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RE: MPH vs MPG
Going slower to the point of impeding traffic because your vehicle can't safely go faster is one thing but going slow and impeding traffic to save fuel is selfish and unacceptable.
Operating in a legal manner is the requirement. Greatest spacing all day is the moving target for attentiveness.
Not the stupidity of the selfish can’t space themselves to get around slower vehicles in a safe, legal manner (bunched in a pack is PROOF of stupidity). Back off and wait.
62-MPH works very well. It’s the rare vehicle can’t get around one judiciously. A matter of canceling cruise control and dropping to 55 to get the ones slowest around GONE. Use headlights ALWAYS, and consider high-mount taillights as pair to the originals you want them to see you earlier.
Stay minimum of 5-below once into a 65 or metro. Get down early. This eases others around you. They’re always racing to catch the next monkey troup.
The road chosen (design) is the indicator of average speed. Not speed limit. Traveling faster confers no right-of-way. It’s the unskilled who open a story telling us how fast they’re running. . Cars are fastest, and big trucks are below that. RV’ers staying below both have the easiest day in managing others around and avoiding their screw-ups.
Bad mirrors are an RV problem. I’d not have less than EAGLE VISION for TT, and BIG convex for pickup with “towing mirrors” (additional). Low skill RV’er can be told pretty easily by their being surprised from the rear.
Your future is coming up behind you.
The Interstate is a range of from 45-80/mph depending on state and region.
“Too fast for conditions” is primarily traffic volume. Repeated passes means one’s traveling too fast.
The only hours to cover the Interstate at a high average legal speed is from 0400-0800. After that it becomes crowded. By 1100 it’s over for anything but moving along maintaining greatest vehicle separation distance anywhere near the major metros and anything east of IH-35.
Braking & Handling are what matter with RVs. Lowest skilled experience and least stable rigs. This is what to keep foremost. T
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BackOfThePack
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03/23/23 06:49am |
Towing
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RE: Best route from Palo Duro State Park Texas to Galveston
Still hoping to get some expert help here on my questions about San Antonio/Austin and bypassing Houston on the way east to LA.
Thanks!
IH-10 is the route preferred. The close-to coast route is slow, crowded and problems can’t be avoided.
Coastal Louisiana is interesting enough, so if a 35-MPH average trip speed (not posted speed limit) is okay, then try it.
Understand that Houston is really more like Louisiana in the first place.
I “might” choose the lower route, but for me it’d be because something about the season appealed.
10 thru LA is hard enough.
Lake Charles gets backed up at the bridge, and Baton Rouge is never easy (road split to New Orleans backup). The water table is too high so the roads available are few.
You can run the old highway north of 10 past BR, just expect a slow average speed. Takes you across the Huey P.
The worst congestion is in BR then east to where IH55 goes north. You’ll lose an hour or more, so plan that in advance
Thunderstorms along this coast are the most dangerous in the US. Any road.
Slidell area peak.
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BackOfThePack
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03/23/23 06:32am |
Roads and Routes
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RE: Best route from Palo Duro State Park Texas to Galveston
We're just now getting back to our routing (nothing like some surgery to distract us.) I'm looking at BackOfThePack's route (avoiding Houston and the Dallas area), but am wondering why you suggest going through San Antonio rather than Austin?
Thanks!
San Antonio E-W on IH-10 is easy.
Austin is the worst city in Texas, any direction or road.
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BackOfThePack
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03/23/23 06:15am |
Roads and Routes
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RE: MPH vs MPG
It's not the weight, it's the wind that will have the largest effect on your mileage.
It doesn't matter if you hand calculate or not on a no wind day, what matters more is how tall is your trailer. Notice I didn't say how long is your trailer.
Source: 17 years as a truck driver grossing 120,000 lbs in a previous life.
Yes.
With a TT it’s generally a 40% penalty at 60-mph versus the TV loaded the exact same way, solo. Above 50% time to check both vehicles for alignment, brake drag and wheel bearing pre-set. But you won’t know “true” unless you test. Solo, load approximated for camping, then hitched, over same course. Otherwise it takes several thousand miles of consistency.
