Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Trailers (revisited)...

["Dan J. Rice" <dan.j.rice@sherwin.com>]

Cap'n Nemo wrote; "    If your trailer doesn't have good stopping power, your
tow-vehicle's brakes are going to have to do all the work.  And another thing to
consider: how good are the springs and shocks on your tow vehicle?  The ones on
my old van were shot, and that's part of the reason I almost lost control at 50
mph."

Reminds me of when I was moving from CA to NJ in 1980.  I tried to pull all my
stuff behind a 1964 Rambler with a unimold body.  It worked fine until the first
downhill, then the trailer wanted to pass the car.  After fishtailing down the
whole slope and ripping the bumper (with hitch) half off, I got it stopped and
wanted to get out and check the damage.  Problem was the legs weren't working
for a few minutes.  So I crawled back in the car and waited.  Then I dropped the
trailer on the side of the freeway, drove back to a friend who owned a truck,
got my brother-in-law to put all the boxes on a freight train to Trenton, and
headed out again.

All in all a very memorable lesson in trailer physics and dynamics, at a lower
weight than the subs we're talking about pulling.  I assume none of you will try
that with a '64 Rambler.

Dan