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RE: Turning With A Long Bumper Pull Trailer
I think I would more concerned with the length and possible excessive weight for a 250/2500 truck. That's a LOT of tail wagging the Dog!!!
Semi-tractor required?
GVWR is only 9k on the trailer he lists...a 3/4 ton should be fine.
Half ton would be fine for a vacationer versus a full-timer. DD duty is always the priority. Power-to-weight favors 1/2T.
Take both to scale and get true weights (loaded for camping trip with pax aboard)
My combined gross stays between 17-18k, both heavily loaded. Empty, both together were just under 14k.
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BackOfThePack
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10/12/23 09:00pm |
Towing
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RE: Turning With A Long Bumper Pull Trailer
If your trailer has a long overhang behind the rear axle, your rear bumper's gonna swing out a bit during a sharp turn, so you may need to allow space for that as well. And you'll definitely need an adult spotter watching all four corners of the rig from the outside.
This is the biggest hazard as to damage.
Combined length on my rig is 62’ (RV Max is 65’ in Texas last I checked). 35’ TT & 163” WB pickup.
“Rear swing” gets my attention more than anything else. One swings wide to make a u-turn in a tight area, for instance, there’s a moment the trailer will back itself slightly. That’s one way how things get hit. (U-turns not recommended; a firing offense if on a public road some truck firms).
Backing into a spot is where it’s easy to lose track of one side of the trailer or the other.
Some tow vehicles worse than others for “wheel cut”. (Tighter is better; expressed in degrees). This determines how to set up the backing maneuver.
The rest isn’t bad. Backing or RH turns are usually where problems surface. (Always inspect starboard tires at every stop).
The hoary joke among truck drivers is that anyone can get them down the road. They’re paid to get them backed in.
Doesn’t matter how many attempts necessary to get backed, in a manner of speaking. Some days one is a whiz. Other days, a schmoe.
Your pickup “steers” from the rear axle (circle of the turn). Your trailer just alters that dimension farther rearward. See, “Ackermann Angle” as applied to trailers (Ackermann Steering Geometry).
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BackOfThePack
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10/12/23 08:47pm |
Towing
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RE: 30ft Travel Trailer how common in the US
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=airstream+triple&t=iphone&iax=images&ia=images&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2Fe8%2F09%2F7b%2Fe8097b928fb91d3be342516867ed1c15.jpg
Airstream and AVION both made 34’ triple axle TT from circa 1978 to 2006.
I’ve a 35’ Silver Streak, but it’s tandem axle.
These trailers were approx 9-10k gross.
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BackOfThePack
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10/12/23 08:22pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: 2024 Chevy HD DRW and SRW Fuel Economy Test
What really burns my arse is when I come over a hill with 115,000 lbs in tow to find a flipping Tesla putzing along at 80 kph in the slow lane on a busy 110 kph highway. What do you do? There's people doing 125 in the fast lane so getting over to the left is not going to work; Could slam on the brakes and burn three weeks wages off the brake linings and another days wages of diesel lugging the load back up the hill trying to get back to speed if you ever get a chance to get around the pesky savior of mother earth. I could just come flying up behind the cursed Tesla with the air horn blaring knowing full well it is capable of hitting 80 mph in about 1/2 of second. I could pass her on the right hand shoulder and hopefully teach her a lesson. I guess I should be more sympathetic ... after all she needs to make it from Edmonton to Calgary on one a single charge so she's only doing what she's got to do.
What’s the lowest legal speed on that road? A “pennies-per-mile” defense ain’t gonna cut it morally. Could be someone ill or injured, or with a poorly functioning vehicle, but making best headway.
Or one rounds the bend and there’s a school bus full of children and nuns over on its side.
“Why” they’re traveling slower, yet legally isn’t any of my business. Only shows I’m a poor driver it bugs me.
In USA, it’s illegal to block entry to passing lane. No inherent ROW. (That’s where I’m going). One backs off to get a pass over soonest (also law), so that lane is “clear”. It’s the only choice should worst situation occur. Literally why we built with two lanes nationwide.
There is not any such thing as, “the fast lane”.
Left lane tailgaters are equivalent of being without insurance. SHOULDN’T BE PRESENT. (They win the Darwin Award). Faster travel speed = zero ROW. 200’ spacing or better at all times (more for big trucks), and not ever in left lane till vehicle ahead has finished pass.
