Newbie questions regarding trailering sleds

[SpencerA]

My wife and I are new to snowmobiling this year and I have a few questions regarding trailering in snow.
I have a Trac Pac 3 place trailer that we'll have our two sleds on and a Snowcoach for the kids. We'll be towing with a 07 Tahoe with all terain tires. I have tons of experience driving in snow and towing but never towed in snow. I was looking into getting brakes for my trailer but I was told don't worry about it because thats to light of a trailer to need them. I was also told with my size of tow rig I should be fine.

Any advice you might have for me on driving tips or upgrades to my trailer or rig would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[go high fast]

new to sledding with 135 posts.......sounds like you've done your homework.

I would agree that you are better off without trailer brakes especially with a smaller and lighter trailer. One of challenges with brakes is coming down an icey grade the trailer brakes will often lock the trailer wheels and the trailer will slide to one side or the other. Your rig sounds like its more than adequate to tow the sleds.

Here are some things I've learned over the years:

1.) a salt guard is real important. If its a drive off trailer the ramps in the up position usually provide good cover.,

2.) I upgraded to bigger tires and moved away from the little narrow fella's. The larger tire gives you more load support and more rubber on road. With regard to tires, have a good spare and alway travel with fix-a-flat and tools necessary to change the spare. I actually travel with a battery powered impact wrench to speed the job if hit with a flat.

3.) make sure all your trailor lights are kept in good working order.

4.) before getting on the road I stop and get out and do one final walk around to make sure everything is tied down and secure and I didnt do something stupid like leave my helmet or beacon on the trailer. Good tie downs are critical to keep it from walking front to back and side to side while towing.

5.) if using a open trailor and if you are not able to put them under cover when not in use you want to have real good covers to keep the weather off the sleds when stored between rides or stored for the summer. In the summer I use both the sled covers and a major tarp to keep everything fully covered.

6.) the question sometimes on an open trailer is do you tow with or without the cover. I recommend you always trailer with the cover and that's why it's important to spend the money to get a good cover that fits like a glove.

7.) you will need to get comfortable with driving the sled on the trailer. You do need some momentum but be ready on the brake. Trailer glides/slides are a terrific enhancement to any trailor so you dont gouge the wood deck and so the sleds slide. Set them back far enough so you dont gouge the back edge of your trailer each time you load.

8.) the type of riding you do may actually impact the kind of trailer you have. for instance if all you do is travel to the parking lot a mobile home sized covered trailer may work great but if you spring ride in May and travel dirt roads to the snowline you may find a small/short 2 place open trailer is good for easy turn around.

Have fun.

 

[jgd]

Congrats on getting into sledding... The truck you have will pull that load just fine. As far as trailer brakes go, most commonly you'll see "surge" brakes on a trailer that size. Surge brakes however are virtually worthless on snowy/icy roads because they won't engage, as the deceleration forces typically aren't great enough . If you want brakes that will work in snow and ice you should consider electric brakes. Do you need them on smaller trailers? That's up to you, but I'd seriously consider it on a three place like yours, when driving in the winter. That's potentially another 3,000 Lbs pushing your truck. IMO... Good luck

 

[SnowXTC]

Congrats on getting into sledding, it is a funtastic family sport.

Your rig should be awesome to pull that trailer. I don't think that you need trailer brakes on the trailer. Go high fast has some awesome recommendations. I totally agree on the covers, these are an absolute necessity, even with the salt, mud, rock guard. The only addition that I would have is traction for the track to get on the trailer, either for the ramp or if it is a tilt, the bed of the trailer. You can use an old track cut in half for each side, old high fax, or you can buy the plastic track cleats. Screw them down excessively. Also for ski guides, I found old bed liner to be the best option; 8 to 10 inch wide on each side and 18 inches down the middle. This way you can accomodate sleds with different ski widths. Just be aware that this stuff is very slick.

Enjoy and drive careful. Practice too. You will do fine.

