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Date:         Thu, 23 Aug 2001 08:41:45 -0600
Reply-To:     John Klun <jklun@GJ.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         John Klun <jklun@GJ.NET>
Subject:      Re: Trailer Fishtailing...
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Walt and friends-

We tried to be very careful about load distribution on the trailer. If we had had any more weight on the hitch, we would have been dragging our bumper... :) I failed to mention in my long epistle that speed was an additional factor in our 'swaying/fishtailing'. I did notice that if I maintained a speed of around 55-60mph on the 'grooved' roads, the trailer had less inclination to fishtail. But that didn't matter at all when an 18-wheeler or even a large motor home passed us- it would start us fishtailing for at least a quarter mile. After a while of this punishment, we began to anticipate the passing 18-wheelers by pulling half onto the shoulder- this provided us with a little more stability. We did see some 18-wheelers swaying/fishtailing ahead of us on the road we were traveling and that made us very nervous...

Walt Spak wrote:

> John & list, > > What you are calling fish tailing sounds like what I call sway. It is a > result of improper load distribution on the trailer. There was too much > weight towards the rear, which resulted in too little weight on the tongue > of the trailer. I learned this lesson years ago when hauling cars on > various flat bed trailers. I even had a van & loaded trailer turn 180 > degrees around on the Ohio Turnpike. It is interesting to sit in the middle > of the road & watch traffic coming at you. The highway wear & rain grooves > affected your tow because of the improper distribution, but were not the > cause. > > I do not remember exactly how much weight you want on the tongue & I believe > it changes with the trailer size & weight and the hitch class. Proper > tongue weight is very, very, very important. > > Walt Spak > Pittsburgh, PA. > wnsopc3@3rdm.net > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: John Klun <jklun@GJ.NET> > To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM> > Sent: Wednesday, August 22, 2001 1:23 PM > Subject: Trailer Fishtailing... > > > Hello Volks- > > > > A few days ago, someone sent a posting about their fishtailing problem > when > > hauling a trailer. Here's my two cents worth. (Alas, not really Vanagon > > content but applies...) > > > > About 2 weeks ago, I had the 'opportunity' of hauling, from Dallas, TX to > > Delta, CO, an 18'X7' trailer (weighs about a ton) loaded with about 2-3 > tons > > of equipment behind a Ford F-150 X-Cab with a (get this) 302CID engine- > and > > an automatic to boot! Yikes! We found out later that the trailer brakes > > were not working or even installed. Dumb and Dumber! > > > > There was so much weight behind us and so little power, it took forever to > > get up to speed. We also suffered from that 'harmonic' fishtailing that > was > > mentioned. We found it was set off by the difference in wheel widths > (truck > > 6', trailer 8') going over rutted highways. All the way from Dallas to > > Clines Corners, NM, the highways had grooves in them from heavy trucks > > driving in the same spots. We also noticed that the fishtailing was > caused > > by too high a speed and trucks passing us at high speed- especially with > > high cross winds. > > > > We didn't seem to have any problems wherever the roads had fairly fresh > > asphalt laid down- such as I-40 in New Mexico. > > > > The scariest moment I had was when we were traveling, balanced steady, in > > the grooves at around 65 (speed limit was 75) when we were passed by an 18 > > wheeler doing about 80 and there was a crosswind blowing from the driver's > > side. We immediately started fishtailing so bad that I thought I was > going > > to lose it. Nothing that I did could stop it and only made it worse. I > > kept over correcting without trying to. Finally I resigned myself to the > > possibility that it was all over and let up on the wheel. Lo and behold! > > The fishtailing reduced dramatically! And I was finally able to get it > > under control. Yes, I did let up on the gas but not enough to jack knife > > and yes, I kept my foot off the brakes for the same reason. The only > other > > thing that I noticed that helped besides taking my hands off the wheel was > > steering the truck and trailer half on/half off the shoulder. That > steadied > > the fishtailing some. Next time- it will be a heavier truck with a more > > powerful engine. > > > > Surprisingly, we didn't have much of a problem on the mountain passes. > > Obviously, with that heavy a load, we were in 1st gear all the way to the > > top at around 10-15 mph. I kept it in 1st gear on the way down as well > > never letting our speed get more than 30 mph over our base speed. I > braked > > heavy to get down to the base speed and continued doing that until the > road > > leveled off enough to shift into 2nd/3rd. The brakes were fine coming > down > > this way. There was one 8,000' pass where I got very cocky and didn't > leave > > it in 1st long enough coming down (it was steep) before shifting. We paid > > for that by almost losing it and when we finally stopped in a pull off, > the > > brakes were glowing red in the dark and the right one was smoking like it > > was on fire! That's when we found out we had no trailer brakes... (don't > > ask). After that episode, the trip was very uneventful. > > > > John


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