24 Comments on Never load the heavy stuff in the back of a trailer
I like nice, clear demonstrations like this. Well done, UHaul!
If a govt agency took on the task of warning trailer users about this, I’m sure they’d come up with a multi-page brochure in 17 languages saying nothing more than “Don’t do this. This bad.” plus a mandatory trailer placard full of fine print so small you need a magnifying glass to read it.
Al, not to mention the disclaimer that anything that happens as a result of reading this info is not the fault of the government.
Anyone who has ever heard Johnboy and Billy will understand this:
“Duh huh!”
Who puts a trailer on a Mustang?
There should be a roughly 55/45% trailer balance with the heavier part on the tongue, but also bear in mind that speed affects stability as well depending on the lengths of the tow vehicle and trailer. The mathematics are similar to servo loop gain.
If that happens what happens if you accelerate? Wouldn’t it stabilize? Of course, that would go against instinct, which would be to brake.
True, but you also must not put too much weight forward either. Excess tongue weight overloads the rear wheels and more importantly takes weight off the front wheels which can cause a high speed shimmy and affect braking. My SUV will tow over 7,000lbs but the maximum tongue weight is 450lbs.
I thinks this explains why Hitlerly kept stumbling.
I recently rented a moving truck from Budget.
It was $375 cheaper than U-Haul.
Seriously!
The truck pulled to the right on the freeway but worth the difference in $.
Explains why Hillary falls over so much.
Hillary also puts too much weight on her tongue.
@Loco – as long as it didn’t pull to the left!
(Gee, both physically and metaphorically!)
Petrus – Exactly! Mustangs are usually put on trailers. flatbeds, tow trucks, or simply pulled by chain to nearest service facility or wrecking yard.
Tongue weight should be at least 10% to 15% of what the entire trailer and load weighs.
I like about 12%.
Hmmm.
The difference between DIVERGENT and CONVERGENT functions – or linear and non-linear functions (?) graphically illustrated.
Isn’t that why the elevators were moved to the backs of airplanes?
izlamo delenda est …
@The Rat Fink: That is all very true, but you left out the part about synchronizing the turboencabulator.
🙂
@Tim:
…why the elevators were moved to the backs of airplanes?
Exactly right. With front-positioned elevators (e.g. the Wright Flyer) the steeper the dive, the steeper the aircraft wants to dive. Result: little bloody craters in the ground.
@BFH: I think she puts as much on her tongue as Humaly possible.
😉
@Loco
I did the same with a pickup from Budget. Much cheaper than U-haul, and the truck was almost brand new.
@Neil,
My 2002 GT has over 150k miles and only routine maintenance, except for the damage the shaved ape did while changing the tires. He cross threaded two lugnuts trying to be “super-fast pit crew” and then drove the broken lugs out with a sledge hammer, destroying the carrier bearing. I had to rebuild the carrier about 6 months later.
My wife’s camaro, on the other hand, was a perpetual repair nightmare, and a constant drain on our budget.
Another trailer safety tip.
Don’t flick lit cigarettes out the truck window when hauling a trailer full of hay. My brother in law’s coworker did. Brand new trailer and truck got destroyed. Cop did a 180 to chase them down as neither realized that load was on fire. Funny story if you weren’t the owner.
There is a long, straight grade a few miles north of Phoenix nicknamed ‘U-Haul hill’. Swervy skidmarks and mashed up guardrails are the norm.
Jethro
Don’t be so sexist! You’re saying that even a P.O.S. Mustang can stay on the road longer than a vastly superior Camaro, simply because the Mustang was driven by a man and the Camaro was driven by a woman. That’s so sexist! But thanks for the additional info. I knew they were fragile, but I didn’t know that a Mustang couldn’t even survive an simple tire change. You know, because most of them can’t stay running long enough to wear out a set of tires.
So does this mean I need to load all my illegal aliens in the cab of the trailer when I drive across the border? I usually get 50 illegals per trailer so this is gonna cramp my style.. and my body.