 

[SpencerA]

Congrats on getting into sledding... The truck you have will pull that load just fine. As far as trailer brakes go, most commonly you'll see "surge" brakes on a trailer that size. Surge brakes however are virtually worthless on snowy/icy roads because they won't engage, as the deceleration forces typically aren't great enough . If you want brakes that will work in snow and ice you should consider electric brakes. Do you need them on smaller trailers? That's up to you, but I'd seriously consider it on a three place like yours, when driving in the winter. That's potentially another 3,000 Lbs pushing your truck. IMO... Good luck

I figure that with the snowcoach and the extra length of the trailer would only be around 400-500lbs extra. I don't plan on ever putting 3 sleds on that trailer.

 

[Bagger]

I figure that with the snowcoach and the extra length of the trailer would only be around 400-500lbs extra. I don't plan on ever putting 3 sleds on that trailer.

Hahahahahahahahahaha, right. Hang in there Guvn'r, take good care of that trailer for when you trade up to a 4 place.

Bag

 

[shawn2820]

trailer brakes are up to you. your vehicle is plenty sufficient to handle that load, and if you need to you can all ways downshift and let the engine do some of the braking for you. Also i have wanted to post this but i didnt really know where. but if you ever have to redeck your trailer, depending on whether its wood or aluminum (which you shouldnt ever have to do) but there is a pvc material that is in the same deminsions as plywood 4'x8' 1/2"thick. that are not that expensive, or at least not the last time i looked. I havent tried it yet but to me it would last a heck of a lot longer that plywood ever would.

 

[freak485]

2.) I upgraded to bigger tires and moved away from the little narrow fella's. The larger tire gives you more load support and more rubber on road.

Ok.....The width of your tire has nothing to do with the load rating of your tire it has to do with the thickness of your side wall and the ply of the tire. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=55 lots of good info for people that are looking to buy tires or are having trouble deciding what they need. For the winter driving that 95% of us do you want a NARROW tire. You want as much weight PSI as you can get on ICE. ICE is what most of us deal with or a few inches to a 6-8 inchs of snow on the road. Reason being most of us drive on roads you want to cut down to the pavement and grip that. Yes wide tires with big lugs do work great in snow but not on ice. Ice and snow pack cause most of the wrecks not nice new fluffy snow. I work for the MT Department of transportation i had about 20k miles last year in my plow not counting other years and all the other winter driving i do. The people that i see in the ditch the most are. Dumb @ss truckers from back east that have super singles on. They are a fat tire, so rather then 8 tired on a tandem truck you only have 4. And people who have mud tires on and cars that have them new low profile wide tires. Meanwhile grandma is coasting alone in her Buick la-saber with her nice narrow factory tires

I run a 265/75/16 on my truck ill be going back down to a 245 when these are gone. I don't have the traction i like on the ice with a 265 tire. This is on a 3/4 pickup i always get load rating of E witch is a 10 ply tire i would think a D would do you fine on a Tahoe.

I know a lot of people Will tell you the wider the better so you can float across the snow! Then you hit ice and weeeeeeeeee! Dont believe all that bunch of malarkey!

My 2 cents! hope you make the right choice in tires!

On a side note....i wouldn't put brakes on a sled trailer like that there two light and will lock up. Then you will really have some fun!

Also if you haven't already i would get a set of chains. I don't care what tires you have if you run into some freezing rain....Black ice is no fun!

 

[Jeff C]

Here is a tip you wioll probably forget, like most of us do.............


Wheel lugs are rust MAGNETS!

Not so much in the winter, but before you put that trailer away for the summer crack the lugs loose, remove them, pull the wheel off and take a wire brush to the threads on the lugs and the nuts themselves. Get all that rust off BEFORE SUMMER STARTS!

Then obnoxiously spray rust inhibitor all over the lugs and lug nuts. Put wheel back on, tighten up everything, and then obnoxiously spray more rust inhibitor all over the wheel and lugs.

Fall comes, take a rag and wipe off all that crap on the wheels.......

