<VV> new car adventure - trailer weight distribution

[mhicks130 at cox.net]

> 
> From: "Bob & Kathy Gilbert" <bgilbert at redshift.bc.ca>
> Date: 2005/04/17 Sun PM 03:01:38 EDT
> To: <vairtec at optonline.net>,  <mhicks130 at cox.net>,  <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
> Subject: RE: <VV> new car adventure - trailer weight distribution
> 
> Hi,
> 
> Anybody got any advice for towing with a 5th wheel trailer? I just picked
> one up used, dual rear wheels with electric brakes, 14,000 lb capacity
> (overkill but the price was right) and I'll be mounting the 5th wheel plate
> on my F250 3/4 ton.
> 
> My plan was to tow my 66 convertible nose forward on it's way to and from
> getting the top installed.
> 
> Any thoughts or concerns?
> 
> Bob
>  
****************************************************

Just make sure you can get the load right on the trailer.  You have to have 10-15% of the trailer load (trailer weight plus car-go weight) on the hitch.  After what I went through, I'd say lean towards 15%.  If the trailer feels at all squirely, change the load - move the car forward, trailer axels back (if you can) or heaven forbid, turn the car around.  You'll be happier with a stable trailer, I know we were.

mike
> -----Original Message-----
> From: virtualvairs-bounces at corvair.org
> [mailto:virtualvairs-bounces at corvair.org] On Behalf Of vairtec at optonline.net
> Sent: April 17, 2005 11:03 AM
> To: mhicks130 at cox.net; virtualvairs at corvair.org
> Subject: Re: <VV> new car adventure - trailer weight distribution
> 
> At 01:58 AM 4/17/05, mhicks130 at cox.net wrote:
> 
> >To everyone who said tow with the engine forward - you're right!!!
> 
> First, let me add my relief that you, your friend, your Corvair and the
> friend's tow vehicle survived this extreme lesson in trailer balance.
> 
> Then let me challenge the above assertion and expand on what others have
> said about weight distribution on a trailer.
> 
> Placement of the car -- forward or backward -- isn't the main issue.  Weight
> distribution is.  As has been noted here, something in the neighborhood of
> 10-15% of the total loaded weight should be on the trailer tongue.  Trailers
> are different from one another.  On my open trailer, forward-facing
> placement of a Corvair is the only way to achieve proper balance.  On a
> friend's open trailer, rearward-facing placement is needed.
> 
> But even with having found a good balance (and it's a trial-n-error process,
> though usually with not so great an error as you experienced), trailer sway
> can still be an issue.  With lighter tow vehicles (today's SUVs, midside
> pickups and smaller) the effects of any sway will be greater.  When towing
> with a Chevy Astro van, I made the decision to buy a relatively inexpensive
> friction anti-sway device.  This decision was based on the white-knuckle
> factor.  When towing with my 10,000-lb-plus motorhome, all sway is
> controlled by the sheer mass of the motorhome and I can drive with one
> finger -- but I use the anti-sway device anyway.
> 
> A further lesson for everyone:
> 
> >We loaded the car on the trailer nose first and everything seemed fine.  
> >It would wiggle a little on downhill slopes but my driver (who has 
> >towed before) thought it was fine.
> 
> No "little wiggle" is ever fine.  If you get such a condition, re-balance
> the load, add an anti-sway device, get a bigger tow vehicle, or park it.
> 
> >Moral: TOW YOUR CORVAIR BACKWARDS!!!
> 
> No, I'm sorry, but this is the wrong conclusion.  It's BALANCE YOUR TRAILER
> PROPERLY!!!
> 
> --Bob
> 
> Robert W. Marlow
> Vairtec at optonline.net
> 
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