Hull protection while trailing

[Ron]

Something that everyone should do with a new larger trailer is to measure the weight of the hitch when the trailer is loaded, in this case with the boat and other gear. Since it's beyond the limit of most bathroom scales, I use a 2x4 as a balance beam with the scale on one end, some 2x4 blocks on the other, and the hitch coupler lowered onto the beam (with 2 or 3 2x4 blocks maybe) 1/4 of the way from the fixed (blocked) end. Then multiply the reading by 4 to get the exact hitch weight. Scale shows 120 means the the hitch has got 480 pounds of weight. As I recall, the Telstar setup does not have enough weight on the hitch (should be around 10 percent of the total load), so I load everything (extra sails, etc.) towards the front of the boat to help get it closer to 10 percent. Not enough weight on the hitch will get both the truck and trailer/boat to hobby horse on the road, meaning that the hitch/coupler area will go up and down too easily. Too much and you will overload and damage the truck.

Note that ALL trucks or SUV's have a maximum trailer tow weight that is based on using a weight distributing hitch. It's much lower without it. You're 7500 pound class rating is for a weight distributing hitch. It's probably 5,000 pounds without one, with 500 pounds max on the ball.

This could be overkill for some, but I've been towing some pretty big things for many years. I keep one of those hand held laser pointer remote temperature gauges in the truck and I'll check the temperature of the trailer hubs (and tires) at some of my gas or rest stops. If anything is going wrong with the brakes or bearings it will immediately show up here. I once caught an overheating bearing assembly and probably avoided a nasty trip into the bushes with a 7500 pound Catalina behind me. And I did grease the hubs before I left !!! Overheat the bearing and wheel and you could easily blow out the tire from heat. Where to you think all of those tire carcasses on the highways come from?

Not trying to scare you, but you've got to respect the forces involved when you have more weight behind the truck than the truck itself weighs. Ever see a 50 pound dog with a 60 pound tail?

[drsm]

If I might expand on the original question: Has anyone found additional mirrors useful when hauling the wide Telstar?

Steve

[Mark G]

I drove from PCI to New Orleans using the standard mirros for a Chey SUburban and I found thenm to be acceptable. The basic requirement as far as I can see is to get them far enough out to see the sides of the trailer. If your tow vehicle is smaller than a full sized truck, mirror extensions may be advisable.

[Ron]

It may be acceptable, but it's a lot better with a mirror extension. I found a set of wide suction cup mirrors that stick on the stock mirrors on both sides of the Avalanche (or anything else) that really help. It's extends about 8 inches out of the stock mirror, which is still usable. It's got a stretch lanyard that goes around the regular mirror in case the suction cup fails (which it never has, even after maybe 10,000 miles of towing). Not sure of the brand name - the packaging is back up in NJ. I'll take a look at one of the mirrors tomorrow to see if it has a name on it.

There could be a legal issue in some states about towing a wide load (8 1/2 feet) without them. I recall reading something about that. Speaking of rules, there's also a requirement in most states that you MUST cross the safety chains. Half of the trailers I see on the road don't do that.

[Dan]

A Telstar 28 isn’t considered a wide-load in most states, since it is 102" in width. Mirror extensions are useful, but not necessary—and you can get them at most U-Haul or RV stores. Checking the temperature of the wheel hubs and bearings is a good idea.

Yes, you should cross the safety chains, since that prevents the trailer tongue from dropping and digging into the asphalt and having the boat try to do a Chinese Wheelie.

Ron’s point about measuring the weight on the trailer hitch is a very good one... you should also make sure that the trailer hitch is the right height for the truck and trailer combination.

[Ron]

Dan -

When I said "wide load", I did not mean the legal definition of it, which is 102.1 inches or better in most states on most roads. But note that some states consider 8 feet as the maximum on many roads, so it could be defined correctly there.

Anything wider than the tow vehicle is a wide load to me, because it blocks your view of what's behind you. And 8 1/2 feet is wider than any pickup or SUV - even the 1 ton super duties and heavy duties. My 6500 pound Chevy Avalanche is just about as big as they can make a 1/2 ton pickup and I really can't see behind the boat/trailer with the standard (and large for a truck) side mirrors. The suction cup mirror extensions really work. On the interstate doing maybe 60 to 65 they are worth their weight in gold. The suction cups have a screw thread behind them so that it evacuates the air much better than just pressing the cup. They have never fallen off, even after a half dozen trips between NJ and FL, and a few more to the mid-west pulling a large enclosed car hauler.

Do you NEED them? Probably not. Will they make the trip safer by letting you know what's following? YES. You could be pulling into a passing lane to get by a slow moving vehicle not knowing that the 120,000 pound semi just behind, going faster than you, is doing the same thing. Some of these guys seem to like to tail-gate, and I don't really trust anyone out there. How about an emergency lane change when the idiot in the Honda Civic (it's always a small car) cuts you off at the interstate's entrance ramp. Nice to know what's behind and to your left.

By the way, I think that the actual width of the trailer/boat combination is a little above 102 inches. And a lot more if you leave the PVC poles up.

[Dan]

Ron—

Thanks for clarifying your meaning. I agree that mirror extensions are very useful. The ones I’ve used in the past look like this:


They're quite good and very useful, especially with something as wide and long as a Telstar 28 is on the trailer.

[Dan]

They’ve worked on non-parallel mirrors, mainly since they hook to the front edge of the mirror housing. If the mirror housings are too thick, they might not work as well, but most trucks I’ve tried them on, they’ve been fine.

[Ron]

Dan -

I didn't write the above - it looks more like your response to what I did do. What happened?

[Dan]

Hmm... I don't know, let me check.

Appears there was an error in the database. It seems to have truncated two posts, and combined the one you had with the mirrors with mine I'm investigating further..