Height does kill MPG. 6’ longer is better than 1’ higher.
Measure the floor height from ground. “Lower” in that case is the first condition. Side-outs are not one’s friends as then it must clear suspension. Turbulence UNDER trailer magnifies that BETWEEN TV & TT.
See pics of HOLIDAY RAMBLER for best made conventional (non-aero) from the 1970s.
As to fuel mileage otherwise, 62-mph Interstate and below posted on two lanes.
Manage others around you. 1973 or 2023 doesn’t change this.
Cruise control, no lane-changing and avoidance of brakes & throttle. Steady rpm. Anything above 65 isn’t economical. 62 makes it easier for trucks to get around. Lights on, mirrors which converge in image 100’ back. Cancel cruise, maintain lane center and drift down to 55 if they’re slow. Re-engage once they’re 7-8 stripes ahead.
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BackOfThePack
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03/04/23 06:20pm |
Towing
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RE: Andersen WD hitch thoughts?
The Andersen isn’t a WDH. It’s “maybe” effective with the very lightest trailers (and not much compared to the most basic EAZ-LIFT).
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BackOfThePack
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03/04/23 06:07pm |
Towing
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RE: Tankless water heater
My question at this point would be; what is the largest Propane/Electric water heater can I replace this new tankless water heater with? The original was a6 gallon unit and I do not believe there is any space available, after modifications to squeeze in a larger water heater.
It seems like your real questions is if a 6 gal water heater is enough hot water for your needs. With a family of 3 that often takes showers back to back, we have not found any issues with enough hot water. When camping without hookups we always take navy showers so we don't use much hot water.
My thought is a 6 gallon water heater may not be enough. My prior rig had a 6 gallon water heater and occasionally it would not keep up if 2 adults and 2 kids took back to back showers.
My current rig has a 10 gallon lp/electric heater and we never run out of hot water and we do not take navy showers.
For me a 10 gallon RV water heater is the ultimate. I see no need for tankless heater in an RV.
What is the point of having unlimited hot water if you don't have unlimited grey water capacity and unlimited fresh water capacity.
Yes. It’s for the rig with dishwasher, clothes washer and three teenage girls parked with full hookups.
VERSATILITY is the word for appliances. Can it run on more than one source of power? Three-way fridge is best example and propane/electric water heater is second. A propane furnace can be retrofitted with a CHEAP HEAT electric panel for when plugged in. Xtra battery capacity (maybe) for some owners to extend the evening hours.
Minor appliances need their older derivations: stove top coffee pot, not just the electric kettle.
A/C is the biggest hurdle.
Navy shower and dividing shower time for some the night before, and others in the morning (is another way of not running out).
Have the campers learn to adapt.
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BackOfThePack
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03/04/23 05:24pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: using a cargo carriers on my travel trailer
It’s a bad idea in all ways.
200# far from the axle centerline “weighs more” given tail-whip (centrifugal force). Shortens the already too-short amount of time to correct trailer sway (a few seconds in best conditions). That, alone, mitigates against it.
Second, it tends to either cover or obstruct trailer brake/turn/warning lights. From several angles. Again, this ALONE mitigates against it.
Third, backing is more difficult as this increases the amount of “trailer swing”. AND one can’t see the edge leading as one backs (I do this for a living: the joke about truck drivers is that they don’t pay us to drive them somewhere, they pay is TO BACK THEM as the vast majority of truck-caused property damage is while backing). Lose any idea you can avoid backing.
Fourth, and potentially the most serious, is related to number one in that one has lengthened the sail area against a crosswind.
Winds are the TT problem. “Vision” by operator and others is hampered. (We can find more).
To go camping means toss some clothes, food and beer into trailer. I believe you need to clean it out (100%) and start over in packing what you actually use. We all go thru the pains of adding too much and having to remove the “what if & just-in-case” stuff.
