAM 3500 G56 upgraded clutch SRW, 14k Dexter axle trailer & GEHL RT 210 with Blue Diamond Hydraulic Brush Cutter for my 30 acres & guns. Trailers & loading is CRITICAL, unless you are a keyboard warrior.🤔
All good information. Had a very near identical story with a pallet of water in a dump trailer pretty much had to beg the guy to use another pallet and shove it as far forward as he could reach. Also if your skid steer has a front door load it backwards it’s 1200.00 dollars vs 70.00
i agree with you about loading the machine forward , buy a trailer long enough for the machine to fit. I have an issue with the twisted safety chains when hooked to the 3500, while dot regs don't specifically address it, if it were done on a load securement chain it would be a violation. A safety chain is subject to the same deformation as a load securement when put under tension so it would have the same tendency to break for that reason I wouldn't twist them.
I have been trying to explain to people for years that they have to balance their trailers properly. It is astounding the number of people who don't know that you need hitch weight to be able to keep a trailer under control. I almost always hear, "But it makes my lights shine too high if I have to drive after dark." I will typically try to explain that with a bumper pull trailer that is kinda normal and if they are that concerned about towing after dark they should plan their trip so that situation can be avoided. But most of all make sure the trailer is loaded properly and make sure the tow vehicle can handle the job! Great explanation on your part, this subject gets ignored way too often and usually ends very badly.
Also SUPER IMPORTANT: have the correct drop on your receiver hitch :) Ultimately your truck will sit level and your trailer axles will carry the same amount of weight. Spend $5 at your local CAT scale and have all axles weighted, it could save your life! I have found moving my (old, small Bobcat 743) Skidsteeer less then a foot forward/ back on my trailer can make a HUGE difference in ride/ handling. YMMV
Congratulations Pops. Two things - You tow with real trucks, a forged receiver with 1 1/4" ball shank is for real trucks. ( I broke the 1" thick x 3" wide flat bar on a brand name hitch) . Second - stabilizers are very important on bumper pull livestock trailers because your load can move. Divider panels help but you have to be ready for the whole herd crowding the gate and dividers at the worst possible time
One reason some guys load in reverse is to prevent tip over. You don't always have the ideal flat loading/unloading surface for your trailer. If you're loading forward and start tip tip over backwards, nothing is gonna stop you. If you load in reverse, the skid will not tip over the attachment. I know experienced guys will not have this issue, but some might.
And if you can’t redistribute load. Slow the heck down. Talk to those folks wrecked. Every one will say it acted up a few times before they lost it. The few times I have too much toward rear. Say hauling 20’ bridge planking on 16’ trailer. Negative tongue weight. Added junk to get a bit of tongue. (But still liftable by hand). By limiting speed to 45mph. 20 mile no problem.
I was hauling a car home when two tie-downs broke. The car rolled back and caused the weight to shift off of the hitch and lift the back of the truck. At that point, I lost complete control of the truck and trailer, I was guard rail to guard rail for what seemed to be miles. The only thing I could do was hit the gas and straighten it out then try to slow down. It took about ten tries to get stopped. So if your trailer starts to sway gas it and use the brake controller. By the way, the brake controller blew the fuze at some point on the way home before this happened. Had to change my shorts after that!
Or just hit the throttle works the same way as a jackkniife. You should never use a trailer brake like like that, you all just lucked out! Most of these issues stem from lack of experience and/ or drivers who think just because they have a pickup and a diesel engine they can haul lol. Safe travels to you all either way and please don't wreck in front of me, my kw isn't paid off yet lol
Congrats on the baby! I also haul a TL12 facing forward. Sometimes with a bucket other times with a rock picker. With a 24 foot bumper pull trailer it goes on far enough to get ample tongue weight. Who wants to mess with loading a machine with a turbo backwards and having to tape up the exhaust anyways.
When towing a long flat sided RV be careful passing a semi..the aerodynamics from the semi can and will blow you into a crash.. I've passed thousands of them on my motorcycle.. I can feel the wind being pushed around and the forces can be amazing..
Congrats daddy! Being a dad is awesome. We had a pallet pusher at my last job just for that reason. When I loaded someone I asked where they wanted it and made sure they had tongue weight.