If you dont so this, you will wish you did when you are running across North Dakota at 3am and it is -5 with a 25 mile an hour wind, and your tire blows, and the nuts have rust welded themselves to the lugs.... AND YOU FRIGGIN CANT GET THE WHEEL OFF!

Dont ask me how I know this

 

[freak485]

Here is a tip you wioll probably forget, like most of us do.............


Wheel lugs are rust MAGNETS!

Not so much in the winter, but before you put that trailer away for the summer crack the lugs loose, remove them, pull the wheel off and take a wire brush to the threads on the lugs and the nuts themselves. Get all that rust off BEFORE SUMMER STARTS!

Then obnoxiously spray rust inhibitor all over the lugs and lug nuts. Put wheel back on, tighten up everything, and then obnoxiously spray more rust inhibitor all over the wheel and lugs.

Fall comes, take a rag and wipe off all that crap on the wheels.......

If you dont so this, you will wish you did when you are running across North Dakota at 3am and it is -5 with a 25 mile an hour wind, and your tire blows, and the nuts have rust welded themselves to the lugs.... AND YOU FRIGGIN CANT GET THE WHEEL OFF!

Dont ask me how I know this

This is a good point, with all the salt and magnesium chloride used anymore its a good idea to wash you're vehicle regularly. I wash my truck more often in the winter then summer. And wash i mean rinse is all i do no soap just high pressure rinse get the Frame and under body good wheels also.

 

[richracer1]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned, is to put some weight in your tow rig. I would say about 100lbs at the very back to help keep the rear end planted. I have a Chevy 3500 SRW 4x4 and I put about 250-300lbs back there to keep the truck planted so I don't have to drive in 4 all the time. I'm sure some will pipe up about this, either for or against this practice but I've been doing it for years and Dad did it far longer than I have. The weight I use in the bed is 50lb bags of sand from Home Depot/Lowes - they like $3 - $4 a bag. DO NOT USE SALT AS WEIGHT.

 

[SpencerA]

I just bought brand new tires for my trailer which are the stock size it came with, I believe its a 10" 205 tire. Its the little donut tires you see a lot on the smaller trailers. Are these going to be ok? And do they make chains for that small of tire?

I also thought of buying a different size tire and wheel set up and getting studs. Reason I didn't get studs on these tires is they don't make them. I remember years back coming home from a snowboard trip and there was a bad accident on the highway. I was following a truck pulling two sleds on a 2 place open trailer. Traffic was crawling so on the burms his trailer was sliding into oncoming traffic. Just a little but it made me think.

 

[freak485]

Yes those tires are ok. I have the small tire on my trailer also i wouldn't run them over 70 mph. I meant chains for you tow vehica not trailer. All you need is 1 pair, you can get 2 sets so you can chain up the front also but if you did you messed up and most likely need to be pulled out. With chains the idea is to put them on before you are in trouble.

As for the guys trailer sliding into the other lane, this is poor driving on his part. Hes trying to stop to fast and he trailer is still moving. Always allow extra room for stopping in the winter especially if traffic is backed up because of a wreak. Give yourself enough room to stop plus room to pull forward if you see someone come up behind you who might hit you.

Were do you live? And is your Tahoe a 4wd? Reason i ask is Studded tires in bigger vehicles like full sized pickups and SUVs that have v8s tend to tear out studs in a hurry you most likely throw most of them out by winters end. Sounds like you are commented to a true snow tire so i would just go with a true stud-less winter/snow tire like the Bridgestone Blizzak or something similar. Not saying the studs wont help you but you might be disappointed with what you spent on them when a lot of them are missing.

