Tow / Haul

[chrlsful]

What might the weight range B of above for a 4L, 5 speed, 411 geared 15 inch tire bronk?
Thinkin of the smallest 7ft tall by 6X10 - or so, cargo trailer (combo camper / haul for hire). Ramp back, 1 axel, man door, ele roof vent, may B those fancy off rd hitch or simple pintle/loop...
Dreamin? (yeah but so what, can do attitude!).

 

[Rustytruck]

I belive factory spec was 2000 lbs. But you have to get a good hitch because the four bumper bolts are just on the end of the frame and are crap for strength.

 

[chrlsful]

in the 80s some1 welded a channel (well, an "L") across there w/a Reece type square stickin out. I hauled timber up/out of the swamp on it for 30 yrs (neighbor's band saw mill). I wanna make it a lill road (off rd too if possible) hauler now (my retirement). These lill cargo trailers weigh 1/2 to 3/4 that unloaded (6X14, 7X12) damn may B a 6X10...

Thanks -
tung weight'd B next Q I guess. 200 lb? 'S so short...

 

[blubuckaroo]

My camper trailer weighs 2800 pounds. Power isn't the problem. It's more about the short wheelbase. I limit my towing with the Bronco to 60 MPH.

 

[Broncobowsher]

Stock Bronco is probably the best a Bronco can be for towing. Start modifying and stability is an issue. I've towed some fairly mild and some really stupid loads with a Bronco over the years. Doesn't take much to ball one up. Even at fairly low (parking lot) speeds I've had pucker factors with under #2000 trailers.

As others have stated, power is not an issue. Cooling might be. Center of gravity, wheelbase, weight shift, trailer push are all bad.

Couple of examples of newer vehicles. Jeep JL 4-door is rated at 3500#. But the 2-door which mechanically is identical and weighs a little less, is only rated at 2000#
Nissan Frontier with a V6 can tow about 6500#, but the exact same everything but in a shorter wheelbase is now limited to 5000#, and that is with the added rear sway bar for better stability. Just a couple of modern examples of how short wheelbase makes for a bad tow rig.

 

[sprdv1]

My camper trailer weighs 2800 pounds. Power isn't the problem. It's more about the short wheelbase. I limit my towing with the Bronco to 60 MPH.

Yeah, don't want to push it too much w/these things..

 

[Justafordguy]

I think for a Bronco, any trailer over 2000lbs loaded, you should have trailer brakes on it.

 

[chrlsful]

what bout tong weight?
200 a limit?
Those 'anti sway' type chains'n short arms
on the hitch to 'A' frame help?

 

[blubuckaroo]

what bout tong weight?
200 a limit?
Those 'anti sway' type chains'n short arms
on the hitch to 'A' frame help?

Tongue weight is your friend with a Bronco. You're tongue weight needs to be at least 10% of the trailer weight.
Also, the attitude of the trailer is important. The trailer tongue should be slightly down.

 

[Allen_69]

I about killed myself in West Va back in the 90's hauling a car on a trailer towed behind a bone stock 71. What can I say I was young and stupid. It was after the first gulf war and I was still feeling a bit invincible. The trailer literally lifted the rear of the bronco off the road when it started bouncing, and the car was loaded with as much tongue weight as I felt comfortable with. Headed down a 9% grade my only choice was to keep it going faster as braking wasn't an option. I was up over 90 before the grade changed enough I could get it to a stop so I could change my pants.

 

[chrlsful]

about 1/2 the coal & lumber trucks comin down the grade outside Kingwood, WV used to go over the bridge B4 the other side would slo'em down (goin up).

So 2000 # trailer (total - must B "GVW"?), 200# tung weight and the 'load levelers' or 'anti-sways' are smart?

 

[Broncobowsher]

For low speed, Broncos are great tow vehicles. Very maneuverable.
But any speed or distance they suck. When something goes wrong in a bigger, better tow vehicle it isn't that big of a deal most of the time. Just an interesting experience.
In a Bronco things will go fine right up until the time they don't. And when things go bad, they go bad really fast. All my worst towing experiences are with a Bronco pulling something. The bad stuff happening at very slow speeds so it was just a bit spooky. A little more speed (as in closer to normal speeds) and I would be owning a lot more scrap metal.

 

[chrlsful]

several repeats here on inherent nature ofa short WB tow vehicle.
I seek to lower these issues w/my specific Qs.
I guess the 3, 4 areas of attention have been covered, any more folks might offer?
(i have no choice on change to other vehicle, will not be going 65/70 MPH).

weight (trailer, total)
tung weight
tow accessories (anti sway bars/chains)
trailer breaks

For instance are: 15 inch tires better, stub axels (not a cross axel, torsions may B too expensive 4 me), air foils, radial v bias, and so on...