Congratulations on the birth of your son and your wife is healthy. Enjoy the time since the years go by very fast. I have one suggestion: Make a diary for your son of the events for each month and include pictures (hard copy, since media changes) and make a new one for each year he lives at home. Do the same for all your children and eventually your grandchildren. My children are all getting older with some in their 40's; the time goes by very fast, especially when you are busy.
Good video. The ball itself is rated for the load but the square tube hitch the ball is mounted on is not. That one is rated for maybe 7,000 lb and 700lb tongue weight. It should be solid cast rated for at least 16K. You are very educated in towing. Nice job. Congrats on the baby
I have a tongue weight scale I use, good up to 2000 lbs. I tell you what, when your tw is right, the rig is rock solid. Especially with weight distribution. I've never had sway and I pray I never do. Seeing those clips gives me a cold sweat
@@gasolinediesel972 best thing you can do is hit your manual brake controller button. i wrecked a truck from trailer sway, letting off doesn't help once it gets going
Congrats on your baby boy! I flipped my 28ft bumper pull RV with sway control, going 10 miles under the speed limit, and 1 ton truck. I have pulled trailers my whole life, I will never buy one again. The intro gave me flashbacks. I now have a 5th wheel and it has way better handling.
We load ours backwards for a few reasons. 1. windshield 2.when going over a threshold/transition with a track unit you want to go backward first. 3. You can have forks on with a pallet on but if you go up forward sometimes you won’t have enough room to raise the ramps but backwards you can raise the pallet up and fold the ramps down and set the pallet on the ramps
I’ve never loaded a skid steer backwards other than ounce when it had extra weights on the back and no front attachment other than that I’ve always loaded them forwards. On gooseneck or bumper pull. On my gooseneck I just spin around on the deck and go down forward
Congratulations! It makes me wonder how much extra energy (and extra emissions created) we use to make all the electric vehicles and emissions crap to the emissions we actually reduce! 🤔
Dont forget the coal plant which likely supplies electricity to charge, as well as the energy required to recycle the battery end of use, comes again from a coal plant. They need to stop barking up that tree -- whatever is up there, will soon be within reach when it is cut down!
Ground to wheel efficiency is superior on electric cars even with coal powered plants. I love how dipshits talk as if we have to be done with electric optimization before starting to use it. Absolutely asinine
Excellent video. As a builder of bumper pull fuel trailers the 60/40 weight on the tongue keeps you out of trouble and all properly built trailers are built on that principle empty or loaded. Any trailer built heavy rear of axles/ tandems or load for that matter is an accident waiting to happen. On the other hand overloading the tongue with the tow vehicle squatting on the ground and the trailer nose diving is bad too normally due to overloading or not distributing the weight on the trailer correctly as you stressed in your tutorial. Nice work and this should be a mandatory video for anyone pulling a trailer before doing so. 👍
Congrats on your son! Happy for you both and I am sure your dad is stoked to be a grandpa! I have never had a problem with your loading placement. You are far wiser than your age Sam.
It’s really very subjective… We bought a tongue weight scale at my last job at a landscape company. (Worked there for 6 years as their only mechanic and part time truck driver) For hauling skid steers often times the trailer is just not built right. The wheels should be almost 2ft further to the rear. We measured actual tongue weight of an empty bumper pull and gooseneck and even empty there’s not usually enough weight on the tongue… when you add a skid steer that changes dramatically. Often times with an empty skid. The tongue weight is no where near what it needs to be with the skid on forward like you mentioned. However. Putting the skid on backwards EASILY overloads tongue weight on a normal bumper pull trailer. Especially a short one. Skid steers are just a pain to haul period… Don’t get me wrong I have hauled hundreds of skid steers over the years but it seems like the best case scenario for hauling skids is to just deal with an over loaded tongue… Oh and I 100% agree… Diamond C trailers exponentially better than any other trailers on the market today!
I have a buddy that hauls his skid steer dangerously. Weight too far back, travelling much too fast, poorly tied down. I rode with him once, and my heart nearly stopped. I follow in my own truck now, at a distance.
