A little information about towing. In Texas, by law, every trailer over
3000 GVWR must have either electric, hydraulic, or air brakes. I have a
XM211 and have
towed it for over a year with a 1 ton, 4x4, single wheel pick-up and
gooseneck trailer. It worked perfectly fine. The one thing that I think is
important is, you need to know how to drive it. In my case, the truck,
trailer, and military vehicle, weight almost 30,000 lbs. I work with this
type of equipment almost every day as I'm in the shipping business.
When loading the vehicle on your trailer, whether a jeep or M60 tank, your
proceedure should always be the same. Load your trailer with most of the
weight over or just in front of the wheels. Its true that you need some
weight over the back wheels of the truck but, don't forget that the trailer
should have brakes of its own. Also, the brakes on some of the heavy duty
trailers will probably be better than the brakes on your average pick-up
truck anyways. I.e. have better stopping power when loaded. Double check
you trailers hitch. Make sure all connections are tight and the ball is
locked securely to the tow vehicle. Make sure you use the proper chains and
binders. I use 4 - 5800 lbs chain and chain binders. Check them every
morning, every time you stop for gas or food, and anytime you get the
chance. When driving, leave your self plenty of time to get to your
destination. Don't be in a hurry. Leave plenty of room to stop. I know, you
leave your 1 car lenght for every 10MPH but, some #@%^# always cuts in
front of you. This area is your stopping zone. When towing you should leave
double that. If some one gets in there, slow down a little more. Your load
will also be anywhere from 18" to 48" off of the ground when on the
trailer. This means the center of gravity is higher. Slow down on curves
and go very slowly on turns. You don't want your military vehicles falling
of on a corner or turn.
The number one thing you need when towing heavy equipment is common sense.
Sorry this emails so long but, there's a lot of information that's required
for safety. I hope this information will help anyone who tows their
military vehicle.
Ken
Lone Star Chapter / MVPA
1953 XM211
1954 XM105E3
===
To unsubscribe from the mil-veh mailing list, send the single word
UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of a message to <mil-veh-request@skylee.com>.