For Those With 16'/18'+2' Dovetail 10-12K Trailers

[jac6695]

I need some measurements. I am going to take my trailer with 16' deck, and add a 2' dovetail. I am going to move the axles back 18-24". What I need are dimensions from some other trailers to make sure I achieve the proper balance. I would appreciate if you could give me these measurements:

1. length of flat part of deck and dovetail
2. distance from coupler to front edge of deck
3. distance from coupler to center of axles
4. spacing of axles (center to center of axles)

Thanks in advance!

 

[88sub4x4]

I just measured my 16' + 2'

1. 16' plus 2' dovetail
2. 58.5"
3. 184.5"
4. 32.5"

Hope this helps!

 

[gmcman7202]

ya need to place the axle where your load will be centered the best. for example look at boat trailers with the engine in the back, the axles are closer to the back, now go look at a inboard with the engine in the middle... the axle is in the middle alot more. i have had a flatbed that the axle was right in the middle, which was ballanced very nicely, but becaus of that, i had to have more weight forward of the axle all the time, which became a problem when halling material such as gravel...

 

[ZZ4x4]

Yeah, what gmcman said. The rule of thumb is 70% of the weight should be in front of the axle centerline and 30% behind. If you did a 50-50 or worse, the trailer will be very uncontrolable at higher speeds. I know. One time we loaded a car on car hauler backwards ( because we had to). The max speed we could do was about 45. Faster than that and the trailer would start darting side to side. Pretty scary.