Trailering Festivas

[johnsonjaco]

I'm going to bring my two festivas home to my dad's shop to swap the transmissions and work on them... The trip is about 4 hours long... I brought my 4 place snowmobile flatbed trailer and both festivas will fit but I'm kinda worried about the weight? You guys think i'll have an issue or should I be good to go? Thanks!

[ERK1990]

Is it tandem axle trailer??? (2 axle)

[DriverOne]

I'm going to bring my two festivas home to my dad's shop to swap the transmissions and work on them... The trip is about 4 hours long... I brought my 4 place snowmobile flatbed trailer and both festivas will fit but I'm kinda worried about the weight? You guys think i'll have an issue or should I be good to go? Thanks!

There should be a tag on your trailer tongue that says what the max capacity is, but if not, check your quads' weight to see if they're close to a Festiva. If you can't find any of that, search online. If you're not entirely sure, know that the weight of the front end of a Festiva is roughly 1340 lbs, and you should focus that weight over top of the axle, so one car backed in, followed by another driven straight up will give you the most secure load distribution. Good luck, and use the tow hooks to secure the cars.

[johnsonjaco]

Thanks... yea it is a tandem axle.. I'll take some pics with them on it if it works haha...

[ERK1990]

Aite. Yeh it should be fine.

[scitzz]

2 Festivas weigh less than most cars.....

[Larry Hampton]

.....focus that weight over top of the axle, so one car backed in, followed by another driven straight up will give you the most secure load distribution.

^^^THIS^^^

[scitzz]

It's a tandem, so that shouldn't be needed, should it?

[Bert]

Two Festys will weigh about 3500 lb. If the trailer will carry that kind of weight you're good to go provided you can figure out a way to secure the cars and have the load balanced.
Take and post some pictures!

[htchbck]

It's a tandem, so that shouldn't be needed, should it?

What shouldn't be needed? Good load distribution? Yes, the load needs to be properly distributed no matter how many axles you have. Too much weigh in front or in back of the axle(s) will cause braking/handling NIGHTMARES! Seen it too many times around here on these winding mountain roads with rednecks who just plain don't know any better. I've towed many many cars on my flatbed and the first thing I consider is where the car needs to be for optimal load distribution and tongue weight.

Tongue weight is very important, and goes back to the load distribution factor.

Too much in front of the axle(s) = too much tongue weight = if you have to stop fast the front of the trailer wants to nose dive taking the back of the tow vehicle down with it, causing you to lose a lot of your traction up front, where most of your braking is done. This is not good.

Too much behind the axle(s) = not enough tongue weight, or in extreme cases you actually have the tongue trying to "lift up" on the tow vehicle = very bad for handling since you have less weight on the rear of the tow vehicle and also less traction in the rear, plus a trailer wanting to push you along. This is not good.

Another consideration which noone has mentioned yet is, what is the tow vehicle? I would assume its pretty hefty if its used to towing 4 snowmobiles, but make sure the vehicle and hitch are both rated to pull (and adequately stop) the combined weight of the trailer and festivas.

I'm assuming this trailer probaby does not have its own brakes, but if it does make sure they are properly adjusted before you start your journey.

Not trying to scare you away from doing it, just making sure you understand and consider all the variables. There's a lot more to it than "will they fit on the trailer". Also make sure you adequately secure the load. This is more than making sure that they won't roll around on the trailer, this is security against some unforseen problem you may encounter. Bad roads, bad drivers, etc, can cause you to maneuver and/or stop more quickly than you have planned. You don't want those cars moving an inch! I use 4 2inch wide 10,000lb break strength ratchet straps anytime I tow, one for each corner of the car. Many say that is overkill, but my reply would be that I haven't lost a car yet, or ever had one move on me at all. NEVER ever count on the cars brakes or transmission to hold it still on a trailer, no matter how tight the brake holds, the tires themselves can slide on the floor of the trailer.

All that said, if your trailer and tow vehicle are up for it and you have the mean to secure the vehicles properly, GO FOR IT!!! And take pics, we like pics~!

[scitzz]

What shouldn't be needed? Good load distribution?

I suppose I wasn't clear. I meant that the procedure first described is not appropriate for a tandem trailer.

Correct me if I am wrong, since tandem setups are not something I am completely familiar with. Wouldn't you want to load them so the engine compartment of each was over an axle?

[DriverOne]

I suppose I wasn't clear. I meant that the procedure first described is not appropriate for a tandem trailer.

Correct me if I am wrong, since tandem setups are not something I am completely familiar with. Wouldn't you want to load them so the engine compartment of each was over an axle?

Yes. When dealing with a trailer such as a semi trailer, you want the load to bridge the front and rear tandems for optimum weight distribution and balance. It's exactly the opposite when you're talking about tandem axle (or even single axle) ball hitch-drawn trailers. You want to focus the weight over the axle as much as possible, or in this case, pull the cars' noses as close to the axles as possible while maintaining equal distance from the center of the two axles. The ideal situation uses straps at the corners of the trailer that attach to the tow hooks on the opposing sides to make an X, as well as doing the same to the front of the car at the middle of the trailer. Do the same to the other car. Then, strap their front tow hooks together in an X. Mind you, the cars must be in neutral without the e-brakes on. When you have strapped the cars in, apply tension. Then apply the e-brakes and put each car in reverse.

[scitzz]

Yes. When dealing with a trailer such as a semi trailer, you want the load to bridge the front and rear tandems for optimum weight distribution and balance. It's exactly the opposite when you're talking about tandem axle (or even single axle) ball hitch-drawn trailers. You want to focus the weight over the axle as much as possible, or in this case, pull the cars' noses as close to the axles as possible while maintaining equal distance from the center of the two axles. The ideal situation uses straps at the corners of the trailer that attach to the tow hooks on the opposing sides to make an X, as well as doing the same to the front of the car at the middle of the trailer. Do the same to the other car. Then, strap their front tow hooks together in an X. Mind you, the cars must be in neutral without the e-brakes on. When you have strapped the cars in, apply tension. Then apply the e-brakes and put each car in reverse.

Close to what I was thinking, but better. Thanks. Now, if I run into that situation, (and I might!) I will know how to deal with it.

[georgeb]

The center of balance should be just forward of the mid point of the tandem axles to give a small amount of tongue weight.

[htchbck]

Thanks D1 and George, those were two things I didn't really clarify in my post. I had just assumed we were talking ball hitch drawn trailers and not a 5th wheel/gooseneck setup. I could be wrong. All of my info applies to singe/tandem/triple axle ball-hitch trailers. And George is correct about wanting tongue weight. There's a lot of different variables to consider but as a rule of thumb you generally want about 10% of the total weight as tongue weight. So for 5000lb you'd want roughly 500lb on the tongue.

Since I'm always using the same tow vehicle and trailer I have made up a little gadget that is pretty handy for distributing load and estimating tongue weight. For each 500lb increment from 2000 (empty) up to 5500 (taurus on the trailer, biggest car I've towed) I marked off on a piece of plastic the distance between the top of the tire and the fender on the back of the van when the car is positioned properly for roughly correct tongue weight. Using a borrowed tongue jack scale I loaded up different weights of cars and distributed the weight so 10% was on the tongue. Then I hitched up to the van and marked off the correct "squat" of the back of the van for that weight. I wasn't exact to a science since I had no means of actually weighing the vehicles themselves, and just went by the curb weights. But it is nice to have as a rough estimator, and on large vehicles its amazing how just moving them forward or backward a couple of inches on the trailer can change the distribution and trailer tongue weight so much.