[Rhodes22-list] Traveling with motor mounted.
Graham Stewart
gstewart8 at cogeco.ca
Wed May 22 12:33:04 EDT 2013
I had a somewhat similar severe swaying experience. I was driving down a
long hill on a 4-lane divided highway when suddenly without any warning I
heard a bang and watched the trailer sway violently to the side. I thought I
had been hit from behind. It then reached the end of the swing and then flew
to the other side even more violently. I had heard that to pull out of such
a situation one should accelerate. Nice theory but in practice it simply
increased the sway. For what seemed like an eternity the vehicle (extended
full size Chevy 2500 van) was dragged across the highway and as I was about
to hit the shoulder the trailer would whip to the other side and drag me
back. I watched the trailer come around almost 90 degrees to the truck -
tires smoking and screeching. Had I hit the dirt I am sure it would have
been a disaster.
Fortunately the normally busy highway was absent any other vehicles . My
family and I were shaking like leaves and utterly terrified. This event
occurred just a few miles from home as we headed off on our first trip with
the boat. We made our way back home and have never towed the boat anywhere
since except to launch at the local ramp about 5 miles down the road. That
experience is not the only reason we have not towed significantly since then
and I think I now have a much better idea of what I did wrong. If, however,
I do decide to tow on a longer trip there are a number of things that I will
definitely do to address potential sway.
At the time I sought advice from several trailer places as to what might
have caused this event and what might have avoided it. The advice ranged
from inflating the tires more to buying a new truck. That wasn't very
helpful at the time although I now think both bits of advice were probably
correct.. Here are some thoughts relating to this event:
- Most important: I was going too fast - about 70 mph - and downhill. Just
because the boat seems to be following nicely does not mean you can go
faster. Once sway starts, it acts like a sling and the substantial weight of
the rig only intensifies the sway against increased speed. Calling this
"sway" is really an understatement. The trailer will latterly go sideways
trying to pass you and shoot back to the other side violently and in an
instant. The momentum is enormous.
- If the sway starts, don't accelerate! I will take my foot off the gas and
slow without braking the vehicle
- get brakes for the trailer - electric brakes make sense to me so that you
can apply them manually. I am undecided about adding a second axle. One
would thing that more rubber on the road would reduce sway but , as
discussed on this forum, that presents other problems.
- especially for longer or more difficult terrain or where there is traffic
pressure to go faster than 55 mph, I would install sway control device.
- I didn't have sufficient weight on the tongue. Until the discussion here a
few weeks ago I think I was still underestimating tongue weight to be about
250 lbs. The advice from others was 450 lbs and contained neat advice about
judging the weight using a lever and your own weight. I will do that.
- while the truck was large and heavy, being an extended 2500 Chevy van, it
had a long overhang at the rear that increased the sway action. You want a
truck where the hitch is close to the rear axle. I would worry about some
motor homes that seem to have an enormous reach to the rear axle.
- take the motor off the back of the boat for any significant highway speed
trips. I am thinking of trying to rig a motor plate at the front of the
trailer for the motor.
- get the boat as far forward as possible when retrieving it from the water-
although that is not easy as the winch, in my case, seems to pull the bow
down rather than parallel to the trailer frame. I would want to raise the
winch to ensure that is pulls parallel if not up slightly.
- Definitely I will tie the load down - particularly at the transom.
- Check the air pressure in the tires and adjust to the exact
specifications.
- After this experience I would be reluctant to give control to someone who
is inexperienced and might not appreciate the forces and potential problems
that are involved. They will almost always drive too fast as they are not
used to the restrained driving speed that is appropriate.
Graham
-----Original Message-----
From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
[mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of Luis Guzman
Sent: May-22-13 10:37 AM
To: The Rhodes 22 Email List
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Traveling with motor mounted.
I had a close call while trailering the boat, and I believe the saving grace
was that the boat was strapped.
I was tired and let my friend drive. I don't know what the hell my friend
did, but I woke up to a trailer swaying the car. I saw the car heading for
the ditch that separated the two way highway, and I thought this was the
end. In the blink of an eye, we ended up perfectly parked on the shoulder of
the road heading the wrong direction.
