Towing a Caravan - Mechanical strain etc

[mick taylor]

Originally Posted by Tassie f100

Sounds like he didn’t have any idea about how to load and tow a trailer.With proper couplings and enough ball weight a trailer will never come off the tow ball.

I do not know how it did come off the ball, but it did, 1960's made trailer with 4 wheels had HK disc brakes on the front that worked the old way.
I never bothered having a real good look at it as I have always hated trailers and bought utes instead as finding a parking spot is a real drag. so I have never bothered to be right up on trailers.
But my dad was a interstate truck driver for some years but he would never listen to me. so why would I bother, I just thought the chains were a bit to long and the trailer was just old crap to me.
I towed a fair bit with his LTD that trailer and a car trailer and a 24ft boat.

I have heard of them coming off but as to why I do not know how they do.
You see them block type setups nowadays a lot that hook up to the car.

He wrote that HJ off back in 1987.

[Vesper Martini]

yes unless you have a very high towball chains wont stop the drawbar hitting the ground if uncoupled.
chains are to keep the trailer with the car in the even it becomes unhitched stop it slamming into the rear taking off into an on coming lane etc.

crossing them is a good idea but it wont hold it off the ground once it slides forward under the car.

[Crazy Dazz]

Chains should hold it off the ground.
Depends on length, where there are attached, and the height.
The problem is usually with overriders, with the chains attached quite far back, and consequently too long. Put that on a low sedan, sagging at the rear, and yes, once the chains go vertical, the tow hitch will be hitting the ground.

air-shocks are good cheap & easy fix, especially since you can deflate them when not needed. They don't reduce the load much, but do help keep it level, and help your car handle the load.
(Compared to an extreme sag, by levelling the load they do put a bit more onto the front and onto the trailer axle(s))

[prydey]

Originally Posted by Crazy Dazz

Chains should hold it off the ground.
Depends on length, where there are attached, and the height.
The problem is usually with overriders, with the chains attached quite far back, and consequently too long. Put that on a low sedan, sagging at the rear, and yes, once the chains go vertical, the tow hitch will be hitting the ground.

air-shocks are good cheap & easy fix, especially since you can deflate them when not needed. They don't reduce the load much, but do help keep it level, and help your car handle the load.
(Compared to an extreme sag, by levelling the load they do put a bit more onto the front and onto the trailer axle(s))

Pump up shocks, much like airbags, don't distribute any load to the front axle or the van axle.

Reducing sag, even by fitting stiffer suspension doesn't do anything to mitigate the load on the rear axle of the tow vehicle.

[mick taylor]

Originally Posted by prydey

Pump up shocks, much like airbags, don't distribute any load to the front axle or the van axle.

Reducing sag, even by fitting stiffer suspension doesn't do anything to mitigate the load on the rear axle of the tow vehicle.

If the front of the car is in the air and the rear is down to low it's crap regardless. the trailer has to be flat to down a bit in the front, never up in the air at the front of the trailer.
The weight on the axel means f all within reason.

[Crazy Dazz]

Originally Posted by prydey

Pump up shocks, much like airbags, don't distribute any load to the front axle or the van axle.

Reducing sag, even by fitting stiffer suspension doesn't do anything to mitigate the load on the rear axle of the tow vehicle.

As I said, compared to an extreme sag, they move a bit of the load.
Mostly they just level and stabilize things, and make the car behave more predictably.

And as I said, they're a cheap, easy, effective, and adjustable solution.

[prydey]

Having a level vehicle isn't that critical as long as you are within the rated limits of the axles.

If you have that much weight on the rear that your steering is affected, then you are more than likely overweight somewhere.