Jump to content

Towing Tip


Recommended Posts

So if towing a 911, back it on to the trailer!

Years ago a friend ran their (front-engined) rally car off the road.  No major damage. Went in with the car and trailer to retrieve it, figured use the trailer winch to pull it out, figured just pull it right up on to the trailer, then wrote off the rally car and the tow vehicle on the way back!

Yes @garypgt3 !

You can get away with it up to a certain speed, but hit that and it will go pear shaped pretty quick!

Eg You may have done it plenty of times at 100kph and it was ok...

Go for an overtake or just stretch it on a long open highway and at 117kph - whoa!

Hard to retrieve if you don't spot it at the very earliest sign.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I lazily put my tool box in the rear of my Bike trailer at P.I. once, instead of its usual right up the front spot and got into severe speed wobbles on the Sth Gippy Hwy. Once shifted up front it was business as usual.The tool box was pretty heavy, but I could lift it by myself, so I would guess well under 100kg.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So does this mean that when towing a 911 or any rear engine car on a trailer (particularly a single axle trailer) that the car should be loaded on rear facing the front of the trailer?

So if towing a 911, back it on to the trailer!

Years ago a friend ran their (front-engined) rally car off the road.  No major damage. Went in with the car and trailer to retrieve it, figured use the trailer winch to pull it out, figured just pull it right up on to the trailer, then wrote off the rally car and the tow vehicle on the way back!

Yes @garypgt3 !

You can get away with it up to a certain speed, but hit that and it will go pear shaped pretty quick!

Eg You may have done it plenty of times at 100kph and it was ok...

Go for an overtake or just stretch it on a long open highway and at 117kph - whoa!

Hard to retrieve if you don't spot it at the very earliest sign.

Not always, depends how the trailer was manufactured and where the trailer wheels are located (how far back they are) - had a Formula Vee years ago and was built so that it could be towed facing forwards.

I would have thought that placing loads slightly forward, but not too much - you do not want too much weight on the tow bar, was pretty much common knowledge for towing something? May explain all the trailer crashes out there.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've experienced this once in a borrowed standard dual axle trailer when only carrying the car with no wheels tools etc (and once was enough)

Have since designed and had a custom trailer built for my 911 with axles set rearward and an enclosed storage area and wheel racks up front, so has quite a lot of weight on the ball even towing empty.

Can put a 911 on forward and trim back and forth plus or minus a foot and it tows like a dream and very stable at any speed at any load.

It's by far the best trailer I've ever towed.

FWIW, I would not even consider towing my car on a single axle trailer (forwards or back).

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Terrifying when it gets away from you. Decades back had a 60 Impala on a tandem behind a 71 Fairlane with engine out and tranny and stuff in the boot. Got away from me down a long steep hill in Frankston heading toward a major T intersection at about 60ks. I could see flickers of the trailer out the edge of both eyes I kid you not. Just managed to pull it up slowly, needless to say it was then 20kph all the way home!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This happened to me when i was younger and doing some landscaping towing a box trailer loaded with gravel and soil, the old trailer i had was fitted with FJ holden springs and I went over a bridge doing just over 80ks and it dipped on the other side and it started, I had my wife and 3 yr old in the back, I absolutely shit myself and it took all my efforts to stay straight, ended up on the side of the road just missing a culvert and a sick feeling in my stomach, it'sa horrible sight in the rear view when the trailer is sideways and your trying to compensate with the steering wheel wildly swinging it from one way to the next.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Not always, depends how the trailer was manufactured and where the trailer wheels are located (how far back they are) - had a Formula Vee years ago and was built so that it could be towed facing forwards.

Have since designed and had a custom trailer built for my 911 with axles set rearward and an enclosed storage area and wheel racks up front, so has quite a lot of weight on the ball even towing empty.

Can put a 911 on forward and trim back and forth plus or minus a foot and it tows like a dream and very stable at any speed at any load.

 

Naturally a 911 or similar will be an exception on a trailer engineered to suit...

I also had my rally car trailer built (by a race engineer) and it tows awesome!  I could tow through the spur quicker than most normal people drive through there! :ph34r:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you don't know you don't know.

Towing has many aspects to consider. 

Ball weight, brake adjustment along with overloading or poor loading. Oh and wind. 

It really should be taught properly and licensed. It should weed out those that just shouldn't be doing it and set others up safely. Provides another industry as well.l

I mean, plenty of us have horror stories from just not knowing. I learned only when used a dual cab and joined a forum. Been doing it wrong for years. Thankfully I had no incidents but only good luck.

Actually you see dual cab chassis broken behind the cab often because of overloading the ball and or added airbag suspension. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...