todinlaw

I may not be posting this in the right place but likely may find the answer. I am considering purchasing an enclosed Trailer I am looking to buy all aluminum 24' enclosed trailer. My question is I am trying to decide if I want a V nose or square front, More room with the Square front but the v nose will cut down the drag and make it more stable in the wind and passing truck. the trailer empty will be about 3500 and with my car and gear i am thinking 8,000 max. I am pulling with a 2008 F-150.

So do i sacrifice the space and go a v nose or is it not that much of an improvement when it comes to stability.

Anyone have experience with both?

ajcjr

I have had both, if you set the vnose up nicely with a workbench and cabinets it works very well. I think the V helps with towing but that is my .02.

M758

I tow a 24footer flat front. It tows just fine behind my 2500 Dodge V10.

I to be honest I am not sure the 2008 F150 is up to the task ofa 24 ft trailer. Payload is the real issue as you can easily see 1000lbs tongue load from a 8000lbs trailer and it will leave you little room to put anything in the bed of the truck. The F150 has 1600lbs payload in most trim levels and if you have two people in the truck and tongue load you are right close to 1400lbs. Not much margin left.

I have considered moving a 2011 F150 with tow package and 3.5L turbo motor, but probaby will not do it. The truck has the tow rating and enough power, but not enough payload for what a bring. I put all my spar tires in the truck bed as well as gas cans, cooler and other incidentals. I also need payload for 4 adults, but proably will hve 2 most of the time. So with a 1800-2000lbs payload I am really close max and I wonder if is worth it. Seems better to just go with a 2500 and be done with it. (ie keep fine towing , but gas sucking 99 Dodge 2500 V10 with 65k miles which has a 3000lbs payload).

So you may better off with 24ft V-nose so that you keep less stuff in the trailer. Then again the V-nose might increase tongue load due to more weight tongue section which is bad for any 1/2 ton truck. Personally a 20foot flat front will probably be the best for a 1/2 ton truck.

todinlaw

A friend of mine pulls a 24' steel trailer with a F150, he went to a local spring shop and put an extra lief spring in it for like 200.00 and it does not even squat. I will have to see what my truck is rated as I have the 4x4 which is a little more HD. I am getting the 24' because I do want room in the trailer for a bench and to bring my crap. I just have some concern about the wind blowing me all over and the drag at speed. Just wanted to see if people have strong points for or against on the v nose.

jpk

You can add airbag helper springs as well - just a little more $ than adding a leaf; I think I paid $280 for the kit for my Silverado. Just load the truck up and add air until it levels out. You can release the air when not towing to improve the ride.

M758

I went from 10 mpg towing to 8 mpg when I moved from my open trailer to my enclosed trailer. I also added an load equalizing hitch with sway control. I towed in back from San Antonio 1000 miles empty and I could feel every semi that passed by. Interesting feeling when you can feel pressure wave of air off the semi. It sort of sucks you closer as it goes by. Anyway the hitch and weight in the trailer helped alot and now it is stable. I did have to go with big towing mirrors as the normal ones were useless.

4x4 does not mean more GVW. It can mean less since payload = GVW-empty weight. So since the front end weighs more payload can be less than 2wd. However sometimes they up the GVW to compensate. I know for 2011 Ford has about 10 diffrent GVW ratings on the F150 depending on cab/bed configuration, engines, tow options, etc. So it can be hard to nail down what your truck is rated at. Door jamb sticker should tell you.

BTW... I am happy I got a 24 footer as it leaves me lots of room for a bench in the front of the trailer that I have full access to with car loaded up. Plus enough room to place the car where I want it for balance.


One last thing. Per DOT regulations new leaf spring and airbags do not increase payload. So take that for what it is worth.

jrgordonsenior

I've had both and most definitely think the V-nose is the way to go. My 28ft Pace has cabinets in the nose and e-track on the opposite wall where I carry my N-bottles. Loaded my trailer weighs 8k, tongue weight is just under 1k (Sherline scale). I add the Timbren bump stops in lieu of air bags and the work great to keep my F350 4 x 4, DRW level. It dropped 2 inches without them and your F150 is way undersprung for anywhere near that tonque wieght. Below are some pics and links to the Timbren kit and helper leaf springs kit....





http://mrtruck.net/springs.htm

http://www.timbren.com/webtest/RearA...t/Rearweb2.swf

bella1

The Vnose would have to be more efficient but how much who knows. I might also question towing that with the 1/2 ton Pickup. The 3/4 ton chassis makes a huge difference in trailering.

todinlaw

Sorry to bore you guys with this but I want to make a good decision. the trailer with nothing in it is 3500 lbs the car is 2500 so that puts it to 6,000.00 I am guessing 2,000 lbs for bench and tool storage, tire rack with at least 4 tires. small generator and jack and general track stuff so I think 8,000.00 is a reasonable estimate. If I go 10% on the tongue weight that puts me at 800lbs If I go to 12% that is closer to 950. So I will have to check.

