RodUSMC1962
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The ammo trailer was empty, and the pole trailer was lighter than the ammo trailer.
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Pulling double M105s, have questions
- Thread starter Lonesome715
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I would think about the after effects of an event that involved a trailer NOT designed to pull another trailer, moded to pull another trailer, I can see lawyers having fun with this.
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I will admit I've done it. I would never advise doing it though and I'm unsure if it's legal.
If you do pull the double you'll need some weight in the front trailer. If not you will wreck if you get up to any speed above 20 mph or so. I think I added about 500lbs to the front of the front trailer.
If you do pull the double you'll need some weight in the front trailer. If not you will wreck if you get up to any speed above 20 mph or so. I think I added about 500lbs to the front of the front trailer.
bottleworks
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Are you taking this across state lines?
Lonesome715
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There is a real good chance that this setup would be taken over several state lines. I am modding me deuce to do better on the highway (more on that later) and I would like to do the same with the trailers. I was thinking some of the problems I might face at highway speeds would be as a result of the NDTs. That is why I am putting better highway tires on them with a stiffer side wall and highway tread. Same tires that are on over the road trucks.
I would start looking at those other state laws to include your own. There are a lot of states that allow tandem tow. However most have provisions, most are length which clearly you won't get close to. However a few states only allow tandem tow where the first trailer is hitched to the tractor/truck with a 5th wheel.
Commercial license may also be required due to weight. Most non commercial license limit you to 26001 GVW with 10K allowed for a towed load. A lot of people on here try and get away with a ton of stuff because they are hiding in plain site in a mil truck. But towing two 105's with a Duece is just screaming hey look at me.
If it where me I'd put on in the bed chained down, and tow the second. You can still load them both but it will reduce the "hey look what I'm doing profile".
We have all met curious cops...and a safe trip is a good trip.
Commercial license may also be required due to weight. Most non commercial license limit you to 26001 GVW with 10K allowed for a towed load. A lot of people on here try and get away with a ton of stuff because they are hiding in plain site in a mil truck. But towing two 105's with a Duece is just screaming hey look at me.
If it where me I'd put on in the bed chained down, and tow the second. You can still load them both but it will reduce the "hey look what I'm doing profile".
We have all met curious cops...and a safe trip is a good trip.
Lonesome715
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The laws is an issue I was going to get into once I figured out if this would work or not. I cannot load a trailer in the bed because I need the bed space. As far as a license is concerned, I have a class A with doubles and triples anyway.
robert c neth
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there was a good article in 4 wheeler mag on this .they towed a camper and a boat with a pickup.2 trailers are legal in calif and other states .this article showed how to tow doubles safely.i would do more research on this before trying it.
gungearz
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Good luck with that... 53 footers I'd do all day long but for a 12 footer. No way. Trailer bounce everywhere. Seems unsafe regardless of legalitise.
nk14zp
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Here's a write up on doing it
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/trailers/33037-danger-towing-2-105s-line-danger.html
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/trailers/33037-danger-towing-2-105s-line-danger.html
KaiserM109
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Years ago when my dad was getting ready to apply for a patent on a trailer hitch, I did the mathematical analysis of bumper mounted hitches vs 5th wheel hitches. Everyone knows that a 5th wheel is better, but not always the best, but we needed to know how to analyze different configurations.
Long and short of it, you have 3 critical parameters, 1) the distance from the towing vehicle's axle(s) to the pivot point of the hitch, 2) the distance from the pivot point of the hitch to the trailer’s axles and 3) the weight distribution of both the towing vehicle and the trailer, primarily the trailer. The last parameter is very difficult to quantify in any simple terms. If you get the combination of these 3 parameters wrong, you will get oscillations of the trailer.
To understand the seriousness of the 1st parameter, think about a vehicle with a long rear end, like a big motorhome. As that vehicle starts into a turn (or weaves around in the lane) the hitch goes in the opposite direction as the vehicle. After a little bit of travel, it is pulled back into the direction the towing vehicle is going. Particularly with bad weight distribution, this can result in the trailer swaying back and forth and in extreme cases an oscillation that increases until a wreck occurs.
Shortening up the distance from the towing axle and the pivot point decreases the magnitude of the oscillation. You should note that commercially manufactured tractors have the 5th wheel mounted just in front of a single rear axle or closer to the front of a pair of tandem axles.
The length of the trailer’s tongue factors in because a longer tongue tends to lessen the effect of the oscillation. The ammo trailer, that came from the factory with a pintle hook on the back, has a short distancd from its own axle to the hook. In the case of an M105 trailer, that distance is much longer and can possibly cause an oscillation in the second trailer.
Remember, the first trailer might oscillate a minor amount, but that will be amplified in the second. I once saw a triple trailer rig going down I-25 and the second trailer was almost out of control. If you decide to try this, you need a chase vehicle to watch for sway because you can’t see your first trailer, unless you have no cover or load on your deuce, and I’m not sure that you could see the 2nd one either.
It is possible that the little bit of play between the pintle hook and the lunette can work in your favor by not transmitting a tiny amount of sway in the first trailer to the second trailer; I'm not sure.
Good luck, be safe and please do not give MV owners a bad name.
Long and short of it, you have 3 critical parameters, 1) the distance from the towing vehicle's axle(s) to the pivot point of the hitch, 2) the distance from the pivot point of the hitch to the trailer’s axles and 3) the weight distribution of both the towing vehicle and the trailer, primarily the trailer. The last parameter is very difficult to quantify in any simple terms. If you get the combination of these 3 parameters wrong, you will get oscillations of the trailer.
