STSCDave

Towed this 6x12 enclosed trailer with surge brakes local about 60 miles round trip no problem with the 2007 F150 4.2 V6. Mounted to the stock bumper hitch with a 5000 Lbs ball and plugged into the flat four pin for the lights. The top of the ball on bumper is 23 inches. Uhaul hooked it up and let me tow no problem. I never went above 55. Truck handled it great even when fully loaded with household goods from our storage unit.

BlackKnight81

Thanks for the info - I'm about to rent the 6x12 for a trip from NC
to NJ. Wasn't sure how it would be with surge brakes - got 2011 Scab 4wd - will have some household stuff packed into it also. Have to take a route that
will take me thru the Blue Ridge Mountains in Roanoke Va (visit brother- if I don't I wont hear the end of it).

smokeywren

Surge brakes and a weight-carrying hitch for that low-profile 6x12 enclosed trailer will probably work just fine - PROVIDED you have the floor of the trailer perfectly level front to rear when wet and loaded on the road, and you load the trailer so it has less than 500 pounds tongue weight.


Use a 4' carpenter's level and check the level of the wet and loaded trailer. If the floor is not accessible when loaded, then use the roof of the trailer.


If the trailer is not level, then use a shank/ball mount that will result in a level trailer. Those cost only $20 to $30. Maybe a 2" drop will be enough, but you'll probably need 4" drop or more. Here's one:
http://www.etrailer.com/Ball-Mounts/Draw-Tite/2753.html

spotterjoe

If you stop in Roanoke, y'all gonna be real close to Franklin County VA ('shine capitol of the world)

STSCDave

I didn't worry about it being level because I was towing in town, no highway towing. Truck drove the same as usual. The U Haul 6x12 weighs 1800 Lbs empty. It was all I could do to lift the tongue off of the ball. The one I rented did not have a tongue jack.

STSCDave

The trailer is actually a little wider than the truck so you have to watch the mirrors to keep it in the lane.

Pugga

iTrader: (1)

None of them have tongue jacks. They do that so people are less likely to unhook the trailer and do something stupid (like load it when it's not connected to the tow vehicle).

STSCDave

I know I saw a video online of the same trailer I rented that had a jack on the tongue. Must have been an old video. Makes sense they don't have them because you can fit a lot of crap in those trailers.

Pugga

iTrader: (1)

I don't think it's the weight so much as, when the trailer is empty and you step on the back, the tongue unweights and you can start rolling. It can still happen even without a jack but, without a jack people are more unlikely to unhook the trailer to begin with. Take a look at a dump trailer, a lot of them have a tongue jack and also jacks at the rear so they can be loaded when not hooked up to a vehicle.

BlackKnight81

My brother says he has some apple flavored shine waiting for me !!!!