Make going camping simpler. If you do, you’ll go more often. (Bank on it)
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BackOfThePack
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03/02/23 11:07am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Were back in a travel trailer, just bought an Airstream.
Depreciation is just about bottomed out at 10-15/years. Best age to buy one as that’s a trailer “better” in used condition (design & construction) than the plastic white boxes churned out as fast as possible.
The 2013 boxes are about ready for being removed from the road. 70k mile lifespan, more or less
A/S and its upmarket cousins no longer in production are quarter-century before refurbishment (as needed), and 250k mile lifespan (before major work).
If RV’ng isn’t a great number of miles annually, then a box with slide-outs is okay. If long-term ownership and long-distance travel is the thing, get the trailer built for it.
As to “space”, just how many interior cubic feet do you intend to hear or cool? How much work do you want to do in cleaning? Repair & refurbish?
I’d have chosen a 27-28’ as that’s the best opening size for full-time travel (capacities) given that inclement weather or being ill can leave one confined for days. Not any harder to tow, or to back.
A 22-24’ has the advantage of more TVs that can be used. Full independent suspension and short rear overhang and better power-to-weight ratio means a better highway rig. If the bed of the pickup is just some storage that could be done elsewhere, then living with a better TV design is easier travel (past greater highway stability).
AIR forums has a decent amount of info on most subjects. “Tech” is generally better, here (past A/S particulars).
Disc brakes are a strong recommendation for any TT. ZANETTI and others do installs (TRANSWEST in CO, another). GCinSC has an excellent write-up. Same for experience by guskmg. 4-whl TV disc plus TT disc is — as with big trucks — a whole other world.
Downgrade control and breaking forward momentum is what matters. Not speed on an ascent.
An early 3rd Gen or previous CTD is a good pairing. 15-MPG is what I average with my 35’ Silver Streak in the south-central USA. Consistent comps with more than a dozen others pulling 28-34’ A/S. One can break into the low 20s with a TurboDiesel car or SUV given a 22-24’ A/S and the desire to keep fuel burn lowest (some planning; some new habits).
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BackOfThePack
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03/02/23 10:45am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Best route from Palo Duro State Park Texas to Galveston
Agreed. I had my share of difficult weather a few weeks back (waiting for roads to re-open)
Another scenic route is to head south in Texas to pick up US-62 across southern Oklahoma to Lawton/Ft Sill. (Highly recommended in spring).
South from there via US-287 to any number of choices.
FWIW, E-W across D/FW is easy relative to trying N-S as with Houston. US-281 from Wichita Falls to IH-20 thence to IH-35S is scenic, and the leg across the Metroplex is short enough not to be much of a problem (always before 1400, preferably from 0900-1100).
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BackOfThePack
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03/02/23 10:20am |
Roads and Routes
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RE: How much of rise on front of truck acceptable when hitched?
3-Pass
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BackOfThePack
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02/27/23 07:29am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: How much of rise on front of truck acceptable when hitched?
Weights are placeholders. Static.
Road forces are dynamic. Ever-changing. (Why TW & Payload mean next to nothing: it’s Axle ratings with tire/wheel ratings).
Acquiring the static numbers fits formula for what happens on-road.
Over time these may change. Normal wear & tear OR something’s truly off (defect or damage).
Having a numerical baseline acquired via scale readings shows:
1). The RANGE of adjustments for a given combination vehicle (from nearly empty and on up).
2). Side-to-side and across tandem axle tires the possibility of weight shift.
To TEST is what matters. Braking & steering are what matter in towing. The stupids think it’s about how fast they can ascend a grade (not lose speed). ONLY the downgrade matters, as that’s where most loss-of-control accidents occur from natural or man-made winds.
HANDLING is as much getting a grip on what it should be while solo (tire pressure and bed load securement) THEN some knowledge of what the combined rig feels like.
A combined rig is stable ONLY when under light to heavy throttle. Snapping a trailer back into compliance means BEST braking of both vehicles, and a distance from others full throttle plus MAXIMUM trailer braking is undertaken.