Heavy traffic means one travels more slowly. Upper limit isn’t the thing. ROAD CHOICE determined travel time, not travel speed.
Todays car drivers are worse than they’ve ever been. Think metro freeway and rural Interstate are the same. They aren’t.
Per radar the average they cut in front of my rig is 80-ft. Should be 200+ and still solidly accelerating away. (Need 700+ feet to stop)
Don’t cut in front of big truck without 7-8 lane stripes visible, minimum. Merging on-road the same. Running up ahead of me going into construction and not ten feet from car in front. Etc.
I agree about the selfishness/stupidity which merge into one-ness above 45-MPH. But legal travel speed in correct lane isn’t one of the highway problems. (I slow to 50-45/MPH at exits BEFORE the ramp as that’s the ONLY prudent way to exit per road design and vehicle physics).
My rig WILL come to a full, controlled stop UPRIGHT. God help the stupid/selfish as law doesn’t require us to sacrifice ourselves. Left lane is only way to avoid smashing the TRAVEL LANE problem. It’s the SINGLE choice. Left lane is passing only (not overtaking), and for EMERGENCY use.
Anticipate that’s always just ahead where it can’t be seen. CYA. Then can use the designated lane to get past without qualms. (Where the stupid & selfish wind up is between them and their god).
This is a central fact of how things are.
Luckily, the stupids are predictable. Travel in packs. It’s no feat to slow a bit till they’re far away. I do it all day. Doesn’t change my trip plan. Travel speed adjusted to traffic volume & other conditions. Etc. You know the drill: Maximum Vehicle Separation the day long.
It’s also congruent with fuel economy: least use of throttle & brakes. (Next to no passing, not even several times per hour in most cases).
And aren’t you guys using LADD channels to warn each other? AM-19 on CB ain’t what it used to be , but it’s still operative about rolling or stationary hazards.
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BackOfThePack
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09/09/23 03:59am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: 2024 Chevy HD DRW and SRW Fuel Economy Test
Best test that total emergency stopping distance.
And highest maneuvering speed prior to rollover.
A pickup pulling a square box trailer with slide-outs is one atrocious rig when it matters.
Reasonable highway speed won’t be above 65-MPH just for typical electric drums.
Or above 55 with a prayer of an emergency swerve.
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BackOfThePack
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09/09/23 03:50am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Travel Trailer for Two
And Tow vehicle mfg generally assume max tongue weight of 10% while trailer mfg design for around 15% min tongue weight. See the problem?
Truck manufacturers are usually spec'ing based on a flat bed utility trailer with negligible wind resistance in addition to the marginal hitch percentage.
Correct. It’s not the weight, per se, it’s aero resistance to crosswinds that are the bane of trailer towing. Tongue weight at 12-13% is an ideal (it’s not “payload”), as 15 is harder to do, and 10 is a little light. WDH percentages are what matter in this.
A pickup isn’t an ideal TV anyway. What is it one carries that MUST go in the bed? An SUV or van is a better choice for DD as well as for being a TV due to greater inherent stability (suspension & COG) than a pickup.
A low COG TV AND TT is the better rig. Give both independent suspension (Airstream, for low crosswind trouble ) and it’s a slam dunk.
“Best” is otherwise non wet-bath and permanent beds (no fold out). 26-28’ TT “generally”.
Much depends on trip length. The longer & farther, the more the above plays in (as does freshwater & propane capacity). As third generation I wouldn’t consider shorter as a full timer rig.
Low cost of travel (daily) is from a clean sheet of paper for rig spec. My 62’ combined length 17k-lb rig averages 15-mpg in the South Central US. (Plan the trip via all stops; fuel cost savings are in the daily driver miles per annual fuel budget). What’s between the ears is what matters most.
10-15 year old AS is what I’d look at. Depreciation gone but still close to new. I bought both vehicles used more than ten years ago, and had just under $30k total into both (knew what to look for). Some DIY upgrade, and ongoing maintenance otherwise. Repairs minimal.
An all-aluminum fill-aero trailer always has a buyer. Or that children & grandchildren can inherit.
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BackOfThePack
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09/09/23 03:25am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: 2024 Chevy HD DRW and SRW Fuel Economy Test
How one fills matters not unless it’s a MPG test loop returning to the same pump at the same station. In which case, fill to auto-shutoff (only).
