How crazy am I? Pulling an M105

[nhdiesel]

I need to pick up a couple M105A2 trailers at Limestone, ME. The only vehicle I have to tow with right now is my wife's Durango with swapped in Cummins 4bt and NV4500 5-speed. It has E-rated tires and steel wheels for strength, and the 3.54 gears should work great with the diesel. But after reading some posts on here about M105 trailers I'm getting a little nervous. My plan was to fab a drawbar for the hitch of the Durango to match the height of the M105, until I read that the hitch height is around 36"??? That would be quite a rise for the hitch. Estimating without measuring, I think I could get it to around 28". I was estimating the weight of each trailer at around 1500 lbs. Then I just read that they are around 2600??? I was planning on having one trailer lifted into the other and towing the pair home. I just looked at a pic of an M1-5 behind a Jeep Cherokee (only slightly smaller than the Durango) and man, 1 trailer looks big...let alone 2 stacked!

I need to tow these about 350 miles to northern N.H., about 1/2 interstate and 1/2 secondary state highways. As I mentioned, in the Durango's favor the drivetrain is up to it- good brakes, strong rear axle, heavy trans, and the Cummins is more than up for it. My concern is how the 105 will pull set up like that.

Jim

 

[Kwai]

The M105 weighs in at 2700# empty. Get a 18 ft 7000# tandem axle trailer with brakes and load both trailers on that.

 

[nhdiesel]

I have a 16' tandem axle trailer, but it has no brakes, and is in poor condition. I don't really want to go that far with it. Its not the weight of the 105s that worries me...I know I'll be able to stop by driving cautiously, its the single axle and stability.

I once towed my 7000 lb. Dodge Cummins on my trailer behind a Jeep Cherokee (again, no trailer brakes) with about 2000 lbs. of scrap metal in the bed of the Dodge. It was a heavy pull, and I didn't go over 40, but it handled it for the 10 miles I had to go. The poor Dodge froze up at -25 and this was the only way I had to pull it. The Ram is down right now (local use only) because of a bad transmission, so that leaves the Durango (I wouldn't even attempt this with the Cherokee!)

Jim

 

[DaveP]

If your not going to have brakes anyway, why add the extra wieght of another trailer. stack them and drive accordingly.

 

[chevycrew]

I would say, rent a trailer, 18' long.

That way you have the trailer brakes, I towed my 2 back with a superduty, and they are heavy.....

 

[nhdiesel]

No trailer rentals...I'm up in the sticks...closes real trailer rental place is at least 50 miles from here. The only local trailer up for rental is $300 for a day. I already called about it when I had to move my rollback ramp truck. I ended up using my poor old tired trailer. I'm going to build the drawbar and stack them. The Durango is rated for a 7000 lb. trailer, so my biggest concern will be stopping (bigger brakes than my Dakota had, and I used to pull vehicles to Kentucky and back with no trailer brakes), and trailer stability. I'm going to remove the tires from the top trailer to lower it, and I'll have the tires already removed in case I need a spare.

Jim

 

[ida34]

A general caution note. Most states I no of require brakes on any trailer with a gross weight over 3500 lbs and this usually means any double axle trailers except the two axle aluminum atv or snowmobile trailers. You must also have a break away device. Just FYI. I am not flaming anyone just trying to promote knowledge.

 

[vtdeucedriver]

Let me know how this works out...................It just so happens that I am shopping for a M105 and I only have my Dodge Dakota. When i got the one in VT, I towed it with my cousins F-350. The angle was steep then, i can only imagine what it would be like with the dakota. I do know the 3/4 is ok behind it.

 

[builder77]

YOU ARE GOING TO DIE TOWING WITH A DURANGO!!
(HAHA! Thanks for the excuse to post this pic again.)

 

[M543A2]

I think you will get along fine with the Durango. I never had any problems with towing M105 trailers. I use mine a lot, and think they are the best towing trailer behind a truck of your size I have used. I have never had a problem about no brakes, and drove with sense. In my experience, the biggest thing police look for in a situation like this is stop/turn/tail lights on the towed trailer. I have made up a light bar with a long cord that plugs into my trailer receptacle on the truck. I tarp strap the light bar to the tailgate of the trailers . If you do not have one, get a couple of trailer stop/turn/tail lights from NAPA and make up a bar. As long as I had my bill of sale along, I have never had a problem with no plates on the trailers.
Regards Marti

 

[Kwai]

One trailer isn't a problem. Two might be.

 

[poppop]

They will tow just fine with the nose down. I bought a pintle hitch and an adapter for my pick-up that raised it some but front was still quite low.

 

[dirtyfingernails]

I've found that you can reduce sway and drag if you open the tailgate. It also allows a clear view through to the traffic behind you.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Yanno, better safe than sorry. If you get out on the road and realize that it's just not working, you have to spit up big bucks to cover getting the second trailer unloaded and find a place to stash it. Since you have the super efficient 4BT why not play it safe and make 2 runs? I do some crazy stuff for sure but there are certain things I shy away from. 2 M105s with the durango is one. The CG alone and having all that weight that high is another factor not discussed.

 

[nhdiesel]

O.K., I have my hitch just about done. I made a VERY strong drawbar that will raise my pintle about 18" above my receiver. This may sound scary, but trust me...I do fabrication, and I made sure this thing is STRONG! The only other question that came to mind, since I don't use pintle hitches often, is whether the pintle I have will work with this trailer. Its a smaller size pintle. I know the 105 uses a large lunette, but shouldn't it work with a smaller pintle?

Jim

 

[m16ty]

nhdiesel, The small hitch will work. It fits tight but that works to your advantage ( no jerking from slack). I just built me a hitch for my 3/4 ton dodge Cummins but I didn't make it high enough. I'd like to see a pic of your hitch.

 

[SterlingDevelop]

If you do this, pictures are an absolute must.

 

[ARMYMAN30YearsPlus]

M105 Towing

I have towed my M105A2 with a Chevy Astrovan, my old Jeep Cherokee and most recently with my diesel suburban. I have had it longer than any of my other MV's and since it was used with my little trucks I fabbed this to make it work. I have had it full of compost and it topped the scale at 8,200 lbs

My next thought was to add a surge brake unit to this mount and tie it into the hydraulic lines of the brakes but now I own big trucks and may remove this for standard duece/five ton use.

 

[WillWagner]

Here's the one i made. Towed a bunch with it, 200 mi the farthest.

 

[Blythewoodjoe]

You guys are crazy Here's the hitch I made a few months back to tow the M105 with the CBC in it. Worked great and I didn't worry about anything. Don't forget a light bar. You'll notice I made the height adjustable.