Replication of solo handling via WDH is to AVOID over-correction at the wheel (the pinpointed cause of loss-of-control). “Normal”.
The better the rig tracks (camber changes, ruts, and other surface deviations) the better the outcomes of direction changes not initiated by the driver.
The driver is the weak link. In a straight axle, high COG TV, he’s worsened his chsnces of trailer recovery as feedback from the rig is poor. (A couple of seconds and it’s over). If the trailer can shift the grip of the rear axle tires, Mario Andretti couldn’t save it.
Weigh #2 is to get an accurate read on TW. (Weight shift is bar tension as well as ball angle).
A pickup with a near-empty bed (in terms of weight) is a poor TV. It’s E-Z to lose rear traction in that scenario given road surface problems. And, where cars may slide or spin on losing rear traction, pickups will roll.
High COG trailers (slide-outs) on leaf spring axles are much the same. The design of each vehicle is fundamental as predictor (“skill” claims’ll get you laughed out of the room).
WDH spreads the forces each vehicle is creating across the length represented by the axle trio. Not just at the ball. Makes problems less so.
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BackOfThePack
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02/27/23 07:09am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Best route from Palo Duro State Park Texas to Galveston
IH-24 to US-87.
US-87 to US-277 at San Angelo, thence south to IH-10.
IH-10 thru San Antonio no big deal. Can use 410-Loop around south side if desired.
IH-10 to Columbus thence south thru El Campo on TX-71 to Bay City.
TX-35 to Lake Jackson it’s a coin flip from there to Galveston (nothing like it was before Hurricane Ike tore it up in 2008).
EAST-WEST across Houston always easy. It’s North-South where it’s a total PITA.
As a lifelong Texan (and truck driver), this is the routing with the least traffic. Steady friction-free miles till the SA to Columbus leg.
95% of Texans live east of IH-35. Avoiding the triangle of Dallas, Houston and San Antonio is how to make time despite a longer route.
OTOH, my preferred “short” route would be US-287 from Amarillo to FTW, then IH-35S to Waco and use Texas-6 the rest of the way to La Marque. (Houston toll roads are easy if you want the expense to avoid backups elsewhere).
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BackOfThePack
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02/21/23 12:34pm |
Roads and Routes
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RE: Colorado experts...help please
I would not take C as there is major road work on I25 on the south side of Colo. Springs including replacing bridges. Completion is 2024. What a mess!
I go through here 2-3X monthly pulling a 53’ trailer. It’s not bad. Run 52 in the 55. It’s about 8-miles or so in length. Occasional lane closures. Starts near Fountain.
Denver traffic isn’t on the scale of a dozen other metros. Just plan to get thru between 0900-1100 for least traffic, and before 1400 at worst. That said, getting diesel is a pain as CO not well-served in comparison to other places. Coming from the south I’d use the Exxon at Fountain next to TRANSWEST RV Truck X128 as final choice. Buy farther north if you enjoy crowds.
The road up to Salida (La Veta Pass) is certainly scenic. 47-years ago during the Bicentennial were wreckers stationed to get the Ford and GM mohos over the crest (Dodge rules).
Mountain driving is not only slow, it’s exhausting. That’s a clumsy rig when oncoming is encroaching your lane. There’s not any way in hell I’d run the mountains to avoid a little metro traffic UNLESS that were on my itinerary.
If you’re going to Granby, take IH-70.
If you’re going to Estes Park, take US-34 up the Big Thompson (that’ll satisfy the scenic drive itch).
Both are approved big truck routes.
Colorado is king of day trips.
Park the wagon and saddle the horse.
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BackOfThePack
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02/21/23 11:53am |
Roads and Routes
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RE: Roadtrip by car vs RV, a couple of thoughts...
GREYHOUND is still the cheapest
And every town has motels near the railroad tracks.
Or pack a tent in a Geo Metro.
Planning an economical RV is with a clean sheet of paper.
Pickup not needed for a light, true-aero trailer.
And neither TV nor TT need be new.