The cars behind us had kept a distance when they saw what was going on, so
nobody was hit. Several motorists stopped to make sure that we were ok.
I was mad as hell. Checked the truck, trailer and boat, and everything
seemed in perfect condition. I was told not to go on the dirt to try to do
an u turn as the dirt was soft. Well, I was not going to wait for the cops
to show up. I waited until there were no cars coming, step up in the gas,
and did a quick u turn. I got off the highway at the next exit, and stopped
at a gas station. That is when it hit me that we could have been killed, and
I started shaking.
That incident kept me awake and I drove the rest of the 10 hrs home.
To this day, I have no idea how this happened, but I believe that the boat
would have come off the trailer if it was not strapped down. Oh, I did have
the motor in the back of the truck.
Luis A. Guzmán II
S/V Coincidence
1983 Rhodes 22
Bradenton, FL
----- Original Message -----
> From: "Lowe, Rob" <rlowe at vt.edu>
> To: The Rhodes 22 Email List <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> Cc:
> Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2013 9:22 AM
> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Traveling with motor mounted.
>
> Rummy,
> True about losing the boat. But is it a legal requirement to strap
> down your load? - rob
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
> [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of
> R22RumRunner at aol.com
> Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2013 9:20 AM
> To: rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Traveling with motor mounted.
>
> Rob,
> If you hit a pothole large enough to bounce the R22 off its trailer,
> losing the boat is probably the least of your troubles. Your tow
> vehicle would be damaged and the axle on the trailer would be
> history. I have never heard of a R22 coming off the trailer during
> towing and most people rely on the trailer design to keep the Rhodes in
place.
> I believe Stan does not recommend using straps because they could
> damage the hull.
>
> Rummy
>
>
> In a message dated 5/22/2013 8:40:17 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> rlowe at vt.edu writes:
>
> Ted,
> I think you'll find you must legally strap your boat down to travel
> on public roads. And, I expect it would be really embarrassing to
> hit a big pothole and have your boat bounce off the trailer. Very
> unlikely, yes, but explain that to the cop. I expect a citation for
> failure to secure load would be in order. So strap the boat to the
> trailer. Find something compressible to go between the straps and the
> boat to protect the boat. Or use the eyes on the bow and stern to
> strap her down. Relying on the weight of the boat to keep her in
> place on the trailer is a bit chancy. Just my thoughts.
> - rob
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
> [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of Theodore
> Boender
> Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2013 7:04 AM
> To: The Rhodes 22 Email List
> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Traveling with motor mounted.
>
> Richard,
>
> I noticed you strapped your boat down. I did not for my trip home to
> Boston. Do most trailer sailers use tie downs? It looks like you
> would get some serious rubbing on the gel coat from the straps. Good
> padding would be key.
>
> Good luck with launch day!
>
> Ted
>
> __________________________________________________
> To subscribe/unsubscribe go to
> http://www.rhodes22.org/mailman/listinfo/rhodes22-list
>
> For the list Charter and help with using the mailing list and
> archives go to http://www.rhodes22.org/list
> __________________________________________________
>
> __________________________________________________
> To subscribe/unsubscribe go to
> http://www.rhodes22.org/mailman/listinfo/rhodes22-list
>
> For the list Charter and help with using the mailing list and archives
> go to http://www.rhodes22.org/list
> __________________________________________________
>
> __________________________________________________
> To subscribe/unsubscribe go to
> http://www.rhodes22.org/mailman/listinfo/rhodes22-list
>
> For the list Charter and help with using the mailing list and archives
> go to http://www.rhodes22.org/list
> __________________________________________________
>
__________________________________________________
To subscribe/unsubscribe go to
http://www.rhodes22.org/mailman/listinfo/rhodes22-list
For the list Charter and help with using the mailing list and archives go to
http://www.rhodes22.org/list
__________________________________________________
More information about the Rhodes22-list
mailing list