Congratulations and my best to Taylor and you. Callahan the Mulcher man. Sounds good. My uncle had me driving tractor at 4 years old so you don't have long to wait for a three man team. Because I load my trailer to the gills, I got a tongue scale. Loaded my trailer wanting about 1500 pounds of tongue weight. I have a good guesser. Got done and weighted the tongue. 1500 right on the nose. A weight distributing hitch is really necessary for that sort of weight on a bumper pull. Setting it up takes at least a whole day. Each corner of the truck should settle the same amount hitched. And the trailer should be level. I have a Reese Dual Cam. So you start with a good guess. Hitch drive around turn both directions then end with the truck and trailer straight. On the dual cam you have to adjust the length of the cam arms too. Adjust go again, adjust go again adjust etc. And of course you have to have the correct load bars. So for mine I have 1500 pound load bars.
Best intro ever! Period end of story. 🤣🤣 I would argue that the guy using multiple trailers, hauling multiple pieces of equipment and configurations and can do it safely for hundreds of thousands of miles for years is one of the most talented class A drivers on the road. Nice job Sam! And congrats on your son.
Load placement is important but in the videos hauling campers, that is why they don't recommend you drive over certain speeds with them. So many people get out there on the road and don't care the advice, they drove that way before why not now? Well they end up like the people in those clips. They go to fast and then they lose control. It doesn't take much to get a trailer going like that, add bad weight distribution and you are screwed.
@@aegeusmax3646 The back side of a skid steer isn't shaped like an airplane either, and it doesn't fly 12 feet behind a huge truck either. You need a lesson in physics
Congratulations Sam on the little guy! I hope Taylor and he are doing ok, my little guy is 22 now and yes the times fly! Take time to learn your new as Dad...it is new a and great experience.
Cover your exhaust if your going to load it backwards your turbo will spin with no oil always haul mine facing forwards have an awesome protective snap on cover for the front
Load balance on a non-gooseneck/fifth wheel trailer is critical for both tail and tongue. The consequences of being tail heavy are obvious. But overloading the tongue can also be bad, especially with lighter tow vehicles. As tongue weight increases, weight on the front end of the truck becomes less. As tongue weight decreases, weight on the back end of the truck becomes less. Proper weight distribution across ALL the rig's axles is essential. I recommend that folks take their rig across a CAT scale and see what their axle and tongue weights actually are. Do this one time and you can see if you are within your vehicle manufacturer's load limits and you'll get a real good idea of what you are actually dealing with.
I have a fifth wheel trailer but I use a gooseneck hitch. So much easier to use especially since I have a damaged spine/back. No real heavy loads for me to carry. One reason I have two heavy duty hand trucks.
Old man mechanic told me once to never load a skid loader backwards because it spins the turbo with no oil in it and wears them out faster so facing forward and closer to the tongue is always my way
Most thoughts regarding trailer tongue weight is that ~10-15% of the trailer's loaded weight should be on the tongue. The trick is to ensure that the 10-15% tongue weight does not exceed the pull vehicle's ratings and that the tongue weight does not exceed the trailer's tongue weight rating. To accurately quantify the tongue weight, one must measure the tongue weight. Tongue weight can be done with a scale or some hitches have a built in scale. One of the biggest issue with towing heavy with a bumper pull and a truck with an empty bed there is relatively little weight on the rear tires and a large moment arm from the tires to the hitch. It does not take that much force to get the tail wagging the dog in that arrangement. IMHO, if one is towing heavy, a gooseneck is the way to go. There are other options like stabilizer bars that can help if one must use a bumper pull. On a related note, after installing a hitch with a scale on my F-250, I was somewhat surprised how a tandem axle boat trailer is setup. Example: a ski boat that weighs about 2,900 Lbs and a trailer designed for the boat has a weight of 1000 Lbs for a total of 3,900 Lbs. The measure tongue weight was only 250 lbs. The only way to increase the tongue weight is to add weight in the bow of the boat.
Wow...wild shots where trailer brakes only should have been used. But yup, tongue loading will tell. Your center of gravity on your machine should be known and marked if nothing else. Using your safety chains as a before and after indicator to gauge tongue loading works. Disconnect one if necessary and mark with paint or a wire tie, etc. both a starting point and optimum for tow vehicle rear load compression. Magnetic yardstick is great set vertically to the tongue touching the ground for a visual as you load for those not good at guesstimation. Track machines are easier to figure out center of gravity as they roll to and from level at center of mass coming on and off lowbeds and beaver tails but a plate or a couple good sized boards will work for a small skid steer set on a center pivot block teeter-totter stile. Do with and without attachments if you like. Simplifies things for the less indoctrinated. The tongue must be heavier and never...ever be lighter from the load or even neutral. Most tow vehicles are lighter in the back than the front and weight for the rear tires is important at the right level, which increases slightly with increased trailer loads within hitch and suspension safety parameters. For non-wheeled loads especially, one's best estimate has to be involved and gauging hitch drop is good there too. Just say'n.
