Packing the Trailer?

[Whistlin Dixie]

We have a Piggybacker Trailer, fairly small cargo trailer. It has a cooler basket and cooler on the tongue and the spare is located under the trailer a little forward of the axle.

How does one pack the trailer to avoid swaying etc. I know this is a hard question to answer over the net but any and all input/pointers will be appreciated.

[G wizz]

We have a Piggybacker Trailer, fairly small cargo trailer. It has a cooler basket and cooler on the tongue and the spare is located under the trailer a little forward of the axle.

How does one pack the trailer to avoid swaying etc. I know this is a hard question to answer over the net but any and all input/pointers will be appreciated.

Whistlin Dixie ...
With a cooler mounted to the tongue of you trailer and filled, it is a safe bet that you can load your trailer pretty much evenly from front to back.
I use a hand scale at the ball coupler and try to maintain between 15 and 25 lb. tongue weight on our little cargo trailer my wife pulls behind her bike.
On our camper trailer, we have gone as much as 40 lbs, but try for no more than 30.
With tongue weight in this range, you shouldn't have any sway, or ill handling issues, and probably won't even feel the trailer back there.

One other thing, related to trailers ... from past experience (I may get flack for this from some trailer tuggers) you can save weight by leaving that spare tire at home.
In the thirty plus years I've been pulling trailers behind motorcycles I've only had one trailer tire go flat. Those tires are tubeless, if one does go flat, you can just stick a plug in it, or use a can of fix a flat, and be on your way.
Besides, if you think of all the places that sell these small tires, (Wally World, Tractor Supply, etc. you most likly would never be far from finding a tire if you really needed one.
Why carry the unneeded exess weight?
Just my opinion ... for what it's worth.

G wizz

[HarpoF6]

Ahh, the fishtailing... Had that problem last year then asked the guys here and got it nipped in the bud. I did take the advice and dump the spare tire. moved a little more weight in front of axle, balanced on both sides, heavier stuff in the middle area. experiment on shifting weight closer to the front until you get the fishtailing to stop, then that could be it. If you have a full cooler on the front, then you can move some of the heavier stuff back a bit, but so far, I have found having more weight in the front to give me a straight ride. Someone on this or the other trailer towing forum said that they have different experiences on where the load is focused- guess it depends on your trailer. Experiment and see what works on yours.