A66 caravan smash 596Thats what I just said above! Centre of grav well in front of the wheels causes stability!!! Any load from the trailer is then spread As it would be if you moved the caravans...
Because they operate on a completely different principle. On an artic about 25% of the weight of the trailer is supported by the tractor unit at a point in front of the rear axle. Any load from the trailer is then spread proportionally between the front and back axles of the unit. A caravan is designed to support its weight on its own wheels. Any load transferred to the car via the towbar ( behind the rear axle) will be added to the load on the rear axle and also be reduced on the front ( steering ) axle, altering the steering characterisics sometimes quite drastically. The only reason for any static vertical load on the towbar is to ensure that when the whole circus is bouncing down the road the caravan coupling is not exposed to any net upwards force. Most caravan manufacturers consider 25kg to be sufficient. Larking around with bags of cement or other ballast is likely to end in tears. At the end of the day, all caravans and trailers with axles in the middle will oscillate sideways, it is when the the weight distribution is unfavourable (ie. to much weight too far from the axle) that this initial small motion may start to resonate and become uncontrollable.
--
A66 caravan smash 597Wrong. There HAS to be some weight on the tow bar to get the required stability. Ask a manufacturer if you cant understand basic physics! Yes. But because of the lack of...
Geoff