Transportation budget controlled during the year is where the real savings occur which then underwrite vacation travel. The higher the total annual miles, the easier this is.
I use a 1T and average 15-mpg towing a 35’. Those more serious have a TT under 24’ and a car where low 20’s towing is possible (being done, IOW). “Utility” is having an open trailer for around town chores. TurboDiesel cars & SUVs make this easiest.
An RV isn’t a penalty where one starts from scratch making easy travel the goal.
Three days, three weeks or three months.
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BackOfThePack
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02/21/23 11:01am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: How much of rise on front of truck acceptable when hitched?
https://www.rvlifemag.com/taking-the-mystery-out-of-torsion-bars/
https://www.rvlifemag.com/understanding-ball-mount-angle/
https://www.rvlifemag.com/how-to-set-up-a-weight-distributing-hitch-system/
Bars well-chosen and then set at home, take to a CAT SCALE (phone app available) and get the real numbers. There’s an adjustment range from heavy to light with your combined rig. The scale helps you dial it in today, and to diagnose problems in the future.
Three Pass Scale Method (Ron Gratz, back in 2010)
All passengers aboard every time. Full fresh water & propane. Both vehicles loaded for a camping trip.
1). First weigh with hitch tensioned.
2). Second weigh with bars fully slack
3) Third weigh is TV only.
STEER AXLE in #1 & #3 the same (you’re done).
Make adjustments to get close as can be without going over.
A 5’er/GN loads the Steer Axle the same way: no change.
Handling is different of course. But we want steering & braking to be close to the loaded/solo value.
You think you have it close, then test brake control adjustment. SHOULD STOP FASTER FROM 30MPH WHEN HITCHED.
A). Tire pressure take from #1 (or corrected) as against Load & Pressure Table (but not lower than TV manufacturers range). Too much air is BAD idea, worsens braking & steering.
B). Note FF/RR weight bias of TV in #3. Closest to 50/50 before hitching means better outcome. Too much forward = you bought the wrong TV (high rear spring rate not your friend unless utilized in main).
— A 1,000-lb TW is the province of cars. Pickup not needed. The 1/3-Distribution goal means “maybe” 500-lbs static on ball at rest. 10-15% TW which #2 tells you.
The numbers tossed around are placeholders. Towing involves road-going dynamics where the force on the ball can go sky-high, or go super low. The WDH applies these forces across the entirety of the combination vehicle.
Done right, it tracks on rails. Stay with it until this is the outcome. (Anti-sway is a separate subject, but it’ll still need the above).
Andy & his father codified what the rest of us learned more than fifty years ago. That dealership has set up more than 14,000 tow rigs. He’s a consultant on towing to both Airstream and SAE.
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BackOfThePack
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02/21/23 10:35am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: CB radios - Do you use one?
Introduced this past year are a handful of radios (more to come) with integrated DSP (Digital Signal Processing). Literature calls it NRC. The world of Amateur has had it quite awhile, and external devices have been available (I’ve used an amplified DSP speaker the past eight years)
This is the biggest change since the expansion to 40-channels. A level of performance others are unaware exists.
I run a CB 300-days/year, several thousand hours. DSP uncovers the RX your radio received, but couldn’t make legible (audible). QUALITY of what’s heard is significantly increased, and QUANTITY (distance) is bettered. Makes listening all day much easier. (I can run close to wide open all day re SQ and RF Gain).
CB today is for the few. It has no peer, much less any substitute for when it matters most (like a seat belt or pistol). Proper installation and best antenna mount location are key. Quick and dirty delivers terrible performance. Avoid that. Read, make lists, get supply & tools.
www.k0bg.com is the Mobile Radio Installation Bible.
HEAR, AND GET HEARD
1). The latest Stryker HPC (955 & 655), or the ANYTONE AT5555N2.
2). Center roof mount SIRIO 5000 Performer on a BREEDLOVE Mount.
3). (Used) KENWOOD KES-5 mil-spec external speaker mounted just ahead of drivers seat firing into footwell (can listen to NOAA 40-yards from truck you crank it up).