I almost 100% agree with you on trailer brand but having a couple nice Landoll trailers for my semis since Landoll bought out Travelong trailers and now make regular pickup trailers under Travelong by Landoll im currently testing a couple and giving some feedback on real world use and creature comforts if they listen to the bunch of us testing I'll probably have a 50/50 split fleet their stock trailers and horse trailers are already ordered and being built for my family's farm with the tweeks from original i wanted and probably will be the new standard next time you're in the market for a new trailer it might be worth a look
I’ve seen them loaded both ways. Me personally I find loading backwards eliminates any roll over chance because you have the bucket, forks or whatever implement loaded to catch you if it starts to tip. I’m nor a professional by any means and usually only haul it short distances at low speed.
Congratulations pops!! And don't apologize when you school someone, that could have saved someone life. Question... where's life adventure guy..? He was doing good. Cheers love the sound of that exhaust.
Also another reason to load the machine backwards with a bucket or a forks is for stability. Going backwards has a less chance of flipping over. Just like going up and down a hill. Drive down backwards up. But with your mulcher head your okay going forward because you have the weight to balance.
Lol idk what kind of ramps you’re using to load but even without a bucket or anything for a front attachment, you shouldn’t be even coming close to flipping it backwards unless it’s a straight drop off the back 😂
I’ve been pulling a bobcat for 20 years forward facing on a flat deck 20 footer and have never run into a problem and the the secret is don’t be dumb run the machine up until the tongue obviously has enough weight and set your chain for the front distance, then adjust out for the balance you need once you’re more comfortable with your load. And make shore you have a truck with enough ass.
It is the DRIVERS responsibility to distribute loads. Just having the correct truck, trailer is not enough. Like your dump truck load. Neighbor used to hire me to get Equipment from farm center fir him. NH3, spreaders... well he has a decent truck, almost totaled it. (As he drove CDL a few yrs one might think he knows) Loose fertilizer in tandem spreader, you pull under a spout. He pulled too far ahead, negative tongue weight, turned corner and back end of truck went sideways. He was upset with loading. Seems refer stuff they loaded, unloaded. He just drove, never had to set loads except at CAT.
I pull an asv rc100 mulcher with a 14k load trail, it's too heavy for single tire axles. Swapped to heavier rims and 110psi commercial tires , and the tires still don't look good but haven't blown any. I also went to a 3 bolt ball thingy on the trailer and 15k lb reciever. Stock factory ford recievers are the strongest I've seen so far, zero flex when loading. 7k axles on the load trial, the brakes suck with the machine on it. I bought a 20ton rodgers to pull with the Mack...I've always loaded it forward too, but there's room to adjust it for tongue weight. The asv with the head is 15.5k.
I think a lot of people load a skidsteer backwards because they can’t get past the feeling of backing off the trailer that freaks them out. I used to pull a 10 ton tri-axle float behind a single axle IH ex municipal plow truck. 99% of the time the skidsteer was loaded facing forward. I only ever loaded it backwards if I had something on the front of the trailer and as you said, it all about weight distribution. It’s not about where the weight is on the machine. It’s all about where you locate the weight on the trailer.
That deal that makes the hitch not rattle is just a square u bolt wash a piece of angle iron with two holes for your u bolt it’s simple to make when you see one you will go da !
The only "Right way" to load is the way that gets you good balance for truck and trailer, allows you to load and unload safely, and allows you to scale it out correctly for your axles if you ever had to weigh. Forward or backwards doesn't mean jack, I had a CT332 JD "tracked skid steer" I drove it on forward because I had 1/2 clearance between the fenders on each side and the tracks. With luck the center wood on the trailer lined up perfectly with the machine tie down points, I could look down and thread it on every time without hitting fenders. Backing it on was almost impossible solo, between zero sight lines and lack of rear visibility. Your FAE is EXACLY how I would load it and I suspect a few inches movement on that trailer makes a big difference on pin weight.
