towing???

[capev86]

reportedly airstream campers back in the day came equipped with disc brakes. if you hitched one up to an older car with 4 wheel drum brakes, it could stop faster towing than solo under normal conditions!

just because a miata can out stop a truck does not mean the miata is a safer tow vehicle or can stop a trailer faster. mass and tire surface area have a lot to do with braking and handling while towing. i wouldn't pull anything bigger than one of those little motorcycle trailers behind one (the kind you see behind goldwings, etc). trucks are designed for the kind of loads and abuse that towing places on a vehicle.

my 89 lesabre had more mass than any K based car and yet with nearly 3000 pounds of car and tow dolly behind it things could get a little squirley going around corners on back roads. problem is a tow dolly generally has very little tongue weight so it makes the back end of the car slide/float. my suburban doesn't have that problem due to a LOT more weight in the back end.

[Vigo]

I have always heard a loaded truck stops better.

According to that link, definitely not better, but adding 2000 lbs doesnt hurt as much as one might guess..

Well when it is loaded the tires are harder to slide.

I think it is like a bell curve.. too much and you are going back down again. Not 100% on that.

The 250's and 350' are about same, just the extra two tires and maybe a leaf in rear springs.

I thought most 250s and 350s had different frames? I think there's got to be something else going on besides the 2 extra tires to explain the huge difference between the 2500 and 3500 GMs.

just because a miata can out stop a truck does not mean the miata is a safer tow vehicle or can stop a trailer faster.

That's true, but thats not what i said anyway. My point was only that you can add a fair bit of weight to vehicles most people wouldnt tow with before they even stop as badly as an empty 'tow vehicle'.

my 89 lesabre had more mass than any K based car and yet with nearly 3000 pounds of car and tow dolly behind it things could get a little squirley going around corners on back roads.

That only seems to support the idea that it's more about confidence (stability, brake feel) than just having weight. My dynasty weighs less than that and it feels MORE stable to tow with than my Dakota (which weighs more than a lesabre).

[DodgeZ]

According to that link, definitely not better, but adding 2000 lbs doesnt hurt as much as one might guess..

I think it is like a bell curve.. too much and you are going back down again. Not 100% on that.

I thought most 250s and 350s had different frames? I think there's got to be something else going on besides the 2 extra tires to explain the huge difference between the 2500 and 3500 GMs.



That's true, but thats not what i said anyway. My point was only that you can add a fair bit of weight to vehicles most people wouldnt tow with before they even stop as badly as an empty 'tow vehicle'.



That only seems to support the idea that it's more about confidence (stability, brake feel) than just having weight. My dynasty weighs less than that and it feels MORE stable to tow with than my Dakota (which weighs more than a lesabre).

The one Chevy stopped better with the load then with out it and better then the Ford or Dodge in the same range... by 8 feet! I think the comment about stopping better was on old trucks. Like they are heavy on the rear brake for when you are loaded, which locks them up when unloaded and sucks for stopping.

http://www.dieseltruckresource.com/d...1&postcount=12

if you have a heavy trailer it should have it;s own brakes for stopping. The truck shouldnt be stopping a heavy trailer.

[Vigo]

Somehow i missed the Chevy stopping better with the load. I read the thing twice so i have no excuse for that. I think you must be right about the older trucks. Im 100% certain that the kind of numbers that article is showing are a pretty recent thing.. I dont think a 10 or 20 yr old 1ton dually could come close (especially without abs.. trucks suck without abs).

Good info on that link. I dont know which trucks i am thinking about that have a thicker frame from 3/4 to 1ton but i guess it's not the dodges!

I have never towed with trailer brakes (never had a truck bigger than a dakota so most of what ive towed is light stuff not often built with brakes). I definitely would like to try it. I did try searching a little bit for info on whether trailers with brakes can ever stop harder than the car they are attached to, but nothing popped out at me. It would depend on how much weight was on it, how it was loaded, etc, and surge brakes adds even more variables vs electric.. I guess it would take some digging.

[Ondonti]

So what kind of modifications to a dolly would promote less wobble? Move the platform so there is more weight on the tongue? Would lower hitch angle fake that a little bit, or just pull up on the tow vehicle?
Would it be a bad idea to put shorter tires on a dolly for lowering purposes?

[RoadWarrior222]

Would it be a bad idea to put shorter tires on a dolly for lowering purposes?

Probably okay unless you get a lower load rating. If you can find smaller tires with the same rating, then go for it.

[cordes]

Probably okay unless you get a lower load rating. If you can find smaller tires with the same rating, then go for it.

They are rated for speed also. The short tires don't like being run fast. Their RPMs are crazy at higher speeds.

[Vigo]

The only times ive ever gotten wobble with my dolley (and ive used it a LOT) is when the straps holding the car come loose, the tire is low/flat on the dolley, or the one time i put the dakota on it backwards and towed with the front wheels on the ground.


So for me it has always been obvious what was causing it and how to fix it. I guess that's not helpful.