Bob Hill wrote:
> I have been hesitant commenting on this thread but now that it seems the
> gentleman has decided against picking th ecar up himself I would like to
> make a few comments.
>
> I have towed both my car trailer 1000's of miles over hte past few years.
> I started out with an open trailer and then upgraded to the enclosed one I
> have now. HAving towed that many miles I have experienced a few "bad"
> situtations that have taught me a few lessons.
>
> First of all, I would NEVER pull a trailer that did not have brakes. When
> you consider that fact that even if you attach an open trailer with a car
> on it you have just added about 3500 pounds behind your vehicle, that is a
> tremendous burden on the braking system of your vehicle. Granted under
> normal conditions your vehicle will stop you but what about the sudden
> stop? Not only do you have the daadditional weigh to stop, you have a
> trailer behind you that has no resistance excepot the vehicle in front of
> you. Also, I would never load a car on a single axle trailer. One of the
> advantages of the double axle is weigh distribution and load capacity.
> Nothing is worse that overloading the vehicle OR the trailer when towing.
>
> There is much discussion on whether or not a vehicle will tow a certain
> trailer or not. The issue is not whether it will tow it, it is whether it
> will tow it safely. IMHO, towing with a light duty SUV can be a disaster
> wating to happen if ever in a panic situation. Back in February of this
> year, while coming out of Florida, the lady beside me lost control of her
> vehicle. After spinning a time or two, she hit my trailer which caused it
> to flip immediately. So at 65 MOH, I was "trying" to steer a truck with a
> trailer on it's side. Needless to say, the trailer steered me - down an
> embankment to a clove of trees at which point he truck stopped and the
> trailer kept coming - right on top if the truck. The point of the story
> (other than the good Lord was surely watching out for me that day)
> is that if my truck had not been heavy enough for hte trailer, it woudl
> have probably flipped it as well. ( I always pull with a Dually - it was
> a 99 Dodge Club Cab Diesel - totaled with 2500 miles on it now). Would a
> smaller truck had pulled my trailer? Absolutely! As safely? Not sure but
> as I was riding down the embankment, I sure was glad I was not on my side
> as I was doing it!
>
> I guess the point I am making is that no old car is worth risking your
> life or the lives of other jsut to get home. If you have any doubt
> whether your vehicle will tow the trailer or not, leave it at home. I can
> only imagine what COULD have happened to me in February if I had been
> pulling with a light duty vehicle. Fortunately for me I walked away
> without a scratch. Can't say the same for the truck, enclosed trailer adn
> vehicle inside - all fo which were totalled
>
> Just my $0.02 worth
>
> Bob
>
> 75 Triumph TR-6
> 74 MGB GT
> 77 MG Midget
> 79 MGB
> 71 Jaguar XKE Roadster
> 97 Jaguar XJ-R
Bob,
We pull a 24' enclosed tag trailer with a full-size Chevy - probably very
similar to
your rig, and I simply cannot imagine what the experience would be like to have
the
trailer go over on it's side. Thank you for sharing your experiences.
I'm sure those of us that pull trailers are mostly aware of the weight of our
combined
rigs and what it takes to stop them and maneuver in panic situations, etc. (I
too
wouldn't pull a trailer without brakes.) But I'm always amazed at how downright
inconsiderate other motorists are when you're out with a trailer. Maybe this
is a
phenomenon only here in the overpopulated northeast, but if I had a dollar for
everytime somebody saw 3 car lengths in front of me and decided they could
squeeze in
then jam on their brakes, I'd retire a rich man. With a gross combined weight
4 to 5
times that of an average small car, I shudder to think of the consequences to
the
other driver if I weren't able to stop in time. I wonder if they are aware of
the
danger they're placing themselves in. I think not. Thank you for sharing your
concerns when towing, and I'd like to remind everyone to share their knowledge
to the
general public at large in the hope that tragedy can be avoided and everyone
can share
the road peacefully and safely.
Regards,
Brian Schlorff '61 TR-4 '64 TR-4 '72 TR-6 '79 Spit
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