I found out the hard way about load distribution. I had an '86 3/4 ton Suburban pulling a 16 foot tilt bed bumper pull equipment trailer, had a friend that bought a non running station wagon an hour away. When we got there to pick it up, there was no way to approach that would put the engine forward, so we winched it on, engine rearward, tied it down tight and headed for home. When we tried for highway speeds, at 45 mph the tail started wagging the dog real hard. I didn't realize my friend was a panic maniac until the whipping started. I got it slowed down to 30 real quick, then moved back up to 35 and felt the whip starting again, so kept it at 30 or less the rest of the way home. I was over 2 hours getting back home. Because of his propensity to panic, I never took him along on any of his "special projects" again.
I tow a Kubota SL95, on a BP 18’ 16,100 GVW Trailer on a 2007 classic LBZ Reg Cab long bed with 7,500lb air bags.. Machine weight 12,500 lbs Empty trailer weight 6,800lbs 19-20k lbs is scary shit, been doing it for 20 years, I always would rather have more tongue weight than less....when I load machine , my back axle is 6’ off ground on pickup 😂😂😂
Load backwards because it's easy to flip them over backwards if you don't have something heavy on. A bucket isn't much for weight. You're correct on having the heavy mulcher it evens out, but if you were doing dirt work and just had a bucket it'd be easy to flip backing off the trailer
Man or man I love that party mode truck😎🤘🏼Nice video about tongue weight and properly loading and congratulations to you and Taylor on your new baby boy!!!
You should hold an expert webinar on Load management for all of these superstars buying 90k trucks and pretend-hauling their 108 month financed piece of equipment in the most unsafe manner. Too bad their father's couldn't manage their own load at the time..
Have you ever looked at a Bradfordbuilt bed they're hell of stout built solid and IMO the best investment I've made as i replce trucks in my fleet I'm phasing out all other beds he's even done custom beds on my Kodiak and my extended frame additional rear axle and front drive axle (6x6 topkick crewcab) hes easy to work with and has aluminum beds so you can carry more tounge weight if you need to move equipment and sane a trip loading a few attachments on the trailer or in the bed i love that fold down siderails but go with rub rails with stake pockets on my bigger trucks with hosts and had him build me custom adjustable headache racks and sideboards or racks theyre steel not wood so when i can't dig a hole burn the brush and old buildings on a cleanup i can chip brush and sell mulch haul logs to heat my house and shops and debris can easily go to the landfill just make sure you latch the back door open before dumping i had a driver had is the keyword that didn't see it swing out as he lifted the bed ruined the gate side rail and tweaked the headache rack he saved the headache rack and made me a ned side and door fresh powdercoat the worst part was my truck being there for 3 weeks as it was a custom bed had it been a regular pickup bed hed have had the parts and 1 day to remove the bed and weld new parts on and powdercoat and installed before lunch the next day
Loading skid steers backwards has more to do with the actual loading process. If you back them over a breaking point enough times, you’re eventually going to unload one without the tracks ever touching the ramps. Especially if it doesn’t have any attachment at all.
I have that exact diamond C trailer that carries my skid steer every day. We load forward but have 2 buckets on the machine and a set of forks on the front of the trailer. Have never had any sway problems but we load pretty far forward.
Your DIY store story brought me to remember I guy doing the same thing to me several years ago. I had barrowed a friends trailer to pick up some sheetrock. Guy loading it the load on the back half. Had an actual argument with him convincing him that it was seriously unsafe.
Congrats Mr Sam to you and Yours. Good tidbits of info always. We were always taught that (tongue weight) it's funny round here (east central florida) got one of the biggest land learning contractors does his "smaller" pulling with the Kubota , forget which one but it's DEFINITELY WAY TOO HEAVY to pull it with his tundra (shocks Completely compressed) 👀😲🤦🏼♂️
I run hot shot out of ky. I run a ram 3500 cab and chassy with a cm flat bed. My truck has been deleted and has a tow tune set in it. My trailer is a load max 40 ft straight and I have 14 ft ramps inside of it. I've hauled you name in every state this side of the rockies. I would definitely suggest you get some electric over hydraulic brakes. Lot less wear and tear. I run 2 to 3k miles a week.
Congratulations you guys and welcome Callahan. Your videos are always informative and entertaining😂, that last camper with two loose propane tanks flopping around was cringe worthy😳🙄. Thanks for sharing Sam👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻🇺🇸