 

[blubuckaroo]

People from my generation understood towing way better than the youngsters.
Now days, you just buy a 3/4 ton diesel pickup. Done!
Lots of lost knowledge.

 

[Broncobowsher]

6x10 enclosed trailer, lightweight, still 1500# empty. Not much you could put in it. People really underestimate the weight of cargo. A dirt bike, small tool box and a cooler and you are overloaded. May not be for the trailer but for the tow vehicle. Camp gear, while each piece is light as a whole it isn't.

Worst place for mass in a trailer is behind the axle. Yes, there is the 10-15% tongue weight rule and that works pretty good. But if you take a trailer that is tongue heavy and balance the weight by putting heavy stuff at the very back of the trailer it will pull like crap. On paper it is perfect, in the real world it sucks. Center the mass slightly forward of the trailer axle, put the light stuff in the back. Ever hear of SAE J2807? It is the SAE standard for tow ratings. Has to do with chassis stability, engine cooling, all kinds of fun stuff. A friend/coworker is on the committee. I know way too much about this stuff. I've worked on too much of this stuff on a daily basis. I can generally look at a trailer and tell if it will tow good or not regardless of weights.

As for the trailer itself. Torsion axles are better for ground clearance, really touchy about hitch height and axle loading in tandem configurations, usually less travel and more sensitive to correct weight to get a good ride. Leaf springs tend to be cheaper to buy parts for, they are more repairable, but for manufacturing they cost more in labor hanging all the parts. For building a trailer torsion costs more to buy but is cheaper to build due to less labor.
Taller/larger tires tend to be more forgiving. If you can fit an LT tire instead of a trailer tire you are better off. Generally you will run what comes on the trailer until upgrade time, that is when you hope you have a trailer that will accept the LT tire. My boat trailer can only take little trailer tires, I wish it could take LT tires as it would be a better choice. But that would take a complete rebuild of the suspension, widen the trailer to get the tires outside the boat (let the boat fit between the tires and not above them).
Weight distributing hitches are great if towing a heavy trailer. If you need one on a Bronco, you are towing too much trailer. Care must be taken as it is a device that unloads weight off the rear axle, at times when you shouldn't be unloading weight. They can (and have) made things worse on a light trailer.

 

[chrlsful]

OK, more help there (esp 1st'n last ¶ & axel/tire info). No "add on weigh dist bars/chains". Good, real good - thnx...
Also I wuz goin for 6X10 cuz it wuz the smallest possible. (only 1500#)
Still thinkin dual purpose (haul 4 hire/'camp'). May B one step up? 6X11 or 12?

 

[Broncobowsher]

Back to my prior comment. What are you going to put in the trailer. What will the trailer weigh after that?

Looking at a 6x12, found a quick U-haul spec sheet
https://www.uhaul.com/Trailers/6x12-Cargo-Trailer-Rental/RV/
Curb weight is 1920, if you kept the stock tow capacity you might be able to fill it with a few boxes of ping pong balls.

 

[chrlsful]

back up even more...I assume the bronk: 36, 3800# (don't know tho). Also assume it can haul half its weight (don't know, assume may B the haul equal to own weight, that just sounds dangerous) 1700#. 1st (or 2nd & 3rd) Need to now weight of some random "smallest trailer made" (as it looks like a lill tower like a bronk is at the base of anything that can haul). The "camper" would B minimum = foam bed pad (ie no cabinets etc as they would not B knock-down enuff to swap out to 'haul for hire"). The hauler is just the base 1700#.
Wondering if it needs its own breaks too (ele, surge). This is all new (ie I'm ignorant beyond abt 30 yrs of eying up logs to skid up a 1 mi hill to the band saw). Vehicle has not been used to do 'on-rd work'. This is all new - am at the info gatherin stage. Lastly, I know it wuz not designed to do this even tho able.

 

[blubuckaroo]

Like Broncobowsher said, load to the front. to get your tongue weight up. That's real important!
I use a friction sway control on my little camp trailer, and it works, but you can still feel it trying to sway if it's not loaded properly. I have to keep the water tank full, and load all the ice chests and beverages (heavy stuff) in the space under the table in the front.

A load distributing hitch is a good idea if you can't handle the tongue weight. I found the original 5 leaf springs handled the load way better than the nice 11 leaf setup on there now. I had to add a set of air shocks to help with the tongue weight.
If you're prudent with your hitch height, load distribution, and brakes, you'll do fine.

 

[Bronco4x4]

I used to go to the Street Machine Nationals (New Jersey to Illinois) with my friend in his ‘76 EB with 33” tires. We towed his 1969 SS Chevelle convertible on an open car trailer. He had equalized bars on the hitch. We also used the same EB for towing a snow mobile trailer. We really had no problems and it seemed safe at the time. Now I use a 7.3L F350 for towing and would never use the EB but like I said; it worked fine for us.