Records are for the average over time which is the single accurate method. Each season has weather affecting MPG, and each season has family duties change somewhat. It will take 3-5k miles for that accurate average to emerge.
Truly accurate records = every fill, and with a full year of use. The annual average. All else is a subset. As above, the FUELLY app will do the work for you.
Only the Annual Average MPG matters. (Tank-by-tank always has errors resolved later by the actual average).
One wants to break it out for vacation miles then one also needs to separate travel TO an area from travel WITHIN that area visited. (Fill before arriving at destination campground).
Leave town and fill 50-75/miles out (warm-up complete) and call that the start. Same with last fill being inbound to home 50-75/miles out before hitting metro traffic. That’s the end.
“Vacation miles” need isolation in two ways:
1). Highway towing versus solo day trips.
2). Then, no DD miles included at vacation start or end.
TT towing is an aero problem. Same load in TV at same speed should indicate towing is a 40% penalty at approx 60-MPH. Over 50% and it’s time to investigate mechanical maladjustments from both vehicles brakes, both vehicles alignment, WDH, etc. MPG is a warning flag when it’s off from recorded average (tires are expensive compared to an alignment check or correcting brake drag).
WDH is scale confirmation of settings plus accurate tire pressure as well as loaded TV sans trailer.
The solo test loop is that baseline. Without it one is always in the dark as to what is true. One accurate test, one time, suffices. (TV loaded — simulated based on scale records — as if loaded for a camping trip. Run exclusively on cruise control same speed as when towing; turnaround about 100-miles and back to same pump).
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BackOfThePack
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08/28/23 06:18am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Tires- LT or ST
Are ST tires now rated for passenger service? Was illegal not long ago, and Id suspect still is.
QC always suspect where liability doesn’t amount to much.
A travel trailer isn’t a construction materials trailer gets dragged around a metro. A failure isn’t the problem a TT experiences with a blowout. Not in damage nor time spent on the highway shoulder.
Non-ST is an easy choice thereby.
Matching load requirements to tire choice remains for research.
I used Yokohama RY-215 last time and may again.
Start with a scale ticket after loaded for camping, full fresh water + propane.
Use reality over guesstimates.
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BackOfThePack
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08/21/23 03:32am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: 2022 dodge ram sway issues
Shortest version is that Steer Axle has same scale value hitched or solo (same day, exact same load).
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BackOfThePack
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07/29/23 07:24am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Interesting mpg last trip
Below 60 cancels much of the aero penalty. The reason for the 55 in 1974 was that its Rolling Resistance to 45-MPH, and Aero Resistance after 60. 55 is a sweet spot.
The real test is against the TV loaded the same way on the same road at tbe same speed, but without the TT. The percentage change. If you can keep it to 40% that’s spot-on for 60-MPH whether 1973 or 2023.
As tow miles are a fraction of annual miles, the DD numbers are what matter. And where to learn to maximize MPG against the vacation travel. Where the savings are ACTUALLY located.
15.0-MPG is the exact middle of my range when at 60.
Highest highway efficiency will come to a truly aerodynamic trailer, first, and a turbocharged diesel (car or truck), second. There are those with 2006-era Mercedes TD sedans pulling 23’-25’ Airstream hitting low 20’s.
Spec the TV for its DD duties. Pulling a trailer ain’t the job many think it is as they’ve only ever driven around in empty or near-empty vehicles.
The average American runs 15k annually. How much does his average annual fuel burn increase (percentage) as a result of the average RV’ers 5k vacation miles?
It ain’t that much.
Gas DI T/C with 10-Auto? It’s not about the engine so much as it’s the software that keeps temps under control when a load introduced. VVT turbo and Auto-12 in big trucks same way. Computer is in charge.
Cut the aero load, and use CC 100%. No lane-changes or significant braking events. Find THAT sweet spot due to conditions (mainly traffic volume) to cruise above 60 (cancel CC and drop down to get slow passes over; law).
Never join a pack. Or allow one to form around you. Ever. Maintain maximum distance all day (gets easy with practice).
The latest big truck driving as above? These days he’s above 9-MPG with no adverse conditions while grossing 78k.
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BackOfThePack
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07/23/23 03:21am |
Tow Vehicles
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