What makes for a squirrelly trailer?

[MadeInMaine]

A lot of guys talk about pulling boats or camping trailers. I have had my fair share of trailer pulling myself growing up working with my father, pulling a full size tractor on a long trailer and also an enclosed work trailer. I understand about driving them, parking them, turning them, and backing them up... smaller/shorter wheel base is always more difficult.

But what makes a trailer come squirrelly?

Is it simply a high center of gravity and weight is too far away from the tongue?

What are steps to ensure a safe and "squirrel-less" trip with a trailer?


Car Trailer Fail - Car Accident in Poland. - YouTube


Cheers

 

[KidVermicious]

I see two fails there - the first is trying to tow that load with that little car. The tow rig needs to be heavy enough that the trailer won't drag it around as it sways, because it's going to sway. The other fail is not setting the trailer tongue up level with the towing vehicle - with the trailer sloping down like that, it exerts extra force downward on the tow vehicles rear during braking, lifting the nose and screwing up the steering (if it was slanted upward, it would exert upward force during braking and potentially lift the rear of the tow vehicle off the ground). This is why a trailer heavier than the tow rig should be a gooseneck or 5th wheel setup - put those sway forces directly over the rear axle where they get the smallest amount of leverage.

It's counterintuitive, but if you get an oscillating sway like that the last thing you want to do is brake. If you decelerate while the trailer and car are pointed different directions, you cause exactly what happened in that video - the trailer pushing one way shoves the rear of the car, causing the cars nose to point the other way, and kaboom.

Stay within the tow limit Toyota established for the truck, and make sure your load is balanced and level, and you won't have any problems.

 

[Titanpat57]

Two words.....



Tongue weight...

 

[MadeInMaine]

5 words.....


what about the tongue weight?

 

[philsey]

5 words.....


what about the tongue weight?

You've done ALL THAT towing, and you have to ask? Wow.

TW needs to be 10-15% of the trailer's weight. Too little is probably worse than too much.

 

[Canazes9]

In addition to things already mentioned, under inflated trailer tires can contribute to the problem. Out of sight, out of mind, people sometimes forget to check tire pressure in their trailers.

David

 

[hearno]

I see two fails there

technically three... they're polish.

 

[MadeInMaine]

cheers for all the input... hopefully this helps out others too.

im part polish, maybe thats why i have to ask the questions....

damn

 

[Matt's4Runner]

Hey hearno, I can see you're new here but, FYI, people are pretty welcoming, helpful, and friendly in this section. Save your nonsense for the Klan meeting.

 

[philsey]

Hey hearno, I can see you're new here but, FYI, people are pretty welcoming, helpful, and friendly in this section. Save your nonsense for the Klan meeting.

Easy Matt, it was a joke. As a newb yerownself, I must say that wasn't very welcoming...

 

[Titanpat57]

Tongue weight is your friend...it helps to keep the the two vehicles married, and helps to minimize ass end sway.

Let's say a person has a double axle 7,000 lb car trailer, probably weighs about 2000 lbs. Then they load a vehicle on it, let's say the vehicle weighs 5500 lbs...so the combined weight is 7500 lbs..right?

Ok, so at the 10-15% tongue weight standard...the tongue weight should be between 750 lbs, up to 1100 lbs (and that's where I'd be, because under no circumstances do I want the two to come apart!!)

Now you say to yourself..how does one weigh something 750-1100 lbs??...well, unless you are right next door to a local dump, or are a state cop that runs a portable weigh station, you don't! Sooooo, you drive the vehicle on the trailer (and unless you have a one ton truck, there is NO F'IN WAY this safe to tow like that) and look at the ass end of the truck go down, and say "WOOOOOO!!...that's far enough"...and have no idea how weight you do have on the hitch, but it looks good to you. Next thing you know the trailer is imbalanced, and it's a recipe for disaster.

and that's how crap like happens in that video, and everyday in America...people that don't know how to properly tow,or do, and just give a shit about the people around them on the road.

 

[hearno]

Hey hearno, I can see you're new here but, FYI, people are pretty welcoming, helpful, and friendly in this section. Save your nonsense for the Klan meeting.

Uh... I'm black so the klan wouldn't be particularly welcoming to me I'm guessing. But yeah since everyone but you got it... it's a joke. See you at next month's Mensa meeting.

 

[Canazes9]

Uh... I'm black so the klan wouldn't be particularly welcoming to me I'm guessing. But yeah since everyone but you got it... it's a joke. See you at next month's Mensa meeting.

<iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/RFlCD5CYAcU" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"></iframe>

David

 

[MadeInMaine]

 

[Yogi56]

IF you start to sway never brake the tow vehicle first, brake the trailer with the brake controller and it will straighten out. Panic braking the tow vehicle will jack-knife the trailer.

Excessive speed makes it harder stop the sway. If you have a properly setup equalizer and sway control you shouldn't have any issues.

 

[Envy]

Uh... I'm black so the klan wouldn't be particularly welcoming to me I'm guessing. But yeah since everyone but you got it... it's a joke. See you at next month's Mensa meeting.

Quite the opposite they would probably give you a front row seat and make you the guest of honor.

 

[V8Man]

Like Titanpat57 said its about proper weight distribution. Most of the utility type trailers with the wood decks and stuff are for hauling tractors. They have the axils towards the rear for the heavy back ends of tractors. hauling a car on these with the engine forward, too much tongue weigh. Back the car on these type. Most car haulers will have the axils further up closer to center. So it depends on the trailer. Bent axils from overloading can cause the trailer to wander side to side or not track straight. A little toe in helps the trailer track straight. What I like to do is measure ride heights at the fenders front and back unloaded. Then load the car measure again and right it down. See how it pulls. When its good you can repeat it every time. I find with my trailer about two inches of squat in the rear is perfect.

 

[V8Man]

Could a moderator pull the crap, grade school name calling out of this tread? It got off topic fast and very visceral. Not needed in this forum.