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> While Joe's points are completely valid, the issue of bumper-pull
> trailer stability/safety is a completely different subject.
> Gooseneck
> rigs are inherently stable, bumper pulls are inherently instable...
Hi Mike, I saw some American cars here in Europe with hitches fixed
on the bumper. I also would be very careful to haul a 2-ton-trailer
with these devices. In Europe we pay some 100 $ to get a stable,
permissioned hitch out of 3" steel connected a specified car frame.
With a (what we called) "middlesized" offroad-car (i.e. a
LandRover, Mitsubishi, Nissan Patrol or Pathfinder or Mercedes G)
you get permission to haul up to 3,5 tons (depends on the car). We
very seldom use bigger cars to haul.
Maybe you car overheat in the mountains when it's too weak, but the
stability of the trailer or hitch is very seldom cause for trouble.
The speed limit we have to respect is about 80-100 km/h (-65 mph).
> -
> tongue weight (the weight of the trailer that is applied to the rear
> end
> of the vehicle at the hitch) presses the rear of the vehicle down
> and
> lifts the front end. If enough weight presses down on the rear, the
> front wheels start losing their grip on the road...
With a proper hitch and trailer, this don't happen. Usually, there is a
weight limit for the weight that pulls on the hitch (for example 75 or
100 kgs). This limit should be roughly kept, neither crossed nor
decreased. If the trailer goes too light on the hitch, this is worse for
stability of the rig than to heavy.
As far as stability of the rig is concerned, a strong single rear axle
with leaf suspension is a big advantage. "old-fashioned" offroad-cars
have this kind of chassis usually.
>
> What's not correctable is the ratio that Joe refers to - the trailer
>
> length (from hitch to trailer wheels) versus the vehicle wheelbase.
> A
> short vehicle wheelbase relative to the trailer length allows the
> trailer to 'out muscle' the vehicle, because it can act like a
> lever.
> The longer the vehicle wheelbase, with a bumper pull trailer, the
> safer
> the rig. It's just physics.
Right, in priniple. But even with a short-wheelbase car you can haul a
heavy trailer safely and with enough speed, when weight distribution of
car and trailer are correct and rear-axle and hitch are strong enough.
And of course, you need good maintained brakes, tires and stuff like
that. I always pass motorhomes and camping rigs easily with my 25 year
old trailer. Advantage is, the horse trailer is much heavier than other
ones and therefore runs much more calmly.
There is a second variable which is more important than wheelbase: the
distance between rear-wheel and hitch. This distance should be as short
as possible, because every movement of the car will transmitted to the
trailer (and vice versa) the more, the bigger this distance is. THIS is
the actual lever.
regards
FRANK
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