[VAC] Re: winter towing

["Richard P. Kenan" <as5368@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

         These comments have set me thinking for a change.  Don Grayson's 
demonstrations at the large rallies show that when the rear wheels of a 
vehicle skid, the vehicle becomes uncontrollable, whereas skidding front 
wheels will continue stably *if left alone*.   A trailer is articulated at 
the hitch, so maybe that demo does not apply.  If it does, then the comment 
by - I think - Jim Smith to make the tow vehicle brake first would make 
sense, since then one would not run the risk of breaking the trailer tires 
from the road.  My experience driving on ice (in Central Ohio - 
flatland)  is totally without any trailer; I found that it takes almost 
nothing to break the wheels loose on ice.
         If the demo does not apply to an articulated vehicle, then the 
usual "trailer brakes on just before tow vehicle" would make sense.
         I spoke with a musician in N. Dakota last summer who pulled a huge 
fiver from TX to ND in winter.  His experience on ice - the one that made 
him give winter gigs up - was that he had a terrible time keeping his huge 
dually ahead of the fiver (he is *not* underequipped for towing), which 
kept trying to pass him.
         Does anyone have any reliable information on stability and order 
of braking when towing in snow and/or ice (other than "don't do it;" that 
would be *my* choice, but that may not be suitable/practical for others)?

- Dick
(5368)