To understand the seriousness of the 1st parameter, think about a vehicle with a long rear end, like a big motorhome. As that vehicle starts into a turn (or weaves around in the lane) the hitch goes in the opposite direction as the vehicle. After a little bit of travel, it is pulled back into the direction the towing vehicle is going. Particularly with bad weight distribution, this can result in the trailer swaying back and forth and in extreme cases an oscillation that increases until a wreck occurs.
Shortening up the distance from the towing axle and the pivot point decreases the magnitude of the oscillation. You should note that commercially manufactured tractors have the 5th wheel mounted just in front of a single rear axle or closer to the front of a pair of tandem axles.
The length of the trailer’s tongue factors in because a longer tongue tends to lessen the effect of the oscillation. The ammo trailer, that came from the factory with a pintle hook on the back, has a short distancd from its own axle to the hook. In the case of an M105 trailer, that distance is much longer and can possibly cause an oscillation in the second trailer.
Remember, the first trailer might oscillate a minor amount, but that will be amplified in the second. I once saw a triple trailer rig going down I-25 and the second trailer was almost out of control. If you decide to try this, you need a chase vehicle to watch for sway because you can’t see your first trailer, unless you have no cover or load on your deuce, and I’m not sure that you could see the 2nd one either.
It is possible that the little bit of play between the pintle hook and the lunette can work in your favor by not transmitting a tiny amount of sway in the first trailer to the second trailer; I'm not sure.
Good luck, be safe and please do not give MV owners a bad name.
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wreckerman893
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This is just an exercise in "what if" (if your Aunt Freida had balls she'd be your Uncle Fred) but what if you joined the two trailers together so that they pulled like one twin axle?
Maybe join them together with two pices of metal bolted to both trailers that could be removed when you got where you're going.
That (IMHO) would be safer than pulling two trailers. You could hook the air to both axles and have good braking power.
Pulling them with a deuce would work well.
Maybe join them together with two pices of metal bolted to both trailers that could be removed when you got where you're going.
That (IMHO) would be safer than pulling two trailers. You could hook the air to both axles and have good braking power.
Pulling them with a deuce would work well.
gungearz
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Ill donate a spool of paracord just to watch....lol
Lonesome715
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Two longer trailers I would have no issue with, the lenght of these however does concern me.
The trailer sway you mentioned is one thing that I am concerned about as well. Just like the link to that thread mentioned. I was hoping the new tires would help to stop that.
Connecting the trailers with steel or straps is something I was thinking about. I either biuld links with Hiemz joints or use ratchet straps. Obviously the ratchet straps work so maybe that would be the way to go.
The trailer sway you mentioned is one thing that I am concerned about as well. Just like the link to that thread mentioned. I was hoping the new tires would help to stop that.
Connecting the trailers with steel or straps is something I was thinking about. I either biuld links with Hiemz joints or use ratchet straps. Obviously the ratchet straps work so maybe that would be the way to go.
wreckerman893
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If you are going to put any kind of load on them I'd DX that strap idea.
Bolt them together with Grade 8 bolts and be redundant on the steel connectors.
Putting the general public at risk to save a few bucks is a non-starter.
Lonesome715
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Good point, I did nto think of the load. The idea here is to transports a laod not empty trailers.
So, can we focus on this for a moment? The lead trailer will have a lot more wieght than the aft trailer. Plus, both trailers and the truck will be running the 22.5 tires. That information alone, what does it do to change the situation? Please feel free to shoot me your oppinons and thoughts.
So, can we focus on this for a moment? The lead trailer will have a lot more wieght than the aft trailer. Plus, both trailers and the truck will be running the 22.5 tires. That information alone, what does it do to change the situation? Please feel free to shoot me your oppinons and thoughts.
Lonesome715
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I think it would be easier to just lay out what I am trying to do. We plan to move. If we move out of state I wanted to use my deuce to transport our house hold stuff. Why rent a truck when i have a freaking deuce sitting in the yard. The trailer I have now I planned to load up with my garage stuff. All my tool boxes, engine hoist, bolt bins, saws, welder, compressor, and so on. I feel pretty good about getting it all to fit. The second trailer would be for what every did not fit in the truck inself. I was thinking maybe what is in my shed will go there. That is mostly ATV and truck parts that are not that heavy. If we move out of state I want to make one trip. If we stay in GA it does not matter because i can mke more than one.
Just sell one M105 for fuel money...
M105's seam big but they are tiny moving vans. Mine helped me evacuate (see signature), but they didn't work alone and I used the M35 and the F350 to move them.
The M35 isn't a great moving van either, but that's my opinion.
The M871 isn't perfect either but tarped there is a lot of space.
The big issue with the Mil stuff is deck height. You get wore out fast lifting boxes chest high, furniture is even worse.
What other vehicles are you moving?
M105's seam big but they are tiny moving vans. Mine helped me evacuate (see signature), but they didn't work alone and I used the M35 and the F350 to move them.
The M35 isn't a great moving van either, but that's my opinion.
The M871 isn't perfect either but tarped there is a lot of space.
The big issue with the Mil stuff is deck height. You get wore out fast lifting boxes chest high, furniture is even worse.
What other vehicles are you moving?
Lonesome715
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Oh I agree, they are far from ideal. But it is what I have to work with. I do not have the funds for renting a truck. Plus i can run my deuce on free fuel. (kind of) We alos have two 3/4 pick up trucks and my F350 (if I ever get it running again). One of those is tasked with pulling our horse trailer and the other the flat bed trailer with all the ATVs. I figured, I have the deuce and 105 already, buying another 105 for cheap is less than renting anything so it might be worth a shot.