I'll vouch for the importance of enough tounge weight.
Once late in the evening after a long day, I loaded up a car trailer
with a honda motorcycle in front, and a Volvo 244 sedan just behind it.
I didn't realize that the width of the motorcycle caused the cars weight
to be centered behind the axle, and I had a slightly negative tounge weight!
I got on the freeway on level ground, and the trailer began oscillating
until it whipped the car and trailer around 180 degrees, such that I was
facing backwards on the freeway. I drove slowly the wrong way down an
empty onramp just in time before a truck came, and eventually was able
to stop the vehicle and correct the weight distribution. The trailer
jackknifing on the freeway destroyed the unibody of my beloved 1983
Volvo 760 Turbo Diesel, and I had to transfer the drivetrain into a
replacement chassis. Luckily nobody was hurt.
I now test the tounge weight of a trailer every time I tow...
Tyler
Christopher McCann wrote:
Thanks for explaining that. Now I can see why it's not enough to move the car
back on the trailer till the trailer doesn't put much weight on the
tongue...that shifts too much mass to the rear causing swerving and
unsteadiness.
Best is to move 50% of the mass forward, if not more, and use the weight distribution hitch to distribute the weight of the car back to the trailer.
Do I have that right?
Chris
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