I am towing my Electra Glide to Ga. in 3 weeks ( wife won't ride that far) from Pa. I have a 7 X 14 enclosed trailer. I have a wheel chock but have not mounted it yet. Can anybody give me a rough idea on how far forward to keep the bike. The trailer is a tandem axle Low Hauler by Timber Wolf trailers. I don't want to overload the tongue or go light or it will sway. Thanks for any advice.
Dave C

 

Center the bike over the front axel. Should be good to go.

 

Off subject some but I have movable front wheel chocks and have my 12x6 set up to haul one or two bikes. Doesn't sound like you have done this much from your question----my advice is search threads. I was taught a long time ago to secure the bike with proper strength ratchet straps that can not come unhooked if they slack from motion. I don't secure across paint if I can help it. I prefer chrome. I only secure the triple tree to the sides for balance control. I use eight straps per bike. Floor hooks are secured in the trailer frame. Plywood flooring is not structure. To leave the bike able to work on it's suspension. Kickstand up and bike in neutral. I was also taught to tie down the bike in such a way that even if the trailer was picked up and turned upside down the bike would still be where it was originally placed. There is another method of securing the bike frame to 2x6's solid to the floor--I never liked that idea.

 

The trailer is built to be pulled down the road empty without being "too light" in the front.

As said in another post above, center your load over the axles and you should be fine. The bike is naturally a little front heavy so if it is centered over the two axles then it will naturally have a little more forward weight. Also center the bike in the center of the trailer between the side walls. Don't load a single bike all to one side.

Get some heavy tie downs and not the "cheapy" clamp type straps. Home Depot sells a set of heavy ratchet trucker straps that are 2" wide and close to an 1/8th inch thick with heavy hooks on them. They are not all that expensive and remember you are tying down an expensive toy so its no time to be cheap on the straps.

 

Never trailered a bike but you'll want some tong weight to make the trailer stable most likely a little forward of center and you should be good. to much weight in back trailer will fishtail, to much in forward might exceed your tong weight.

 

Add some bungee cords to the tie down straps. If the straps come loose they won't come unhooked from bike.

 

Make sure your straps are in good condition. A couple years ago the dealer picked up my bike for some waranty work and while it was being transported in their enclosed trailer one of the straps broke and scratched the faring bad. The service manager called me and told me what happened and that they were ordering a new outer fairing because the scratch was deep and couldn't be buffed out. Straps only take so many shocks from the bumps of trailering and then they will fail.

 

The best way to find the sweet spot is moving the load around (forward and backward) a little and road testing. Of course, starting over the axles or just in front of the middle of the two is ideal. I used to tow a 30' gooseneck with 2 built jeep across the country and when you had them (or one) in the sweet spot it was awesome. I had a rear airbag controller in the cab and you hardly even needed to adjust pressure when you loaded on the sweet spot. I know we aren't talking heavy haulers, but the sweet spot pertains to any size trailer and both the ride quality and safety are interrelated

 

A lot depends what your towing with. Lite vehicle pretty close to center for balance, a heavy duty truck or 4x4 more forward. Drove tractor trailer for 27 years just take it easy and turn wide enough not to go over curbs..

 

Just center the bike in the trailer and use good tie downs. By the way, welcome to the trailer queen club...don't be embarrassed, there's a lot of us around! (LOL) Have a nice trip and make sure and check the bike after the first hundred miles or so.