The day I figured out I was loading cars wrong on the trailer

I've been hauling cars for about 3 years now, and I always just threw the heaviest vehicle on first without thinking about it. Then last month I had a load going from Dallas to Phoenix, and my trailer felt super squirrely on I-20. Pulled over at a rest stop near Abilene and an older driver pointed out my axle weights were way off because I put a big F-250 behind a little Civic. Now I weigh each vehicle and spread them out based on the trailer's specs. Has anyone else had a moment where a random stranger saved you from a bad haul?

2 comments

2 Comments

willow_robinson25d ago

Whoa, hold up. You put the light Civic behind the heavy truck? Pretty sure you want the heaviest stuff over the axles, not just at the back. That older driver saved you a wild ride.

thomas_johnson25d agoMost Upvoted

My buddy Mike had almost the exact same thing happen to him out in Nevada, not near a town or anything, just a long stretch of 95. He was hauling a load of mixed scrap metal, not cars, but the same idea. He stacked all the heavy iron beams on the front of the flatbed, near the cab. An old timer at a truck stop in Tonopah saw him tying it down and walked over, told him he had all the weight over the wrong axle and his steering would get real light if he hit a big bump at speed. Mike said he felt like an idiot but he spent the next hour redistributing the whole pile, and sure enough the truck handled way better after that. Funny how a total stranger can spot something you've been doing wrong for years in just a few seconds.