Quote:
Originally Posted by mick taylor
Over the years I have seen many towing with the nose of what they are driving way up in the air and the tail way down, mainly more so back before the 1990's.
I worked at a servo in the late 70's and they had no idea, pump up shocks were what was pushed mainly, but I would say up grad your springs, well that did not go down well, but pump ups did with most.
On the road I would see cars with the nose up the front with tyres positive camber come waving towards you like a boat.
I bought a HQ Kingswood 202 3sp manual the owner used it to tow and the owner before him came up to me and said he towed a van with it as well, it had GT130 shocks all round and std springs.
The next car I got was the same used for towing a van, a HG 253 Premier lowered in the front and ute springs rear and on front a K Mac sway bar, spot on for towing.
Dad had a 1971 Galaxie towed a fully loaded 4 wheeled trailer he would like to sit on 90mph a lot and did not feel the trailer behind you, it had pump ups and Koni on the front stock springs tho. he had a trailer of sand say 1 ton and she the came off the tow ball coming around a bend, the chains were to long and he lost it and snapped a power pole. next he put mums HJ 202 Kingswood on it's roof into a ditch because that trailer came off again and never shortened the chains.
If you keep the chains short they will not toss you around so much if it comes off the ball, I believe.
I do not believe that towing will shorten the life of a engine or the drive line really, for autos I always use a extra cooler regardless. people who do not service their cars correctly or abuse them are much worse by far.
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Load levellers work best by transferring weight from the rear axle to the front axle.
Pump up shocks do not reduce load.
Chains, no matter how tight, are a myth to catch the front of the trailer should it come away from the tow ball.
No matter what length you have on the chains (too little and you can't turn) when the caravan uncouples it moves forward and drops on the ground, chains won't keep it off the tarmac - check to see if your caravan had a skid bar or are there sharp edges that may dig into the tar.
I am also unsure if the breakaway cable is any help once the caravan has a life of its own. Fully braked caravan brakes are of no effect with the wheels off the ground, the caravan on its side or on its roof with debris scattered everywhere acrtoss the road.
When first coupling the caravan, wind the front stand to see if the coupling raises the rear of the car. This ensures it is coupled nice and firm. This is also the time to attach the load levellers.