Loading and Unloading
Loading and Unloading a Trailer Safely
How you load a trailer matters more than what you load. A 1,500-lb load placed wrong will sway worse than a 5,000-lb load placed right. Here’s how to do it right, with notes for each trailer type in our fleet.
The 60/40 rule — tongue weight
This is the single most important loading rule: about 60% of the load weight should sit ahead of the trailer axles, and 40% behind. That translates to roughly 10–15% tongue weight for bumper-pull trailers like ours. Tongue weight is the downward force the trailer puts on your hitch ball.
- Too little tongue weight (load too far back) → the trailer fishtails and sways. This is the most dangerous loading error.
- Too much tongue weight (load too far forward) → the back of your truck squats, headlights point up, steering goes light, front brakes lose grip.
If you don’t have a tongue weight scale, the rule of thumb is: load heavy stuff over the axles and slightly forward, then test by lifting the tongue at the jack. It should feel firm but not impossible.
General loading sequence
- Park on flat ground. Chock the trailer wheels before loading anything significant.
- Heaviest items first, positioned over or just forward of the axles.
- Distribute side-to-side evenly. A trailer leaning left will eat its left tires.
- Fill in around the heavy stuff with lighter cargo.
- Secure as you go. Don’t wait until the end to think about straps.
- Final walk-around. Tug every strap, confirm nothing extends past the trailer’s footprint.
Trailer-by-trailer notes
20′ enclosed cargo
- The big advantage of an enclosed trailer is weather protection — the disadvantage is you can’t see your load on the highway.
- Strap things to the D-rings (we have them welded along both walls).
- Stack heavy on bottom, light on top, and don’t pile against the doors.
24′ full-tilt deckover
- The tilt feature is for loading equipment that can’t go up a ramp — think mowers, small tractors, scrap.
- Tilt the deck, drive on, release the tilt, and the deck will return to level.
- Never load with the deck tilted and unlocked; engage the lock pin before strapping down.
30′ deckover with mega ramps
- The mega ramps are heavy — use the assist springs and a buddy if you can.
- Load over the axles. Tractors, skid steers, and Bobcats go on with the heavy end (the operator end) forward.
- Drive on, never back on, unless you’ve done it before — backing a piece of equipment up a steep ramp is how people roll machinery.
20′ car & equipment hauler (electric winch + electric brakes)
This trailer has an electric winch on the front for loading vehicles that won’t run (turn it on at the power switch in the battery box first).
- Position the trailer on the flattest surface available. Chock the trailer wheels.
- Run the winch line out and connect to the vehicle’s tow point (not the bumper, not a tie-down hook — the actual tow point).
- Winch in slowly. Stay out of the line’s recoil path.
- See our Electric Winch Guide for the full procedure.
14′ hydraulic dump
- Load from the rear with the gate down or open as a ramp.
- Distribute weight forward — concentrating it all at the rear tail will lift the tongue when you dump.
- The hydraulic ram lifts up to ~14,000 lbs, but the trailer must be on level ground or it can tip sideways during the dump cycle.
16′ open utility / 16′ multi-purpose utility
- Use the rear ramp gate. Tie-down points are spaced along both rails.
- Open utilities mean nothing is holding your load in side-to-side except your straps — strap accordingly.
Unloading
Reverse the order:
- Chock the wheels first.
- Unstrap from the rear forward (so the load doesn’t shift on you), then unload.
- For ramps and tilt decks, lower or release only after you’ve checked nothing will roll on its own.
Related guides
Detailed tie-down techniques
Packing & Securing Your Load
Operating the winch
Electric Winch Guide
Driving a heavy load
Driving With a Trailer