Right on! Besides the Equalizer hitch, you really needed electric
brakes. If you accelerate slightly and apply the electric brakes only,
at the same time, the rig will straighten out.
You didn't say what brand of truck you have. I'm an old hot rodder and I
can get easily 200 more hp from a small block Chevy. (The old carburetor
ones)
Royce
===============================
On Tue, 15 Jan 2002 14:38:26 -0500 Dave Cole <DavidCole@tk7.net> writes:
> Royce is right on.
>
> The most critical thing I have found from experience is to make sure
> you have at least 10% of the trailer weight on the hitch, more if
> your tow vehicle can stand it. The real limit on a
> bumper pull setup without equalizer bars is that the front end of
> the tow vehicle becomes light and the tow vehicle can become
> unstable and tend to fish tail. (Ussually at a very
> bad time)
>
> I once pulled my tandem axle trailer (about 2500 lbs) with my Chevy
> 3/4 ton van (about 5000 lbs) and then loaded a 1 ton dually truck
> onto the tandem trailer (about 6000 lbs). The
> load on the trailer was placed is such a way that about 500 lbs was
> on the tongue. (Not nearly enough) While towing this trailer down
> a slight hill (this always seems to be the
> condition where this is worse) the trailer started fishtailing and I
> thought I was going to loose total control of the rig. I was all
> over the road! You only need to do that once to get a
> feel for how out of control a trailer-tow vehicle can get. It was
> scary as hell. Equalizer bars on the trailer would have allowed for
> more tongue weight and keep the front end on the
> ground.
>
> In contrast, I once towed a 6000 lb 30 ft Dual Tandem axle gooseneck
> trailer with my one ton dually truck loaded with my M51 (weight
> 23,000 lbs) It was perfectly stabile for 500
> miles of towing. I wished that my truck had about 200 more hp, but
> it worked.
>
> What I've seen recently are a lot of construction guys hauling
> backhoes (about 18,000 lbs) on bumper tow tandem dually trailers
> pulled by pickup trucks. These guys are totally
> nuts! If you see on of those setups on the road, get out of the
> way! Those tandem dually bumper pull trailers are meant to be
> towed with at least a single axle 2 ton dump truck,
> not a pickup truck!
>
> Dave
>
>
> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>
> 1/14/02 3:13:35 PM, Royce C Hayes <rc_hayes1@juno.com> wrote:
>
> >AT LAST! A subject that I'm an Expert on.
> >
> >I have been in the RV and hitch business for the last 21 years, so,
> I
> >feel I am some what of an expert on the subject of towing.
> >
> >First, your truck was made for towing. In Texas, more than half of
> the
> >1500 Tahoes come from the factory ready to tow.
> >Second, you should not pull a trailer in OD (Over Drive to those on
> the
> >list that only think in Olive Drab). I also recommend an aux.
> tranny
> >cooler if your truck is not equipped with one. I do not see any
> reason
> >that you could not pull a trailer up to about 5,000 lbs. You will
> need a
> >minimum of a Class III frame mounted hitch rated to about 8,000
> lbs.
> >
> >Rules for towing: Obviously you want the ball and coupler to be
> >compatible. (or what ever method you use to connect the truck to
> the
> >trailer.) You want to have 10 -15% of the weight of the trailer on
> the
> >tongue. (weigh with scales.) You want to have the trailer level.
> I
> >recommend trailer brakes, preferable electric, on trailers over
> 2,000
> >lbs.
> >and of course proper lighting and safety chains. I also recommend
> using
> >an Equalizer hitch and sway control for towing heavier loads, such
> as
> >cars, trucks, tractors, etc. on the trailer.
> >
> >I have towed trailers of all types with all types of tire combos
> and can
> >tell zero difference in the way they tow, providing you follow the
> above
> >recommendations.
> >
> >I hope this helps you.
> >
> >Royce
> >======================================
> >On Mon, 14 Jan 2002 12:18:56 -0500 "Gray, Chris"
> <Chris.Gray@fmr.com>
> >writes:
> >> HI All....
> >>
> >> Got a question on an M101A1 trailer... I've seen people pull
> them
> >> with M37
> >> and I assume M1008's (and such).... I have a 2001 Chevy
> Tahoe...
> >> I'm
> >> looking to use this trailer with it for some work, its in
> >> restoration now,
> >> but I have heard, talking to people that it shouldn't be pulled
> with
> >> my
> >> truck....
> >>
> >> I know the weight is OK... Is there something I'm missing
> here...
> >> I can't
> >> see anything wrong with it and I assume it will be fine...
> Anyone
> >> have any
> >> bad experiences...? I pull my M416 just fine...
> >>
> >> Has anyone pulled anything bigger than 3/4 ton without additional
>
> >> brakes??
> >>
> >> Thanks
> >> Chris
> >>
> >>
> >> ===Mil-Veh is a member-supported mailing list===
> >> To unsubscribe, send e-mail to: <mil-veh-off@mil-veh.org>
> >> To switch to the DIGEST mode, send e-mail to
> >> <mil-veh-digest@mil-veh.org>
> >> To reach a human, contact <ack@mil-veh.org>
> >>
> >
> >===Mil-Veh is a member-supported mailing list===
> >To unsubscribe, send e-mail to: <mil-veh-off@mil-veh.org>
> >To switch to the DIGEST mode, send e-mail to
> <mil-veh-digest@mil-veh.org>
> >To reach a human, contact <ack@mil-veh.org>
> >
>
>
>
>
> ===Mil-Veh is a member-supported mailing list===
> To unsubscribe, send e-mail to: <mil-veh-off@mil-veh.org>
> To switch to the DIGEST mode, send e-mail to
> <mil-veh-digest@mil-veh.org>
> To reach a human, contact <ack@mil-veh.org>
>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Wed Feb 06 2002 - 11:49:27 PST