Posts
786
Joined
1/19/2021
Location
Grass Valley, CA
US
Edited Date/Time
12/1/2021 10:31pm
This morning I was coming down a long hill, towing my R-Pod (see photo) and the thing started fishtailing. It's similar to a speed wobble on a bike where slowing down makes it worse, but you can't speed up either. You can feel the fishtail building like the damn thing is gonna jackknife. I had a wall inches from me on the left and had to go into the right lane a bit while very softly adding brakes- fucking scary. I guess I need an anti-sway bar- it's the second time this has happened. This ever happen to anybody?
Your R-Pod looks small enough to not need them, but does it have trailer brakes? You can often squash the wiggle by dragging the trailer brakes but not touching the brake pedal.
https://www.weigh-safe.com/towing-safety/proper-tongue-weight/
The Shop
I didn't have much gear in the RV. If I do put stuff in there, I'll put it toward the front. The section of highway I was on is sketchy to begin with because it has a wall with literally inches to spare between the oncoming lanes. Not a fun place to get into a swapper!
But as others have said, load weight to the front. You can use an old bathroom scale to weigh the tongue and wheels. Make sure your tongue weight is correct.
I was towing a little pop-up behind an old Bronco II.
little short wheelbase thing.
Well, a tire on the trailer let go at 65-70 MPH.
I started swapping like a 81 CR 125.
The rear wheels of the Bronco were leaving the pavement.
I managed to get it woahed up, and ended up on the grass between the roads.
I had people driving by giving me thumbs up, and 2 guys stopped saying they couldn't believe I saved it.
I was shitting nickels.
https://fb.watch/9y2ua-M3Kz/
If your truck is lifted you need to consider how the trailer rides. It should be close to level or even a inch or two low at the front. Raising the tongue of the trailer can cause the weight bias to shift to the rear.
There is a lot to consider when towing, especially with trucks not really made to tow very much weight. Set up becomes more critical.
Check Youtube, there may be a video specifically for your tow vehicle.
Happened me a number of times over the years. Do not try and use your steering wheel to counter the swing of the trailer. Keep the wheel straight whilst decelerating and don't jump on the brake padel. Let the whole wagon decelerate naturally. The trailer will settle.
Try fight it with the steering wheel, hard braking etc and it'll turn into a shitstorm...in most cases you jack-knife and roll the shit over.
My truck came with the 5th wheel brackets but not the actual hitch and i was trying to decide if i want a bumper pull so i have the room in the bed or just go with the 5th wheel for the equipment trailer.
Pit Row
I was just thinking about getting it over the axle.
But yeah, that's what I would do.
It's easier to connect by yourself too.
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