Weight distribution hitch

A couple of points here Roscoe

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Originally Posted by Rosscoe68

sorry to say but i see two common denominators in these 3 scenarios,
1: driver
2: speed

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1: In each of the cases I gave there was a different driver, in the car trailer scenario she was a highly skilled and competant professional racing driver. In the boat incident he was just some poor bloke coming back from a long weekend and in the caravan scenario it was yours truly.

2: As for speed, in the car trailer scenario it was on the Hume Highway and yes we were speeding, naughty us, but we were being left behind by the Melb - Sydney overnighters. Different times different ways.
Excessive speed wasn't the issue with the boat trailer, probably doing 80 k's when it all started to come apart. With the caravan 105 K's is no issue either safety wise or legally. Speed limit 130K's in the territory, and no I don't tow at these speeds. I normally travel at 100 - 110 but tested after moving weight at 120 just to make sure all was OK.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rosscoe68

common sense to me would say that if i am going to overtake a roadtrain at 105klm/h towing a 15' windsail on the back, there is a pretty large chance its gunna get hit with the air wave off the road train, and guess what, possibly make it sway,

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Only if the van was poorly loaded which it was initially. Moving just 30 kg in the van solved the problem. After that no issues overtaking , so obviously draught from road trains not an issue for a corectly loaded and balanced combination. an amazing difference for such a small amount of weight transference. Correct draw weight is essential for stable and safe towing, and correct draw weight is not neutral.

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Originally Posted by Rosscoe68

xu1 facing backwards is an aerodynamic brick, forwards not too bad

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What !!! The XU-1 is a two door Torana, it would be just about the same aerodynamically forwards as backwards. Even backwards it's still more aerodynamic than a Land Rover forwards. And you don't see them flying off the road whenever they're carried on a trailer.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rosscoe68

boat held on a trailer only by a chain after dropping back a foot is probly going to sway, guess thats just pure physics

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You're exactly right, too much weight behind the rear axle and it became unstable. All was OK till it slipped back. Just slid back gently taking up the strain on the rear straps until the chain took up. Then it all went pear shaped. The draft from the semi was just the straw that broke the camels back.

There is no doubt in my mind that insufficient weight on the draw or too much weight behind the axle, same thing really causes instability with towing combinations that can lead to disaster. Neutral loading is not just silly its suicidal. Your owners manual gives the maximum downward force you're allowed on the tow with a fair safety margin. I'd stick to the 10% rule up to this weight and seek professional advice if it became less than 5%. I won't call it a rule of thumb cos I don't want Pedro to shoot me.

:rocket:

Deano

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rosscoe68

sorry to say but i see two common denominators in these 3 scenarios,
1: driver
2: speed

common sense to me would say that if i am going to overtake a roadtrain at 105klm/h towing a 15' windsail on the back, there is a pretty large chance its gunna get hit with the air wave off the road train, and guess what, possibly make it sway,
xu1 facing backwards is an aerodynamic brick, forwards not too bad
boat held on a trailer only by a chain after dropping back a foot is probly going to sway, guess thats just pure physics

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What world would you pass a road train on by doing 105klm, when we went to Winton we had to pass a road train (4 trailers) and if we had of done 105 i would have never got passed before another came the other way, i had to get upto 140 and the car did it just fine the trucky even commented on how good our set up was and how well it travelled at the speed, no not trouble with buffeting at all smooth as.

There is a mob in melb called Hardings Caravan Services. This is a highly respected company. They do every thing from repairs to running clinics on the do's and don'ts of caravaning. They say to have 10% on the draw bar.

Also SWMBO's fairlane has a factory fitted tow bar which has a load placard on it.

This says: Max tow capacity 1600 KG, Max Ball weight 160 KG.

All trailers can sometimes sway but if loaded correctly will correct itself.
Incorrectly loaded is sort of like a leverage effect. The extra weight makes what would normally be a small sway into a larger sway. When the trailer tries to correct itself the excess rear weight then throws the trailer harder the opposite way and so on getting more violent on each sway.

Dave.

can I ask dumb question.....I dont own a trailer yet! what is loading a trailer correctly?

is it just distributing it evenly across the whole frame?

have a certain weight on the ball and a certain weight over the axles?

is it just literally avoiding heavy things at one end regardless of which end?

sorry for all the questions to curious....as this is something we will need to learn and know

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Originally Posted by Grumpy

I have a 16ft Windsor Sunchaser goes 1.7 odd tonne fully loaded with 210kg on the ball. Have no problems towing with air suspension.
Put air bags in the coils. You loose turning circle and clearance with the wdh.

Tony :wheelchair:

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Doesn't anyone find this weight excessive for a landrover (210kg), I don't care what brand of tow hitch you use, it is still attached to the car and the car can only take so much, eg the rear axle capacity.
It is clearly stated in the handbook the maximum weight on the towball is 150KG

Dullbird,
Have a read of this.

Dave.

Trailer & Tow vehicle specifications explained | Motoring Advice | RACQ

Below is a quote taken off Haymen Reece web site.

A: Ball weight refers to the weight on the front end of the trailer not carried over the axles. As a rule you should aim to have 10 percent of the total trailer weight as ball weight. This can be measured at a weigh bridge by resting the jockey wheel only on the scale.
Alternatively Hayman Reese distributors have a Ball Weight scale with which you can measure your ball weight by placing it under the coupling and winding the weight off the jockey wheel.


Dave.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DeanoH

What !!! The XU-1 is a two door Torana, it would be just about the same aerodynamically forwards as backwards. Even backwards it's still more aerodynamic than a Land Rover forwards.
:rocket:

Deano

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bwahah
that made me laugh a little :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DeanoH

A couple of points here Roscoe

There is no doubt in my mind that insufficient weight on the draw or too much weight behind the axle, same thing really causes instability with towing combinations that can lead to disaster. Neutral loading is not just silly its suicidal. Your owners manual gives the maximum downward force you're allowed on the tow with a fair safety margin. I'd stick to the 10% rule up to this weight and seek professional advice if it became less than 5%. I won't call it a rule of thumb cos I don't want Pedro to shoot me.

:rocket:

Deano

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ahh, i think this is where my opinion differs, and where i apparently didn't elaborate. i do not put any weight at the rear of a trailer/van, thats just asking for the pendulum to swing against you. i put all the weight directly over the axle which is the weight bearing point of the van and as far as i can see is the practical place for it. drawbar can be lifted fairly easily with 2 hands, had it weighed at one point at 85kgs on a 1500kg van. there is next to no weight at rear of van as all is there is the foam bed. i have never had wind wobbles, even on 110klm/h freeway but i have regularly been sucked sideways by passing trucks going either way, but my van is old an terribly un-aero. still do not agree with putting so much weight on the rear chassis/suspension of a vehicle. but then i am not an engineer, just go from what works for me on the road.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DeanoH

A couple of points here Roscoe

Your owners manual gives the maximum downward force you're allowed on the tow with a fair safety margin. I'd stick to the 10% rule up to this weight and seek professional advice if it became less than 5%. I won't call it a rule of thumb cos I don't want Pedro to shoot me.

:rocket:

Deano

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and yet the D2 is handbooked at 3500kg tow weight and the tow bar max ball weight is 150kg as stated on the factory fitted landrover towbar. go figure ...

heh, although i just realised that is landrover and whoever said they knew what they were doing in the first place :)