4). Marine-grade wiring & terminations (USCG-spec) POS to BATT & NEG to closest DC ground (think inches, not feet). Encased in split-loom, etc.
It’s common for me to converse easily with another those right around me can’t hear or can’t make out. Easy to alter plans with a heads-up 12-15/miles out versus 2-3/miles. . Big trucks are harder to do, expense is higher, yet it pays for itself 2-3X year (past accounting of crash avoidance).
DISTANT EARLY WARNING.
The phenomenon of SKIP (solar cycle upswing caused) means daylight hours it’s more difficult than just a year ago. Jerks on overpowered base stations with no job except this one. Must pay okay to screw up CH-19 as it’s the Devils work. (Read on, Solar Propagation).
DSP plus a MyAntennas CMC Choke reduces noise such that voices stand out better and audio controls can be set more easily. (Don’t give up: the $250 AT radio & $15 speaker noted are the equivalent of what I spent $600 to achieve).
“Export Radio” (as above) have the wattage to get heard (40-80W). The antenna is the biggest factor, but don’t expect any responses in daylight with 4W. (Scott’s Radios or Walcott Radio; antenna at DNJ Radio; mount at Breedlove).
OWN THE MEANS OF COMMUNICATION.
Ten years or more is a realistic expectation of service.
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BackOfThePack
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02/20/23 06:49pm |
Technology Corner
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RE: You tube Fulltimers getting squeezed
My niece's daughter just got into the whole "Skoolie" thing. She and her boyfriend think they're going to save money over paying rent. They bought a good sized school bus and now they're fixing it up. Problem is, they're in Massachusetts. (Well...that's a problem for A LOT of reasons, but I'll stick to the weather related ones for now! LOL) Yup, winter is coming. There are very few campgrounds that are open during the winter, there are some cities & towns which don't even allow you to keep an RV on your property and many more that won't allow you to live in such a vehicle. I've winter camped in our RV several times. And our rig has dual pane windows and OK insulation. Their bus has neither. I can tell you it took A LOT of propane and electricity to keep the interior livable and water flowing, especially as the temps dipped into the single. Sadly, I suspect they are destined to be another couple who pumped gobs of money into such a project with grandiose dreams only to lose it all in the end. I hope not, for their sake. I guess time will tell.
I believe another reason it's so easy to sway today's youngster into ideas of this type is that the vast majority of students who graduate from high school in the U.S. have never taken a home economics course of any type. They don't have a clue of how to budget properly, how to prepare for the proverbial "rainy day", or even how to save so they're not living paycheck to paycheck. None of that is taught.
It makes them very vulnerable to the sales tactics of "It only costs you $xx dollars per month. You can afford another $xx dollars/month, can't you?" That's the way everything is sold now, with the final cost barely mentioned.
I'm not making excuses for them, but it is easy to see why it's not too hard to sway these youngsters into shaky deals.
As an aside, I went to this website: Finished Skoolies for Sale and can't believe the asking prices for most of the units for sale. In my opinion, they're not very attractive and even the cheapest of commercial RVs look better. I think many of them look like excursion buses you'd see in some South African nature show. LOL Regardless of how nice you make it look on the inside, from the outside, it looks like a school bus! Obviously, there's more to it than just looks. But still...if you buy one of these conversions, you have NO IDEA how anything was wired, plumbed, constructed and if it was done with any regards at all to safety. Let alone the engine and drivetrain components. It's just a wild shot in the dark.
Well, hopefully this will be a short-lived fad as folks realize that this is NOT a cheaper way to live for the vast majority of us.
~Rick
Works from Interstate 20 and south. Not so much getting north from there in regards some amount of year-round comfort. $500 ground rent and no utility cost. But RVs wear down faster and the rate of expenses is higher, with or without much travel.
It’s DIY or Bust as RV Techs almost don’t exist (a curious phenomenon), but then one must be auto mechanic, plumber, electrician, and carpenter to some extent.
