i bought a used 25' GN trailer yesterday. this is the first one i've ever pulled. its gonna take some getting used to. the axles are set very far (too far possibly) to the rear so that coupled with the goose makes it a no-turning sunuvagun. anyway....my question is...does anyone have any tips for coupling it up? it took me 10 minutes (in the rain) last night! i have a shortbed with an over the rail toolbox so the hitch on the trailer is just an inch or 2 behind the box. eve nwith help i had to take 4 or 5 stabs at it (rain and fog on the windows did NOT help).

secondly, when starting off sometimes, it feels like its giving me a little hop (almost like slack action). i think i read thats from improper weight distribution so maybe when i load it it'll get rid of that but i dunno? its not bad, and its not constant, only occasional.

thirdly...trailer brakes. they dont work on the trailer (i still need to get a controller). theres a black and a blue wire on the trailer connector.....i know the blue is trailer brakes...is the black one 12V+ for the brakes or its is a second ground? i know brown is running lights, yellow/green are blinkers and white is ground..... i'm asking this question as im planning to fix the brakes.

sorry for the newbie questions but thanks for the help

 

Dont know about the brakes but the GN i tow alot has the same issues with the wheel being back so far its like trying to turn a 53ft trailer with a riding mower! As far as loading it goes, with the axles being way far bback like that, if you dont have enough tongue weight the weight will ride mostly on the trailer axles and if you hit a road with dips or uneven seams in the pavement, it will buck your truck like a BULL, it yanked so hard one time it popped my tranny out of gear, i had to unchain the tractor and move it ahead about 3 ft and it stopped.

Just a few tips to make the trip a little better

 

There's allot of tricks but the slickest in my opinion is to mount a spot mirror on the GN so you can see the ball in your rear view mirror. In time, even without a cheater, you'll learn how to do it pretty quickly.

 

I agree, It just takes time, I do it all the time and still have to get out of the truck at least once then get back in and move it

 

i tow everyday with one and it gets to be real quick, sometimes one try as you only have to be close. You'll get a feel for where it has to be and can gage it that way. Good luck

 

Turning shouldn't be too bad - get used to an idea of how far you can crank 'er without crushing anything.

Then get into a long WB sleeper highway tractor pulling a 53' with a widespread tridem axle set slid full back - then your baby will feel like it turns on a dime!

 

tips/tricks

#1 get used to backing the truck up and if you have a sliding rear window, Align the latch with the GN neck. I do this, and the only time I have to stop & get out is if I haven't hooked up in a long time to relearn the distance back.

#2 you don't have to be perfect, get it close enough so that the neck sits on the ball, then slowly lower it, and as soon as the truck starts taking weight, wiggle the GN (in the right direction of couse) and it will drop onto the ball. if yo do it right, even if yu wiggle it the wrong way, the tongue jack will still keep it off the truck bed

#3 DON'T forget to drop the tailgate when hooking up, and DEFINITELY don't forget to raise it after hooking up.

#4 if the trailer axles weren't so far back, it'd be very hard to 'use' the trailer, as any weight behind the axles would take weight OFF the truck, instead of putting it on. My front axle is roughly 13 ft back from the front of the flat trailer deck. When I first got it, I thought the same thing, why are they so far back, but as you use it, you will realize it is not as far as you think.

#5 yes, they suck at turning, but I can turn as sharp with mine as I want without any damage other than scrubbing the trailer tires. It is not physically possible for me to damage my cab when turning like this, truck just won't turn sharp enough. REMEMBER, the trailer tires do not perfectly follow the truck tires, and REMEMBER, in tight quarters and during sharp turns, the tail of the trailer will swing wider than the tires (the deck above the tires may clear an obstacle, but the tail of the trailer may hit). this is another reason you want the axles as far back as possible....less swing radius to have to deal with (swing radius is the biggest circle need for the trailer to clear, NOT turning radius - or how far out the trailer will swing when pivoting on the tires as you turn)

#6 are you sure the hopping on starting off isn't the clutch/trans ? mine is bad about that when backing up. You may also need extra return springs onthe accel cable now, as ANY bouncing of your foot will be much more noticeable with a load

#7 recommend putting backup lights on it, especially if it's a deck over

#8 DON'T ever fail to lock it on the ball, even when moving it around the yard. I did once, and was lucky all I did was lift the GN off the ball and set it back down on the bed floor (with no damage) when I drove a vehicle up on the trailer.