 

[m8sandman]

electric brakes with a good brake controler are a big help in certain situations, especially coming downhill when that trailer is going to be pushing you through the corners. i know plenty of times i've gotten a little sideways not paying enough attention coming down hill and just reach down and pull the lever on the control box and let the trailer brakes straighten me out. if you have to nail the brakes for more than just a couple of seconds coming downhill on ice or snow without brakes on the trailer it will just keep pushing you and at least the trailer will end up sideways. the trailer brakes will also take some of the strain off your truck brakes and make them last longer and have less of a chance of warping the rotors from over heating. they are also nice to have in town when someone pulls out in front of you and you need all the stopping power you can get. its key to learn where to adjust your control box for the conditions you are driving, your trailer brakes should never lock up. are they absolutely necessary for a smaller trailer, no, but if you run up and down the mt. every weekend like i do they are very nice to have...

 

[AZ800]

Guess I wouldn't even think about putting brakes on a little open trailer.
The little fat tires will be fine for wherever you go. It's nice to have taller tires, doesn't take it's toll on the tires and bearings so much, but put thousands of miles on teh little tires without issue. Having them balanced helps alot.
Make sure they got decent tread and if it's real slippery, air them down, just like you would your truck tires, will help keep the trailer from sliding around.
Along with coating all the stuff you don't want to rust with rust inhibitor (I take a can of WD40 or similar to about everything before putting it up for the summer), anti seize your wheel studs. No they won't come loose unexpectedly. Yes they will come loose when you need to change a tire in a blizzard on hte side of the road with less than ideal tools.

Snowcoach eh? Nice!
Got one for the kids about 5 years ago. Kept us riding in most any conditions from the time they were infants on up. Now they don't want to ride in it (5 & 8). "Too bumpy" "I can't see." Can I drive Mom's sled?" (8yr old)

Make sure you got a good hitch on the sled for the sno coach. One that bolts to the bumper with a couple bolts won't cut it. Make sure the safety chain IS hooked up and can't come off. Make sure the hitch pin cannot come off either. A pin with a spring clip through the hole in the pin is best (or a locknut and bolt, but a biatch to undo when you're stuck. The pins with the flip over wire retainer can come apart. Had a couple scary situations with the 'coach and learned our lesson.
If you're in powder country, get some wide skis for the sno coach. It helps alot and with a decent size sled, you can pull through some decent powder with them, wide skis really help.

 

[the fix-it guy]

I have given up on using covers for trailering down the road. No matter how well your cover fits and extra bungee straps you add over the top, by the time you go 600 miles with a 35 mph cross wind your cover is shredding. Sometimes our sleds are crud covered when we get their, but a day in the powder cleans them up and a good bath when you get home.

 

[richracer1]

IMO brakes on a trailer this lite will be more dangerous. There's not enough weight to be worrying about the trailer pushing the tow rig.

Another critical item I forgot to mention previously is to make sure the trailer is sitting level while loaded - if it isn't, you'll need to buy a hitch that either drops or raises it to make it level. A level trailer pulls a lot better than one that's nose down or up. In fact a trailer that's nose up is extremely dangerous as all the weight is more on the rear than on the front, which makes it tend to whip around a lot more.

 

[summit154]

Hahahahahahahahahaha, right. Hang in there Guvn'r, take good care of that trailer for when you trade up to a 4 place.

Bag

We have a 4 place 22' aluminum trailer. Never thought we would have 4 on it. Have 5 on it every year going out west and have even considered 6. Trust me, you don't think it will happen but it does.

 

[Bagger]

I have given up on using covers for trailering down the road. No matter how well your cover fits and extra bungee straps you add over the top, by the time you go 600 miles with a 35 mph cross wind your cover is shredding. Sometimes our sleds are crud covered when we get their, but a day in the powder cleans them up and a good bath when you get home.

Poach: You really should try the SPG Covers. No flap, no crud, no rips or tears, OR damaged equipment from the cover flapping. AMAZING!!

Back on subject, I find it interesting that folks recommend no brakes, I've yet to see (and no, I haven't seen it all yet) a controller that isn't adjustable, always nice to have brakes, even if they are adjusted way soft.

Really agree with getting the trailer loaded properly, a MUST. Center the load over the axles and then adjust 10-15% forward. Sure is better than white knuckling it all the way!!

Bag

 

[dragonflats]

x2 on the S P G covers. hands down the best