Signed,
Wiley E. Coyote
I like nice, clear demonstrations like this. Well done, UHaul!
If a govt agency took on the task of warning trailer users about this, I’m sure they’d come up with a multi-page brochure in 17 languages saying nothing more than “Don’t do this. This bad.” plus a mandatory trailer placard full of fine print so small you need a magnifying glass to read it.
Al, not to mention the disclaimer that anything that happens as a result of reading this info is not the fault of the government.
Anyone who has ever heard Johnboy and Billy will understand this:
“Duh huh!”
Who puts a trailer on a Mustang?
There should be a roughly 55/45% trailer balance with the heavier part on the tongue, but also bear in mind that speed affects stability as well depending on the lengths of the tow vehicle and trailer. The mathematics are similar to servo loop gain.
If that happens what happens if you accelerate? Wouldn’t it stabilize? Of course, that would go against instinct, which would be to brake.
True, but you also must not put too much weight forward either. Excess tongue weight overloads the rear wheels and more importantly takes weight off the front wheels which can cause a high speed shimmy and affect braking. My SUV will tow over 7,000lbs but the maximum tongue weight is 450lbs.
I thinks this explains why Hitlerly kept stumbling.
I recently rented a moving truck from Budget.
It was $375 cheaper than U-Haul.
Seriously!
The truck pulled to the right on the freeway but worth the difference in $.
Explains why Hillary falls over so much.
Hillary also puts too much weight on her tongue.
@Loco – as long as it didn’t pull to the left!
(Gee, both physically and metaphorically!)
Petrus – Exactly! Mustangs are usually put on trailers. flatbeds, tow trucks, or simply pulled by chain to nearest service facility or wrecking yard.
Tongue weight should be at least 10% to 15% of what the entire trailer and load weighs.
I like about 12%.
Hmmm.
The difference between DIVERGENT and CONVERGENT functions – or linear and non-linear functions (?) graphically illustrated.
Isn’t that why the elevators were moved to the backs of airplanes?
izlamo delenda est …
@The Rat Fink: That is all very true, but you left out the part about synchronizing the turboencabulator.
🙂
@Tim:
Exactly right. With front-positioned elevators (e.g. the Wright Flyer) the steeper the dive, the steeper the aircraft wants to dive. Result: little bloody craters in the ground.
@BFH: I think she puts as much on her tongue as Humaly possible.
😉
@Loco
I did the same with a pickup from Budget. Much cheaper than U-haul, and the truck was almost brand new.
@Neil,
My 2002 GT has over 150k miles and only routine maintenance, except for the damage the shaved ape did while changing the tires. He cross threaded two lugnuts trying to be “super-fast pit crew” and then drove the broken lugs out with a sledge hammer, destroying the carrier bearing. I had to rebuild the carrier about 6 months later.
My wife’s camaro, on the other hand, was a perpetual repair nightmare, and a constant drain on our budget.
Another trailer safety tip.
Don’t flick lit cigarettes out the truck window when hauling a trailer full of hay. My brother in law’s coworker did. Brand new trailer and truck got destroyed. Cop did a 180 to chase them down as neither realized that load was on fire. Funny story if you weren’t the owner.
There is a long, straight grade a few miles north of Phoenix nicknamed ‘U-Haul hill’. Swervy skidmarks and mashed up guardrails are the norm.
Jethro
Don’t be so sexist! You’re saying that even a P.O.S. Mustang can stay on the road longer than a vastly superior Camaro, simply because the Mustang was driven by a man and the Camaro was driven by a woman. That’s so sexist! But thanks for the additional info. I knew they were fragile, but I didn’t know that a Mustang couldn’t even survive an simple tire change. You know, because most of them can’t stay running long enough to wear out a set of tires.
So does this mean I need to load all my illegal aliens in the cab of the trailer when I drive across the border? I usually get 50 illegals per trailer so this is gonna cramp my style.. and my body.
Signed,
Wiley E. Coyote