#9 if you don't have the towing mirrors that flip out, GET THEM !!!!!

#10 DON'T skimp on the connectors for the trailer. I have had to repalce mine 2x now due to cheap parts, and am about to have to do it a 3rd time since I hit the cover with a heavy box and now it won't close to keep weather out.



I had a pretty steep learning curve with my rig, as where I have to park the trailer is tight. I can't back straight in, I must do so while turning, and I have a 25 ft GN also, and when parked, there is 6" clearance on one side to a fence, and 10" clearance on the other side to my garage wall. very little margin for error

 

White buffalo, Everyone is telling you good info. I too bought a used GN,went through the same problems as you,and soon you'll be an expert. I made me a flat metal arm that I welded to the front of my GN. Then I got one of those rectangle mirrors from the dollar store and placed it on the bracket (Flat metal arm), then bent the bracket so that when I backed to the trailer I could see the ball and back the coupler right to it! Works great and you don't break,bend or tear anything up. And all from your seat you don't have to get out and check a zillion times! Lastly go to asite like www.dexteraxsle.com, or any other trailer site and go to the BRAKE section and this will help to get your brakes fixed. Sometimes alittle imtimidating but you can do it.

 

White buffalo, also I forgot. You are now pulling 35-40 feet around corners now BE VERY CAREFUL about clearances!!!! To make a right hand turn set up to the leftside of your lane and start your turn,while your turning glance around at everything and then let your eyes settle into your right mirror as you make the turn. That way your eye will see where your tail of the trailer is tracking and you can stop before hitting the curb,parked car ,sign or what have you. But the key is the SETUP for the turn. Right turn be in the leftside of your lane,lefthand turn be in the rightside of your lane. think as you approach the turn that you need to be over to make the turn!! Takes a bit of getting used to,then becomes second nature!! Good luck and you'll never go back to bumper pull!

 

I always set a bolt on the center of my tailgate ( I have a factory bed liner) before I back up. Then you align the center of the coupler with the bolt and back straight up. At least then you just have to worry about how far back to back up and you will get use to that.

 

sweet. these are all awesome tips. thanks everyone whos posted so far. please keep em coming.

 

Big 10-4 on that!! Ive seen this type of thing happen quite a few times!! i work at a farm/heavy equip dealer and seen it a couple of times where the guy would come to pick up a piece of equipment and leave his trailer in our yard overnite and come back the next day to load and be in such a hurry that he forgets to latch the ball in place and hook the chains up before he loads....guy did it once but was parked on a bit of an angle, drove a 10K lb tractor up on the trailer, soon as the weight was on the rear of te trailer it lifted the neck up out of the bed, shifted it about 2 feet to the right and came SLAMMING down on the right rear corner of the truck bed, literally caved the whole right side of the bed in, what a mess that was....all because he was in a hurry.

Point being, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS, check, double check and triple check everything before you start loading or driving.

 

I can't even see my tailgate with the JoBoxes in back... I just use the Force when hitching the GN!

 

A buddy of mine has a neat trick for hooking up to a GN. He has length of foam insulation wrap for water pipes and shoves it over the ball. Just backs up until the GN neck bumps into it.

MikeyB

 

To answer you question about the black wire, it is +12 volts, for keeping your trailer battery charged. Here is a good source for wiring info.

http://www.tekonsha.com/instructions/cartotrailer.pdf