Towing Weight Distribution and Stability

Nice find Roger, I had bought a manufacturing company that had built their own tandem axle trailer. It was alright, but when towing empty the moment of inertia was too far back on the trailer. It was quite an experience when I first pulled it with a Ford F150. Just like your demonstration.

Since then, I used a Chevrolet 2500 HD.

Also, one has to keep in mind that your should never exceed the weight on your tow hitch.

Are any other Chrome users able to see the gif? I tried both Chrome and FireFox without success. Works fine in IE.

Since it wouldn't show in Chrome, I tried it in Edge and I got this message:

This content can’t be shown in a frame

There is supposed to be some content here, but the publisher doesn’t allow it to be displayed in a frame. This is to help protect the security of any information you might enter into this site.

Try this

• Open this in a new window

The "Open this in a new window" is a link to the video. It's nice to have an explanation of the error! Microsoft is slipping.

I've been not wanting to use edge because it's another microsoft irritation. Anyway, it works.

Nice video!

No gif past my firewall...any chance for a link?

Drew K

Did you try IE?

Try this:

http://i.imgur.com/dYz2tCE.mp4

Just saw this. Thanks for posting the link!

I'm hearing some can't view the gif (I can view it in Chrome and IE but not Firefox). I probably should have included the link too. Sorry about that. Here is the link:

http://i.imgur.com/dYz2tCE.gifv

Very interesting. It's the same effect that is familiar to pilots who have flown "tail draggers". The center of gravity is behind the main gear and the pilot has to be alert when landing to avoid a ground loop. Since the center of friction (the main gear) is forward of the center of gravity, the ground loop once started will tend to become more severe (positive feedback).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_loop_(aviation)

Those are OK solutions but if you really want the best in trailering, install a Hensley Arrow hitch. They are bloody expensive, but if you tow a lot, they are worth every penny. We've towed our 2003 8,000 lb 32 foot travel trailer all over the U.S. and parts of Canada in excess of 100,000 miles using our 1/2 ton Suburban with the standard 5.3L Vortec and a 7,300 lb tow rating. We also bought a used one to put on our 24 foot Haulmark 'toy hauler' trailer.

These hitches make for stress-free trailering. Cross-winds cause no trouble. Big rigs barrelling by cause not even the slightest push until the bow wave hits the front of the truck. If you happen to drop a wheel off the edge of the shoulder, you will not end up with a sphincter tightening experience. Uneven roads, high crowns, no problem. In fact there is a danger in that you can become too complacent when trailering. No wagging, no sway. And the nice thing is that you can back up without doing anything special, like loosening friction devices, or unhooking stuff.

I have no financial or emotional interest in the company other than being a satisfied customer.

https://hensleymfg.com/

Your trailer is more then likely has a well balanced design. And the only other thing would be load distribution. I'm sure it'll help when your load distribution isn't the best for what ever reason though.

That is true. Most of the weight is fairly close to the axles or forward of the axles. But my wife can load the compartments at the rear like there's no tomorrow. But the mechanical design of the Hensley hitch does make it less susceptible to instability when the moment of inertia is well behind the axles. (Certainly not the recommended way to load a trailer.)

That's unrealistic conditions.

To properly represent real life that model trailer needs a bent axle, mismatched tires (by size plus one bald and the other low on air), be loaded to at least triple the weight, be pulled by a vehicle half that size all while going double the speed.

I grew up in farming country so I know that's a fact!

When I had my shop, I had this old guy always stopping in to fix things on his trailer. Always had junk on his trailer. He complained that his son, never helped him. I felt sorry for the guy.

So I went outside to take a look at his trailer, and he had a flat tire on it.... about 10 miles ago. nothing but rim and that was worn down to the axle.

He side he had a different tire and rim somewhere on his trailer, but I also noticed there was cracks on his hitch. So I sent one of my guys out there and told him to fix what ever needs fixing on it, and to take the welder with him. When he was done, he was shaking his head at me and laughing after he got it fix.

This guy sat for a couple of hours and waited for it to be done, He asked How much he owed, I felt so sorry for the guy and told him $50.00. Even though the work was worth $500.00 and that's what I should have charged.

He balked a little, and he reached into his Chest pocket on his shirt that was bulging with his glasses and case and he dug around and pulled out a wad of cash. All $100.00 bills, and handed me a 'C' note and then asked for change.

I was flabbergasted, the guys in the shop was as white as a sheet, mouths open... just like mine.

Since then, when he stopped, he paid the going rate of $60.00/hr plus materials, and extra if its a rush.

He thought that was terrible.

Sounds about right.

Years ago when i work at a local welding supply store we had this old guy who would come in. Looked dirt poor. Rough cloths, old pickup, sob story, the works.

One of the guys, Dan, I worked with new who he was and got sick of his act one day after listening to him whine about how everything he needed cost too much.

Dan asked him if he was from a town that neighbored where he grew up and the guy said he was. That was him. Then Dan asked him if some gal was his niece or of some relation and he said she was too and Dan mention he dated her not so long ago.

That's where Dan went off on him!

He said something to the effect, "Why do you pull this poor farmer BS on everyone? I know how you are and you run 10,000+ acres, have all new equipment worth at lest a few million dollars, plus I know you have at lest two brand new pickups at home as well. So why do you dress like a bum, drive that old POS and act like you're poorer than sh!t? You're a GD embarrassment to farmers everywhere."

The guy paid cash after that and just like your junk hauler pulled a roll of hundreds out to do it.

I find out his son garage specializes in repairing Porsches, I knew him. That he was a a$s. Found out that this guy was very well off, word has it he squeezes his nickels so hard, it poops pennies. I never got a penny from him though....

Dam old farts.... I got another story.... I bought a fabrication shop and the truck that came with the shop I bought was an older ford... things weren't the best on this truck.

Sometimes the blinker stays on. Anyways, I took the truck and had 2 other workers with me. I was driving down town Green Bay, WI going to a cheese processing plant in town.

I pull up to the stop light, and this old couple (in their 70's, 80's) pulls up next to me on my side, and he (was driving) leaned over his wife and I saw her window go down and started chewing me out, "Don't I know how to drive"

I asked what's wrong, and he said my blinker was on.... The guys in my truck started laughing, and so I asked this guys wife if I can ask her a question.

She said "Yes"

So I asked her "what's a good looking girl like yourself doing with this old fossil?"

She busted out laughing, and he was pissed. And then the light turned green.

And the simple solution is………… Ban all caravans! _{Especially from the roads around my home town, I haven’t got time to waste behind some dawdling tourist.}

Roads over there are kinda narrower than in the states.

This looks so familiar....

Oh yeah!

I only had one instance of a trailer snaking on me. I was given some oak floorboards and when I loaded them onto a small trailer it was tail heavy. I found the problem just after I got onto a motorway (freeway) when I increased speed. The rest of the journey I completed at 15mph. The incident frightened me so much that the next week I built myself a bigger trailer using Unistrut™, which is a galvanized steel C rail section where you can bolt on brackets anywhere along the length. Like the model in the video which has a clamp on the center beam to allow the location of the axle to be adjusted, I experimented with several positions before finding the optimum. I still own that trailer 30 years on and have towed it all around the UK and and most of western of Europe carrying everything from control panels, to furniture, to camping gear. If any load I need to carry is unavoidably tail heavy I can move the wheels further back to compensate although I have only done that 2-3 times in 30 years.

I have only done that 2-3 times in 30 years.

And because of that, your here today to tell about it.

When you trailer snakes on you, Its not a good feeling. If you pull out of it, that is very a exuberant feeling, but not recommended.