Travel is funds-available. Too few make a study of what constitutes “efficiency” (storage capacities against fuel burn) and suffer for it. Nor is “self-containment” understood as it should be (nights aboard without forced re-supply of any sort).
It’s no great shakes to live in one while stationary, it’s another thing to successfully travel AND stay ahead of needed repairs (replace before failure; foreign-made appliances are all over the place on lifespan), THEN what constitutes “drivetrain” and vehicular road standards.
The marine industry has better components, but $600 water pumps and $1800 stove/ovens aren’t what RVers consider acceptable. A new set of best quality trailer tires every (3) years at $1,000, etc.
The current situation is a shake-out like those previous. $1/gal gasoline . . . who can afford THAT? (1979).
It’ll be a good time to trade UP in quality. A used Airstream or Oliver or Bigfoot. Something made decently. The AS also fits the bill on efficiency past having an indefinite lifespan. That last part pays for the rest. A lighter, more capable TV fits better than any pickup, as well.
“Paid for “ TT & TV covers most upcoming problems.
That’s the part which doesn’t work: Still paying for the RV rig and/or second car.
The rest can be dealt with as time & funds allow when the RV rig is bought outright. Temp or seasonal jobs can take the pressures off in order to travel several months of the year (and park for the more difficult or busy seasons).
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BackOfThePack
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11/30/22 01:34am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: cross winds?
https://img.scgpix.com/listimg/img1_0317/02/img_LBelYmvmgZR8sUu.jpg
Crosswind is what initiates most loss-of-control accidents. Can be natural winds (hard gust), or from oncoming traffic. Both are most dangerous when on the down-slope of a grade.
Three Parts: A square box TT (which this is) allows crosswinds to build in force the length of the trailer coupled to a floor height too high to be optimum (slide-out roadworthiness problem) where the cheap suspension design is leaf-sprung type which exacerbates those problems.
As with tractor-trailers, the REAR of the trailer will lift due to the force AND that air is passing underneath in great volume.
Lower floor height plus independent suspension is first. “Best” is that in a true aero design. Aero is where all joins of walls/floors/roof have substantial radius as air is not trapped — pulls as it escapes versus being trapped and pushing — and nearly no crossflow underneath).
Square box travel trailers aren’t heavy enough to resist much. With a big truck and 47,000-lbs in the box WITH the trailer tandems rolled back there “can” be enough resistance to heavy crosswinds in SOME instances.
Too high ground clearance, squared edges, AND the sail area behind the axles combine to cause tail lift BEFORE YOU KNOW IT AT THE STEERING WHEEL (4WD pickup the worst TV for this reason among others).
A HENSLEY patent hitch is “the solution” (having made all other types obsolete), but the TT design is the major problem.
An aero TT & Hensley (or Pro Pride) is where crosswind problems are fairly well eliminated. 5th wheel trailers are worse than conventional due to the huge sail area plus shared design problems. A hitch only works so well is the point. Bad TT design proceeds it.
High-risk trailering moments are wind and/or down-slope related where the forward motion of the rig isn’t enough to keep slack out of the hitch rigging against external factors. When sail area, non-aero design and poor suspension are added, the risk is that much greater. Can’t slow the rig soon enough and safely enough to avoid the problems of hard gusts once the operator is constantly correcting for wind.
One can go higher than 15% TW, but it won’t solve tail-lift and loss of control at the TV rear axle. The contact patch of the rear tires is the whole ballgame.
In short, if the wind put you onto the shoulder, THAT was your guardian angel shouting at you.
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BackOfThePack
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11/26/22 01:19pm |
Towing
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RE: Newbie Road Trip TX to FL
http://mapsof.net/uploads/static-maps/us_highway_map.jpg width=650
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BackOfThePack
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10/12/22 08:42pm |
Roads and Routes
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RE: Why do I need a W/D or sway control
I was hoping for more fact than opinion for my question.
Not going to find it on a forum.
Test it.
That’s your start to understanding, and to what experience is a guide.
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BackOfThePack
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07/04/22 06:50am |
Towing
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