Was going to go with the anti sway bars and will like put in a extra spring.

Jr, it sounds like you feel the trade off between losing the extra room in the V nose it worth it for the handling that you get out of the improved arow?

todinlaw

Your just trying to give me an excuse to slide a bit further down the slope and get a F250. Like I need help,

jrgordonsenior

What trade off, it's a win-win. I get the extra room and incredibly better aero. My trailer never moves behind my F350and I'm not using anti-sway or a WDH. The only downside is the extra tongue weight since I loaded up the V-nose with cabinets, tools, and 300 cu.ft. N-tanks so I keep the 996 as far back as possible. I added the Timbren system though the extra leaf spring or air bags will all work as well.

If 950 lbs. of tongue weight pushed my super duty F350 4 x 4 down 2+ inches it would make a stock F150 pull wheelies. It can work with the aftermarket products available, but you should also consider that the F250 or F350 have bigger everything especially the radiator, trans cooler, and front brakes....

M758

While V nose may pull better it think it may add more tongue load too. Given that most 1/2 tons are payload limited you maybe better off with a flat front to reduce the tongue load as much as possible.

My 2500 sits dead level despite all my tongue load and load in the bed. For me it is load bars that even it out perfect.

Landjet

Get the F-250 if you can afford to. DO NOT SKIMP! I pull a 40' enclosed 3 axle trailer with an F-350 TD. I skimped on the trailer tires and used the POS Chinese tires that came on it. Two blow outs to and from race event and only 300 miles round trip. I was way under weight in the trailer but the tires could not handle 100 degree temps at 80 mph. After spending time changing tires on the road side in 100 degree heat I spend $250 a tire for Michelin XP heavy duty trailer tires when I got home. With that being said you are going to be at your max with a F-150 as stated above in towing capacity, cooling, stress on trans, springs, u-joints you name it. It sucks to upgrade and spend the extra money sometimes when you have stuff that will work but not sitting stranded from equipment failure is well worth it. Road side help is not cheap.

winders

Get the F-350....it's not that much more than the F-250.

Scott

jonmacs22

If you go with the V-nose, consider having the trailer be 22ft or even 20ft. Most v-nose are 3-4 feet of additional space.

Also, here is some clarification on the capacity issues floating around. I have a 24ft Pace flat front with cabinets up front, tire rack mounted on the wall (holds 6), 5200 axles, and is a steel unit. The total trailer weight with car and gear is about 7500lbs (car weighs 2700). The trailer weighs about 3800 lbs. I have tons of space in the trailer for my 325i 4-door which is bigger than your 911. The tire rack and cabinets make the space very efficient and I do not see a need for the v-nose space if you are going the 24ft route, which is why i highly recommend you consider a 22ft v-nose which I'm willing to bet offers the same or more interior square footage.

As for towing, I have used (minimum 6 times with each) a 2001 F250 powerstroke, a 2006 2500 Duramax, 2008 Denali, and currently a 2008 Tundra (5.7). In a perfect world, I would still use the Duramax; simply put it was incredible. However, life is a comprimise as I use my truck as a DD. The Tundra does a good job at towing because the motor is incredibly strong (far better than the 5.4L in the F150) and the trans is a 6-speed with a very low first gear. I have made some updates to the truck: added a leaf spring in the rear, upgraded the brake pads to Hawk LTS units (far better, I used them in my Denali as well, highly recommend for any truck owner), and changed the tires over to XL units. The tires and brakes were the BEST additions. You must be careful with the stock P-rated tires on half-ton trucks. They flex significantly under load. You do not need to upgraded to Load D or E units (they weigh a ton more and will decrease your MPGs by 15-20%, many owners have done it and stated their results as such). The XL units from General or Continental are quite good at handling the additional load (capacity far higher than the stock units and can handle up to 51psi cold vs. 44 cold for the stock units). Also, I run an equalizer hitch; it would not be possible to do any of this without it.

So, I applaud you for thinking this through ahead of time; many people in your position do not.