P500 P5 & Trailers

[Gem99Ultra]

I had a full dose of experience today trying to back my P5 down an incline narrow trailer with a trailer hooked up behind it. Tight trail for sure, but navigable. Going from forward to reverse to forward, etc. thing will absolutely wear you out. And, it doesn't turn a tight as one would like. I'll admit, I'm not the world's best trailer backer-upper, but my little P5 didn't make me look any better at it either.

I had to pickup a few loads of logs to haul to a burn pile. The little P5 pulled those loads along real fine, but one thing you don't want to do is to have to back a trailer very far with it.

Two things I will either do or consider doing:
One - Do the cable mod to eliminate having to pull the reverse lever.
Second - Check into power steering.

Any suggestions on how to make that task any easier would be appreciated.

 

[Admin]

 

[trigger]

I had a full dose of experience today trying to back my P5 down an incline narrow trailer with a trailer hooked up behind it. Tight trail for sure, but navigable. Going from forward to reverse to forward, etc. thing will absolutely wear you out. And, it doesn't turn a tight as one would like. I'll admit, I'm not the world's best trailer backer-upper, but my little P5 didn't make me look any better at it either.

I had to pickup a few loads of logs to haul to a burn pile. The little P5 pulled those loads along real fine, but one thing you don't want to do is to have to back a trailer very far with it.

Two things I will either do or consider doing:
One - Do the cable mod to eliminate having to pull the reverse lever.
Second - Check into power steering.

Any suggestions on how to make that task any easier would be appreciated.

I would definitely do the reverse lever mod, that thing's a pita!

 

[bigbore]

Any suggestions on how to make that task any easier would be appreciated.

Short tongues make a trailer difficult to back. If you could add some length, it will make it easier.

 

[lee]

One of the problems with backing a trailer with the P500 is the hitch ball is close to the rear axle.
Same issue with an ATV.
To get the trailer to turn, the rear axle of the P500 needs to be moving sideways.
That happens after you turn the wheel, swing the front of the SxS to one side then as the back wheels move to the side the trailer starts to swing.

In your truck, the hitch ball is 3~5 feet behind the rear axle.
When backing you turn the wheel, as the truck swings the trailer starts to swing.

My takeaway - I plan to get a longish extension for the ball hitch.
Also I'm looking for a 4 wheel trailer to reduce the load on the tongue.
This is all theoretical as I don't have the trailer or the extended hitch yet.
And, full(ish) disclosure, I have all of 5 acres that are perfectly flat.

 

[bigbore]

This is all theoretical as I don't have the trailer or the extended hitch yet.
And, full(ish) disclosure, I have all of 5 acres that are perfectly flat.

I have the HF Super Duty trailer that I use to cart my P500 around on and I tow it from my backyard to the front of the house with the P500. I find it is pretty easy to control. I don't know what your needs are, but my trailer is 8' + ~3' tongue, ~11' total. If you plan to buy a similarly sized trailer, I would suggest trying it without the extended hitch, that is easy to add at any time and you my find you don't need it, especially on flat open property.

 

[Rustell]

Might be easier sometimes to just un-hook the trailer and get it pointed in the right direction.

 

[trigger]

I have three trailers and all have short tongues, they take some getting used to, jack knife real quick.