The Silver Streak E-mail ListArchive Files[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index] Re: [SilverStreak] towing
Just how are you set up to tow? You will need chains, but as safety chains, and they will do nothing to stop any sway. They will however bring you into compliance with the law. You need a good hitch along with swing, or equalizer bars, but they also will do nothing to prevent sway. They will serve to transfer some of the trailer weight up to the front of the tow vehicle. A sway bar will help, but it is only part of the answer. A very important part of sway prevention is having the weight of the trailer properly distributed. You need at least 15% of the total trailer weight on the tongue. In my case, I have 20%, and no sway. That is where the equalizer bars come in to transfer part of that weight up to the front of the tow vehicle. A lot of sway prevention has to do with your loading of the trailer. Don't travel with full waste tanks, and place heavy objects up front in the trailer or in the tow vehicle. This would include any spare tire. Don't hang it on the back of the trailer. It is important to have the tow vehicle, not the trailer in control, which is what happens with a swaying trailer. You can either purchase a tongue scale such as Sherline, or take your trailer to public scales to find out the total as well as tongue weight. Finally, I can recommend the Sherline web site for a lot of good information and their towing tips. You might want to have a look there. It is at: http://www.sherline.com/lm.htm -Tom
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