Just purchased a 6 x 12 enclosed single axle cargo trailer and trying to set it up to haul my Ultra when needed. I am going with a Harbor Freight wheel chock and e-track bolted to the floor and bottom of walls. The trailer has a v-nose and a 1700# rating. The trailer dealer says to center the load over the axle but I have seen other posts saying to center the load slightly ahead of axle. I towed the trailer empty at speeds up to 70 mph with no sway or bounce whatsoever. What would you guys recommend as a centering point?

 

I would put it forward of the axle and not quite all the way into the V and be done with it. Park the bike inside and then weigh the tongue. Position it as necessary and just find a happy medium. You will never find the perfect setup only because you may carry other things in there along with the scoot. You want to have some weight on the tongue which should be approximately 10-15% of the total weight. I would rather have more weight on the tongue than to have it being pulled up from the hitch.

 

Yep.... Ahead of axle..

 

If you put the load over the axle, the trailer tongue weight likely will be the appropriate %. I would trust the trailer manufacturer to know more how the weight distribution is rather than ask guessing forum members. If the axles are slightly aft of the center of the box , then the trailer tongue has positive weight on it.

To keep the balancing simple, how much does the trailer tongue weigh empty? If you had a perfectly balanced loading, then it would be the same. Course then you would have to know which wheel on the bike weighs more, i.e. front-to-rear weight distribution.

 

Soos is right about being ahead of the axle. In an enclosed trailer I once had I built a box in the angled nose. It gave me a place to keep the tie down gear & tools. It also gave a solid partition to butt the wheel chock against. The bikes still rode a little ahead of the axle & the trailer was very stable during towing. Also consider a tongue wheel & a jack under the rear of the trailer for loading/unloading without being hitched. It'll be handy.

 

Definitely ahead of the axle. I have seen what happens to trailers without enough tongue weight. They will sway side to side to the point of wrecking the tow vehicle if it happens at speed. I put my Ultra in my 6X12 trailer and moved it forward until the rear of the tow vehicle lowered a couple inches with the added weight. Put the HF wheel chock and tie downs in there and towed to Orlando and back with no issues.

 

I always load a trailer slightly tongue heavy. That way your rear tires are firmly planted on the road, and the trailer is not pulling up on the hitch.

 

Pussies.........

 

Two ****** went into a bar....

 

............and they left their bikes in the trailer